The Legend Of Spyro: Love And War Book 2
by Spyro and Cynder lover
Summary: Continuation Of Book One! With Malefor returned to normal, Spyro and Cynder in love, and everyone now back to their normal lives, another threat, Flint, the new Dark Master will put everyone and friendships to the test, mixing lies and threats against one another. Death is around every corner, lives at risk, and sometimes, not even being dead means you're forgotten.
1. Chapter 1: Flint's Assassin

Chapter 1: Flint's Assassin

"Listen to me well, because I'm only going to say this once: I need you to infiltrate the walls of Warfang, find out where Spyro, Malefor, or even the Guardians are, and I need you to take them out. Do you understand me?" Flint growled through his teeth on his last sentence, somewhat scaring the blue dragoness that sat in front of him.

Out in the forest, the blue dragoness didn't know if she was up to the challenge of taking on all of this responsibility, but she tried to find a way to tell herself that she had to do it. Slightly breathing in the morning air as to clear her mind, she closed her eyes and let the breeze of cold air flow through her scales. Taking it all in, she opened her eyes back up, and looking at Flint, she nodded, "Okay, I understand. But, I need to know if you know any way for me to make this job a little easier. After all, if I slip up and the Guardians, or the purple dragon's now what I'm up to, they won't hesitate to kill me."

Flint growled from the question, as he wished she would've just found out how to take care of everything herself. _I've been up all night, trying to gather more and more companions to help fight by my side. The least they can do is figure out something else on their own!_ Flint growled, rubbing two of his fingers on the side of his head.

"I don't know! Just... Try to get in bed with one of them," Flint suggested, but as he quickly saw her blush, he heard his words back, and corrected, "You know that's not what I meant. Just, wait until they are asleep. A simple stab to the chest through the heart with an ice shard should do it. If you want to make them suffer, by all means."

The dragoness nodded at Flint's words. Waving a paw in the air and over her face, Flint explained, "I put some of the darkness in to your mind to cloud the Chronicler's visions and thoughts about you. For now, your name will be Winter, clean and simple. If you give out your real name, he could easily find us. With the darkness I put in your mind, he shouldn't be able to do so, so don't give out your real name or else all of this would have been for nothing."

Winter nodded at Flint's words once again, but she still had some questions for him, "So, once I've killed the Guardians and or the purple dragon's, where shall I go then?"

"Damn it Claire, can't you do anything right!" Flint spat, causing her to shiver slightly, "Listen, kill the Guardians in there sleep, kill that Bastard Spyro in his sleep, and report back to me so I can retrieve the love of my life! Do you finally understand!"

Claire nodded sadly, not wanting to ask anymore questions as she was afraid she would get ragged on about it. Without wasting anymore time, Claire opened her wings, took to the sky, and headed for Warfang. Flint turned his head around to hear rustling from a nearby bush. Out from the bush came a red Dragon, a friend of his.

"You honestly believe she can pull this off? I mean, we only met her a couple of hours ago, and you're already sending her on this kind of mission," The Dragon asked with disbelief.

"I don't know if she can! But, we have to try something. Maybe by her going there, she could and may very well succeed. But even if she doesn't, she can still easily gain valuable information from those Bastards that we might not even know about," Flint explained, sighing hugely at how tired he was, "Now, why are you here? I thought I told you to find more recruits."

"Oh, yeah, That's actually why I'm here. I need your help in training the new recruits," The Dragon explained, gaining a growl from out of Flint's mouth, causing his friend to quickly change his mind, "But, after the couple of recruits we have already had, I'm sure I can remember it by now. You've been at this all night, you really should get some rest. I will hold down the fort for now while you rest."

Flint snarled, not wanting his friend to know that he actually appreciated what he was doing. He turned around with his friend, and walked back to the mountains, wondering what the success would be of Claire's mission.

* * *

Shining down on Warfang, the sun woke most of the citizens, showing it was a great new day. As the sun's glow invaded Spyro and Cynder's room, Spyro grumbled as the sun's rays burned down on his eyes through his window. He grumbled once again from the sun's light, and thought to himself, _Why have you betrayed me Sun?_ Moving his head out of the way, he slowly opened his eyes, and moved his paws up to rub them. As he put his paws back down, he opened his mouth and yawned. Closing his mouth, he looked down to his beloved Cynder, and smiled happily. Spyro moved his head down and smoothly kissed his beloved on the forehead before pulling away, and thinking, _I actually... I actually feel pretty good! But... then there is Malefor... I think it's about time I end this once and for all._ His body twitched with anticipation, ready to settle things with Malefor. Spyro maneuvered his wings, tail, and body to get off the bed without waking his beloved up. Successful in his attempt, he crawled off the bed, and ran over towards the door. Reaching his paw up, Spyro quickly grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and threw the door open. _That Bastards is probably thinking he can just sleep the night away... I need to teach him a lesson!_ Spyro growled with a small smile as he approached Malefor and Carith's room. As Spyro reached up and grabbed the door knob, he slowly opened it, trying not to wake the two up. Slowly approaching Malefor, his body could only tense more and more as his tail blade reached the side of Spyro's face. He was ready to fulfill what he wanted from the beginning. Spyro lightly jumped up onto the bed, and just as lightly as he jumped on the bed, he lightly did so as well with his tail blade, pushing it against Malefor's neck. The cold feeling of Spyro's tail blade woke Malefor, as he grumbled, and shivered. Malefor slowly opened one eye, and with a smile to see Spyro, he growled, "You're lucky, I was just planning on breaking my promise and hurting the one you love."

Spyro tried not to chuckle, but instead, he growled softly with a smile, "That's exactly why I have to stop you here and now. I knew you were planning something... but now that I think about it, let's settle this in the training room. Don't want Carith to see you cry like a hatchling when you beg for mercy."

"As if," Malefor snarled.

"As if that wouldn't happen," Spyro growled happily, pulling his tail blade away and jumping off the bed.

Spyro walked over to the door, and after cutting the corner of the room, he ran over to the training room and quickly entered in order to get prepared. _Didn't even shut my door,_ Malefor thought. Looking down at his beloved, he pecked with his lips on her head and whispered, "I don't know if I will be able to get out of this one, but I will be sure to try and survive. If I make it through, someone owns me a kiss."

Carith didn't hear, as she was to busy enjoying a peaceful sleep. Now that she knew that Spyro wouldn't kill her beloved, she was finally able to rest easy with a beautiful, and heartwarming tomorrow to look forward to. Malefor smiled happily listening to her breath softly. Maneuvering his body, he felt sad that he would have to leave his love, but he knew he couldn't keep Spyro waiting. _He's either going to beat my face in the training room, or in my own room, and getting beat up in your own room sounds humiliating... so I guess it would only happen to me,_ Malefor thought to himself, as he made his way off the bed and towards the door, he remembered the ice armour punishment. Walking over to the training room, Malefor opened up the door, and walked inside. Shutting the door behind himself, and turned and asked, "Alrighty, so..."

An ice shard that slammed right next to his head cut his words short. A small drop of sweat dripped down Malefor's face, as he knew he was in for a serious kicking. Spyro, standing at the back of the room growled with a smile, "I'm tried of you walking around here as if you didn't do anything, well, you did do something! You left Carith once again, even after I told you not to! Now you're going to pay for it!"

"What! You cheat me you Bastard!" Malefor growled, running towards Spyro, ready to attack.

Spyro was the same, as he quickly ran in to attack. As the two ran towards each other, the two raised their fists, and slammed them into one another. Their fits clenched as one another looked at the other with smiles. They quickly jumped away, and ran around the training room in a circle. Malefor slammed his paw into the side off the ground, and launched himself right at Spyro with his body burning from his fire. Spyro slammed his fist into the ground, and launched at him in the same way, as fire engulfed his body. Quickly freezing his body in ice armor, Spyro slammed into Malefor, completely cracking and destroying the armor. Malefor staggered, but Spyro with quick thinking, he was safe because of the armor that was destroyed. Spyro pulled his fist back, and slammed it into Malefor, launching him up to the side of the ceiling. Landing softly on the ground, Spyro watched as Malefor's body feel out of the hole in the side of the ceiling, and fell to the ground. Rolling his eyes, Spyro slammed his paw into the ground, causing an ice slide to form under Malefor's body. Sliding down the slope, Malefor's body landed in front of Spyro. _There's no way he is this weak..._ Spyro thought, but quickly saw the smile on Malefor's face. whipping his tail blade around, Malefor quickly stood back up, and chuckled, "You actually fell for that. You're more... you're more... oh Hell."

Malefor shivered with fear as he saw his tail blade actually sliced the side of Spyro's cheek. He watched as the blood started to fall down his face and onto the ground. Spyro wiped the blood off his cheek with a paw which didn't stop the blood, but instead, it made him chuckle. Clenching his paw, the slide Spyro made completely cracked, and was destroyed. Malefor chuckled slightly, and whimpered, "You know, I hear, if blood spills from your cheek, you should look behind yourself for a distraction so I can get the Hell out of here with my life. What do you say buddy?"

Spyro's body clenched, as he growled with a smile, "I say you quit your whining and try not to die with my next attacks."

Spyro disappeared out of sight, causing Malefor to quickly pull his wings up and block his face. From the side, Spyro appeared and slammed his fist into the side of Malefor's side, launching him to the side of the wall. Malefor growled trying to figure out where Spyro was. Another punch hit Malefor on his other side, knocking him back over to where he was before. Malefor threw his tail blade around, trying to figure out were Spyro could be. Even though he tried, Spyro was still able to hit him on his side once again. _Damn time ability,_ Malefor growled, trying to figure out what Spyro could be planning to hit him next.

"You know, using your time ability is pretty Damn dirty...!" Malefor growled, getting hit once again on his side, "Even after a while, it can easily be... predicted!"

Malefor threw his fist around and hit Spyro right in his face, launching his body, and slamming it against the wall. Spyro tried to quickly get back up and fight, but Malefor quickly stood above him, and put his tail blade on his neck. With nothing left to do, for now, Spyro could only smile as he joked, "Go ahead. But just know, if Carith finds out, your screwed."

"I know. It sucks that's she's so beautiful, and laying in bed with her, and nuzzling her feels so amazing. If I never found her, I would've ended your life a long time ago. I mean, come on, how were you beaten so easily. I thought you were stronger then me?" Malefor joked, getting distracted by his thoughts of his beloved, but quickly getting back into the game.

"Because I was using all of my power," Spyro hinted, as his body was quickly consumed in a black aura.

In a blink of an eye, Spyro disappeared, and quickly switched the role. Spyro quickly slammed Malefor on the ground, put his tail blade on Malefor's neck, and growled, "Even now, I'm not using everything in my power, and you were easily beaten. Now, I've wanted to end your life so badly, and now, my dream will come true."

Malefor chuckled with a smile as he looked up at Spyro, and joked, "I'm not the only one who is on a leash. Kill me, and Cynder will so leave you. No more of her kisses, no more of her nuzzles, no more of anything."

Spyro chuckled and admitted, "Sounds like Hell."

"I know right."

"Looks like we are both on a leash."

"It's not a terrible one. I would definitely prefer to be on a leash with my loved one."

"I agree with that."

* * *

Carith grumbled as the sun glared down on her eyes, causing her to move out of the way of the sun with her head. She quickly thought to herself, _Wait, I thought... I thought Malefor's head was in mine._ Quickly opening up her eyes, she looked all around her room for her beloved, and with no luck, she started to fear. _No, it, it's fine. I know Malefor's fine... But I still have to check!_ Carith though, quickly jumping off the bed and running to the hallway.

* * *

Cynder moved her head out of the way of the sun and grumbled. She was confused, as usually her beloved would block out the sun from her eyes if she growled. Feeling around with her wing, she realised: Spyro wasn't beside her. Quickly picking up her head and opening up her eyes, Cynder looked all around, and only saw a faint yellow glow from Sparks. _Spyro...? Where... where could he have gone?! He... he has to be fine. But, even still... I'm not going to risk it!_ Cynder thought. Fearing for the worst, she quickly jumped off her bed and ran towards the hallway.

Carith and Cynder met in the middle of the hallway, both with questions, "Have you seen Malefor?""Have you seen Spyro!"

"I don't understand, he was in my room at one point, and then... Ignitus would've warned us if something bad was about to happen... something bad couldn't have happened to them, could it?!" Carith asked, fearing for the worst of her beloved, causing more fear to quickly consume the both of them even more.

"No, Spyro would never... we... Maybe they just went somewhere to... to fight it out! Spyro probably still has to have a grudge against Malefor, they have to be in the training room! Please Ancestors, let them be in the training room safe and alive," Cynder pleaded, as the two looked over at the training room door, hoping for the best.

As the door to the training room slowly opened, Spyro turned his head to see who it could be. He caught a glimpse of what looked to be his and Malefor's lover's. Before Spyro could say hi, Malefor quickly commanded, "Spyro, quickly turn back around!"

Spyro did as he was told, and asked, "What is it?"

"I know for a fact that it's Cynder and my love. Why don't we try to pull a prank on them?" Malefor suggested, causing Spyro to raise a brow at him, wondering what he could be up to, "The blood on your cheek. Pretend like you killed me by splashing the blood on my neck and the wall while you swing your tail blade at my neck."

"Why can't I just do it legitimately? After all, I've always wanted to?" Spyro asked with a smile.

"Leash, remember the leash!" Malefor quickly fought back, causing Spyro to roll his eyes, but he decided he would join along as he knew Malefor would get punished for this, not him.

Cynder and Carith both sighed happily, glad to see the two were just fighting in the training room. As the two approached Spyro and Malefor, they heard what sounded like growls. As they approached more and more, Spyro growled, "Go to Hell!"

With the growl of his words, Spyro pretended to slash at Malefor's neck with his tail blade. As he did so, he splashed the blood from his cheek that he wiped on his paws all over the wall, and on Malefor's neck.

"Spyro!" Carith cried, running over to the two.

Spyro got off of Malefor's body, and as he backed away, he watched Carith quickly put her paw on the blood that dripped down his neck. _This probably wasn't the best idea,_ Spyro thought to himself, as he looked over to see Cynder slowly walking over to him in shock. Cynder couldn't believe what she saw, as she didn't want to believe it. _No... there's... there's no way... Spyro knows what would happen..._ She thought sadly, but the blood that dripped from Malefor's neck messed with her thoughts. Carith cried over Malefor's body, rubbing her head underneath his, she cried, "Malefor... please no...!"

Cynder shuck her head sadly, but as she did, she saw a twitch from Malefor's paw, as well as his tail blade. _Wait! Am I right! There's no way Spyro would ever disappoint me!_ Cynder thought, grabbing her courage to trust her lover. Walking up to Malefor, Carith pulled her head back and watched as Cynder stood next to his body, raised a paw, and slapped Malefor across the face.

"Ah! Son of a Bitch!" Malefor cursed, putting his paw on the side of his face.

"Malefor!" Carith cried happily, quickly draping both her wings around his body.

 _I knew it!_ Cynder thought happily, glad she didn't doubt Spyro. Looking behind herself, she smiled happily at Spyro, causing him to blush with a smile as he looked away. As Carith pulled away, she giggled as she listened to Malefor's growls, "Holy Ancestors! Thanks for the back paw to the face. Damn that stings. Another plan backfired. And by that I mean: Your back paw, fired, the side of my cheek."

Malefor pulled his paw down and looked at Carith, watching a couple tears from the fear fall down her face. He felt bad for what he did and apologized, "I'm sorry, Carith. I didn't mean to scare you that bad. I wanted to play a prank on you by pretending that Spyro killed me. So, he used the blood from the side of his cheek to make it all possible."

"Spyro's bleeding!" Cynder cried, looking over to see the side of his cheek was bleeding.

Cynder turned back around and raised her paw at Malefor once again, growling down at him, he quickly cried, "Spyro got his revenge! I swear...! I think... Just, no more back paws! I would prefer if my face would stay smooth and purple, instead of red and bumpy... heh, kinda like Ignitus's."

"Keep talking bad about my dad and I will make sure your next back paw comes from Cynder's tail blade," Spyro joked, walking up next to Cynder.

"But, then, wouldn't it be called a back blade?" Malefor asked.

"Do you want to find out?"

"Not really... It would be funny if she did it to you though."

Cynder looked at Spyro, pulling her tail blade up to the side of his cheek, she asked, "Did you plan any of this?"

Spyro let a drip of sweat drop down the side of his face as he quickly responded, "Of course not! This was all Malefor's stupid idea. I didn't have..."

Putting her tail behind Spyro's neck, she pushed his head forehead, and moved her head forward at the same time. The two's lips pressed against one another as they enjoyed a nice morning kiss with one another. Malefor looked at Carith and asked, "Do I get one?"

Carith giggled happily, and declined, "After what you did, you're going to have to wait for an hour."

"An hour! I don't know if I can wait the long! Especially since I just woke up, how am I going to make it through the day. Carith, I don't..."

Without letting Malefor continue any further, she quickly moved her head down and kissed him lovingly on his lips. As Spyro and Cynder pulled away from their kiss, soon followed Malefor and Carith. Malefor closed his eyes happily, and whispered, "That's what I needed."

Carith giggled at her lover, and whispered, "Okay, maybe your punishment was a second."

Cynder took her tail off of Spyro's back, and suggested in a whispered and a shiver, "Spyro, is it okay if you hurry up and heal yourself. You bleeding all over again, and with Malefor... it's bringing back some pretty bad memories."

Spyro completely understood, and without wasting anymore time, he quickly ran over to the gem room to heal up. Malefor rolled back over and stood back on his paws. He stretched out his body, and called out this being Spyro's fault, "I blame all this on Spyro. I wanted to sleep, and he came into my room at blade point, telling me that we had unfinished business."

Carith purred happily as she teased Malefor, "The only unfinished business we have is in our bedroom."

Cynder blushed hard and acted like she didn't hear. Malefor blushed just as hard as Cynder, and whispered with embarrassment, "Um, what type of unfinished business... you mean kissing... or..."

Carith blushed hard as she realised what she was implying, so she quickly tried to explain herself, "That's not what I meant! I meant us kissing in our bedroom! I didn't mean that, me and you, and you know. I was scared from the thought and sight of you dying, and was scared! I'm sorry... but I swear, I wasn't talking about, you know, me and you, and... hatchlings."

"You two are going to have Hatchlings!" Spyro asked, as he came back from the gem room, healed and clean.

"No!" Malefor and Carith cried in unison.

The two looked at one another, embarrassed, they looked away from one another. Spyro stood next to Malefor and whispered softly, "But I thought you wanted to have Hatchlings with Carith. What ever happened to that?"

"Spyro, you know I can't tell her that. Would you be able to tell Cynder something like that?" Malefor whispered sadly, earning a quick nod from Spyro, as he knew there was no way he would be able to tell Cynder something like that. "I mean, after everything we've been through, it would make me the happiest dragon alive... but, I just don't know. I wish I knew how Carith felt about this situation."

"Ask here," Spyro suggested.

"Sure. Let me go up and ask her how she feels about us having Hatchlings," Malefor murmured, as Spyro chuckled, he knew it wasn't the greatest idea, but he wanted to see if Malefor had the guts to do something like that.

Spyro walked away from Malefor and walked over to Cynder's side. Once he was next to here, he watched as the two slowly pulled up their head, and looked at one another with blushes. Spyro decided to try and change the way the two felt about the situation by changing it, "So, Do you two want to be cleaned off, or are you two going to walk around Warfang with blood almost all over your bodies?"

The two looked at Spyro and nodded. Spyro smiled, and shot water at their bodies, dowsing the blood down and off their bodies. The two shivered off the water once Spyro was done, and the two smiled happily to see all the blood was now gone.

"Thank you, Spyro. I swear I didn't mean to cause you any harm," Malefor apologized, and thanked, kindly.

Spyro waved a paw and joked, "Don't worry, I knew you were going to break your promise. Just make sure, the only harm you are causing is to me, and not towards Cynder. Then, we might have a problem or two."

Malefor chuckled happily and nodded. After chuckling at Spyro's words, the two looked at one another once again, but they still were blushing from Spyro's words from before. Looking over at Spyro, Malefor looked for guidance on the situation. Waving his paws forward, Spyro suggested that he just try and get the situation over with. Malefor sighed, and looking back at Carith, he whispered, "Carith, let's put the thoughts behind us. We don't want them to get in the way of our love. After all, it's been a pretty good minute, and we've only kissed each other once for this whole day. So, what do you say?"

Carith tried to ignore her blush and thoughts by listening to her lover's words. Shaking her head slightly, she smiled at Malefor, and agreed happily, "Of course. What do you say we make it final with a kiss?"

Malefor smiled happily, and as he moved his head closer, so did Carith. The two pushed into a loving kiss, but even during the kiss, the two still couldn't help but think about the hatchling situation. Spyro shrugged his shoulders, and turning his head, he put a paw up to Cynder's cheek. Cynder turned to Spyro, and the two quickly kissed one another lovingly on the lips. Pulling away from their kiss, Malefor and Carith waited for Spyro and Cynder to finish with their kiss. As the two pulled away, Spyro looked up at the two, and joked, "Creepers."

Malefor chuckled, while Cynder and Carith giggled. Trying to get his mind off of things, Malefor asked, "Hay, Spyro. You think if we hurry down to the Guardians Chambers, we could pull a prank on them? There is no way they could be awake after yesterday!"

Spyro rolled his eyes, and agreed, "Why not. But I'm making the plan. If I see Cynder frown from another one of your plans, I really will kill you next time."

"Noted, now come on! Let's hurry down there before the Guardians wake up!" Malefor cried, running over to the training room door, waiting for Spyro, who quickly ran over and followed behind.

Cynder and Carith watched as Spyro and Malefor ran out of the training room door and over to the main door. Looking at Carith, Cynder asked, "You think the main door will open for them in time?"

A loud bang was heard from the hallway, along with a couple of cries, "Ow!"

"Guess not," Cynder said to herself.

Wondering why Carith wasn't talking, Cynder asked, "Is this about the hatchling thing?"

"What was I supposed to say?! 'Let's kiss to make it final'! Ugh, I'm so stupid. Does that mean me and Malefor will never have Hatchlings! Does that mean we will never be a complete family! Why would I say something like that?!" Carith cried, feeling as if she made a terrible mistake in her relationship with her lover, "I mean, Malefor was so happy about everything! He's even so excited, as if he succeeded in something... us not being able to have Hatchlings!"

* * *

Cutting the corner of the hallway, Spyro looked behind himself, wondering where Malefor could be. Running back, he found him looking to the ground with a frown. Confused, Spyro asked, "What's going on? What happened to all of that enthusiasm from before?"

Malefor sighed sadly, and admitted, "That enthusiasm was just so I can get out of there before I made another mistake."

"Mistake? What mistake did you make?" Spyro asked.

"I agreed that we would never talk about having Hatchlings ever again! Do you believe that was the right decision?! Do you think I just ruined my relationship with Carith?! Does this mean we will never be a complete family?! She now probably feels terrible, because she thinks that I was happy because we agreed to never speak of the whole hatching thing ever again," Malefor cried, as he continued to walk and talk with Spyro. "What would do if you said this to Cynder?"

* * *

"What would you do if you said this to Spyro?" Carith asked, hoping that since Cynder was a female as well, she would be able to help in some way.

* * *

Spyro sighed at Malefor's words, and grumbled, "I'm going to slap you."

* * *

"I'm going to help you," Cynder said happily.

* * *

"What? Why?" Malefor asked, blocking the side of his face with his wing.

* * *

"What? Why?" Carith asked, thinking Cynder would've just said no, because it involved her and Spyro's relationship deeply.

"Well, I was kind of in a same situation before. And to make matters worse, it was back before me and Spyro even found it we loved each other. Sparks was going on about how we should have a family together, which he was obviously talking about us having Hatchlings. We were embarrassed, and after a, talk, with Sparks, me and Spyro forgot it over time. Maybe you should forget about it," Cynder suggested, hoping her words were more helpful then she was hoping them to be.

"Wait, so, did you two forget about it, because you don't care about having a family together, or did one of you just forget, because you don't want to have a family together? Because it sounds like you two could've easily said you didn't want a family, but instead, you... you never brought it up! That's it!" Carith cried happily with wide eyes, seeing Cynder nod her head made her smile even more, "You and Spyro were avoiding the conversation, not because you didn't want to have a family, but because you wanted to wait for the right time to tell that to one another!"

Cynder nodded once again at Carith's words, and continued, "You're pretty smart, I have to give that to you. But, if you want to, you could talk about it, or, you don't have to bring it up. But I would prefer if you do bring up the whole, let's kiss to make it final, deal. After that, just try to think of something else. I will make sure to get Spyro back for you, since he embarrassed you so badly."

Carith nodded happily, and with a smile.

"Thank you, Cynder. To be honest, I'm glad I was embarrassed. I thought Spyro killed Malefor, and I guess the feeling of embarrassment quickly got rid of my fears and sadness... Actually, forget about what Spyro did. He might have embarrassed me, but, I feel like me and Malefor talking about Hatchlings will actually... make me... quite happy," Carith admitted with a smile, and big blush to go along with it.

Cynder gasped, and asked in a whisper, as if Malefor was going to be there to hear, "Your... your not actually thinking about having Hatchlings with Malefor at some point... are you?"

Carith's blush only got bigger, as she looked away from Cynder, unable to tell her the truth. She sighed, and as she turned back to face Cynder, she begged, "Do you promise to never tell anyone about this, especially not my lover? And not even Spyro! Do you swear?!"

"Of Course! I Swear! I promise! Now, Do you?!" Cynder quickly promised, as she wanted to know the truth.

Carith sighed, and with a face as red as a fire dragon from her blush, she whispered, "Yes."

Cynder squealed happily, jumping in circles with excitement, glad to hear that Carith was making the right decision. Carith was confused, as she watched Cynder's joy, she wondered, _Why is Cynder so happy about me wanting to have Hatchlings with Malefor?_ Once Cynder stopped jumping about with joy, she looked at Carith, and asked, "Well, when are you going to tell him?"

"Cynder, calm down. Me and Malefor haven't even gotten married yet. I still have to think about marriage, then the whole hatching thing. And plus, both test one's love for another very strongly. I mean, marriage is forever. Hatchlings are forever. And I want to spend forever with my love. So, I want our bond to grow even stronger before I tell him," Carith explained, watching as Cynder breathed in through her nose, and out through her mouth, "But I wonder, Why are you so interested in my love life with Malefor?"

Cynder sighed happily with a smile and a blush as she answered, "Well, This actually has to be because of Spyro. Me and you have the same thoughts about love. The marriage, the Hatchlings... I just like knowing that someone else is going through the same thing. And I believe, we can both succeed. I'm excited to know that... We can have the life we what with our lover's... And now that their is another female, It's good to have some back up on the guys out numbering us."

Carith giggled, and joked, "Well, I wouldn't consider Volteer a guy."

Cynder hissed through her teeth with a smile, and joked, "That's cold. Like, Cyril cold."

Carith giggled at Cynder's words and continued, "But I do feel like having another female to talk to would be nice... I'm not saying you're bad company! Ancestor No! I'm just saying... wouldn't it be funny to see if one of the Guardians could get someone. I feel like the only one who has a chance is Terrador."

"Terrador?" Cynder asked, "Why not Ignitus?"

"Well, Ignitus is basically a book dragon right now. It's always going to be work with him, so he doesn't really have the time. Cyril isn't exactly a ladies man. I mean, I've never really seen him try to hit on a girl before, but I know he would fail. And Volteer... He's as clumsy as he is smart. But Terrador, always ready to take charge, fearless, confident. I feel like a dragoness would be lucky to have him," Carith explained, remembering how the Guardians acted from before to other females.

"Oh, I'm so going to tell Malefor that you were talking about Terrador, and how fearless and confident he is," Cynder joked, running towards the door of the training room.

"Cynder!" Carith growled with a smile, as she ran over to the door to catch up to Cynder, "You know what I was trying to say! Don't you dare tell Malefor I said those things about Terrador!"

* * *

"So quit your whining, man up, and tell her the truth. Tell her that you want to forget about forgetting about Hatchlings. Because if your this mopey now, it can't even think how bad it will get later in the future. I'm only helping because I know how this situation feels, and if you turn out of anger again, I seriously will hurt you," Spyro explained clearly to Malefor, as he knew how he felt.

Malefor nodded at Spyro's words, and while still rubbing the side of his cheek with his paw, he agreed, "Well, since you weren't super serious with your slap, then I sure as Hell don't want to make you super serious with your punch. Freaking hurts. What part of slapping me was supposed to help me?"

"It wasn't supposed to help you, it supposed to help me," Spyro joked with a smile.

Malefor smiled back as he rolled his eyes. While the two continued to walk, Malefor was surprised that they still haven't made it to the Guardians Chambers. Looking away from Spyro and all around the area, he thought, _Have we been walking in circles?_ Unsure of his answer, he turned and asked Spyro, "Hay, Spyro, have we been walking in circles, or, is the Guardians Chambers on the other side of the world?"

"Well... Look at that, instead of me explaining it, I can show you," Spyro responded, stopping in front of the stairs to his house, "We have been walking in circles. Unlike the place from before, it's not rectangular on the inside, it's only rectangular on the outside. I'm guessing they made it go in a circle to make more rooms?"

Malefor scratched the back of his head, and asked with a confused look, "Wait, if it goes in a circle, then, how are the Guardians looking out of a window in their Chamber Room? I mean, unless they changed it."

"You don't remember the stairs that led underneath their actual place? There was another door down their, but from I remember, I think it is one of those secret passageways that Sparks talked about before. They were just in case Warfang ever got attacked," Spyro explained with a smile, thinking about how smart he sounded, "But now that you're done being all mopey, would you like to finally go meet the Guardians?"

"Yeah, I guess. But we're still going to play a prank on them," Malefor agreed, and while walking with Spyro to the Guardians Chambers, he decided to make some small talk, "So, what do you think the girls are talking about?"

"What do you mean?" Spyro asked.

"Well, I mean, I just wonder if Carith could be talking about me. It has been a while since we have really talked, and I wonder if she thinks about me as much as I think of her."

"Sounds like me with Cynder. I'm always thinking about how perfect she is."

"Carith's way better."

"Why, because she hasn't back pawed you before?"

Malefor chuckled and agreed, "Yeah, that too."

"Well, Carith wasn't talking about you, but she was talking about Terrador," A voice called from behind Spyro and Malefor, causing the two to stop and look behind themselves to see who it was.

Cynder waved her paw with a smile at the two. The two smiled back, and looked over to see Carith looking away from Cynder with a small blush and a grumpy face. Carith snarled, looked over to Cynder, and growled, "I thought you said you wouldn't tell him."

"What did Carith say about Terrador?" Malefor asked.

Cynder giggled, watching as Carith's face turned even more red. She nudged Carith on the side of her arm, giving her a hint to talk to Malefor. Carith didn't want to say anything, but Cynder moved her head over just a little, and raised a paw to cover the side of her mouth so Malefor and Spyro couldn't hear, "Carith, this is your chance. I can take Spyro with me while you talk to him. Come on, this is probably your best chance."

Carith sighed, but she had to take the only chance she really thought she would get. She knew she could tell him once they were in their room together, but she had to get this feeling off her shoulder. Cynder walked over to Spyro, and as she passed him, he turned around to see a small smirk. Cynder smoothly let her tail blade move up his neck and off his chin, and whispered, "Will you join me?"

Spyro shivered happily, and with a smile, he ran up to Cynder's side. Draping his wing over her body, he admitted with a smile, "I'm going to be honest, I love how romantic you're being. I knew I loved the right dragoness."

Cynder giggled happily, and with a smile and a nuzzle to the side of his cheek, "It's all thanks to you that I get to be this romantic, this happy. Thank you, Spyro."

Malefor and Carith stood their, somewhat embarrassed, knowing that they would have to bring up what they said. _I need to take on the fear so Carith doesn't have to... Ancestors, I'm so going to hit Spyro for putting me in this situation,_ He thought, taking a deep breath in, and then out. Walking to his lovers side, Malefor draped his wing over Carith's back, and with a blush, he whispered, "Carith, you... you remember the, Hatchling, thing?"

Carith blushed, and knew if she were to spoke, she would probably make it even more embarrassing. So instead, she stayed quite, and nodded at Malefor's words. Malefor felt bad that Carith wasn't even looking at him, so, he put his paw on the far side of Carith's cheek, and whispered, "Carith..."

Carith slowly looked at Malefor with a small smile. Malefor smiled back, and was straightforward with his lover, "Let's forget that we ever had that talk. Let's forget about forgetting about... Hatchlings. Let's just go back to how things were. Being embarrassed all this time, it's kept me away from you, and that's not why I fought the darkness. I fought it so me and you could live our lives together again, happily, and in love."

Carith let a bigger smile appear, as listing to her lover's words let a small tear form in in eyes. Once the tear fell down her face, Malefor pulled his paw away from Carith's cheek, and wiped the tear off her face with his claw. Putting his paw back to the ground, he whispered happily, "The future is there for us, and we will be there for one another through it all."

Carith nodded happily, and finally whispered, grabbing her courage to say something, "Thank you, Malefor."

Malefor smiled happily that he got through to his lover. Nuzzling his lover, Carith nuzzled back, and the two smiled happily, glad everything turned out okay. As Malefor pulled away, he suggested, "Now, what do you say we go back to those two? Spyro probably about the prank the Guardians good, and it would be great to see it."

Carith nodded happily, and agreed, "I would love to. Just as long as my love will escort me there."

Malefor nodded happily with a smile, and asked, "You want to see what Spyro is going to do to the Guardians just as bad as I do, don't you?"

Carith giggled, and admitted, "Yeah."

Malefor chuckled at his lovers words, and the two walked with one another towards the Guardians Chambers.

Cutting the corner to the Guardians chamber, Malefor was surprised to see that Spyro was sitting next to his lover, wing draped over her while she sat next to him. Malefor sat next to the two with his lover, and said both surprised, and disappointed, "You disappoint me Spyro. I thought you and me were going to pull a prank on the Guardians. You have a change in heart?"

Spyro looked at Malefor with a smile, taking his wing off of Cynder, he walked over to the door, and as he looked away from him, he chuckled, "Of course not. I just needed to wait until you two got here to enjoy the show..."

Breathing fire from a crack underneath the door, he walked back over to the three, and sat back down. Waiting a couple of seconds, and nothing had happened, Malefor asked, "So... Where you planning on making something happen, or...?"

"Calm yourself, dear Malefor, as the party hasn't started just yet, for as you can see, the water that is now on the floor is no ordinary water: it is melted ice. And judging from the giant boulder I put up there..."

"Boulder?" Malefor asked.

"Giant boulder?!" Carith asked.

"The boulder should be dropping in about..."

A loud bang erupted from the door, cutting off Spyro mid sentence. Malefor looked at him with wide eyes, wondering what he did. Screams and cries could be heard from behind the door. Fire, and lightning lit the bottom of the door, as more and more explosions came from the door. Spyro chuckled with a smile to see that his plan had worked perfectly, and just how he intended. Another loud explosion erupted from the door, and fire exploded out of the bottom of the door.

"Like a bolder with fire," Spyro said to himself, earning a small grin from Malefor

"Your pretty cold. Why would you do such a thing that I'm going to totally high five you for," Malefor asked with an even bigger grin, knowing this was something he would so pull on the Guardians.

"Well, I was never really able to pay the Guardians back for what they pulled, back when they separated me from Cynder. And, since I heard that you two went through the same thing, I decided I would get some revenge for you as well," Spyro explained with a smile.

"That's cold, or, hot, I think. But are you sure they are okay?" Malefor asked, hearing another explosion go off in the room.

Spyro waved a paw and assured him, "Of course they are... I hope. But I'm sure they are having a blast. Probably even more of a blast then those explosions... like that one. And if I'm sure of it, the Guardians would be coming out of the door right about..."

Spyro paused, and everyone looked to the door to see the door swung open, revealing the four Guardians who were toppled on one another. Dirt and dust was smeared all over the Guardians bodies, as even the room had looked the same. Volteer coughed softly, and asked, "Is it... over?"

The Guardians got of one other and stood to their paws. Shaking off their bodies of the dirt, they looked all over their bodies, wondering how they were going to get all of the dirt off. Looking at the four, Terrador growled, "Who did this?"

Spyro backed up, cleared his throat, and pointed towards Malefor. Raising a paw up, The Guardians formed their respective elements in their paws. A boulder on Terrador's, A ball of lightning on Volteer's, A ball of fire on Ignitus's, and a ball of ice on Cyril's. They all looked at Malefor with anger, ready to get their revenge.

"Wait, wait, wait! You guys honestly believe that one of my plans would work?! This was all Spyro's idea!" Malefor cried, quickly hiding behind Carith, and pointing a claw over to Spyro.

The Guardians all sighed as they looked at Spyro, knowing there was nothing they could do against him. Defusing their elements and putting their paws to the ground, Malefor walked back, and sat down next to his lover. The Guardians still didn't know how they were going to clean all the dirt off in a short amount of time.

"Alright, fine, you got us. But how are we supposed to clean up before everyone else wakes up? If we walk around like this, we would be a laughing stock," Terrador asked, seeing a small smile form across Spyro's face.

"Ah, yes, I planned for that to. I made sure that you would need my help. So, I'm going to use my water ability to clean you all of. The reason I was hoping you would ask, is because I will give you all no mercy. You ever felt thousands of pounds of water hitting in the face...? My special little hydro pump of water will show you what it's like," Spyro explained, opening his mouth with water forming inside of it, "

"Wait! That won't be necessary!" Ignitus quickly interjected.

Spyro closed his mouth, swallowed all the water, and asked, "What do you mean? How else are you going to get clean. If you run out to the ocean now, I'm sure you'll be seen by more then half the citizens."

Ignitus pulled his paw up, and snapped his fingers. A white ring appeared around each one of the Guardians bodies. As it raised up over their bodies, it completely cleaned them of all the dirt and dust. Turning around, Ignitus snapped his fingers at the room, causing another ring to appear around the entire room. While the ring moved up to clean the entire place, Ignitus shut the door, and turning back to face everyone, he accidentally released a secret, "I'm just lucky I found out about this power, because trying to find a girlfriend with a dirty body isn't the most romantic thing in the world."

"What!" Everyone asked in unison.

Ignitus chuckled, while scratching the back of his head, he said, "Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you all."

"How do you forget to tell us something so important?!" Terrador asked.

"I was tired," Ignitus lied.

"Bull, you said the Chronicler doesn't need sleep," Spyro caught Ignitus in his lie.

"Okay, fine. I'm not exactly supposed to tell you all exactly how it happened, but let's just say: I was given the opportunity to find someone I love. And plus, I was kinda a little tired. When you can't sleep, you really forget how great it feels to sleep, especially since my mind is always working non-stop," Ignitus admitted, wishing he could enjoy sleep the same way he used to.

"Bam. Next experiment, figure out how to actually sleep," Volteer suggested.

"I will make sure to keep that in mind," Ignitus somewhat thanked, as even he started to think that he would look into that.

"So come on! When are we going to go and find you a girlfriend?! If you think about it, me, Carith, and the rest of the Guardians have been waiting for this for more then ten years! If you want to, you could start now, or you could start a minute from now... which ever works," Malefor quickly decided what Ignitus should do, walking in front of the four Guardians, going on about today's plans for Ignitus.

"Malefor, calm down, I'm going to go and find that special someone. I'm going to be doing a patrol of the city to make sure everyone is okay, and then I will start. After all, the city did take a pretty big hit," Ignitus explained, hoping that he was right about no casualties.

"The only big hit that needs to be happening is you and a girl," Malefor suggested, making a blush form on Ignitus's face from his words, "That's not what I meant, you'd never make it that far. Oh...! I'm so sorry, I apologize, But what I mean is: You getting to first base, then second, and third. After that, it's all the way home."

Volteer leaned over to Terrador, and asked in a whisper and with a smile, "What do you think third base is? Or, better yet, What do you think he means by: all the way home?"

Terrador elbowed Volteer in the gut, knowing what he was talking about. Volteer grunted, putting his paws on his gut, he fell to the floor. Volteer chuckled at Terrador, and grumbled, "I bet I'm not the first guy you've hit on."

Terrador growled at him, and put his paw on Volteer's shoulder. Pushing down on his shoulder, he growled softly at the pain, as it felt like his bone was about to pop backwards. Looking down at him, Terrador joked, "No, but you are the first guy I've steeped on... And I'm going to keep steeping if you keep trying."

"Okay, Okay, holy Hell," Volteer cried, sighing hugely as Terrador pulled his paw off of him, and allowing him to get up.

Brushing himself off, Volteer looked at Terrador, and opened his mouth to joke, but Terrador wasn't having any of it, "You do realize I liked a girl once, right? I was just about to tell her I liked her during a conversation, but she told me to hold on and brought over her boyfriend."

Volteer gasped, and whispered, "That's right. Terrador, I'm sorry."

"It's the only reason I've never tried to go for another lover. Maybe just being a single guy is what I'm meant to be," Terrador said sadly, but he didn't let it get to him, as he has been happy even without a girlfriend.

"Hay, Malefor, you think Terrador should get a girlfriend too?!" Volteer cried over, interrupting the conversation Malefor and Ignitus were having.

"Terrador is way more hopeless then Ignitus. And with that being said, the other two of you, good luck, because it's going to take a lot to convince a girl that she is getting something good out of liking one of you," Malefor said, remembering back to the girl Terrador was with before, "Wait, did you bring up this conversation because of that one girl Terrador was with."

"Yeah. Do you know what happened to her?" Volteer asked.

Malefor scratched the back of his head, scared to tell the truth, but he knew it would be brought up sooner or later, "She dead."

"What?!" The Guardians asked in unison.

"Well, I remembered how hurt you were, and me and the dark master did fight for control over the body from time to time. When I remembered that one dragoness, the dark master decided to get back at her and see how strong her lover was... They died pretty quick. It wasn't my idea, and, I'm sorry if this hurts you in anyway. I swear I wasn't in control," Malefor explained, remembering how easy it was for the dark master to take out the couple.

"But, I thought the dark master didn't care for the Guardians. What happened then?" Cyril asked.

Looking over to Cyril, he explained, "He didn't care about you all, I did. When I remembered about the couple, the dark master took it upon himself to just kill them. That's not how I wanted it to happen, but in doing what he did, he blocked me out more of being in control of my body. The dark master also just wanted another reason to kill."

After explaining to Cyril, he looked back over to Terrador, and apologized, "I'm sorry if killing her was difficult for you."

Terrador shrugged his shoulders, and honestly didn't really care, "It's all good. She was nice and all, but she was no where near as nice as I thought. Apparently she was abusive to her lover, so maybe when you came along, he quickly wanted to get out of that nightmare of a relationship."

"You should choose better next time," Spyro interrupted the talk, causing everyone to look at him, "Maybe you should choose someone like Cynder. You know: Beautiful, a good kisser..."

"I can show you how good of a kisser I am right now," Cynder flirted with a smile.

Spyro shivered happily, and whispered warmly back, "I wouldn't mind that at all."

The two stared at one another's eyes happily, glad to be accompanied by the other. Carith frowned, seeing Spyro and Cynder have a romantic moment. Clearing her throat, and then sighing sadly, she got Malefor's attention. Putting a claw up and running over to Carith, Malefor said, "One second."

Sitting down next to his lover's side, he draped his wing over her, and asked, "What's wrong my love?"

Carith sighed once again, and whispered sadly to try and guilt trip her lover, "It's just, Spyro and Cynder have had so many romantic moments since they fell in love, and I just wish that me and my lover had the same. Maybe I need a new..."

Cutting her off mid sentence, everyone watched with wide eyes, as Malefor wrapped Carith up in his wings, spun her in front of him, and pushed his lips against hers. Everyone blushed, but Carith, with the little amount of strength she had left, as the kiss made her feel like she was about to pass out, she pushed into the kiss. Getting even more of the pleasure filled feeling, Malefor pulled away, and spinning her back around, she sat there, completely under his kiss spell.

"Alright, lets do this!" Malefor excitedly said, feeling as if that kiss gave him even more energy.

Cynder looked at Spyro with a raised brow. He chuckled, knowing exactly why she was doing what she was doing, and whispered with a warm smile, "His might have looked great... but my kiss for you will feel so much better. Trust me, I will make sure you can't even feel your legs after this one."

Cynder shivered happily, and whispered, "You better not be lying to me."

"Have I ever?" Spyro asked.

"Fair enough," Cynder whispered.

Running up and putting his paw on Ignitus's shoulder, Malefor couldn't contain his excitement, "Come on man! You're never going to get to first base if you never try and swing the romance you have towards a girl. Here, here, I have the best pick up line... Mum, Alright, here's one: Hay baby, me and you are like the sun, because we both have bright futures together. Or, or: Hay baby, you feel the heat, oh wait, that's from my smoken hot red body! Aw yeah!"

Everyone reacted different, some putting there paws on there faces while others just shuck their heads in shame of how Malefor would ever talk to a lady. Cynder looked at Carith, and asked, "Was Malefor always like this? I thought he was more of a man?"

Carith giggled a little, and admitted, "He sometimes gets like this when he is excited. I just go with it because it's funny to watch. It's just another reason I love him so much, he's always so random a goofy."

Cynder and Carith smiled at one other, somewhat giggling from her words. Ignitus shuck his head in shame, "Yeah, I'm not using any of those lines. I'm just going to take it slow and find the right dragoness. It might not happen the first day, or even the second, but, we just have to hope."

"Where is hoping going to get you? Hope isn't helping you walk out there! Hope is making you sit here and mope about everything. Just remember what I said about that sun though, girls will dig a man who is confident," Malefor explained with a big smile, finally convincing Ignitus that he should just go for it.

"Alright, Alright, I will go for it," Ignitus agreed, earning smiles and joyful cheers from everyone, "You all are to much."

Taking a deep breath in, and then out, Ignitus walked over to the Chamber entrance, and joked, "I definitely need to get out of here before you infect me with your stupidity, Malefor... Well, wish me luck!"

Walking out of the Guardians Chambers, Ignitus finally walked the journey of finding himself a girlfriend. Just seconds before leaving, almost everyone started to talk about everything bad that was going to happen.

"When do you think he will find someone?" Volteer asked.

"Well, if he uses Malefor's advice, probably never," Cyril joked.

"My advice was perfect!" Malefor defended himself, walking back over to Carith, and sitting down next to her.

"Yeah, perfect in the sense if you want to get slapped in the face," Terrador agreed with Cyril.

"I didn't even use those words before, and I still got slapped in the face, Loud cough sound, Cynder!" Malefor grumbled, draping his wing over Carith, and looking at Cynder with a glare.

"Are you looking at my lover with a glare? Do you really want to do that?" Spyro asked, stepping in front, and blocking Cynder off with his wings, "Malefor, you should back down. I would hate to have to whip you for what you've done."

"For a simple glare?" Malefor asked.

"No, for a simple breathe that you breath," Spyro joked with a small smirk.

Looking at Carith, Malefor asked, "Do you see what I have to put up with?"

"Well, what I didn't see was you by my side when I woke up, 'mister: I will never leave your side ever again," Carith joked with a giggle, seeing Malefor look at her with wide eyes.

"After the kiss I gave you... I guess I shouldn't ever give you..."

"No, wait! I take it back! I take it back," Carith quickly cried, snuggling up to Malefor, hoping that she would get another one of those kisses from him one day.

Everyone laughed at her reaction, causing her to laugh as well.

"Yeah, haha, congratulations, you woke me up," Sparks grumbled, flying into the room with a big yawn, and landing on Spyro's head.

"How?" Malefor asked.

"Oh Ancestor, It's Malefor! Oh wait, never mind, I did that yesterday. Well, after what ever you idiots were doing down here, I think you woke up every one in the entire building. And speaking of the dragons in the building, what's up with Mr big red?" Sparks asked, remember that Ignitus was running down the hall way for someone reason.

"Who?" Volteer asked.

"The only big red guy we know mister smarty horns," Sparks grumbled, rubbing his eyes, and placing them back down.

"He is off to find himself a girlfriend," Spyro explained.

"Oh no, not big red. Oh, I feel so bad for the guy. So, I know everyone else is thinking it, but by a show of hands, or paws, who believes Ignitus isn't going to find himself a girlfriend at all this month?" Sparks asked, raising his hand, and joining along was the other three Guardians, as well as Malefor, and Carith.

"Spyro, Cynder, what about you two?" Cyril asked.

"Come on guys, we all know he is perfect. He is the greatest dad I could ever ask for. I believe he is going to get a girlfriend today. After all, he is probably pretty good with the ladies," Spyro defended Ignitus, feeling bad that everyone, except Cynder, were against his father.

"Yeah, but there are so many crazy girls out there who would love to date the Guardians. Plus, there are the crazy ones like Cynder: So deadly, so vicious," Sparks said, earning a glare from Cynder, and seeing her raise her tail blade, her corrected himself, "Okay, more like Malefor, just girl form."

"Well, it's been a bit, you think he's had any luck finding anyone?" Terrador asked.

Everyone looked at one another wondering what could be happening with Ignitus.

* * *

Standing on the grounds of Warfang, Ignitus could already feel the stress of being on the streets. Hearing whispers about how handsome he looked, or even how muscular he looked. Walking around Warfang, he tried not to let the girls get to him, but he knew he had to talk to one of them. _If I go back without a some sort of dragoness, I will be picked on so much. But who, who is the dragoness for me? The Ancestors said I could have a dragoness, but who is the right one,_ Ignitus thought, breaking from his thoughts, as this time, he heard what sounded like a more confused dragoness.

"Excuse me?" A dragoness asked.

Ignitus already started to sweat, wondering what he should do, as he heard the dragoness all around the area whispering to there friends about what was happening. Turning around, Ignitus saw a beautiful icy blue dragoness with a shiny white cool chest and underbelly. Same for her wings, and eyes, they were a beautiful icy blue that shined perfectly in the sun shine. She had four horns: Two on the top, one on each side, and two smaller ones on the back of her head, and icy blue fins that went down the back of her neck and back all the way to her tail. Her wing flaps were the same color as her chest and underbelly, and her tail blade was near similar to Ignitus's. Swallowing hard from her appearance, he thought, _Wow, she's beautiful... No, don't get distracted. Ask what she wants, help, and move on._

"Do you need help with something?" He asked.

"Well, I was actually wondering if you knew where I could find the Guardians? I'm new in town, and I would love to be shown around the place. I would ask someone else, but I'm kinda shy, and you seemed like the right Dragon to talk to," She explained with a hopeful smile.

Ignitus chuckled a little, "Well, you found one. I'm actually the fire Guardian. My name is Ignitus. What is yours?"

With a smile, she answered with a smile, "My name is Winter."

"Winter? Well, if you don't mind me saying, that's a beautiful name for a beautiful dragoness," Ignitus admitted with a blush, hoping he didn't offend her in any way with his words.

She blushed at him, and thanked kindly, "Thank you."

"You are very welcome. So, what do you want to take a tour of around Warfang? The most I know of is houses, library's, and about as much as you can think of. In Warfang, we have it all," Ignitus asked, completely forgetting about what he was supposed to be doing so he could help Winter.

"Well, to be honest, I was wondering if you could show me around that tall building up there," Winter replied, pointing a claw up towards the building that he already knew so well, as he lived in it.

"But of course," Ignitus agreed, "But I do wonder, if you would like to learn more about Warfang, would you like to take the long way? Or would you like to just fly up there? Either way is fine for me, as you are the guest, and I will obey."

Waving a paw with a smile, she thanked, "Thank you for understanding. If I had to choose, I guess we can go the long way, seems how you are right about me wanting to know more about Warfang. After all, I don't want to ruin the best part by simply flying up to it."

Ignitus chuckled with a smile, "Agreed. Well then, shall we."

Nodding her head, the two walked side by side through Warfang, looking at all the buildings. _Just remember your mission. Hopefully that building up there will have what I'm looking for: The Guardians sleeping Chambers,_ Breaking from her thoughts, she decided to join in on some conversation to not look so suspicious, "So, Ignitus, have you ever really walked around Warfang before."

"From time to time. Mainly it's the other Guardians that do so as I am mainly a book dragon kind of guy. I always have work to be doing, but luckily, I was able to escape my work to come out here today," Ignitus explained, glad he was able to come out for once.

"Why did you decide to come out here on your day off? Normally, if you haven't had a day off in a while, dragon's would just stay in their beds at home. So what is your reason?" Winter asked, glad to see the conversation was going well, as she hoped her cover wouldn't be discovered.

Ignitus chuckled with a blush, and not wanting to admit it he was looking for a dragoness, he lied, "Well, to be honest, I love getting out and breathing in the morning air. I would train a little in a training room we have, or I would just talk to the other Guardians. But today, I felt like coming out to also make sure the citizens were okay after the attack."

"Oh, I hope I didn't interrupt your day off."

"No, no, no, of course not. I'm always here to help others, that is what we Guardians do. Especially after what happened in the Dragon Temple, we do everything in our power to make sure nothing like that will ever happen again... It's just also good that we have the strongest purple dragon in the world on our team. I don't know if you know him, but his name is Spyro."

 _Spyro! I have to keep digging for information!_ Winter thought to herself, continuing the conversation, "Spyro? I think I've heard of him before. I think his lovers name was Cynder. And this is wrong for me to ask but, where do they live? I would love to meet the one who saved the planet."

"Well, I'm sure you can meet him once we get to the Guardians Chambers in the building. If we are lucky, we will be able to catch him, but I doubt it. He will probably be back up in his house with his lover. After what happened two days ago, those two have gained the strongest bond of love I've ever seen!"

"Sure sounds like he is powerful. What about you, how strong are you?"

"Well, I guess as every one else described it, I'm second down from Spyro. My son is pretty strong, and I'm so happy that he was able to find someone who loves him just as much as she does. I hope that those two will live happy lives."

 _He had a son? Why am I even thinking about this? Okay, so, going back, if Spyro is the strongest, then maybe if I take him out, I will be able to take the rest out. Even if kill himwith those other Guardians around, or even Cynder, my death will be a small price to pay. Spyro dies, Cynder goes crazy from his death, and then we can finally get revenge for what Malefor did! To Me, And my Lover!_ Winter growled, letting somewhat of a growl escape her teeth that she had tried to keep shut.

"Are you okay?" Ignitus asked.

Winter realised her mistake, and quickly tried to make him think nothing of it, "Of course, of course. I was just thinking about something that happened from the past, but it's nothing to worry about. But, hey, enough about me, let's talk more about you."

"Okay, what do you want to know?"

Looking around to see that they were in a secluded place with not many dragons around. _Better yet, if he is such a big threat, I should take him out now, and find the Guardians Chambers later. Then, all that stands in my way is Spyro,_ Winter thought to herself, raising up her tail blade to her side, ready to stab him in the heart, she tried to make conversation, "How about when... when... what the..."

Looking up, a drop of water dropped into her eye, quickly causing her blink rapidly, and looks back to the ground. Winter started to shiver from the cold rain that hit her back, which made her shiver as she thought, _No, no not again... I can't... I can't do this, what was I thinking, i can't..._ Feeling a wing drape over on her, she looked at Ignitus to see him with a small smile, "Sorry. I saw that you were cold, and since it's starting to rain, I don't want you to get sick."

Winter shivered in fear once again, remembering the cold rain, the warmth of a red dragon's wing, it brought her back to a memory.

"No, I can't go back... I don't want to..." Winter cried, looking back down at the ground, dripping tears from her eyes which weren't visible because of the rain.

"Winter, are you okay? You seem scared," Ignitus asked, causing Winter to look up at him with fear, "It's okay, I will protect you. And... I'm sorry... for being this blunt but... If you really need to warm up, you could... put your side against mine for warmth. I can protect you from the rain."

 _No, I, I shouldn't. I have to remember what my mission is... to... kill... the Guardians. But... I can't, I can't kill him... I just, I just to get inside, I need to clear my mind... I can... I can do this,_ Winter motivated herself in her thoughts after fighting back and forth with herself. Putting her body up against Ignitus, she looked down with wide eyes, remembering the feeling of a warm wing, and a warm body, protecting her from the rain. _We have to get inside... We have to leave! Now!_ Looking through the rain, Winter could see a couple of dark forces poking out of the walls, ready to assist in the kill. Breathing faster and faster, Winter looked back up at Ignitus, and begged, "We need to get away from here, now!"

"Is everything..."

"Please! I made a horrible mistake! Please... not again... not again..." Winter interrupted Ignitus, putting her head into his shoulder from fear, not wanting to see what happens.

Ignitus looked into the distance to see the dark creatures, and understood why she was scared, so he whispered to her, "Winter, close your eyes, and trust me."

"No...I can't. Last time, my lover told me to closed my eyes, and when I opened them back up... The rain, your warmth, I can't... I can't..."

 _This is strange. Just a minute ago she seemed so calm and collective about everything. But know she's completely broken down, as if she's paralyzed with fear. Is there something more to her story?_ Ignitus thought to himself, seeing more dark creatures pop out from the buildings. _Great, with the clouds and the rain, it's to dark to see... I have to get her to trust me... or I could call Spyro... No... I need her to trust me,_ Ignitus thought, as he continued to try and work with Winter, "Winter, listen to my voice, trust me. I promise, with all of my heart, that we will be fine. Just close your eyes."

"But..."

"Winter... I will protect you, I promise," Ignitus whispered warmly.

Winter feared for what would happen next, so as she closed her eyes, she sat down, and wrapped her arms around his neck, scared to let go. Shivering from fear of what would happen next, she felt Ignitus move his wing off her. Quickly opening her eyes, moving her paws back to the ground and looking around, she breathed heavily, seeing they were now in a building. Looking at Ignitus, she hugged him, and cried, "Thank you... thank you... I don't care how you did it... it's... it's... thank you."

Pulling away from the hug, Winter tried to go back to remembering about whet she was really there for. _I... I still have to remember... remember my job. I... I still have to kill him either way..._ Winter thought, shiver at the memories, as well as letting a couple of tears fall out her eyes.

"Are you okay Winter?" Ignitus asked, feeling awful for what ever was going on with her, "It only rains out side, and the only time it rains inside, is when someone is hurt. You can tell me, it's okay, I promise. Just like before, trust me."

 _I can't do this... But I can't leave... I... what do... what do I do..._ Winter cried in her thoughts, feeling Ignitus's wing drape over her body. She looked at him, and seeing his smile made her feel even worse about what she had to do.

"Here, I will greet you to some friends, and family, and I'm sure you will forget all about everything that has happened, I promise," Ignitus suggested warmly as an invite.

"Oh... okay... Okay yeah," Winter agreed, knowing that this would be the chance to get close to all her targets at once.

Walking with Ignitus down the hallway, Winter was deep in her thoughts, still shaken up from what happened, as well as the memories of what she remembered before, _I can't believe I acted like that! Damn, what if I had blown my cover, what if... Ugh, I should've killed him, I should've... I... I should've... should I have killed him...? No... I couldn't... I... I shouldn't... But, I need to remember mission. I... I have to._ Cutting the corner from the entrance of the Guardians Chambers, Ignitus smiled to see everybody was still here. Everyone looked at him with wide eyes, seeing a dragoness under his wing. Malefor was the first to comment, "I knew my pick up lines would..."

Ignitus waved his paw near his neck, telling him to cut the conversation, as he knew Winter was already afraid of what happened, and making her even more embarrassed could cause her to leave out in the rain with the dark forces. Sitting down next to Terrador, Ignitus explained with a smile, "Everyone, I would like you to meet Winter. Make her feel at home you four, I need to have a talk with the Guardians about something real quick."

Winter shivered, seeing that she was now in the den of the enemy, and one wrong move could cause her death. Looking at who she would be talking to, she saw Spyro, Cynder, and a blue dragoness that she didn't know of. But beside the blue dragoness, was another purple dragon. _Malefor! He is still alive! After everything he has done to me, I should just kill him first!_ Winter growled, trying not to slip up and let the growl escape her teeth. Taking his wing off of Winter, Ignitus walked with the other Guardians to the back room, leaving her with the four.

"You know, he said I will leave you to the four, when I make five!" Sparks grumbled, feeling completely left out of everything now a days.

"Sparks calm down," Spyro said, walking up to Winter, and reaching a paw out, "If you don't know of me, my name is Spyro, and my lover over there is Cynder."

Winter looked at Cynder to see her nod with a smile. Looking at Spyro's paw, she decided to play nice for a while, just until she thought of the right point to strike. Raising her paw up, she shuck his paw, and greeted herself, "Nice to meet you. My name is Winter."

Pulling his paw back, as she did the same, Spyro was surprised by the name, "Winter. I'm not surprised. Seeming how Your bright blue scales say it all... Well Winter, From the looks of what Ignitus did, I'm assuming something bad happened. But don't fear, you are safe now... I promise."

Watching Spyro walk back and sit next to his lover, he draped a wing over Cynder, while Winter looked over at the other two, "Before I ask, who may I be talking to in blue as well?"

Carith giggled slightly, "My name is Carith."

Looking over at the other purple dragon, Winter snarled, but tried to be nice, "And, who is this other purple dragon. From dragon lore, there have only been two purple dragons in existence. So it's either you're new here, and grew up fast... or you're really Malefor."

Everyone got nervous, not wanting to answer that question, but bravely, Malefor stepped up, and tried to smile, "Okay, Okay, you got me. I am Malefor. But before you say anything else, no, I am not evil. I just lost my lover, Carith, and losing her made me go mad. Long, long, long story made short, like literally almost twenty years short, My lover was actually in a coma that no one knew about, since during the coma, we couldn't feel, hear, or see any life in her. Spyro saved her with his powers, and bam, I'm back to kiss central with my lover."

Everyone dropped a small drip of sweat, wondering if him telling the truth was the best idea, but he tried to make him seem more and more like he wasn't what she thought he was, "Alright , look, I know what you're thinking, and no. I had no control over my body when he attacked everyone..."

"And that's an excuse!" Winter growled, shivering everyone from the sudden out burst.

* * *

"Okay, so what did you need to talk to us about?" Cyril asked, sitting down with the rest of the Guardians in front of Ignitus.

"When I was walking with Winter, we were having a conversation about everything in Warfang. But as it started to rain, she started Shaking in fear, and I wondered why. As I looked into the rain, I saw dark forces," Ignitus explained, earning a gasp from the three, "Dark forces can only mean one thing: Something has dark powers, and from what I think, something in Warfang."

"But that can't be, Malefor was completely stripped of his dark powers. There is no way he could still be the cause, or even the source," Terrador explained, scared to know who it could be or even where the dark forces are.

"I never said it was Malefor. What I'm saying is, we need to stay vigilant. The dark forces weren't after me, after all, light and darkness aren't allowed to attack one another. Once I can tell you all the full story, I will, but it seemed like they were after Winter. Of course she was the only one they could go after, but what confuses me is: Why her? Does that mean only she was their target, or were others hurt by dark forces that we don't know about?" Ignitus questioned, looking through his thoughts and memories to see if anyone inside Warfang was hurt.

Luckily, from his search, he found nothing, but that made him grow even more suspicious of what was really happening. Feeling as if he shouldn't try and state the obvious, Terrador asked, "You don't think that Winter is the cause of the dark forces, do you?"

"No. From what we have seen if the dark force was in her body, it would take form, but the way she acted, it seemed like she had never killed anyone before. That, or, she could have made up and act to get where she is now. But, it felt to realistic, it felt like she was scared. The only thing I can say for certain is we keep a watch out. Talk with the moles and see what they can do," Ignitus explained, earning a nod from all the Guardians.

"Alright. But what ever you do, do not tell Spyro the dark forces have still survived. After all, his friendship with Malefor is a thin line right now. If he even suspects that Malefor is the cause, we could have another problem on our paws. Plus, knowing my son, he would quickly end the problem in order to protect Cynder," Ignitus explained once again, earning a nod from the four once again.

Turning away from the three, he walked with them back out in the Chambers. Seeing the Guardians walk out of the from, and shutting the door behind themselves, Spyro looked to Ignitus. Grabbing his attention, Spyro nodded his head over to Winter. Looking at her, and standing next to her, he saw anger on her face. Wondering what had happened, he asked, "So, what did we miss?"

"Malefor told Winter that he is, well Malefor," Sparks explained, getting it out there and earning gasp from the Guardians.

Putting a paw on her shoulder, Ignitus tried to calm her, "Winter..."

"How did it feel?! How does it feel to have your lover back?! In the end for you, you got to enjoy your happy ending, but for me, no ending will ever be happy for me, because my lover is dead! And you walk around with a smile on your face thinking you accomplished something! How does it feel?! How... how does it feel to be able to kiss the one you love, to curl up to the one you love... to say... I love you... to say goodnight and good morning to the one you love..." Winter cried, tensing her body, as from what happened today, and seeing Malefor alive and well, she wished that her lover would've been the same.

Taking his paw off her shoulder, he felt just as bad as everyone else did, and even though they didn't know her lover, the way she described it was heartbreaking. Feeling awful for hurting her, and the dark master for killing the one she cared about, he apologized, "Winter, I'm sorry I..."

"You want to know the last thing my lover told me... At first, I thought it would be, I love you... But then he said goodnight... then he said goodbye... and now, all I can think about, is his body, his last words, his... goodbye to me... How does it feel to know you have the life with your love...? how does it feel to know... that you don't have to worry about a goodbye...?" Winter cried, ducking her head down from her tears, not wanting to show how terrible she was feeling, even though she knew it didn't matter, because she believed he didn't care.

Ignitus bravely tried his best to calm her even a little, so, draping his wing over her body, sitting down, and putting his tail on hers, he whispered softly, "Winter, I'm sorry for everything that has happened to you. Take it from Malefor, and hear the truth. He would've never done such I thing, and when it happened, now that's he's hearing it... I know he feels terrible. Just ask him yourself..."

Feeling his wing and tail calmed her down, which he was glad to see, as he didn't know he would be able to calm her down so well. But even still, she grinded her teeth thinking about Malefor, "Why? Why does he deserve to get to live? My lover never did anything to him. His dark forces ended my lover's life, but him, he gets to walk around with a lover... I never will."

"If you have anger towards him, let it out, he will understand. After all, Spyro's parents, they both died from the dark master as well, even Cynder's. But they looked past that, they saw who he truly was. Yes they still hit on him with their fist from time to time, mainly Spyro, but he understands what really happened... If you need to tell him, tell him. I know you can do great," Ignitus whisper of warmth seemed to have helped Winter out just as much as him being with her, but what made him blush, was she pushed her body against his, feeling his warmth.

Everyone blushed as well to see what looked to be like them cuddled together, and with his wing over her body, it seemed even more so. Taking a deep breath in, and then out, she looked at Malefor, and asked, "Do you even care about the ones that you killed? Do you even think about what happened?"

Malefor frowned, and explained, "Yes. Because when I look around, I see everyone that I've hurt. Spyro and his parents, Cynder and her parents, Volteer and his parents. I've hurt everyone at some point, and I believe that I don't even deserve to be cared about anymore. And for a day, they were scared, and they didn't believe me. Spyro was in so much pain that he was basically unconscious. The Guardians left me Cynder, and Spyro, not realizing it. When Cynder went to heal Spyro, she thought she was going to die, and that Spyro was going to as well. It took a while but in the end, I tried to show who I was. And even after everything that happened, I was still cared about, by my lover."

Looking over at Spyro, Winter asked, "You seem to be affected the most. Even just by looking at you, I can still tell you hate Malefor. So why even bother keeping him around? Why didn't you kill him when you had the chance."

Spyro sighed, not really wanting to explain it, as he knew it would make Malefor smile, so he tried to explain it in his own way, "Because what's the joy and fun in killing him, when I can keep him alive and make him a punching bag. Plus, killing him would've hurt more then I thought. The Guardians, Carith, even my own lover. But as we talked, and the more I got to know him, and even as weak as I was, he came through and showed, he's not so bad after all. But like I said, I will still knock his teeth in from time to time, but would I kill him, no... Only because my lover would dump me."

"You care about me," Cynder whispered with a smirk.

Spyro chuckled with a smile, and whispered, "You know I cared about you the day I laid eyes on you."

Winter sighed, seeing the two flirt with one another, as she had missed that just as much as everything else. Looking back at Malefor, she wondered in her thoughts, _Would now be the best time to kill everyone... why am I even thinking about that... I shouldn't. I just, Ignitus... his warmth... I can't remember the last time I've felt this, safe... and protected... No! Stop! I need, I need to sleep, I can't, I can't let this get to me._ Trying to drown out the thoughts, she looked over at Carith and asked, "What do you feel towards you lover?"

Taking a step forward, Carith was honest with her, "Well, when I first awoke from my coma, I looked and found the Guardians. While we made our way to go after him, they told me he was some sort of murder; that he killed hundreds of dragons. I never thought it to be true, and seeing him there at the time, I thought it was. But as I approached him, I saw it was harder for him to stay in that dark form. When he tried to attack me, I thought I had lost him, but it turned out, my lover had broken free, and stopped his attack before it could make contact... There is a difference between a monster, and my lover, and that is... He truly cares about everyone, and everything."

"Has he ever done anything that hurt you, maybe even physical?" Winter asked, feeling as if her attempts to get the thoughts out of her mind were only getting stronger as she was thinking about them even more then before.

"No," Carith responded with a small smile, earning wide eyes from almost everyone, especially Malefor, "My parents were killed by the dark master, and when I had learned of this, I wondered why... But as I came to see the bigger picture, I realised, I was right. My lover would never harm any one in his life, unless it meant protecting me. I don't blame Malefor for my parents deaths, I blame myself, for walking out of the walls when I shouldn't have. And plus, Why, after losing my parents, would I want to lose my lover as well?"

Winter was surprised to hear that Carith was able to get past something as deep as her parents deaths. Dumbfounded by her way of thinking, she wondered how she was able to pass something like that so easily, "But even still, leaving Malefor, you could've found another lover. Why not have just found someone else then live with someone you thought was still a monster?"

Carith giggled slightly and joked to Malefor, "You know, she has a point."

"What?" Malefor cried, earning giggles and chuckles from everyone except Winter, but, she couldn't help herself, as she accidentally let a small smile creep across her face.

"I'm just joking... But, going back, I thought of it like this: If it wasn't his fault, and if he truly was being controlled, how do you think he would've felt if I would have left him, abandoned him? Just the thought of him leaving because the Guardians were afraid, Spyro and Cynder were afraid... I could've lost him that day and thinking about those thoughts... I never would've been able to stand to this day if I had lost him," Carith's words brought about the thoughts of before, and with a slight kiss on her cheek from her lover, she smiled at him.

"Did you make the right decision?" Malefor asked with a smile.

Carith giggled at his words, and agreed, "Maybe... After that kiss from this morning, I believe you've changed my thought drastically."

"You, want another?" Malefor flirted with her, earning a small blush and a small giggle from his lover.

"Malefor, come on, I thought we were trying to help her, not show her how much more of a jerk you are," Spyro joked, causing Malefor to look over at him with squinted eyes.

"What are you talking about?" Malefor asked with a small growl.

"Oh, so you're growling at me now? I think I might have to agree with Winter on this one, you are always evil," Spyro joked, seeing a small vain pop out of Malefor's head as he knew what Spyro was trying to pull.

Clearing his throat and trying to ignore Spyro, he tried to defend himself, "Winter, for one, I'm not evil... that's only when me and Carith are in a room together."

"Malefor," Carith whispered, blushing red from embarrassment, while everyone else chuckled and giggled with slight blushes as well.

"Second," Malefor continued with a smile and a blush, "I promise you that the dark master will not return ever again. Carith made it clear that if I ever turned into the dark master again, and harmed someone... bye bye kissing, and cuddling. And there is no Hell greater then that... Unless it involves Cynder's back paw."

"I hit you one time," Cynder said.

"And once is enough to hurt like hell," Malefor chuckled, feeling the side of his face with his paw.

Terrador chuckled at a memory that he had of when Malefor and them were at the Dragon Temple, "Oh yeah. Speaking of Hell, your remember when we were back at the Dragon Temple, and Malefor decided that he was going to fight lava."

"What?" Every asked in unison, except the other Guardians as they already knew about it.

"Wait, wait, wait, let me explain my defense. I thought, by fighting lava, I would be able to get use to the heat and make my powers even stronger... turns out, even with my fire all the way to max... heh, yeah, third degree burns is the greatest. Lucky that Bastard gave me a pass and healed my paws," Malefor explained in his defence, and decided to add more on to he didn't look bad, "Plus, when I ask Ignitus for some training before, he gave me first degree burns on my body, which were healed... Ancestors, no wonder I ordered those apes to blow up that hole, that place sucked!"

"Now that you say it, you were whipped pretty hard there, you know, with the burns, the electricity, the boulders, and even ice shards," Terrador pointed out, earning a chuckle from Malefor, as well as the other Guardians.

Winter was surprised, as she never knew she would see Malefor: The dark master, chuckle, let alone be with a girl that loved him back. _Was... was I wrong to come here? Should I really take his life? What would make me any different then the dark master? Killing Malefor would take him away from his lover... just like how my lover was taken away from me... and then... me and Carith would have something in common... no one deserves to go through something like that... Ugh! But I have to kill someone! Either the Guardians, Spyro, or Malefor! It's my mission, I, I have to_ , Winter thought, snarling accidentally once again from her thoughts, catching Ignitus's attention as he looked at her with a small smile. She looked to see his smile, and shivered, remembering that handsome smile.

"Winter, I know you're angry, but trust me, and everyone else, Malefor is as pure as light itself. He thought he lost his lover, and he wishes to make up for his mistakes by never making them ever again. If you still hate him, tell him why, he will understand," Ignitus whispered with a warm smile, earning a chill of joy as she felt his warmth, his wing, hearing his voice, it was just her and him, and she wanted it to stay like that, "Malefor is a trip, I will tell you that. And if you don't want to talk to him, talk to me. Trust me like you did before, and just like before, I promise, I will make you smile."

Looking at Ignitus with wide eyes, he looked at her with a smile, and the two didn't even realize how close one another's face was from one another while they looked into each other's eyes. Blinking once to get back to herself, she looked at him with a small smile, still unknowingly being so close to his face. Everyone froze, and looked at the two, wondering what they would do next.

"Do it, do it, do it," Malefor whispered with anticipation of the kiss that he hoped would happen.

As there faces moved closer, everyone started to lose their breaths, wondering if they really were about to kiss. Unfortunately, it was cut short, as when their noses touched one another's, they quickly moved their heads away in opposite directions of one another. Everyone, including Winter and Ignitus, slightly grumbled, wishing the kiss would've happened. _I knew I shouldn't have done this... I knew I should've just slept... Tonight, I will just get this over with,_ Winter thought to herself, looking over at Terrador, and asking, "May I please stay the night?"

"Of course," Terrador said, "Right this way."

Walking away from everyone, Terrador walked with Winter following behind him. Cutting the corner, there was a door right in front of the Chambers, and two doors down, is where she was directed to. Malefor and Spyro both looked at one another, and back at Ignitus, as they tried to motivate him.

"What are you doing Ignitus? This is your chance!" Malefor said.

"What are you talking about?" Ignitus grumbled slightly, lifting his head up and looking at the Malefor.

"Don't end the day like that. Show her to her room, don't let Terrador do it, it won't look good if you can't show her how dedicated you are in making sure she is safe," Spyro explained, seeing his frown turn a little more into a smile, "If you go to bed like this, it will only hurt you more. You don't want to disappoint your son do you? Go out there and make me proud."

Ignitus growled at himself, realising that the two were right. Quickly grabbing his courage, he ran out of the Chambers, and towards the two. As Terrador reached to the door knob to show her around, his paw stopped at the door, to see Ignitus appear from the Chambers.

"Ignitus?" Terrador asked.

Ignitus stopped in front of him with a smile, as he asked politely, "Terrador, is it okay if I show Winter her room? I promised I would give her a tour of Warfang, and that tour isn't over just yet."

Terrador saw the look in his eyes, knowing what he was trying to pull. He chuckled, "Alright."

Walking away from the door and pulling his paw back down, he walked back to the Chambers. Walking into the Chambers, and over towards Volteer, he sat down next to him, and asked, "Alright, what did you guys do to convince him to talk to her?"

"The good old father son disappointment," Spyro responded with a smile.

Terrador chuckled, and hoped, "Well, I hope it goes well. You think, if Ignitus actually tried to make a move, would she be the perfect someone for him? Spyro, you're the best to ask. What do you think?"

"I think he can do it. Something doesn't exactly feel right, but then again, it's probably just me being paranoid about something," Spyro explained, feeling as if something wasn't exactly right about her, "But, I would say by tomorrow, I should have my answer."

"Ignitus?" Winter asked, blushing a little as she quickly remembered that their noses touched.

He smiled at her, trying to keep his cool and act like nothing had happened that was embarrassing for them, "Sorry. It's just, I promised I would show you around and I would feel awful if I had lied to you about this. So, now that I'm back, would you like to continue this tour."

Smiling once again, she thought, _Why do I keep smiling?! I shouldn't be smiling! It's just... his laugh, and his smile... why does he make me so happy... so calm?_ Breaking from her thoughts, she knew if she thought about it any longer, it would start to get to her even more.

"What a gentleman," Winter giggled, now feeling guilty that she will have to kill him tonight.

Walking up to her side, he whispered with a warm smile, "Well, you know, I also don't want you to be alone. After all, what you have told us, you've had a difficult life. But here, it will only get better, I promise."

Reaching up for the door knob with his paw, he twisted it, and pushed opened the door. Revealing the room, it was plain as every other room: A bed in the back, and a book shelf to store things on the left of the room, and three small window above the bed that showed the rain was still pouring down. Walking in the room, Ignitus followed behind, and watched as she jumped up onto the bed. Laying her body down, she curled herself up into a ball. Pulling her head up, she listened as Ignitus spoke, "If you have any problems, come to me. After all, we are two doors down."

Ignitus chuckled a little, causing her to giggle a little from his words. Feeling the bed, soft, but cold, she had wished her lover would've been here to experience this type of comfort. _Usually on a cold and rainy day, I would always look to my lover... he always knew what I wanted... I just wish he would've know that, I didn't want him to fight that day,_ Winter thought, as she admitted to Ignitus, "Well, I'm not going to lie... being here, without my lover... thinking about him, a nightmare or two might meet me."

"Then I will be ready to help even during the night. Night or day, I promise, you can talk to me, I will always be willing to help," Ignitus warmly explained, seeing Winter look at him with wide eyes, and a small tear, but from the way she laid, he couldn't see the tear, "You aren't alone anymore, I promise you. If... if you would like to... my bed is big enough... if you want some company... you can sleep with me..."

Winter's eyes once again widened as she heard his mistake, and she blushed hearing his words, so he quickly corrected himself, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that, I was just trying to be helpful and my words didn't come out the way I thought they would..."

Winter giggled slightly with a smile from how he was acting from his embarrassment. Hearing her giggle made him smile, as he now was confident one again to correct himself, "If you don't want to be alone tonight, I would be more then happy to have you lay down by my side."

 _Even if I sleep now, can I truly go through with this?! Every time I look at him, I think of my lover. Every time he smiles, every time he laughs, his warmth, his protection from the dark forces! How am I going to be able to go through with this?!_ Winter thought, dripping another tear from her eye, but this time, the moon light shined out from a crack in the clouds.

Shining down from the sky and into the windows, Ignitus saw the shimmer of her tear from the moon light, but only for a couple of seconds, as she tried to lay her head down before he could notice the tear. Looking behind himself to see if anyone was there, he was sure there wasn't. Flicking his paw at the door, it lightly shut it. With her head ducked on the bed, and facing away from the door, when she heard the door shut, she had believed that he had left. _What am I supposed to do? I can't kill him, I can't... but what will happen to me if I don't? What am I supposed to do...? Now I wish... I wish Ignitus was here..._ Winter thought sadly, shivering from the cold weather that still continued to beat down on Warfang.

"Do you want some company?" Ignitus asked softly.

Winter picked her head up and looked at Ignitus to see his warm smile, but she couldn't believe that he actually stayed in the room instead of leaving. Watching him lay down next to her, he opens his wing, wondering if she would cuddle up with him. She didn't know what to do, but feeling the comfort from the bed, and the comfort she had felt from Ignitus, she wondered what it would feel like to snuggle up. Standing up, walking over to him, and laying down straight, she put her body against Ignitus's. Snuggling up to his side, he draped his wing over her body, giving her the warm feeling she desired. Trying to restrain herself, she couldn't help but to lay her head down on his paws that laid in front of him. Ignitus looked down at her to see her frowning, while tears spilled out of her eyes.

"If my lover was still alive, do you think he would be laying in this bed with me?" Winter murmured, thinking of what could've been if the dark master never killed the one she loved.

"You're not alone in thinking about the what if. I think the same some days. Like, What if I could've know of Carith's coma and stopped Malefor from leaving. What if we would've know about her parents deaths, Volteer's, Cynder's, Spyro's; Could we have perverted it? I think about the what if a lot, but at the end of the day, I think of the good that comes from everything," Ignitus whispered, wondering so much about what if that and what if this, still trying to figure out how he could see a what if.

"What do you mean? How do you see the good that comes from those deaths? How do you see the good in my lover's death?" Winter asked with a frown, but she was glad it was just her and him, as opening up seemed so easy.

"I don't see much good in their deaths, but, I knew Cynder's father, we knew all about their parents. But Cynder's father in particular, he would've never allowed anyone to be her love, not even Spyro. Spyro's parents were much more civilized dragons, and to be honest, they were always a great time to hang around, especially Cynder's mother. But as for Volteer, and Carith's parents... Their bond with Malefor has only gotten stronger from what happened. I'm not saying it was good they died, what I mean is; With their deaths, there is always hope at the end of the darkness," Ignitus explained, watching as Winter picked her head up, and looking at him, she wanted to hear more of his words, she wanted to hear his voice.

"What about my lover? What hope was at the end of the darkness for me?" Winter asked, wondering what he could possibly have to say.

"Maybe, maybe if your lover never would've died, you wouldn't have meet us: The Guardians, Spyro, Cynder, Carith, and even Malefor. Maybe the good that came from it was, you were able to make so much back. Everyone became your friend, and I was lucky to find you, so I could be the same. You don't have to consider us your friends, and you can slap me if I stepped out of line, but, I'm saying this, because, I believe, talking to you, now... It really makes me smile, knowing that I was able to help," Ignitus warmly explained with a smile, hoping that his words were helpful, as that's all he wanted to be right now.

 _What am I suppose to say? Laying on this bed with him, both in comfort and happiness, does killing them really accomplish anything? I... I don't believe it does... and I can't keep thinking that it will. Maybe, maybe going to sleep, by his side, will be for the best... Just for today! Then, I can clear my mind and... and... clear my mind,_ Winter thought, once again not realising that the two were looking at one another with small smiles. Once again, their noses touched one another's, but as the two looked into one another's eyes, and blushed, they didn't pull away. Instead, they put their foreheads on one another's, smiling from the amazing feeling, as they wished they wouldn't have to even move.

"Ignitus, you remember that offer that you said... The one about us, laying together in bed... can I... can I take you up on your offer?" Winter asked with a smile, hoping that maybe she wouldn't have to sleep alone tonight, hoping that maybe she's seeing what he meant by the the hope at the end of the darkness.

Ignitus chuckled with a smile, and whispered, "Of course you can. I would feel better if it was like that anyway. Seeing the dark forces in Warfang, having you by my side, I would feel better if you were with me through the night... and maybe... even the next morning."

Pulling her head back, and looking back into his eyes, she giggled a little, and whispered, "Is someone going to miss me if I leave in the morning."

With a small smile on his face, as well as a blush, he admitted, "To be honest... I believe I will."

Winter's eyes widened from his words, wondering what he really meant behind his words. Sighing with a smile, she decided, since her comforted her, she would do the same to him, "Well then, I believe you won't have to worry about a thing then. And, being honest... I would miss you to if you left in the morning."

Ignitus couldn't believe her words, especially the end of her sentence, as he thought to himself, _Is she the dragoness that I've been looking for? I already feel like I care about her so much, and it's only been a day... Maybe, maybe as tomorrow progresses, I will have my answer for sure, but for now, I believe I do!_ Taking his wing off her body and jumping off the bed, Ignitus asked, "Is the beautiful blue dragoness going to join me?"

Winter giggled as she jumped off the bed, and walking to his side, she joked, "That depends, which beautiful blue dragoness could you be talking about? There are hundreds out there."

"I'm talking about the best one out there, and her name, is Winter," Ignitus whispered warmly, draping his wing over her side.

Winter blushed with a smile, and joked, "I'm going to tell Carith that you said that... I wonder... I wonder how Malefor would react."

Ignitus raised a brow, and asked, "Are you trusting Malefor?"

Winter sighed, still feeling all the hate in the world for him, but she didn't feel as much hate as she did before, "Not completely, but I somewhat understand what happened. And I feel like Spyro is making him pay for what he's done by the sounds of him saying punching bag."

"Yeah, Spyro gives him a beat down every now and then, but I know, and hope, those two will get along someday. Just today the two were fighting it out in the training room. While I watched, I thought Spyro had lost, but of course, I was wrong. I just wish I didn't decide to dose off when he set up a trap in our room. But, going back, you don't need to worry about Malefor, If he ever turned again, which is as low as a negative, he knows he would lose his lover, and Spyro would kill him, so his paws are pretty tied."

"How did you trust Malefor after what he did?"

"When everything happened, they came back to Warfang. Nemours times Malefor helped, saved, and protected both Spyro and Cynder, as they were both exhausted, and Spyro even almost died from the dark master. But as Malefor took back control, he came through and saved his life, which I know he doesn't want to admit. But, the sadness on his face, how lonely he was as he laid in the corner of that hallway by himself... and then when he thought he was about to lose it all because of Spyro's threats... If Cynder never would've been there, if she was the one who was in a near death because of him... We would not be here right now. Spyro would've killed him on the spot."

"Spyro was stronger then the dark master? By himself or with help?"

"I guess you could say with help. When Spyro was knocked away by and attack, the dark master cut Cynder all around her body before hitting her right near Spyro. Seeing her body, he snapped. And when he punched Malefor, I'm surprised he even stood back up."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, the punch didn't just hit, and make contact with Malefor. It hit, made contact with Malefor, and made contact with just about the entire forest area back there. The whole land back there is nothing but craters and destroyed tress. In his dark mode of his, he is pretty powerful."

"What does he look like when he's in that, mode, of his?"

"He looks quite normal, but if he goes all out, and really punches with all his power... It hurts my jaw just thinking about it... Let's just say, when ever he is in the mode of his, you have to hope your not the one on his bad side when he is like that."

Winter dripped a drop of sweat, going back to her thoughts of having to kill one of them, _If Spyro is his son, and I do kill Ignitus... does that mean I will be on that end of his fist? No! No, I would never! I'm not going to kill Ignitus! I can't... I can't... I have to think of something else... If I don't kill someone, that new dark master will kill me... but who?_ Not really wanting to think about it, as she was having an amazing night, she quickly changed her thoughts by changing the conversation. And lucky for her, she yawned, which caused Ignitus to yawn.

"I guess that means I've talked more then I should have. So what do you say, you ready to go to bed, or, do you want to talk so more? Because either one is fine for me," Ignitus asked, enjoying her company, as talking to her made him feel so happy, especially when she smiled or giggled at his words.

"To be honest, I don't care either way," Winter whispered with a warm smile, "We can walk and talk I guess. And maybe while we are laying down, talking to one another will be a lot easier, especially since we would be so comfortable."

Ignitus nodded with a smile. Walking up to the door, and grabbing the door knob, he pulled open the door.

* * *

"They have been in there for the longest time," Spyro said.

"Maybe third base was easier for Ignitus then I thought," Malefor joked with a smile.

"Malefor!" Everyone growled with a blush.

"Okay, okay. But even still, you have to think; The only time someone could be a room that long with someone, it's either they are having a major make out with one another secession, or... I'm guessing third base is out of the question, so, I guess, maybe second base?" Malefor suggested, thinking about what could really be going in that room, "We have a mystery on our paws."

"Two things. One, shut up. Two, the fact that you are giving it this much thought is kinda creepy. Especially since you keep thinking that he is going to third base with a girl he just met," Spyro explained, not really giving much thought on what Ignitus was really up to, as he was wondering how he was going to give Cynder that kiss.

Before being able to say anything else, as Terrador cleared his throat, the two looked at him. Pointing a claw behind the two, they looked to see Ignitus standing there with Winter under his wing. The two blushed just as much as Spyro and Malefor, but they were not alone, as everyone blushed too, wondering what their response would be.

"How... how much of that did you hear?" Spyro asked.

Winter was way to embarrassed to say anything, so Ignitus decided he would tell, "Right up to the point where Malefor said he had a mystery on his paws, so, about everything you said..."

Malefor chuckled, embarrassed that he said something like that with Ignitus around, "Hay man, I don't know what kind of Dragon you are, but I was talking about how you were moving to third base with the girl, as in, moving three more steps then you would normally take. If you know what I mean, none embarrassingly."

Ignitus tried to ignore Malefor, seeing how he kept on making it more embarrassing for the two of them. Walking with Winter up to the Guardians, he sat himself down, and said, "Before anyone says anything, Winter is going to lay with me because she is afraid to have a nightmare. That, and... in the room, it's cold, but when she's with me... you know, she feels the warmth from my body."

Malefor let a small grin appear across his face, as he opened his mouth to say something about his words. Everyone, except for Ignitus and Winter, held their breaths, wondering what he could possibly have to say. Carith quickly whispered to him before he made it more embarrassing on the two, "You'll sleep on the floor if you embarrass those two again."

Malefor quickly shut his mouth, and everyone sighed hugely from the relief.

"I wish the four of you a goodnight. Tomorrow we won't have anything to do once again so you'll be able to enjoy another day off. I will tell you when we have something to do, and as always, I will tell you if there is any danger. So sleep well my friends, and son," Ignitus warmly said, smiling with the four as they smiled back.

Turning away from the four, Ignitus walked with Winter to the back of the room. Opening the door, the two walked in the door way, and lifting his tail up and around the door knob, he shut the door behind himself. Once Malefor knew they were out of hearing range, he had to come out and say it, "Come on guys. Ignitus is in a room, by himself, with a girl, comes back out, and says how she likes his warmth from his body. Please tell me one of you realises what I'm realising."

"Well, when you put it like that, yeah, I will admit, it sounds embarrassing. But, Come on, think about it. She lost her lover to the dark master, and she seems so, loving to Ignitus. I'm going to guess her lover was a red Dragon as well, who gave her warmth and a smile when she needed it the most. Maybe that's why she likes Ignitus, because it reminds her of how things use to be," Spyro defended her, feeling depressed just thinking about what she could've gone through, and to still make it this far.

"Well, when you put it like that I feel awful now. But yeah, I held my tongue, and I didn't say anything else that could hurt Ignitus or Winter in any way," Malefor pointed out, feeling accomplished, especially now that he didn't have to sleep on the floor.

"Yeah, after I threatened you that you would sleep on the floor if you did," Carith giggled, seeing a small blush and a smile on Malefor's face.

"You're pretty cold to be making that kind of threat," Cynder joked, pecking Spyro on the cheek before continuing, "See, with my lover, I would never do such a thing. Mainly because Spyro knows me a lot better then I thought, so even if he does something wrong, or he's about to, he quickly makes up for it. Plus, he doesn't play a death prank on me and almost give me a heart attack."

Carith looked at Malefor with a raised brow, and he quickly apologized, "I'm sorry, I swear. It was stupid of me. I paid for it in full because of Cynder's punishment. And as I think about it, me and you have only kissed like three times today. What happened to my other hundred?"

Carith realised he was corrected, even after that one kiss from the afternoon, she still wanted more. Pulling up and putting the tip of her claw on Malefor's chin, she moved her lips right in front of Malefor's, and whispered with her cool breath, "We could still make up for it. One kiss every minute, since you were so well behaved."

Feeling her cool breath made him shiver, just as much as her offer. Looking at her lick her lips, he looked at everyone, and said, "Like Ignitus said, something about seeing you all tomorrow. All that good stuff. But, you know, Carith's lips call, and I have to answer with mine."

Spyro shuck his head and suggested, "Maybe instead of announcing your kiss to everyone, you keep something like that a secret while you run off and go kiss. First the third base thing and now the announcement about you kissing your girlfriend."

Pointing a claw at him, Malefor opened his mouth to say something, but Carith whispered to him once again, "You're wasting time. Your one hundred kiss is now only down to fifty if you keep talking. The longer you talk, the more you lose."

Malefor grumbled, but he shut his mouth, not wanting to say anything else, he looked at her with a smile. She smiled back, and the two turned away, and walked out of the Guardians Chambers and up to their rooms. Spyro put his paw on his face as he mumbled to himself, "Honestly, that guy is such a wreak."

Looking at Cynder, he joked with her, "But it's weird. How come Carith is more loving to her lover then you are to me? Is there something you want to tell me? Or do you hate how I kiss you, and you wish for me to find... someone else?"

Cynder gasped, hearing his words, she commanded, "Me, you, bedroom, now."

"Okay, yeah, I'm getting off your head now," Sparks grumbled, flying off his head just in time as the two quickly turned and ran with one another towards their rooms for some privacy, "At least us guys are still disgusting free, am I right?"

The Guardians all looked at one another, blushing from how the way the four were acting to each other.

"I sure hope Ignitus doesn't be like that. It's going to feel real awkward if we have to listen to him kissing someone, while it echoes in our sleeping Chambers all night. After all, Ignitus doesn't even have to sleep, and knowing him, he's probably going to find a way so his lover doesn't have to either, then we would have to hear it all the time," Cyril cried, thinking about how he would miss out on all of his sleep just like before with Volteer.

"You shouldn't blame them though. Being in love with someone, and having that feeling of kissing one another is just something lover's do. Those four know way more about it then we all do obviously. So, I believe it would be funny to look back at these times, thinking about how we thought kissing was gross, and then we would be there kissing our lover's," Terrador said, wondering if he, or even the other two would find lover's as well.

"I feel like I have the greatest chance then all of you," Volteer said with a smile.

"What, the greatest chance to fail the most?" Sparks joked.

Volteer was surprised to see Sparks made that joke, and not Cyril, but he tried not to let it get to him, as he continued, "No, no, no, of course not. I am a smooth talker. I have almost ever single love, and or care word in my vocab to make any dragoness feel special. And plus, as I've read, a dragon with lighting, Me of course, can make a kiss feel even better."

"How's that?" Cyril asked.

"If you send a small jolt of electricity to the right part of the mouth that stimulates the pleasure you feel during a kiss, it can actually stimulate the kiss to feel even better over a short period of time," Volteer explained, seeing everyone blush at his words, but to him, it was all just science and vocab.

"Okay, if we continue this any longer, I'm scared to know where this would go, so, I'm just going to ah... go," Sparks said, feeling uncomfortable after Volteer's words, seeing he quickly fly out of the Guardians Chambers and up to meet the other two.

The two shuck their heads slightly from his words, but Volteer was confused by their embarrassment. Cyril didn't want to say anything, as he was afraid Volteer would bring it up again. Walking away from Volteer, he decided it would be best to just sleep now before he had to think about what else Volteer would say. Terrador patted a paw on his shoulder, as he said, "That'll do Volteer, That'll do."

Pulling his paw back down to the ground and turning around, Terrador joined Cyril as he walked back to the room as well. _I guess they are jealous because they know I will be able to kiss a girl better then they will ever be able to,_ Volteer thought with a smile, joining along with the two. Walking into the sleeping Chambers, Volteer wrapped his tail around the door as he passed by, and shut it. As they walked over to their beds, they couldn't help but see Ignitus and Winter, side by side one another with his wing draped over her. They smiled and laughed with one another, which they were glad to see. Jumping up and laying down on their beds, their heads followed, putting them on their paws. Ignitus looked at the three and asked, "Are the other four going to bed as well?"

"If by going to bed, you mean, have a smooching fest with one another's lover. Then you would be correct," Terrador responded.

"Definitely can't blame them. After all, having a day off like this one is very rare for them. And now I feel like they are getting more use to being able to chill out and not have to worry about anything. Which is good, having peace in this world for once is what we need, especially after everything that has happened," Ignitus happily said, feeling even happier then he was feeling before, seeing and hearing good news about everything and everyone.

"What about you? How are you enjoying your day off?" Cyril asked.

"Couldn't have felt any better. Today was a lot more fun then I thought it would be, and I had forgotten what it felt like to go outside of these walls, or even my Temple. I'm just glad I was able to meet Winter," Ignitus said warmly, looking Winter in her eyes, and as he smiled, she smiled back.

The three wondered what Ignitus could be thinking as he seemed happy, but they didn't know if this was the girl he was looking for, or if this was just to help her out for the day. The three yawned, as thinking right now was difficult for them, and as they yawned, so did the other two.

"I guess that means it time for bed," Ignitus said, laying his head down on his paws in front of him.

"Finally. But you know, now that Spyro has nothing to do, he's going to want to train with someone. Sooner or later he is going to come looking for us, and then we would have a real problem on our paws," Cyril said, remembering the last time they had to fight him, three on one.

"Don't worry about it," Ignitus suggested, watching Winter put her head down, "I will have Cynder keep him busy. And I know Spyro would rather kick Malefor a couple hundred times before coming to us. After all, he is a lot stronger."

"Yeah, I guess you're right," Cyril agreed, closing his eyes, and hoping that Malefor would be able to give Spyro the training he desired.

Terrador was the next to close his eyes, followed by Volteer, then Ignitus. Just as Winter went to close her eyes, she nuzzled the side of Ignitus's cheek, and laid her head next to his with a blush.

"What was that for?" Ignitus whispered, opening his eyes back up.

"You've been the biggest help. With the dark master deal, with the dark forces during the storm, and, even in the room. Sleeping alone once again, I thought I would have nightmares, and instead of leaving, you jumped up on the bed, and helped me through it... I don't know how to thank you," Winter whispered, as the feeling of the nuzzle was a huge help as well, even though Ignitus didn't do anything.

"That nuzzle was a pretty nice thank you," Ignitus whispered, blushing a little as well, as he couldn't lie, he did enjoy the nuzzle.

Winter giggled softly and slightly, as she whispered, "See you in the morning?"

Ignitus chuckled softly as he agreed, "See you in the morning."

Closing their eyes, snuggled up and happy, they all fell into a peaceful sleep, but with one thing on the Guardians, and Ignitus's minds: Who was the new dark master, and where could he or she be.

* * *

Shutting the door behind himself, Spyro stretched himself out, and said, "Finally, we made it. It feels like every single day is an adventure just to get back to our room. And now that Malefor is always going to be around, I always have to keep an eye on him to make sure he doesn't do anything stupid, or even turn."

"You still don't trust the dragon?" Cynder asked with a smile, watching Spyro walk up, and jump up onto the bed with her.

Laying down on her belly, and her paws in front of her, Spyro followed, doing the same. Draping his wing over her, and putting his tail over hers, he admitted, "No. But I at least trust him better then before. I was so close in the training room to killing him too, then you two walked in and I was like, 'Plan foiled'."

"Well, I for one, and I definitely know Carith is another; we are glad you didn't go through with your plan. And what was funny, was I actually believed you would kill him to. But I thought to myself, 'Spyro would never do such a thing, he knows what would happen'. And my theory was correct," Cynder whispered, snuggling her head underneath Spyro's with a smile.

"And... What would have happened?" Spyro asked, scared to know the answer, as he thought it was her leaving him, but he was completely surprised by what she said.

"You would've disappointed me," Cynder whispered, earning a chill from Spyro, "I know you would never do such a thing. You've proven me wrong time and time again. And this time, I didn't fall for it. I also knew you didn't kill him because you weren't giving me a sorry kiss."

"Well, I haven't given you a kiss that I promised since the afternoon. I know you've been dying to get that kiss from me," Spyro teased, seeing the blush and the smile on her face as she licked her lips from the memory.

Standing up, and standing above Spyro's body, he turned his body up to face her. She smiled at him as she whispered, "You've only kissed me a couple of times today, Spyro. I feel like it's time that I get to have myself the kiss I've been waiting for."

Spyro raised a brow with a smile, as he agreed, "Alright, fine. But..."

Quickly pulling his wings up, and onto Cynder's back, he rolled her over on her back, while the two shared a laugh with one another. With Spyro now on top, and Cynder on the bottom, he pulled his wings back up to his sides, and whispered, "You might be able to beat me in a fight, but I will always win in a fight of who gets to kiss who from on top."

Pulling her paw up and circling her claw around his chest, she whispered warmly to him with a blush, "Then why don't you show me why you kiss me while your on top. Depending on how well you do, it might even stay that way."

Spyro chuckled with a blush, and whispered, "Then I better do a good job then."

"You better," Cynder whispered with lust in her voice, and with a smile, she wrapped her arms around the back of Spyro's neck.

* * *

Flying in through the hole in the main doors of the house, Sparks flew over to Spyro and Cynder's room. _Finally, I can get some sleep. But then again, I've been tried a lot... Then again, rain is so soothing. More soothing then hearing,_ Sparks's thoughts were cut, when he flew in the hole above the room he wanted to go, just to hear and see Spyro on top of Cynder, and the two kissing one another lovingly. Quickly turning his head away, he threw up in his mouth, as he thought, _No way am I going to sleep in there._ Flying over to Malefor and Carith's room, he flew into the hole above, just to see those two were doing the same thing: Malefor on top of Carith, and the two were kissing. Slapping his head and turning around, he flew out of the hole, and thought, _I've never been so disgusted in my life! Where else can I sleep? There's no... Wait..._ Having an idea, he flew over to the forest room. Flying up and in the hole above the door, he looked around to see it was peaceful, and the waterfall made it even better with its sound. Laying down on the floor near the Water fall, Sparks stretched his body, and as he closed his eyes, he thought, _Might as well get comfortable. Those two... Those four, and there kissing habits are terrible. At least I don't have to worry about that with the Guardians._ Glad that he at least didn't have to worry about seeing something like that with the Guardians, he fell asleep with a small smile, still somewhat sad that he won't spend some time with his brother before he fell asleep.

* * *

Pulling away from his kiss, Malefor smiled down on Carith as he said, "Sorry, I know it definitely was not as good as any other kiss that I've given you. That kiss I gave you before was just being I was excited to see that... Even after everything that has happened, I was able to see Ignitus try and get a girlfriend... I never knew I would see the day... I never knew I would see it with you."

Putting her paw on the side of his face, which he rested his head on, she whispered to make him feel better, "Don't worry about what happened. Everything from the past that the dark master did will slowly heal over time. I feel bad that she lost her lover, but, the way she acted towards Ignitus, the way they acted to one another, maybe it was a good thing, as they found one another."

"Maybe. I mean, she did seem loving to him. I could be wrong, but in the off chance I'm right, this will have been a very good day indeed for everyone. Well, aside from the fact that I told Spyro to fake kill me and scare you both," Malefor whispered, sadden by that fact that he made Carith shed a tear once again during that prank.

"You didn't die, so don't worry about a thing. And, I was actually more looking to the bright side of things once you were back from that prank. It made me think that, Spyro could've killed you, and yet, instead of doing so, he spared you. Maybe Spyro is growing more of a friendship with you then we thought."

"That, or, Spyro is doing the whole, 'Keep your lover close, but keep your enemies closer'. Which I wouldn't blame him for, because it's still better then being killed. But it makes me shiver, as I think that, if I make a mistake, I would have to pay for it with my life."

"You still believe Spyro would kill you?"

"No, not as much as before. Especially after we talked about the leash that you two had on use. If I killed him, you would leave me. If he killed me, Cynder would either leave him, or get disappointed for his actions. Which I know both would stab him harder then he would with his tail blade against my heart."

Getting off of Carith, he laid down beside her, and as she rolled back over and snuggled up to his side, he draped his wing over her, while she wrapped her tail around his. Nuzzling their cheeks together with one another, they laid their heads down right next to each other as they closed their eyes.

"Well, for what it's worth, I have faith in Spyro. If you still fear that he will kill you, I will just tell him that everyday he doesn't kill you, I will put in a good word for him for Cynder. He knows that Cynder would be kissing him night and day if I kept saying how well he was doing," Carith suggested, feeling as if the plan was the best one she's had yet.

Malefor chuckled as he agreed, "That definitely would do it. But I have faith in Spyro, so let's hope my faith doesn't get thrown down to the ground. Your idea would help, but lets save that for when ever he is mad at me or something, just to cool him off, not that that would ever happen, I hope."

"I hope so as well, but I will still sleep well knowing you will be fine. Goodnight my love, I'll see you in the morning. But hopefully this time you won't leave me because Spyro said so. Leaving your girlfriend in the room all by herself," Carith joked.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry. I will make sure Spyro never does something like that ever again. After all, I am supposed to be protecting you... So maybe fighting Spyro some more would be good to help me get stronger, but not without you there...! But, anyway, goodnight to you as well my love," Malefor whispered, wishing that he had the power Spyro had, but the sight it gives off is something he doesn't want.

Carith fell peacefully into sleep, but Malefor wondered how he would be able to protect her if anything were to happen. _I will leave tomorrow's problems to tomorrow,_ Malefor thought before falling asleep.

* * *

Pulling away from the kiss, Spyro put his forehead on Cynder's, and apologized, "I'm sorry, Cynder. I wanted to give you that special kiss, but I didn't really know how to. I love you so much, and I can't even give you the kiss you desire."

Cynder giggled at his attitude, "Spyro, it's okay. As much as I wanted the kiss, I would trade that any day for this right here; Me and you, kissing in the moon light, with one another. I never even thought I would kiss a dragon, let alone be protected so well by one."

Spyro chuckled with a warm smile as he whispered, "I guess when I see someone who's so perfect, I try my best to be the first one to be her lover. And I was lucky enough to get to her fast enough... You're right, you're always so right... The way you described it, me and you, kissing in the moon light, it was worth the pain I had to go through."

"I'm, Sorry for causing you most of your pain."

"It was never you, Cynder, I promise... I was just so sacred at the end, being so weak, knowing that I wouldn't be able to protect you, even after everything, I still couldn't grab the strength to protect you... And I still hate myself for that."

Pulling his head up, and looking into her eyes, she smiled as she whispered, "You grabbed the strength to save me from the darkness, to save me from that Mountain, the destroyer, Malefor. There is so much you did to save me, and you think I'm disappointed because you broke your bones to protect me. Does someone want another kiss to see how wrong they are?"

Spyro sighed with a warm smile, as he whispered, "Please."

Kissing one another lovingly once again was the best feeling, especially since he still felt bad about it, it felt good to still be kissed by his lover. Pulling his lips away, slowly, Cynder shivered, looking at his handsome face.

"You know, you were pretty muscular out there. Maybe if you weren't in that dark form, you probably would've lost," Cynder whispered, seeing Spyro raise a brow, she explained with a slight blush, "Seeing you with those muscles, and that body, and your face... Oh, that was such a heartwarming sight. If you didn't have that aura around you, and you looked purple still, you better believe I would've been on those lips in a heartbeat."

Spyro chuckled with a small blush, and asked, "So, you're telling me, if I found a way to be that powerful, just with out that dark aura and voice, I would probably be the one that wouldn't be able to feel his legs in the morning."

Putting her wings on his back, she flipped him over this time, and as he laid on his back, he saw the lust in Cynder's eyes. Pulling her head down to his lips, she whispered with her warm breath, "You wouldn't be able to feel any part of your body after my kiss. Seeing that kind of body, that handsome face, that soothing voice... You wouldn't leave the room."

Spyro blushed at her words, wondering why she was acting so loving. But he had to admit, he liked Cynder this way as well. Seeing his blush, and bringing the words back in her mind, she blushed as well. Getting off of Spyro, she apologized, "Sorry, I went a little over board."

Laying down on her belly, she laid her paws out in front of her, and laid her head down on them. Rolling back on his belly, he stood up and walked over to his lover. Laying down next to her, he draped his wing over her, and whispered, "What are you sorry for Cynder? It's okay to be this open with me. We are lover's, we are lover's, Remember? Are you scared that saying something like this will make me leave you? You know I would never, right?"

Looking at Spyro, she let a small smile form, as she decided to tell him, "You're right. Now... now that we are lover's, even before, I am so afraid that saying something like that would make you hate me, or you would feel disgusted... Now that I'm able to tell you, what do you really think when I say something like that?"

Spyro chuckled with a smile as he flirted with her, "I think that I need to hurry myself up and get that kiss that you're talking about."

Cynder had a smile with a slight blush, glad to see his words were just as she was hoping they would be. Snuggling her head underneath Spyro's, she laid her head down on his paws, with her head against his chest to hear his heart beat. Closing her eyes, she thought to herself, _Being Spyro's lover... Greatest decision I've ever made in my entire life. And it gets me wondering... does that mean, if I ask Spyro to marry me, or... have... Hatchlings with me, would he say yes?_ Laying his head down on Cynder's, and closing his eyes, he whispered, "Goodnight Cynder."

Breaking from her thoughts, she whispered back, "Goodnight Spyro."

With their last words for the night, the two fell asleep with one another, happily in love. But Cynder still wondered, even in her sleep, _I kinda hope he does go for that form that I'm thinking about... he would look so handsome, and as if he didn't already. But I also wonder, if he kisses this good now, how good would his lips feel if he kissed like that? But I shouldn't force it. I would rather stay in love with Spyro forever then lose him because of his training to get to something like that._

* * *

Slowly opening her eyes and moaning from the sounds of the Guardians snoring, Winter pulled her head up and looked behind herself to see outside the window. The moonlight shined down and into the room, making it seem almost like a dream. Looking back around and over at Ignitus, she wondered what she would do next, _I have his trust, everyone trust me. So, does that mean I should take advantage of this fact and kill him off? I thought taking a nap would help me with my option but... The more I am with him, the harder it is for me to decide... Does that mean I should kill him before I get to attached, or... should I get attached?_ Carefully and slowly, She moved herself from out of his wing, and crawled off the bed. Shivering, she didn't understand why, but she felt terrible in having to move. Standing above his body, she watched as he slept with a smile, and she wondered, _Is he smiling because I was with him, or because he's just having a good dream... I smiled when I was with him... Does that mean... I should be, with him?_

Thinking about what she should do, she pulled her paw up, and wondered if she would kill Ignitus or not, as most of her said not to, while the other half said she should.

 _"Claire! Claire, can you hear me?!"_ A voice called from in her head. _"What? Um, yes, I can hear you. Is that you dark master... I haven't gotten your name yet?"_ _Winter asked._ _"Who else could it possible be? You don't know anyone else! And don't worry about my name. Now, getting back on subject, did you kill the Guardians. I can see you looking at your paw, but I don't see you killing them!"_

 _"I don't know if I can. Seeing him, and how he protected me, during the rain, against the dark creatures, it just brought back my... my dead lover. Ignitus is like him in many ways, and in same ways, better," Winter admitted to herself, knowing what she would do. "Cry me a Damn river! Your lover is dead! Do you want to go through that again? No! Killing him will prevent anything from ever happening again, trust me," Flint snarled, causing Winter to clench her first in rage. "I don't want to go through loss again, but I do want to go through love again!" Winter cried. "All because you're pretty doesn't mean he will love you. You don't love him, you love your old lover. You only love him, because he brings back memories of your old lover. Stop being blinded by that fact!" Flint commanded, wishing he wouldn't have to have this conversation. "No! Ignitus is more then that! My lover dead because he tried to protect me, he died, because he wanted to show how great he was... And I already knew that, and in the end, it got him killed... Ignitus wouldn't make the mistake if he was my lover, would he?" Winter questioned, wondering if the same thing would happen again in time. "Stop acting like he is your lover! He doesn't care about you, and he doesn't love you! Same with you! You care about him because of your old lover, end of story! You don't know a thing about him, and all because he helped you in the rain, with Malefor, and in that room, that doesn't mean a damn thing! And... And... Ugh! It's so hard to talk with all this Damn snoring! It's Ignitus that is snoring the loudest, so here, let me help you with your kill..." Flint growled._

Pulling Winter paw up, she made her blow ice over Ignitus's mouth and nose to prevent him from breathing. Forming an ice shard in her paw, Flint continued, _"Now, finish the job. With the ice over his mouth, no one will hear his scream when he dies. Now, it's either you kill him, or i will kill the both of you! Do it! Now!"_

 _"No!"_ Winter yelled, crushing the ice shard in her paws. Ignitus started to feel his air depleting. Quickly throwing open his eyes, be put his paw on his mouth and burned off the ice. The ice broke and water dripped to the floor as he gasped for air. Breathing heavily from the air he lost, he looked over to see Winter with her eyes clenched shut, and her body trembling, as if she was fighting something.

 _"I have control over your body, Claire. No matter what you do, I will still be able to kill Ignitus! The cycle continues, and I will kill your lover! Just like before, and you need to accept that fact!"_ Flint growled in her head, _"I'm going to enjoy watching the other Guardians cry over his death, especially Spy..."_ Feeling a wing drape over her back, she threw open her eyes, breathing heavily, as it seemed she was now in control. Looking at her paws, she opened them, and closed them, seeing she was now back in control. _H...How?_ Winter thought, looking up at Ignitus. He looked concerned as he asked, "Are you okay, Winter? You seem scared of..."

Quickly wrapping her arms around the back of his neck, she nuzzled her head underneath his as she let tears drip down her eyes. Looking at the other Guardians, he didn't want them to know what was happening. So, pulling up his fingers, he snapped them, muting out all the sound, except for his and her voice. Pulling her head back, she looked around, and asked, "What... what happened?"

"It's okay, Winter. I just made sure that only me and you are heard. If there is anything you want to tell me, you can. With all the sound muted out, it's just my voice, and yours. So what's bothering you?" Ignitus asked, hoping that he would be able to figure out what has happened while he slept.

She didn't know how to tell him the truth. On the off chance she did say anything, she knew she would've either been killed, or banished forever for attempted murder on the Guardians. Shaking her head slightly with a frown, she tried to cover what happened up, "I just, I woke up and started thinking about what happened to my lover again... I can never get past what happened, I don't think I ever will."

"That's not such a bad thing, Winter," Ignitus admitted with a smile, seeing Winter look at him with wide eyes, "It's good that you think about him. It shows how much you loved him, and that, even though he's gone, you'd never let go of him. If you do think of your lover, don't think about what you missed, think about what you did with one another. Laughing, smiling, cuddling, and all the adventures you had."

Some of his words made her feel better about what happened, but another part of her felt terrible about having to see good from what happened to her lover. _We did do all of that, every night and day. And now we can't even talk to one another anymore. Some dragons that I have spoken to told me to move on, to keep the memories, and find someone just like him... But how? How is it so easy for someone to tell me to move on, if they haven't lost someone they loved?!_ Winter growled in her thoughts, clenching her body from the thoughts, and the tears she shed back then. Feeling her body tense, he apologized, "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to say that. I was trying to help you, and it was inappropriate to bring back those memories to you."

 _Damn it, I don't understand. I can't even find out where her past is. I've looked through every single book on a dragoness that has the name Winter, and I can't even find her in any book. It would be some much easier if I could just figure out what happened; The complete story of what happened_ , Ignitus thought, still looking through his thoughts to find someone with the same description as Winter.

"No, it's not you. It's... It's just me remembering the times that some dragons told me to move on, while others told me to never do what they tell me to do. I can't tell what would be best for me. My life has always been twist and turns," Winter murmured, taking her arms off his neck, and putting them back to the ground, she looked down at the ground with a sigh.

Pulling his head down, he whispered to her, "So, why don't I help you in making your life become a straight line once again?"

Looking over at him, she wondered what he meant. He smiled with a slight chuckle and a blush as he explained, "I mean, you said some dragons tell you one thing or another, but what do you think? Is love something you're missing? Is someone you love, and feeling their embrace something you're missing? If so, then do what you think is right to get what you want. You can still remember your lover no matter what, but I'm not the one to choose what you do. I will support you in any decision that you feel will turn your life around."

Seeing his smile, listing to his words and feeling his wing over her, she thought to herself, _Is he right? Is love something I'm missing? That dark master told me to kill the Guardians, but do I have to? Why didn't I realise this before?! Is it because... my memories of my lover are holding me back? But what do I do now? I finally realised it, but after I tried to hurt the one... The one that... that I do care about._

"Oh, and, Winter. Not to bring up if something bad happened, but when I woke up, my mouth was iced over by some ice," Ignitus said, earning a drip of sweat from Winter, wondering if he would figure out what she was up to, "It's either Cyril was playing a prank on me, or, you iced over my mouth. Was it you?"

 _What do I say, I have nothing to counter that question! But I can't back out now, not when I'm close to realising something I should've a long time ago! What should I say?! What do I do?!_ Winter thought, scaring herself as she admitted to herself that she really does have feeling towards Ignitus. _What would everyone else do? What would they do?! When a bad situation, they always seemed like they tried to make light of the situation. They try to smile and laugh, instead of feeling bad about something so small,_ Winter thought, knowing she wouldn't be able to think any longer, as she knew Ignitus would grow suspicious.

"Well, now that you say it, when I woke up, I saw Cyril laying back down in his bed after doing something. It looked like a cool breath of ice escaped his mouth as he laid down," Winter said, looking over at Cyril, "And he's even smiling, which means he must have done something."

Ignitus grumbled with a small smile, as he said, "Alright, I will remember that. He was probably testing to see if I was asleep for real this time. To be honest, I actually slept good. I haven't done something like that on a long time. Now I'm afraid to sleep, as that prank he pulled actually almost killed me."

Winter felt awful for making the dark master take control over her body, and she felt awful for hurting Ignitus in anyway, especially after everything he has done for her in a day. Not wanting to really get Cyril into any trouble, she looked back at Ignitus, and asked him, "Well, is it okay for now that you let it slide? I promise he won't ever do something like that again."

"Alright, Alright, but only this one time. If he tries that again, I will be sure to make him pay for it," Ignitus declared, but it still got him wondering why Cyril would try something like that.

 _I should ask Cyril and see why he would try something like that. If he did that to Terrador, he surely would've died, and he knows that. Did he really do this just to see if I was asleep, or was it Winter? I guess I could always just look back through the books of what happened, but I should check with Cyril first,_ Ignitus thought, wondering what really happened while he was asleep. Stretching out his body, he said, "Well, I guess there isn't much I can do about it now. I slept well with you by my side."

Pulling up his paw, and snapping his fingers, he brought the sound back, as well as the slight snoring from the Guardians. Taking his wing off her to get on the bed, she trembled as her body tensed, and she felt the darkness quickly trying to take her body back over. Winter quickly turned around, and asked, "Ignitus... your wing...?"

She blushed a little, but the feeling of her body being controlled was terrifying to her. Ignitus looked to see she was shaking for some reason, putting his wing back over her, he asked in a whisper, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah... it's... That feeling came back from before of being... alone," Winter murmured, feeling her body was once again back under her control.

 _How is he able to protect me from the darkness? When his wing is over me, when I'm with him, the darkness can't take control of my mind..._ Winter thought to herself, but thinking of that made her want to stay with him even more. Feeling the safety from him, she couldn't help but snuggle up to the side of his body. The two blushed, but they tried not to say anything about it. Moving with Ignitus, Winter laid down with him, both laid on their belly with their paws out in front of them. Laying her head down, she closed her eyes, but Ignitus looked down with a blush, and asked with embarrassment, "Um... Winter... is... is it okay if you... place your head on my paws."

Winter's eyes shot opened, as she picked up her head and looked at him. Ignitus's blush only got bigger as he thought, _Thank the Ancestors my scales are red._ Trying to ignore his blush, as well as how she reacted, he explained, "Well, you... You looked scared and... I just want you... to feel safe."

She didn't want to decline and make him feel bad, and miss a chance that she thought was given to her by the Ancestors. Laying her head down over his paws, she closed her eyes once again with a small smile. But the smile got even bigger, as she felt Ignitus's head lay on hers. Closing his eyes, he smiled, knowing he was able to help Winter out. A small tear fell out of her eyes as she smiled. _I miss this..._ Winter thought, before falling back into a peaceful sleep with Ignitus once again.


	2. Chapter 2: Girls Day Out

Chapter 2: Girls Day Out

 _"I have control over your body, Claire. No matter what you do, I will still be able to kill Ignitus! The cycle continues, and I will kill your lover! Just like before how those dark forces did, and now it's my turn to do so, and you need to accept that fact!"_ Flint growled in her head, _"I'm going to enjoy watching the other Guardians cry over his death, especially Spyro, and that... No! What happened!"_ Opening his eyes, his teeth clenched and as he slammed his fist on the ground, he growled in his thoughts, _What happened?! Why can't I control her anymore? I was so close to killing the Guardians, I was so close!_ Thinking about what could've happened, he came to a realisation, _What if she was captured?! What if she spills the information on what we are doing?! Damn it, I shouldn't have trusted that Bitch!_ Tuning his head from a rock wall, he walked out of a door way with no door. Looking around the cave, he saw all the dark forces, apes, and dragons working and shaping the inside of the cave. _Who would be the best to take her out?_ He thought to himself, seeing both a red and a green Dragon. Snapping his fingers it echoed throughout the whole cave, causing everyone to stop what they were doing and look at him. As the two dragons he wanted looked at him, he pointed at them, and commanded, "Both of you, in my Chambers, Now! The rest of you, get back to work!"

The two dragons shivered, hoping that they didn't do anything wrong in making him upset. Stopping what they were doing, the two ran over to his Chamber, as they knew walking would make him wait, and they knew he didn't like being kept waiting. Walking in the Chamber doors, the two dragons looked at Flint as he sat down on a royal looking bed that was made from earth. The two dragons had never been in his Chamber, but looking around, there wasn't much but his bed. Snapping his fingers once again, the two dragons quickly snapped their head back over to look at him. They both sat down, puffing their chest out as they both asked, "What do you need sir?!"

"Enough with the sir. Listen, there is someone at Warfang I need you to take care of. A simple task, for strong dragons; sounds easy. I sent an assassin to take care of the Guardians, but it seems she is sucking up to the red Guardian: Ignitus. Your job is to find this blue dragoness named Claire. If you say her name is Winter, she will know I sent you. Or be brutal about it, I would love to watch. Just make sure you kill her before she has a chance to release any information about our whereabouts," Flint explained the mission, hoping that this plan wouldn't go as terrible as the one before.

Both the dragons nodded and almost said yes sir again, but they quickly shut their mouths. Flint smiled to see that the two didn't have any questions, "It's good to see you two have a strong sense of what to do. Play your cards right, and I will make sure that you get to dig your claws into Malefor's dying body."

The two dragons smiled, knowing that they didn't want to miss such an opportunity to get their revenge against him. Feeling as if that motivation got them more excited, he knew he could use that to his advantage, "Now, tomorrow morning, I want the two of you up bright and early to finish the job. You better be awake before I am. Go get some rest before you have to kill her, because so help me, if the two of you fail...! I will make sure you won't ever fail again."

The two dragons swallowed hard from his words. They turned away from him and took the opportunity to get as much sleep as they could. Walking out of his Chamber, Flint's body tensed as he felt him taking control over Claire's body once again. _Come on, Claire! You want what's best, let me kill those damn Guardians so everything will turn out better!_ Trying to take control, he was once again blocked out. The anger he felt made him slam his fist into his rocky bed, cracking it a little from the bottom. He sighed, and told himself, "They will do it. They will succeed. If not, I have another plans. So many plans, so few amount of time. I just need to think what plan and which plan is the best. I will save him for when I really feel like destroying things."

Laying down on his bed, he laid his head down on his paws that laid in front of him. _What to do next. I know I need to kill the Guardians, but how? Killing them could result in a break down from one of them, I know it. But how will I be able to kill them? I might have to do it myself, but, I believe I will find someone strong enough, hopefully smart enough, to kill the Guardians,_ Flint thought, as his eyes had widened from information that he received from looking through his thoughts, _What the hell?! How... where did these memories come from?!_ His chuckles soon turn to an evil laugh as he started to gain more and more of the memories that Malefor once had when he was the dark master. _Oh, this is fantastic. This Dark power can store memories from previous dark master! This should give me information on why I can't control Claire anymore! This should give me so much more information!_ Digging deeper into his thoughts, he learned more and more that was once learned by the old dark master.

* * *

Rising over the horizon, the sun shined down on the citizens of Warfang once again. The sun slowly crept up in the sky more and more, brightening the once dark sky. The sunlight made its way into a window, shining right into the eyes of Spyro. Feeling the burning sensation of the sun's rays, he grumbled as he thought, _I seriously need to stop sleeping in this spot._ Pulling up his head, he stretched out his body, wondering if he should just go back to sleep, _Should I just go back to bed? Probably not, I have Malefor to deal with. Need to make sure he stays in line. Which probably will never happen._ Seeing the sun now beat down on Cynder's eyes, she grumbled slightly, quickly grabbing Spyro's attention. Pulling his wing up, he blocked the sun from her eyes. The sun had already woken her up, but she was happy to see Spyro was there with her.

"Good morning Spyro," Cynder whispered with a smile, opening one eye that looked at him.

He looked at her and smiled. Pulling his head down, he nuzzled her cheek, and whispered, "Good morning Cynder. I hope you slept well?"

"I woke up better then I slept. Last time the sun was in my eyes, you weren't there to help me," Cynder teased, seeing Spyro pull his head away and seeing the sadness on his face, "But being here now will make up for it, Well, there is still one thing left for you to do to make up for it completely."

Spyro raised a brow, wondering what that something could be. Pulling her head up, she moved her face right in front of his with a smile as she whispered with the warm feeling of her breath on his lips, "I want a good morning kiss from you. I didn't get to have that either yesterday, so you're going to make up for a lot of what I missed."

He smiled with a chuckle, pushing his lips onto Cynder's, he quickly tried to figure out what he did wrong so he could make up for it. Pulling away from the soft kiss, she opened her mouth to say what else he missed, but Spyro quickly interjected, "I yelled how the two were going to have Hatchlings which was inappropriate of me in a attempt to embarrass Malefor."

Cynder raised a brow, wondering what else he could come up with, "And?"

"And I should've stayed and comforted you after I knew you were afraid that I had killed Malefor. And if I would've stayed, we would've had more time to kiss, and we also would've been able to defuse the situation faster."

"And?"

Spyro chuckled at her, wondering what else he could be missing, "I didn't kiss you every minute because I spent to much time looking after Malefor even though I should've just spent that time tackling you to the ground and giving you the best kiss you've ever felt at almost every minute."

Cynder giggled with a smile and a blush. Pulling her claw up and placing the tip of her claw underneath Spyro's chin, she whispered with some hope in her voice, "The day isn't over for you to do something like that. If you want to kiss me, I don't care when, you better kiss me more then you did yesterday. Understood?"

"Understood... my love," Spyro purred with a smile, seeing the smile on her face as well as she pulled her claw back down onto the bed.

"Very good. Now, what do you say we go and see what the Guardians are up to. I'm really interested in seeing if that dragoness, I believe her name was Winter, is still with Ignitus. It seemed like she was just here to be here, but if you look at it right, you know she has something for him," Cynder suggested, wondering what could've happened during the night.

"Please tell me we don't have to invite Malefor. If he keeps going on about that third base stuff again, I really will have to kill him," Spyro grumbled with a smile, remembering just how embarrassing it was for him and everyone else to hear.

"I don't think that will be necessary. Malefor will always have the same weakness as you; Disappointing their lover. All I have to do is tell Carith that if he says something like that again, something bad will happen, and I know Carith would never let that happen."

"Sounds pretty evil."

"Evil indeed. And it's funny to see Malefor so eager to say something, but he knows if he tries, he's going to get yelled out for it... or, you know, have to sleep on the floor. Which for Carith, that was pretty cold. Ice dragoness or not, that was still colder then her ice."

"Would I ever have to sleep on the floor?"

"That depends, what did you do?"

"I... I... um, I guess I didn't kiss you more then I did yesterday, and instead I kissed you even less then I did yesterday. What kind of punishment would I have to go through?"

Cynder pulled her tail blade up to Spyro's neck, and placed the tip of her tail blade onto his chin. Looking at him, she warned with a smile, "You'll under go the worst punishment of them all. I will constantly be disappointed at you for the entire day, and every single day, I will remind you of how disappointed you made me."

"No," Spyro cried.

Pulling her tail blade back to her body, she kissed him slightly on the cheek. Pulling away, she looked at him and joked, "So don't be to late in giving me that kiss, or else I will be to early in getting disappointed. But don't worry, you've got time. Now move your purple butt and lets see what Ignitus and Winter are doing."

Standing up, and walking off the bed, she looked back at Spyro and asked, "What's the matter? Did I put that much fear into you?"

Spyro chuckled as he stood up and walked off the bed. Standing next to his lover, and draping a wing over her, he admitted, "Just a little. After all, disappointing you is as big of a fear as losing you; Neither of which I want to happen."

Cynder giggled at him, and snuggling up to him, she whispered, "Well, neither you will ever have to worry about. You don't have to kiss me, I'm only teasing. But I better at least get more then yesterday's, Okay?"

"Deal," Spyro chuckled with a smile.

Walking up to the door, Spyro reached up his paw, grabbed the door knob, and twisted it. Pushing open the door, he walked out of their room with his lover. Shutting the door behind himself with his tail, he walked just halfway through the hallway before being stopped by a voice, "Ah ha!"

Looking to his side, he saw Sparks was awake.

"I slept most of yesterday, but now, I'm back, and better then ever! So tell me my dude, what shall we do today on our day off? We could always play the game from before. You know, see who can crush who's tail first. I love that game, because I always won," Sparks frantically asked, hoping that they would finally be able to do something together.

"Crush one another's tail? Ow, and how? Sparks doesn't really even have a tail, so wouldn't he always win?" Cynder asked, watching Sparks fly up and land on Spyro's head.

"Precisely, and that is what makes the game so much fun," Sparks said.

Putting her paw on her forehead and sighing, she pulled her paw back to the ground, and looked at her lover with a raised brow, wondering what he could've possible be thinking. He chuckled knowing what she was thinking, and he tried to explain himself, "We were bored, and when Sparks came up with the idea, we were like six years old. He crushed my tail, and our home, so either way, it was a lose-win situation."

"Oh yeah, I did crush our home. Good thing our parents weren't there at the time."

"And do you remember what happened when they came back?"

"Yeah, they made sure my tail was the one being crushed as they made me rebuild the entire place. And all they did was lay with you, yelling at me for what I had done wrong. I know what I did, by six years old, what was that about? At six, you were bigger then me, why couldn't you do it?"

"Because I wasn't the idiot who crushed our home with boulders. And why are you whining? The only job you really had to do was pick up small wood pieces that I cut off from trees with my claw. What was so bad about that?"

"Small pieces?! Those wood pieces had more pieces of wood sticking out of it then any tree should have! I had splinter all over my arms, and my chest. And since you didn't have your powers, I had to lay in that hot water, hoping they would fall out at some point. Then all you did was get your claws, and you took them out. Which was a pain in the every loving dragon fly!"

"You do know that our parents cried thinking they were terrible when they saw you like that, right? They felt terrible for making you do that work."

"Yeah, Well, at least I now know that if I have a splinter, I can just come to you. Still stung when you pulled those things out though. And those things were huge compared to my small little body!"

"Small as a child, and small as an adult."

"Not this again."

Hearing another door open as well as a voice, the three looked over at the door in front of them to see Malefor and Carith waking out of the room with his wing draped over her. Shutting their door behind themselves, they looked over to see the other three were already awake. Malefor smiled at him and asked, "No tail blade to the neck this time?"

"Day isn't over," Spyro joked, feeling as if today was going to be a lot more then he thought it would be.

"So, why did you two wake up? Are you both after the same thing we are after?" Cynder asked.

"If you mean by seeing what Ignitus and Winter are up to after last night, you would be completely correct," Carith responded, seeing Cynder raise a brow with a smile, knowing she got it right, "I mean, it's Ignitus. Seeing him try and get a girl is like a once in a life opportunity... Literally. So, what do you think they are doing?"

"Cough, Each other, Cough!" Malefor coughed, trying to hide his words, but everyone still heard, blushing hard at what he said, but he tried to cover it up, "Man, I am coughing something furious... Why are you blushing my love? Is my coughing embarrassing to you."

"You know what you said," Spyro said.

"What are you talking about? Cynder, are you going to let me take this kind of harassment once again in the morning?" Malefor asked, seeing her raise a brow with a grumpy looking face, she also raised her paw, "Okay, yeah, I'm just going to take what he said. But come on, those two were all over one another."

"So were you and Carith."

"It's called cuddling."

"So what do you call what Ignitus and Winter were up to?"

"Hahaha, third base," Malefor laughed, looking at his lover to see her trying not to smile while she shuck her head, "I'm sorry, I had to. But if I think about it for real, they are probably still laying with one another. Do you know what that means?! Ignitus is with Winter, Winter is with Ignitus, both of them are cuddling, cuddling means affection, affection leads to love, love leads to marriage, marriage leads to Hatchlings! Proven and dated!"

"You just had to fined the worlds greatest discovery, and I just can't even fight with you on logic. What I was trying to get you to understand, which failed miserably, was the fact that they could still be asleep with one another. Maybe, if we catch them, we can pick on him all day. Especially if he had a smile on his face at the time," Spyro suggested, Shaking his head that something so simple turned into the world's greatest discovery.

"That makes sense as well, but my idea was still better."

Tuning his head towards the door, Spyro looked back at the other two, and asked, "Are we standing here because we want to, or because the thought of seeing Ignitus on a bed with someone else is so mind boggling to all of us?"

"The second one," The three responded in unison, slightly different then the others words.

Turning and walking with Cynder, he said, "Well I'm not going to miss out on this, so we need to hurry it up. If we have woken up, the Guardians and maybe even Winter is bound to wake up. Ignitus might not be asleep, but knowing the gentleman he is, he won't move until she wakes up."

After finishing his sentence, he gave the door enough time to open before walking out of the house with his lover, along with Malefor and Carith following behind. As they walked down the stairs, Carith looked to see Malefor wasn't smiling as much as she thought he would be about this situation. Slowing down her pace, Malefor slowed down with her, and looking at her, he asked, "Are you okay?"

"Just need to be out of the hearing distance from those two so you can say what you want," Carith explained with a smile, "Now tell me, what's wrong? You don't seem nearly as happy as before. And by before, I mean years ago. I thought going to see Ignitus cuddled with a girl that we think he likes would be a perfect time for you to smile... Okay, not like that, but you know what I mean."

Malefor chuckled seeing Carith's small blush from her words, "It's just, going back to this makes me afraid. The last time Ignitus tried to get a girlfriend, it didn't work out as I was hoping. One thing lead to another... and I'm afraid that history will like to repeat itself again during our situation."

"Do you trust Spyro?"

"Yes... A bit, but why do you ask?"

"Do you trust me, and Cynder?"

"Not sure where you are going, but of course I trust you two."

"Then quit trying to make such a memorable situation so less memorable. If something ever happened, you know Spyro would be on protecting everyone. Then he has you, the Guardians, and you even have us: Cynder and me. I know you two would never let me or her fight, but we are still there to help."

"What if a thousand apes attacked Warfang? Or even at some point where Spyro is separated from Cynder?"

"Have you seen those two? Getting one another away from each other is like trying to split the earth in half with your claw."

"Weird way to put it but I'm listening."

"Just breath. Trust in Spyro, and trust in yourself that everything will be okay. I mean, After all, Ignitus still hasn't given us that one warning he promised us, which means we are still in the clear. Ignitus isn't like the old Chronicler, we both know he won't go back on his word."

Malefor raised a brow, wondering why Carith was helping him so much, "Why are you trying to help me? I know you would always help me through a difficult time, but I know you well, and for some reason, I have this feeling that you want something. Tell me the truth, what do you want?"

"What, I, how could you..." Carith mumbled, blushing, as she didn't know Malefor would catch on so easily.

Raising a brow once again, she blushed, and seeing his smile, she admitted, "Alright, Alright, I will tell you the truth... Seeing you so excited from before, and getting, getting that kiss from you, that, that kiss was worth every single second of that day. And I was hoping, by getting you excited for the day once again, it might happen, once again."

"Guys!" A voice yelled.

The two turned around to see Spyro sticking his head out of the Guardians Chambers.

"You passed it," He said.

The two chuckled as they turned back around. Nuzzling his head softly on Carith, he stopped, and putting his cheek next to hers he whispered, "If the day goes good, and you were right about everything, I will make sure your lips will be satisfied for the rest of the night, even in your sleep."

"Sounds good to me," Carith purred with a shiver.

"You better believe it's going to be good," Malefor purred back, pulling up his head to see that they were in the Guardians Chambers, but as he realised that, he saw the two standing next to one another, looking at him with blushes.

"What?" He asked.

Shaking his head, Spyro sighed hugely, knowing he would have to go through this again, but he tried to get him to understand, "You came into this room, with a smile, and without knowing the full conversation, all we heard was how it's going to feel good. Leaving it at that, and here's to hoping that Ignitus can erase memories."

Malefor and Carith both blushed with wide eyes, not looking at one another as they knew what they were thinking. Grabbing his courage, Malefor opened his mouth to defend himself, but Spyro quickly stopped him, because he knew he would make it worse, "Shut your face. I just wanted to embarrass you two sooner then later. Plus Cynder told me to do it."

Cynder gasped, putting her paw on her chest, looking at Spyro in disbelief. He chuckled seeing her reaction, and whispered, "You know you were thinking about just like how I was. Plus, agree with me, and I could give you another kiss."

Putting her paw back to the ground, she sighed with a smile, and looking at him, she agreed, "Okay... But if you're lying to me."

Putting her lips in front of Spyro's, she teased, "I'm going to make sure you kiss me enough times to make up for that kiss... which you better not be lying about."

Pulling her head back, Spyro quickly thought to himself, _I need to talk to Ignitus! He should know everything on how to kiss a girl even better!_ Chuckling at her words, Spyro turned with her towards the back door, and said, "Well, I'm hoping I'm not lying when it comes to those two sleeping."

"Don't you find it weird that our journey today is to hopefully see Ignitus laying in bed with a girl?" Malefor asked, earning grunts and grumbles from everyone, but they could help but keep a smile, knowing it was him.

Looking to see Carith's face, he knew what her face was saying while she raised her brow, and tapped her lips with her claw. He chuckled with a smile, and apologized, "Okay, I'm sorry, I won't do it again. Just please don't take away our kissing time."

Pulling her claw down from her lips, she decided to let this one pass, "One more chance is all you get."

Malefor sighed, looking to see the two were walking up to the door in the back. Carith and Malefor looked at one another, wondering if Ignitus was still sleeping with that girl from the before. Looking back at the door, the two walked behind the other two. Watching as Spyro raised his paw up to the door, their hearts were beating so fast, they could feel as if their hearts were in their ears. They started to sweat as Spyro grabbed the door knob. As he twisted it, they held their breaths. Opening the door, they all let out a huge sigh to see, they were still in bed together. Ignitus laid there with a smile, Winter too.

"We're so going to have to pick on Ignitus about this," Spyro whispered to his lover, earning a smile and a nod.

Malefor chuckled as he was about to say something, but a tail blade launched up in front of his face. He dripped a tear of sweat as he looked and saw the tail was green, and as he looked to see who the tail belonged to, he found out it was Terrador's, but his voice gave it away anyway, "Don't you dare ruin this."

Pulling his tail blade down, Malefor saw that Cyril and Volteer were sitting next to one another while Volteer sat to Terrador's side. Malefor chuckled as he asked, "Why is everyone such a creep? The dude is with some girl he met on the streets. I know other dragons who have done that in an hour."

"Maybe of you stopped joking, you understand what this really meant," Terrador grumbled, see as if Malefor already started to understand, even though he didn't say anything, "Ignitus is with someone, and seeing this, it gives us hope that maybe Ignitus was successful in finding someone he cares about, maybe even loves. After all, look at them: They are both smiling as they are cuddling with one another."

Malefor nodded as he finally understand what the fuss was really about. A snore escaped Ignitus as they watched him move his head down off of Winter's. They all tried to stay perfectly still, trying not to get spotted by him, as they knew they couldn't even leave the room now. Opening his eyes and looking down at Winter, he moved his head down and nuzzled his head on the side of hers. Pulling his head away, she opened one eye and looked at him.

"Good morning," Ignitus whispered with a light smile.

She giggled softly at his words, and pulling her head up and opening her other eye, she whispered back, "Good morning... To be honest, the good morning isn't wrong. So far, this has been a pretty good morning, and the day has just started off."

"Well, I try everything in my power to make sure that you feel welcomed in Warfang. So, tell me, did you sleep with any trouble? Did you have any nightmares?"

"Aside from what happened last night, after you comforted me, I slept amazing. I haven't slept that good in a long time. And what was crazy was the fact that I knew I was sleeping so close to where Malefor was, and yet, I felt safe. After the talk last night, I feel better, knowing the full story. I just wish he didn't have to kill my lover."

"I'm glad that you are starting to trust him a little more, and I still feel terrible about what has happened to your lover, but I assure you; None of that will ever happen again. With Carith around, the most damage Malefor can do is with his words. Anything other then that and Spyro would be stabbing his tail faster into Malefor then a lightning bolt striking the ground."

"Why do you think he doesn't trust him? I know his family was killed by him, but do you think Spyro still has hate towards him? I'm only asking because I wonder what I should feel about Malefor. Should I trust him or should I not. So far, I've just gone off of what you and everyone else has said. But what do you think Spyro's relationship with Malefor is, seems how he called Malefor his punching bag."

"I don't think Spyro really has that much hate towards him. He is scared, that's all. He doesn't want to lose anyone else to any one, and as much as he tries to tell himself to trust Malefor, he keeps coming back to what has happened to Cynder. But at least he hasn't killed him, and because of that, he has someone to beat up rather then us, because screw trying to one arm fight Spyro."

"You don't have faith you'll beat him?"

"Spyro could beat Terrador in an arm wrestle. And to be honest, he might even be able to beat me, and the other three in an arm wrestle all at the same time if he really wanted to. He would probably do that to impress his lover, which I mean, beating the Guardians in an arm wrestle all in one go is pretty impressive."

"Are you calling yourself weak?"

"What? No. Let's just say that I have my own secret power with in me that I could use. Then I could easily beat Spyro no matter how powerful he becomes. But of course, I wouldn't be able to use that power because Cynder would hate me if Spyro went through even more training just so he could pass me in power, which is possible."

"So technically, you are the strongest out of everyone here."

"Let's just say yes. I definitely don't want to bore you with the details."

Putting her paw on Ignitus's, she whispered with a smile, "I have all the time in the world."

He smiled back at her with a warm smile. Both of them, looking at one another with a warm feeling in their hearts for one another. His eyes adjusted as he looked behind Winter to see that both Volteer and Cyril had disappeared from their beds. _If they are gone, then that must mean Terrador is as well... But where could they... I hate every last one of them! I'm going to kill every last one of them!_ Freezing time, Ignitus looked over at the seven and growled, "What are you all doing in here?!"

"I live here," Volteer defended.

"I do too," Terrador agreed.

"We were watching you act like you don't like Winter, and to be honest, it's quite sad," Spyro said.

"Did you hear everything we said? Everything we talked about?"

"Yep," Volteer said, keeping it nice and simple.

Ignitus shuck his head, looking back at Winter, wondering if he should let her in on the conversation.

"What's the big deal? You were talking to her, she doesn't know we are here, and you froze time. Freezing time means we have enough, time, to get out of here before she noticed we were in here," Malefor explained, chuckling at his time joke, "So why the grumpiness grumpy dragon."

"I'm not grumpy, I'm just going through something, and it's hard to try and figure out what happened. But since time is frozen, I need to ask you a quick question Cyril, because it has bugged me ever since it happened," Taking a deep breath in, and then out, Ignitus calmed himself, and asked, "Did you wake up at any point last night? Tell me the truth. Even if you don't, I can still look back, but I need to hear it from you. Were you awake last night?"

"No," Cyril answered honestly, "As soon as I was out, I was out. And I had the perfect dream too. I don't remember it, but I know it was a good dream."

"Why the question?" Terrador asked.

"No reason. Well, of course there is a reason behind it, but nothing to be worried about. I'm sorry if I growled at you all. It's just... I honestly thought... I thought... Spyro, Malefor, take your lover's out the room. I want you two to leave as well. Me and the Guardians need to have a little chat. Well, actually... Malefor. You and your lover need to stay. Spyro, take Cynder where ever," Ignitus explained, completely confusing everyone with the way he was acting, but they decided to obey his words.

Walking out of the room, Spyro opened the door, and as he walked out with his lover, he shut it with his tail blade. Looking at Cynder, he asked, "Do you know what that was about?"

"Maybe it was destiny? Maybe destiny knows you haven't kissed me in a while, so it's giving us this time to kiss all we want without having to worry about a single thing?" Cynder hinted, pecking the side of Spyro's cheek with a smile before pulling away and still looking at him with her smile.

He chuckled, and agreed, "Well then, I guess I will be able to make up for what I couldn't yesterday. What do you say we grab a room?"

"But where? How do we know who does or doesn't own the room? Now that I ask, how do they keep track of the rooms that dragons stay in?" Cynder asked, drifting off into even more questions.

Turning around, they heard the door open behind them. Malefor poked out his head, and said as if he were confused, "Ignitus told me to tell you that the four rooms in front are vacated for the Guardians just in case you need to use them. Two doors to the left and two doors to the right. And he said something about moles keeping track of the rooms dragons stay in. I'm guessing you asked, and he told?"

"He better not do that..."

"He said he won't read your mind while you two are kissing," Malefor interrupted, remembering how he felt when he wanted to kiss Carith the day he got back.

"Why do you think Ignitus is acting this way? He seems to want us gone so badly. He's even answering our questions before we even get to ask them," Spyro wondered, as his wonder made him think of what was really going on.

"I wouldn't think about it to much. After all, the more they talk, the longer we can kiss," Cynder said, seeing Spyro's confusion slowly disappear as he smiled, but she knew he was just as curious as he was.

Malefor watched as the two turned back around, and walked up to the door in the very front of the Guardians Chambers. Watching them open the door, he saw them walk in. Seeing them walk into the room, he saw something yellow and glowing heading towards him. Sparks flew past Malefor's face, and grumbled on his way past him, "No way am I staying in there."

Spyro shut the door with his tail, and so did Malefor, as he looked back at everyone, wondering what was happening, as he was more confused then ever.

"Before I say anything important, what is said in this room stays in this room. Some of the things I say Spyro and Cynder can never hear about. Understood?" Ignitus said, earning a nod from everyone, "Okay, let me get this out of the way first. Malefor, Carith, I don't want you to fear, but there are still dark creatures, which means there is a dark master."

"What?!" The two cried.

"It isn't you, so do not fear. Do not tell Spyro this as he will suspect you, Malefor. I already told the Guardians that your friendship is a pretty thin line, and if word that you were a dark master got out, Spyro might come very close to killing you."

"But... But why tell us this? You know the fears I have of becoming the dark master, and now that I know there is another dark master, how, how will I know if he won't try to, resurrect the dark master inside of me?!" Malefor cried, shivering in fear that a dark master could make him the dark master once again with his or her power.

"I don't want you to fear, Malefor. You've been stripped of your dark power almost down to the bone. No one really knows of Spyro's dark power, so this new dark master won't try to do anything to him. Unless Spyro goes into his dark mode, then will we be more at a risk. Activating and using your dark power from before might be a good idea. Spyro has some good control over his dark power, but you have none. You should train with Spyro to use that power, so if anyone ever tried to control that dark power, you should be fine."

"Ignitus, I, I, I can't go back to using my dark powers. What if the whole point of this was for me to use my dark powers just to end up being controlled? What if I turn once again? Then Spyro will have no choice but to kill me, and then I will lose Carith, and my life!"

"That's why you need to talk to Spyro. Losing control when he isn't around is one thing. But when he is there, training you, helping you, and if you lose control then, Spyro is right there to help you, instead of killing you. I will put in my word so he will understand where you are coming from with this. Maybe this will be a good thing."

"But, what does this have to do with your anger, your confusion? Is it because your confused on what to do with me, and that is makes you angry? Or is it because you are anger for what I have to do, and it makes you confused?"

"No, no, no, none of that. I was angry, because I was confused. Confused and... sad."

"What?" They asked in unison.

"Cyril, the reason I asked you that question is because I woke up last night with ice over my mouth. I almost died from lack of oxygen. When I asked you, and you said no, I thought it could be Malefor, or Spyro, but then I knew they would never wake up in the middle of the night and leave their lovers, just to pull a prank on me. But then I realized, there was only one other dragon... dragoness, who has that ice power... Winter," Ignitus murmured as his sentence moved on.

Looking at Winter, he didn't want to believe it could be her. Seeing her smile, looking at her paw on his, it stabbed at his heart thinking it could be her.

"Winter? Ignitus, if it really was her, you do realize what we would have to do in order to keep you safe, right?" Cyril asked, seeing Ignitus's body clench.

"I know," He growled.

"You've only know her for a day, maybe even half a day, Ignitus. This is the hard part about a relationship: Finding out that the one you cared about isn't the one for you. If Winter is really trying to kill you, that must me she was trying to kill us as well. You'll find another dragoness later. But right now, maybe, maybe we should just tell her the bad news."

"But what about her past? How would she feel if she lost it all again? That's not what we do. How are we supposed to help if we don't even understand what really happened. For all we know, it could've just been someone else that iced over my mouth. All because she was awake and joked it was you, doesn't mean it was her."

"Ignitus, that story could've been a lie just to get with you."

"The way she acted wasn't a lie. When those dark creatures started appearing all around us, she held onto me, begging for us to leave. Her story isn't a lie... I'm angry, because I don't know if what happened was true, and even if I saw the truth, which I could, I know it would anger me more. And seeing it would confuse me just as much as not hearing the truth... I don't know what to say. I don't know what to do."

Seeing everyone so bummed out about everything that was going on, an idea sparked in Carith's head, "Wait a minute! I have a fantastic idea!"

Everyone looked at Carith as she continued, "Since you all don't know what to do, I can give you time to think by taking Winter off your paws! Me, Cynder, and Winter, can have a girls day out! While we walk around and talk, you all can do the same. Of course we won't talk about boring stuff like this, but stuff that girls talk about. Which I'm sure none of us know, but it would be a fantastic idea!"

"How are you going to get Spyro to agree with that? He would never let his lover walk around Warfang with you two. Not that he doesn't trust you, he just doesn't trust anyone around Warfang. Especially after the whole incident with that one red dragon," Ignitus asked, wondering if that would give him enough time to think about what to do.

"I will find a way. Us dragoness aren't as weak as you make us out to be. And since there is three of us, we should do just fine. And I might be a little rusty on my fighting, but I've learned from my lover, so I should be fine. And Cynder was a born fighter with her tail blade. Plus, if we tell that Cynder is with Spyro for dragons they don't know, I'm sure they will back off. After all, if anyone touched a claw on her or me, we have are purple protectors that we can run to, which will be fun to watch when they get themselves throw through a building."

The Guardians looked at one another, wondering if this would be the best course of action to help with the situation. Terrador shuck his head and declined the idea, "I don't think it's a good idea."

"What?" Everyone asked in unison.

"I'm sorry, Ignitus, but if this is how Winter makes you feel at points, maybe being in love isn't the greatest idea. And if Carith and the other two have a day out, they will only grow more of a friendship with Winter. Maybe having her around isn't the best idea. Seeing you grumble in the morning, I don't think it would be good to keep her around."

Ignitus sighed, knowing that Terrador was probably right about what he said. But then he went back to his conversation from before, "But then I go back to the part where her lover died. And thinking about how we would have to banish her after everything she has already gone through... It just doesn't feel right to me."

"Stop trying to think about it so hard. Do what you usually do, and think about what to do."

Ignitus went through his thoughts, wondering what would be the best action he could take to make everyone happy, and every time he thought about it, he thought about what Spyro would do. Looking back at the Guardians and the other two, Ignitus commanded them, "Don't tell Spyro anything about the dark master, or what we talked about. I will talk to him. Now I need you all to close your eyes."

They wondered what he was talking about, but they did as they were instructed. Ignitus watched as they all closed their eyes. Looking away from them, he pulled up his paw that wasn't underneath Winter's, and snapped his fingers towards a bed.

"Open your eyes," Ignitus said.

Opening their eyes, they looked over towards Volteer bed to see Spyro on top of Cynder, and the two were locked in a kiss. Opening his eyes, Spyro saw he was in the Guardians Sleeping Chambers.

"Not my bed," Volteer cried, knowing he would have to get a new one.

Cynder opened her eyes, and looking over at Ignitus, she growled, "You better have a good reason for this."

Getting off Cynder, Spyro jumped off the bed, and waited for his lover. Cynder rolled onto her belly before standing up and jumping off the bed. Standing next to his lover, he draped his wing over her, and listed to Ignitus words, "Spyro, I need to know what you would do in this situation. Something happened, and I believe Winter did it, and Carith thinks it would best if your lover, her, and Winter all had a girls day out to help me think about what to do, as well as get information on her. But I don't want your lover and Malefor's to gain a friendship as well, as I... I also have feelings for Winter... And I'd admit that. But if I found out this something was true, I would have to banish her... even after her past... even after she already lost everything... I don't know what to do."

Spyro sighed, and asked, "Why didn't you ask Volteer?"

"Because I'm smart in a lot of things. Relationship stuff, not so much," Volteer admitted.

"Wait, weren't you the one who was talking about how he could get a girl before any of us because he knew how to kiss a girl better with your powers?" Malefor looked at him as he asked, seeing him chuckle with a smile, remembering that situation, and conversation, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

 _Kiss a girl better with your powers? I need to ask Volteer what he means,_ Spyro thought, holding it in his mind when he had the time so he could ask Volteer later. Getting back on track, Spyro decided what was best, "Well then it can't be helped. If she did something you didn't like, then banish her, then you won't have to worry about a thing, especially now that she is gone."

"But Spyro, I don't want to abandon her. She seems so nice, and I don't want to believe it was her, and..."

"Then don't banish her," Spyro interrupted Ignitus, "You said you had feelings for her. You said you shouldn't get attached. But from how I see it, you want Winter to stay, and what ever she did you don't want to believe, so then don't. Instead of going through the day bummed out and grumpy, you need to look to the brighter side of things and just forget about it. Let's have a good day and not go back to being all sad and grumpy all the time."

"But..." Ignitus murmured, knowing that Spyro was true about what he said.

"Ignitus... Dad, you know you like her. Your paw was on hers when she put her paw on yours, how much more proof do you need to tell yourself that she is the right one? But if you're thinking about it this much, then banishing her would be the best option now wouldn't it. This is just my opinion, but it's up to you for what happens," Spyro explained, wondering what his father would do with his words.

Looking down and seeing his paw on hers, and her paw on his, he looked back up to see her smiling, and it stabbed at him thinking about how she could've done something like that. Shaking his head, he told himself not to believe it, and agreed with Spyro, "Yeah, your right!"

"Well, I think she should be banished if she is making my father grumpy in the morning," Spyro suggested with a nod.

"No, it wasn't that. Another reason I was grumpy was because I was having a special moment with her, and I knew that one of you would screw it up. That's another reason why I froze time: So she wouldn't be able to tell you all were here, and I would be able tell you all to leave before she noticed," Ignitus explained, feeling bad that he growled at them, and apologized, "I am sorry. But, Spyro, you have to admit, you know the feeling where Sparks would interrupt you and tell you to kiss Cynder even though you weren't in love yet; That's the feeling I get. The feeling of being embarrassed or interrupted in a special moment."

"Fair enough... But now that we know that this is just going to be a normal day, what now?" Spyro asked.

"You all leave so I can... talk, with Winter. Once we leave the room, you three can have your girls day out. Sounds good?"

They all nodded at Ignitus words, and turned to the door. Spyro walked with Cynder up to the door as Volteer opened it. Everyone walked out, followed by Cynder, but Spyro stopped, and turning his head around, Ignitus looked at him as he said, "You know just as much as I do that you like her. When ever something happened with me and Cynder, we always talked about it. And look at us now. Maybe talking to her about it would be better then you think."

Ignitus held onto his son's words as he watched him walk out of the room, shutting the door behind himself with his tail. He sighed, wondering if what his son said would be true as he looked back at Winter. Returning time back to normal, he once again was able to hear the small, peaceful breaths that escaped from Winter's nose. He smiled at her, and asked, "Winter, how would you feel if you, Cynder, and Carith, all had a girls day out?"

"Where did this come from?" She asked.

"Well, I was thinking, you've never had the best of friends, and I know that you would get along well with Cynder and Carith. Understand how they feel about their lovers, or talking about what ever you want to talk about, I feel like it would be good for you to bond with them. Then once you come back, you won't have to worry about being abandoned or shunned, or anything like that."

"Alright, what are you playing at? You promise me a tour of Warfang, but now, your promising one of the best days of my life. Where did this come from?"

Ignitus sighed with a frown, not wanting to reveal the truth behind his actions. Seeing his frown, she couldn't help but try and cheer him up, "You don't have to tell me, Ignitus. I honestly am thankful that you would put so much effort into making sure I was happy. Taking a walk around Warfang with some other girls sounds like fun. Especially since I know that they would make me laugh with some story's about their lovers. And I kinda wonder what stories Carith has about her lover."

Ignitus's eyes widened a little, hearing her words, he asked, "Malefor? But, I thought you hated him."

Winter giggled with a small sigh as she admitted, "I do, and I might always will, but... I think I'm starting to see the good from everything that has happened in my life so far... You're right, about seeing the good. Seeing Malefor with his lover for a little time, seeing him joke, it really made me wonder if, if maybe I was wrong about him... I still wish my lover didn't have to die. But, I'm seeing the good, and it's not so bad."

Ignitus chuckled with a smile, and joked, "Just wait until Malefor really starts getting into his jokes, then you'll see just how bad and embarrassing he can be."

"Sounds like he is going to be a paw full," Winter giggled, "But it's a good thing I won't have to worry about him today, since you were so kind as to give me a day with the girls. I've honestly never had a day out before with other girls, so I'm actually pretty excited about today. Thank you for doing this for me Ignitus, but I have to ask, did the other two agree to this?"

"Funny thing, Carith suggested it."

"When? I was with you the whole time. Unless you woke up before I did, how were you able to talk to her?"

"I woke up at one point during the morning, and Carith walked in a told me about the idea. Cynder's on board as well I'm sure because she has never had a day out either, and I'm sure Carith hasn't either, so this is basically a new adventure for all three of you. I know you will have a great time."

"Well, I've never had a girls day out before, so I guess I will join along. What will you do while I'm gone?"

"Probably cry in my bed knowing that you left."

"Aw, Ignitus. Don't worry, I will be back. We can stay and talk for a bit more in the Chambers and then I will go on this adventure with those two. It will be nice to know that I at least don't have to worry about Malefor destroying everything while I'm taking a walk... I mean, the dark master."

Ignitus smiled at Winter as she said those words, and she smiled back seeing his smile.

* * *

"You think he is talking to her about what happened?" Spyro asked.

"Probably not. He doesn't have the guts to do something like that," Malefor answered.

"So what exactly happened that he is flipping out about? Was he like, bashed in the head with a shard of ice or something?"

"Hahaha, I wish. But no, it was something else. It's nothing really to be worried about."

"And yet he said he would have to banish her for it."

"Tomato, banana."

"You're not going to tell me are you."

"You'll know when you know okay. Ignitus will tell you, but for right now, I believe keeping it to ourselves, Well, myself, would be best."

"This better not be a third base thing."

"Why would you think that?"

"Don't ask me to get into details or else I will vomit."

"You know, if Ignitus ever did get a girlfriend, and they hit it off pretty well, Wait! That gave me an idea, wired, and disgusting, but Terrador, and other two. If Ignitus was with a girl, and they were, I don't know, kissing it up on their beds, won't you hear ever single kiss since it basically echoes back their."

The three blushed, but they knew he was right in his assumption.

"Well, that is true, but at that point, we would probably have to make different rooms back their for each to sleep in if we did get lovers because their is no way I would be able to sleep if I heard that, and them whispering to each other about how they love one another," Terrador explained, shivering from the thought with disgust, and fear.

"What? That's like the best part about going to sleep. You three will literally, never understand," Malefor joked with a smile, and the three grumbled at him knowing what he meant.

"Malefor, I'm sure that if you can get a girl, so can the Guardians. After all, I read your past. You got so happy when Carith kissed you on the cheek that you flew into a wall like a smart one you are. Oh yeah, Carith, I didn't tell you, but I think Cyril was actually hitting on you," Spyro said, earning wide eyes from both Malefor and Cyril.

"Beg your pardon?" Malefor and Cyril asked in unison with different tones of voice.

"Oh, Cyril. I didn't know you liked me?" Carith joked with a giggle earning a small blush from him and a grumpy embarrassed face.

"So, Spyro, care to, elaborate?" Malefor asked, looking at Cyril.

"Well, when I was reading, Cyril said that you sure know how to pick the pretty one's. I completely forget about that, and now that I can say it, I wonder, what do you have to say to this?" Spyro asked, seeing Malefor looking at him with an intense stare.

Cyril chuckled as he thought, _I'm going to kill you Spyro._ Looking at Malefor he tried to explain, "I wasn't hitting on her, I was just saying how you chose well, that's all. As your mentor, I had to make sure you were making the right move, and when you said she was with you, I was surprised, that's all."

"Are you jealous that I found her before you?" Malefor asked with a raised brow.

"Alright, calm down."

"Huh, Malefor, you know what that means, Cyril was looking at Carith without your permission. Are you going to let him do that?" Spyro asked with a chuckle.

"Spyro! I swear to the Ancestors," Cyril growled with a blush.

"What is going on out here?" A voice called out.

Everyone looked over to see Ignitus had emerged from the door with Winter to his side and his wing draped over her. Sitting down next to Terrador with Winter doing the same, he listed to what Spyro had to say, "You remember when you had me read those books to look into Malefor's past? At one point, when Malefor and Carith walked into a room, Cyril said how Malefor knew how to pick the pretty one's."

"So that's how you've been finding out about my past, because you read a book on my past?! How much about my past did you learn about?! Because back then, you asked how long me and Carith kiss, you creep," Malefor growled with a blush, remembering about how he also learned about the whole hatching thing as well.

"I learned a little more then I know Ignitus wanted me. He was smart enough to shut the books to keep me from reading, but once he, fell asleep, I should say, I woke up and read some more on what had happened throughout your past and your time with Carith, and I have to say, Malefor, a lot surprised me, but mainly your thoughts about..."

"Spyro! Damn you! Maybe I should've killed you when I had the chance."

Winter was scared to her his words, as well as his growl, and back up a tad bit with her paw from her fear. Ignitus put his paw on hers, and she looked at him. He smiled at her, and watch the two once again. She trusted him, and took the step forward, wondering why he was so calm about something like this.

"Then do it. You said Ignitus don't have guts, but I think it was you who don't got the guts."

"I do have the guts."

"Then what's stopping you? Poor little hatchling scared to lose his lover."

"Okay, and? So are you."

"Cynder would never leave me."

"And Carith would never leave me."

"Well..." Carith whispered, quickly causing Malefor to look at her with wide eyes.

"Well for me as well," Cynder giggled with a whisper, causing Spyro to quickly look at his lover with wide eyes.

"Carith..." Malefor Cried.

"Cynder..." Spyro Cried.

"While you two were fighting, me and Cynder came up with a secret agreement," Carith said, looking over to Cynder, wondering how she would follow up with it.

"You two have to make nice, and we won't leave," Cynder said, earning a smile from Carith, glad she was think what she was thinking.

The two growled as they looked over at one another, knowing they would have to obey. The two just smiled with sighs, and put their tail blades on one another's chest. Pulling their tail blades back down, they looked at their lovers to see if they did good, and with a nod and a smile, they knew they did. Winter was completely dumbfounded by what had happened, as she believed the two were actually going to fight it out. She had to know why they didn't fight, "But I don't understand. I know Malefor has a lover, I know he has heart, but why didn't you kill him? You two were fighting, you said you wanted to kill him, so why didn't you? Why not take the chance to kill the source of the dark master?"

Spyro blushed a little, not wanting to really tell, but Malefor looked to his lover with a small frown. Sighing as he looked at Malefor, he looked over to Winter, and explained, "Well... It's a little bit of a complicated, relationship, I guess. I would never kill Malefor, I would probably try don't get me wrong, especially if we were in a training room for what he did to my lover, but the reason I don't kill him, is because I know he didn't want to do so, I know he had a difficult life, and I know he doesn't want to lose it all once again. I'm scared, I am, that one day he would turn again, but like I said, he knows he will lose it all again if he does, and he will lose his lover as well, so their is nothing really I have to worry about. I only realised this thanks to Cynder... I still hold my words to what I also said to you before as well."

Malefor smiled at Spyro's words, glad to hear that he would never kill even, but he wondered what would happen if he ever did turn again, would he help, or kill him on the spot. He didn't have to wait long as Winter asked that same question, "But what if he ever did turn again? What if, what if Carith... died, and he turned. I'm sorry to say something like that, but what if it happened. What would you do then?"

"Well, Malefor, I know he would never let something like that ever happen again with that whole other incident. But, if he ever did turn again... I would try, I would try to help. But the moment he tries to kill someone close to me, I don't know after that. But that's why I train so much, so even if their was an event like that, which their won't be, Malefor, I will be prepared for the worst. I don't like the form I take when I go into that mode of mine, because when I think back, I know I got that form because the dark master severely hurt Cynder to near death. I want to find a new form so I won't ever have to use that one ever again."

"But..."

"Winter, it's fine. Malefor is a little bastard, I agree with you on that. But he's also very helpless without his lover. Malefor isn't weak, so if he fights, he can call me, call us, and we are all good, and no one dies. Malefor, I know, from what happened before, would protect Carith no matter what. Malefor would never turn with Carith around, trust me, as mad as I get, even during points with the whole Malefor being alive, I had my lover, and everything was fine, after a good couple of kisses and helpful words from her and my lover."

"Little bastard? Okay, calm down... you... other little bastard," Malefor whispered, somewhat smiling from his words.

"How... how is Malefor's relationship with Ignitus?"

"Why do you ask?"

"I just... I just want to know."

"Well, everyone has a good relationship with Ignitus, he's not that hard to get along with. Malefor has never really gotten mad at Ignitus, no one has, except for that one day, but that doesn't count, and it was understand. If you're wondering what I'm talking about, something happened to Carith, and they thought she was dead, but she wasn't, and I will tell you all of it later, but going back, Malefor isn't going to kill anyone if that is what you are asking."

After hearing everything that Spyro said, she decided she would trust him in his words. She trusted that she would not have to worry about Malefor turning, and she trusted that she wouldn't have to worry about Ignitus's death either. Nuzzling her head underneath Ignitus's with a smile she thanked Spyro, "Thank you Spyro, I believe your words. And, I'm sorry Malefor, I shouldn't be so hateful towards you... It's... it's what happened with my lover."

"No hard feelings, I promise," Malefor said with a small smile.

She smiled, and laying her head against Ignitus's neck from nuzzling him, she closed her eyes, and eased up her body, feeling as if she could trust her life around Malefor with everyone around. Ignitus smiled, laying his head over hers, he closed his eyes as well. Everyone watched for a couple of seconds, surprised by the way the two were acting with one another. Walking up and nudging the side of Spyro's shoulder with his elbow, he looked at him as Malefor said, "I have an idea. Let's see how much she trust me by making it seem like we are about to fight it out once again."

"What will this accomplish?" Spyro asked.

"I want her to trust me more, and by doing this, I feel like maybe she will."

"And if she doesn't trust you."

"Progress alright. Slow and easy progress. Kinda like our friendship."

"We aren't friends."

"Not yet. But like I said, slow and easy progress."

"Alright, fine, I will join along."

"Okay," Malefor said, clearing his throat as he started to growl a little with his voice, "So what? What are you going to do about it? I could easily change and attack Cynder right now and you wouldn't be able to do anything, kinda like in the past."

"Malefor..." Spyro growled softly.

"Well I have to make it believable," He defended in a whisper as he continued to growl, "What's the matter, can't do anything like before? You've never been strong enough to save her, and now, I feel like I should put your strength to the test."

Spyro sighed, wishing he didn't agree to this, but he tried to join along, "Last time that happened, I nearly killed you, and I'm afraid if you put my strength to the test, I might kill you, like I should've in the past."

The Guardians, as well as their lovers shuck their heads a little, as they knew what they were doing. Mainly because Malefor wasn't very quite when he made up his plan. Malefor picked his tail blade up to his side, and growled, "I should've done the same to you, or maybe Cynder, then we will see your true strength."

Putting his tail blade on his side, Spyro growled back, "I think maybe you should put your tail blade back down before I put it in your heart."

"I tried to do the same to you, but maybe my chances will be better against your lover."

"Malefor!"

"What's the matter, you know I'm right?"

"Dial it back a bit."

Looking over at Winter and Ignitus, he saw that the two haven't even moved yet, and Winter didn't seem to be shaking at all from his words. Malefor looked back to Spyro and apologized in a whisper, "Sorry, you know I didn't really mean anything I said. I just knew that saying something like that would get a rise out of you."

"You remember when you said slow and easy progress? My tail blade is going to make slow and easy progress on your gut if you try something like that again," Spyro promised with a slight smile, as he knew Malefor didn't really mean it, but he gave him a warning.

Spyro sighed as he looked away from Malefor, and over to Cynder. Cynder giggled with a smile as she teased, "Aw, you wanted to protect me."

He sighed once again with a smile. Cynder kissed him on the cheek, only furthering his smile. Malefor sat back down next to his lover as she said, "Doing something like that was pretty bold. You know she already seemed to trust you right."

"Well, it was also to get Spyro to trust me even a little bit more. Even if my idea was a... Little farfetched," Malefor said, kissing his lover on the cheek.

Carith smiled at him as he pulled away, and he smiled back. Slightly nuzzling Ignitus's neck, he moved his head up and opened his eyes. Pulling her head back up, Winter giggled as she said, "Malefor, you do realise you aren't the best when it comes to whispering right? I heard you from way back here."

"Hehe... whoops," Malefor chuckled with a smile.

"Oh yeah, and Carith, before I fall asleep, Ignitus told me that you wanted to have a day out with just us girls? I've never been on one, and apparently you and Cynder haven't either, so I thought it would be fun if I joined along, if you're still okay with me joining along of course."

"Really?! Yes, of course you can still join along. I was actually planning on telling you after Malefor was done with his little act. But are you sure you want to come along? You look a little... comfortable, with Ignitus," Winter asked, seeing her and Ignitus blush as they looked at one another with smiles.

"I don't know, can I join along?" Winter asked Ignitus.

Ignitus chuckled, "Of course you can, as long as you stay safe."

The two nuzzled their cheeks together, and taking his wing off of Winter, she whispered, "I will, Thank you."

Walking over towards the entrance of the Chambers, Winter looked back and asked the other two, "Well, are we going to get going or not? We don't have all day."

Carith jumped for joy as she quickly pecked Malefor on his cheek before running over to Winter's side. Cynder giggled at her reaction, but she was excited too. Pecking Spyro on the side of his cheek, she went to join, but was stopped by Spyro's tail that he quickly wrapped around hers. She looked at him as he said, "Please be safe. We didn't have the best experience last time. Are you sure you don't want me to come along just in case something happens?"

She smiled at him being worried, and assured her lover, "Spyro, don't worry, I will be fine. I'm not the weakest one here, and me and your adventures have giving me more strength then I've had before. I will be fine, I promise. And if anything happens, I will make sure to come to you, because I know you'll protect me."

"Okay," Spyro whispered with a frown, taking his tail off of Cynder's.

Walking back up to him, she pecked on the lips slightly, and with her lips still near his, she whispered, "Don't worry, I will be fine. And for letting me go out, I will give you a nice kiss when I get back. Okay?"

"Okay," Spyro agreed, seeing her smile as she walked over to the other girls.

"Yes! I've never really done this before, but I know we will have so much fun! So come on, it's just us girls. Let's go have fun!" Carith happily and cheerful said, as she walked with the other two away from everyone else and to the main doors of the building.

As Everyone watched the girls leave their sights, Ignitus frowned as he went back to thinking, _Winter couldn't have done something to kill me... no, I don't believe it to be true, and I don't want to know if it was true... But, will I have to look back and see... And what if it was her... What do I do?_ The Guardians were surprised to see that Malefor had taken everything so calmly and let Carith run off on her own with everyone, even Spyro, but that quickly changed as he started to freak out from her going with those two, "No! What have I done! She was so happy, but I promised I would never let her run off and... What if the same thing happens from before? What if... No, I have to go after her, I shouldn't have agreed!"

"Malefor, relax. If you turn..."

"Am I not allowed to be afraid for my lover's life?!" Malefor growled, interrupting Spyro.

"Malefor, breath. She's going to be fine. If anything were to happen, Ignitus would tell you, okay. And even if something were to happen, Cynder isn't weak, neither is your lover. Both have been through a lot. I trust Cynder, but if she isn't back in at least an hour, or maybe even a couple of seconds, then I will go make sure everything is okay. We need to give them some space. Always being with your lover is great, but it's nice to do other things as well."

"But..."

"Just give it some time. And look, we can all have this time together. Just me, you, and the Guardians, so we can talk about what ever we want."

"How are you so calm about this."

"Well freaking out and possibly changing isn't going to help. And like I said, Cynder has never been with other girls before, so this is new for her. I want her to be happy, and I know this will make her happy. You were the strongest in the world, but now I am, and who could possibly be stronger then you or me? Cynder is probably next in line, so there isn't much to worry about."

Ignitus laid down with a frown while the two went on about their lovers. Terrador noticed and asked, "You okay?"

Ignitus shuck his head and asked, "Do you think Winter could've done such a thing? Do you think she tried to kill me?"

"Can't you always just look back and find out? You are the Chronicler after all, so don't you know all?"

"I'm scared to look back. Because if I saw it was her, I wouldn't know what to do."

"But she seemed so happy with you. I don't believe it was her."

"Which makes it even more painful if it was her who did it."

"Then what do you want to do? I will stand by your decision."

"For once, I don't really know."

"Then wouldn't it be best if she left then?"

"No. I don't want her to leave."

"Because you like her?"

"Well... yes. Everything that has happened is what will make it so difficult for me to look back and see if it was her."

"I don't believe it was her Ignitus. For all we know, it could've been I prank from someone, and they chose you as their victim because they knew you would survive from it."

"But Winter was awake during that time and blamed it on Cyril."

"What are you guys talking about?" A voice called.

Terrador and Ignitus looked up to see it was Sparks looking at the two with raised brows, "Is this about that dark master..."

Quickly placing a paw on Sparks's mouth, Terrador growled softly at him, "Sparks, you're not supposed to say something like that so freely, especially around Spyro. You were there, so you should know that Ignitus said something like that would never leave the room."

Slapping his paw off, which felt like nothing to Terrador, Sparks grumbled, "Okay okay,"

"Hey, Ignitus, are you okay?" Spyro asked, as Ignitus looked to see Malefor looking at him as well.

Sighing as he knew he couldn't tell the truth, he tried to play it off with a lie, "Yeah, sorry, it's just, since Winter left I've been feeling pretty lonely that's all. Kinda like you two."

"And everyone wonders why I don't want a lover, because of all this, oh I love you, and, oh no, my lover left me. And no Spyro, it's not because I would never get one," Sparks grumbled, already seeing Spyro open his mouth to say something, but he shut his mouth after that comment.

Stretching out his body, Sparks sat back down on Spyro's head and said, "I can't believe I keep feeling this tired, I've barely been able to say anything all day."

"No wonder everything was so fun," Spyro joked.

"You wanna fight?"

"Maybe later. I at least need to find a twig to be a fair fight against you."

"Okay, calm down."

Ignitus needed to talk to Terrador, so he needed to get those two, or at least Spyro, distracted. Ignitus remembered from Spyro's thought, and said as he looked towards Volteer, "Hey, Volteer, I have a mission for you."

"A mission of what sorts?" Volteer asked.

Standing up and looking over at Spyro, he suggested, "Spyro said he wanted to know how to kiss his lover better, and apparently you know how to do something like that. Can you show him how to do something like that?"

"Um... No... no I think I'm good," Volteer blushed, causing Ignitus to shake his head with a sigh.

"You ever heard of an explanation Mr vocab?"

"Oh yeah, right, sorry."

"Ignitus! Why do you always have to read my thoughts?! I'm afraid I'm going to think about how beautiful, and slick, Cynder's body is, and you're just going to tell everyone!" Spyro growled with a blush, feeling completely embarrassed that Ignitus would tell Volteer and everyone else that he was thinking that.

"Well, everyone knows now, dummy," Malefor joked, laughing at Spyro's embarrassment.

Spyro looked at him, and Malefor quickly shut his mouth as he knew that Spyro had the hatchling thought from the past books.

"Spyro, don't worry, this isn't a bad thing. Because now, when Cynder gets back, you'll know how to give her an even better kiss," Volteer said, showing the positive in Ignitus giving out what Spyro had said.

Walking up and past the two, he said, "Come on, I will just tell you."

"Oh, I want to see as well!" Malefor said, running up and joining.

Spyro shuck his head as he walked with the two around the corner of the Chambers. Ignitus looked up at Terrador and asked, "Any suggestions?"

"Well, do you have any powers that can help you learn from what happened?" Terrador suggested.

"Maybe. But what kind of powers are you suggesting?"

"I don't know... maybe something that also benefit you and the other two. After all, Malefor is also scared about his lover and so is Spyro. Maybe you can get those two to follow the others and try to get information without getting spotted."

"Get information... without getting spotted... I think I might have the power for something like that."

"And how is that?"

"I will explain when Volteer is done showing those two his kiss tactic."

"Now I know why Spyro felt embarrassed."

* * *

"I guess I didn't really have to show you, but it's simple. When you kiss your lover, make sure to shoot a small, not very powerful, jolt of electricity in your lover's mouth. The jolt will basically make it more enjoyable as the electricity would shock nerves in the body to make to kiss feel Immensely more pleasurable," Volteer explained with a smile, earning a blush form the both of them.

"Why am I even here? I was already there for this grossness," Sparks grumbled, putting his hands on the side of his head.

"This is pretty embarrassing, I'm not going to lie, but it's good to know. Right?" Malefor asked, seeing the blush on Spyro's face.

"Well, thank you for the... information, Volteer. But why did we need to come over here just for you to tell us that?" Spyro asked, thankful that he now learned of a way to kiss his lover better.

"Because the last time I said this, I got harassed by the others as well as Terrador. But just remember, kissing someone you love is an amazing thing, and their is nothing wrong with it. Making a kiss feel even better makes for a better relationship..." Volteer paused as two girls walked past him with giggles and blushes, making him blush hard at what he said, "Why... why me... Just, don't worry about it. Let's just go back before I embarrass myself again."

Terrador watched as the three walked back into the room and he wondered why Volteer was blushing, "What, did you finally see how embarrassing it was to talk about something like that."

Volteer sat next to Cyril not saying a word as he was to embarrassed to.

"While Volteer was explaining, two girls walked by and giggled at him while hearing that kissing someone you love isn't a terrible thing, and he went into some more details," Spyro explained, earning a slight chuckle from Cyril and Terrador, but they quickly shut their mouths, feeling kinda bad as they knew his chances were over.

"Spyro, Malefor, I actually have a mission for you," Ignitus quickly said, not wanting to waste time.

"This better not be another thing that you all were supposed to do and you're just making me do it," Spyro said.

"No no, it's actually going to benefit us all. I'm going to, cloak, you, as to say. I need you all to follow your lover's and to keep a close eye on Winter as well. Tell me if anything happens, please," Ignitus explained, seeing Malefor smile big, just as much as Spyro.

Malefor looked at Spyro and asked, "I thought you said you wanted to give your lover some space?"

"I am... But just not as much as I thought I would. Now that you talk more about it, and the more seconds that pass, I'm starting to feel more and more fear boil up inside me. Me and Cynder haven't been away from each other for this long since... since the dragon temple incident," Spyro murmured as he continued, bringing back some terrible memories.

"Now you see how I feel? I haven't seen my lover in years, and now I get her back, and who knows, I could lose her again."

"Then why are we still talking when we could be leaving and helping?"

The two looked at Ignitus, wondering what he was waiting on. He chuckled slightly at the two, as he was also afraid the same would happen because of those dark creatures that were running around at night. Pulling up his paw and snapping his fingers, nothing happened.

"Are we, cloaked, as you said?" Malefor asked.

"No, I can still see you," Cyril said.

"I made it so you can't be seen by only your lover's, so you should be glad Cyril can still see you," Ignitus chuckled a little as he continued, "When you see them, be careful, as when you want yourself to be seen, you can't undo it. Only be seen when it is completely necessary, because as I said, once you come out of it, you won't be able to go back without my help. Understand?"

The two nodded. Turning and running out the Chambers, they quickly ran after their lovers. Sparks jumped off Spyro's head right as they made their way to the steps to go down to the main doors. Brushing himself off, he thought, _I could've stayed with them, but it seems like the Guardians have way more interesting stuff going on._ Flying towards the Chambers, he wondered if he should've stayed with Spyro or not, but he thought it be best if he didn't.

Terrador looked at Ignitus and asked, "You did this because of those dark creatures, didn't you?"

"Why do you think Malefor is so scared? We did tell him about the dark creatures, and that's why he's so much more scared then Spyro. I need to make sure everyone is okay, and I can't do that without those two. I can see through Cynder and Carith's thoughts, but Winter's, I don't see anything. No light, no darkness, it's all just empty... And I don't know why I can't see why," Ignitus murmured, wishing he could understand why he can't sense her thoughts, and why he can't find her past.

"What's up my dudes!" Sparks said as he flew into the room.

Looking at Ignitus and how bummed he was, Sparks suggested, "Why so bummed man? If it's about those, dragons, you know they'll be fine. I meant what's going to happen, someone is going to beat Malefor and Spyro? And then we are all doomed? Yeah right... But if I screwed us over by saying that, you can kill me later, but come on, lighten up. You are bright and red after all."

Ignitus chuckled a little as he said, "Sparks, you are both extremely helpful, and extremely unhelpful."

"I try to be."

* * *

"I've never really done something like this before, and now that I have the pleasure to do so, with both of you, it feels amazing to finally get out and have some fresh air with just us girls," Carith excitedly said to the two as they walked around Warfang next to one another.

"Some one sounds pretty excited that they aren't with their lover. What, did you finally find out that he is terrible, and you're going to give Spyro the okay to kill him, is that what I'm hearing?" Cynder joked with a raised brow.

"What?! No. I'm not like you Cynder, I would never do such a thing. All I'm saying is, it's nice to get out with others aside from the Guardians or even Malefor. I've missed them, I truly have, and I have all the time in the world to make it up, but I want to spend time with you all as well and I want to get to know you all. I mean, even Spyro would be nice to hang around with. I haven't really talked with him either."

"First Terrador, and now my lover, would you just choose already."

"I already chose, and I chose right. Terrador is definitely not my type, I like the Dragon I do, but not in a relationship type. And Spyro, well, I might kinda like him a little bit. But only because of how strong he is, I mean, I know Malefor is strong and all but Spyro really knows how to protect someone."

"Are you telling me this because you want me to tell Malefor?"

"What, no. We are just being girls and talking about what we want without having to worry about the guys. I will always love Malefor, I truly will. I'm just saying that if my lover could find a way to be as strong as Spyro, then oh yeah I would be all over his lips in a heartbeat. Seeing his muscles, and his handsome face, and his flexed out wings... Oh... now I know how you feel when you talk about Spyro like that."

"And how do you know I talk about Spyro like that?"

"Cynder... It is not that hard to tell."

"Why's that?"

"Watch, guarantee, when Spyro flexes out his muscles and wings when he is about to fight, you won't even be able to take your eyes off him. And plus, while the Guardians are talking, I see you touching his muscles and chest."

"Okay... And?"

Cynder, it's okay, I'm only teasing, you don't have to blush. I'm just saying that, I know you feel highly about Spyro, and I feel highly about Malefor. But the real question we should be asking is, how highly does Winter feel about Ignitus?"

The two looked over at Winter. She had a smirk and a raised brow, and Cynder looked at her with a wondering face as well. Winter blushed a little as she tried to act like she had no idea what they were talking about, "What do you mean by highly?"

"You know exactly what we mean. How does he make you feel? What kind of standards makes you like him?" Carith asked.

"I don't... like Ignitus. He is just going to show me around some more and then I will be gone. I'm not going to stay for long."

"You slept with him by your side in his bed. In the morning, you couldn't even get your head off his chest. That tells me that someone enjoys both him, and his heart. And everyone knows that when you snuggle and cuddle with someone, you like them... Or... Do you love Ignitus?"

"What?! I never said I loved Ignitus."

"Then say you don't and I will believe you. You said you didn't like him, and you paused when you said that as if to make sure that you didn't say you loved him."

Winter grumbled with a blush as she knew she couldn't say it. She wanted to, but thinking back to what Carith was talking about, she really did enjoy the time she was spending with Ignitus, she just didn't want to admit it.

"You know you can tell us, right? Everything we say we will keep to just us girls. So come on, don't leave us hanging. How does he make you feel? What do you like about him?"

"It wouldn't matter how I felt, I know nothing would happen either way. Not that that is a bad thing but... it's not the best thing either."

"Winter, more then ten years later, I was able to fall in love with Malefor, Malefor, once again, even after everything, and I thought it would never happen. I even made the mistake of trying to push him away, and yet we still happened to fall in love once again. And Cynder, what was your story?"

"My story is a very long and dark one. I'm sure you already know I was corrupted, saved by Spyro, and we stopped the destroyer and Malefor. Well, you don't know what happened on the way back. Spyro was in a terrible condition, and not even he knew if he would make it, and I thought I would lose him, but I helped him. Later on when we were returning to Warfang, Spyro was stabbed by an arrow, almost died, but I helped him. Then, I thought I had hurt him, and I ran away thinking I would never be with him. He helped me, and we were still together. So much has happened and I always believed we would never be, and it scared me. But now, we love each other, and I never knew I would make it this far. But with Spyro, I did."

Winter took in everything Cynder had said, seeming to make her frown as she thought more about it, and thinking about Ignitus only made it worse. Giggling a little, Cynder continued, "Spyro was always so funny. Winter, all I'm saying is, if you do like Ignitus, or even if you love him and you don't want to tell us, never tell your self it won't happen, because it won't if you do. But if you try, and convince yourself it will, then it will."

"But, you convinced yourself it would never happen and yet it did."

"That's because I had someone who loved me look after me. Ignitus is the same. He might love you, and he might like you, and that's why he is looking after you. Why else would he let you sleep next to him on his bed, when he could've just let you sleep somewhere else."

"Yeah... he let me sleep with him because I told him I might have nightmares because of my pass, and when I did, I didn't have those nightmares, and I felt so safe next to him."

"And guess who went through the same thing? I was having bad nightmares, but for some reason, when ever I was with Spyro, they all seemed to disappear. And I know this sounds crazy but, when ever I do have nightmares, Spyro appears in them and pulls me out. I could never find out why."

Flying over Warfang, Spyro and Malefor had finally spotted their lovers. Flying down and on top of a building, the two looked down on the three and were glad to see they were all okay. Spyro looked to his side and said, "See, I told you they were okay... But I'm still glad we checked. Coming back down here doesn't bring back the best of memories."

"Day's not over. I will feel better when they are back in the in the Guardians Building."

Following from above and jumping form building to keep up, the two listened to the girls as they started to talk about their lover's.

"Well, getting off topic and to something a little more fun, we should talk about our lover's," Carith suggested with a smile and a blush.

"Why do that? The only thing I would say is how he is handsome and strong. Could go into more detail, but it's better to say something like that in front of him so I get a good kiss," Cynder said.

"Exactly, you talk good about him, but why don't we talk bad about him?"

"What?"

"Come on, you know it's an impossible challenge, so why don't we try it?"

"If you know it's impossible, then why try?"

"You thought being in love with Spyro would be impossible and it still happened, so why not try to make something else possible."

"Alright, fair enough. But since you suggested it, you go first. What do you hate about Malefor?"

Malefor listened closely, scared to know what his lover would say about him.

"Let's see I feel like..."

Malefor forgot to jump from another building as he listened, and fell down in between to buildings and landing on a pile of bricks with a loud crack. The girls stopped and looked over to see what had happened, and they shuck a little to see a dust cloud with cracked bricks, but no one was there. Looking at one another, they shrugged, and continued to walk. Spyro jumped down from his building and ran over to Malefor, who laid on his back, groaning in pain.

"Would you suck it up. We have to catch up to them," Spyro commanded.

"I hope I turn one day and throw your back into a pile of bricks, and then we will see if you could get back up so easily," Malefor growled, slowly pulling himself off the bricks and back to his paws.

Spyro used his wings and flew up to the top of the building, soon followed by Malefor. Landing on the top of the building, the two jumped from roof top to roof top and caught back up with them.

"You don't think Carith was going to say something bad about me, do you?"

"Please, we all talk bad about you."

"Now I hope I turn."

"Alright, calm down and listen, then maybe you'll find out."

"So, going back, what was that? Something bad about Malefor that I was about to hear?" Cynder asked.

"Right, um, I feel like... Maybe he has something bad to him..."

"Aside from the fact he is the dark master..." Winter interrupted Carith.

"Winter..."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm still trying to forgive him for what has happened."

"But you know he didn't do it, right?"

"Sort of. The only reason I'm not watching him for a reason to kill him is because I think Spyro has already got me covered on that one."

"Winter, there is something bad about Malefor, but it's not because he is the dark master, it's because of how bad he gets when me and him kiss some days. Like that day in the hallway, oh, he was so evil then, and I liked every second of that. And then Spyro totally blocked that kiss by yelling out, 'Not in my hallway'."

"Hahaha, I remember that. But Spyro was right. If you think about it, it was also kinda wired seeing who we thought was the dark master kiss and love someone. I never thought I would see something like that." Cynder remembered with a laugh.

"I thought Malefor was actually in love with Cynder because you two were working together. That's why it surprised me he was with someone else aside from you." Winter said honestly, earning a blush from the both of them.

"No, no, no. He was controlling me to work for him, he never controlled me to love him. Even in his dark form before he was captured, the only thing he would say from time to time was Carith. I couldn't quite make it out until now, but now that I just realised it, it makes sense to me. I just wish Malefor never would've revealed what had happened when I was with him,," Cynder sighed with a frown, remembering back to that moment as well.

"Oh my gosh, don't tell me he forced you to kiss him or something like that!"

"What! No!" Cynder quickly rejected with a blush, and a shake of her head thinking about it, "He forced me to kill my parents and Spyro's. Malefor was evil, but even for him he wasn't that evil, or twisted, or what ever you would call it. I still had some control over my body, very, very little, and if I saw him trying to kiss me, he would lose his lips before he tried."

Spyro looked at Malefor, squinting his eyes slightly, he asked with a growl, "Did you ever try something like that?"

"What?! No. Spyro, come on, like she said, I was evil, but I wasn't twisted. Not as twisted as my spine was back on those bricks, but like Cynder, I still had some control. I was always thinking about Carith at the time," Malefor quickly shot down any thoughts he might have.

"Alright, I will believe you for now, but I'm asking Ignitus later."

"I have no problem with that, as like as it gets you to trust me some more."

"Thank the Ancestors you didn't tear his lips off... I need to feel his lips on mine," Carith purred.

"So why won't you just let Spyro kill Malefor? If it wasn't for him, he would've never forced you to kill your parents, and they would still be alive, so much would still be alive, and you could have your revenge if he was dead, so why not let his death happen?"

"Because killing him won't heal what has happened. Killing him will deprive him from Carith, and I know how she would feel, as I can't live without Spyro. He forced me to kill my parents and Spyro's, but I don't keep him against that. And even when I do, I know what good came from it. That day, when the dark master revealed what happened, I learned just how perfect, how amazing of a Dragon Spyro could be. After he said what happened, Spyro tried to forget about it, and even said he didn't care as long as I loved him. He looked like he was leaving me to join Malefor when I took a Step back, but it was all a ploy to get me to jump on him, and he wrapped his wings around me, and I learned that day that no matter what's happened, he would always love me."

"Anything? What if you kissed another guy?"

"He would forgive me if I was controlled into doing something else."

"What if you were controlled into kissing another guy, or even worse... And I can't believe I'm saying this, and I will so dumb Malefor if he ever said this word again but... third base, with another Dragon?"

"Well, since Spyro would never let me turn, I don't think I have to worry about that. Plus, even if I was controlled, I would still have enough power to use my claws, and when I'm in that state, I can only think about blood, so it would be a really, really bad day for someone who would force me to do anything."

"Spyro forces you to kiss him."

"Yeah well... He can control me when ever he likes."

The two girls covered their mouths as they both gasped at what she had said. Spyro smiled with a big blush hearing her words, and he tried to think of a romantic way to give Cynder a kiss from her words.

"Cynder, what has gotten into you?" Carith asked.

"Look, I've been away from Spyro for a while, and after kissing him, I haven't been able to stay away from him for long," Cynder defended herself and her actions as the two girls giggled at her, "And how can you talk, Carith? I already know you have thoughts about your lover."

"What... no I..."

"Be honest, we all know it's true. I know Winter knows it as well, and she has barely been here for that long."

"Okay, fine, but do not, and I repeat, do not, tell Malefor...!" The two nodded their heads, smiling at one another as Carith continued with a blush, "I was actually thinking about how Malefor was, controlling me, into kissing him, and laying with him... It just seems so romantic to me, okay."

"Wow, and you said I have problems."

"There is nothing wrong with getting into something more romantic as your relationship grows alright."

"I agree, I agree. But what I wonder is, what do you think Winter is thinking about Ignitus?"

"What?!" Winter cried, "I told you all, my lover died, and I've never found anyone after that."

"Winter, calm down, I'm only teasing. I mean, you seemed like you were stuck to Ignitus when we were talking in the Guardians Chambers. Your head almost never left his chest, and you sat next to him, snuggled up with a smile, and you were the same when you were sleeping."

"But... How do you know about... the sleeping part?"

"Well, we were making sure you were okay, and we happened to see you smiling while you laid with him."

"Yeah, she's right, you seemed pretty happy," Carith agreed.

"That's... that's because... I haven't felt like that in a long time: Someone by my side, someone to snuggle up to, someone who helped me, who listened to me as I needed them to. Ignitus just made me feel so calm and peaceful, even around Malefor. And as I learn more about how you all are, how you all joke... It's scary," Winter murmured with a frown thinking about losing it all.

"Why?"

"Because... everything that could happen..."

"Winter, not to give my lover a lot of credit, but I will: He is as strong as they come, probably the strongest in the world, then you have Malefor to assist him, and the Guardians, then me and Carith as a last line of defense since our lover's would never let us fight. If your worried of losing Ignitus... well, let's just say he is a lot stronger then he looks. Spyro and Malefor would never let anything happen. Spyro will never give up on anyone he cares and love's, and Malefor doesn't want to lose anything ever again, I can see it. So why are you afraid?"

"Because... because... I don't want to lose Ignitus..."

"So you do love Ignitus!" The two cried in unison.

Winter looked at the two, and after everything they had talked about and joked about, she responded, "I... I... He wouldn't care about me after what happened last night."

"Last night?! Wait, Winter, was that..."

"Winter? You are still using that name even after what happened?" A voice emerged from an alleyway, cutting off Carith before she could ask.

A red Dragon and a green Dragon both came from out of the alleyway and stood in front of the two with smirks.

"You must be really desperate to be with someone. After all, we heard that you had lost your lover, and now you are so sad and so scared to lose another that you can't stand to leave. Life's tough, now get over it, and get over here before we have to force you," The red Dragon growled with a command.

Cynder and Carith jumped in front of Winter to defend her. Malefor took a step forward, ready to help, but Spyro put a paw on his shoulder and shuck his head, "Not just yet. If something happens we will step in, but remember, we aren't supposed to be here, and as soon as we help, we will be seen again. Just wait for a second."

Malefor growled, looking back at Spyro, and then looking back to the dragons.

"What do you want with her?" Carith asked.

"Look, we aren't looking for much of a fight, we just need Winter to come back to her rightful owner, that's all. But if you won't move, then we will have to take her from you," The red Dragon threatened, taking a step forward and looking at Cynder, "Oh, he was right, you do look pretty. Maybe after we are done, me and you could go out. He won't have to know."

"Not another one of these guys," Spyro and Cynder growled under their breath in unison.

"Then I guess a fight is something your just going to have to have," Carith growled.

"No! Carith, Cynder, this is my fault, you shouldn't be protecting me. I should just leave before..."

"Winter, If Ignitus finds out that you were taken by a couple of dragons to who knows where, he would never forgive us. Just don't worry about... you don't want to lose everything again, do you?" Cynder asked with a smile as she looked back at her.

Her eyes were a little wide from her words as she had nothing to say, she couldn't decline, nor could she accept, but she didn't know want to do.

"He's going to hate me for this, but the sooner we get her back, the easier it will be on all of us, especially him," The red Dragon growled, walking up to the two, "You stay back, I can handle a couple of ladies, even one such as the terror of the skies."

Cynder growled hearing that name, "Carith, stay with Winter, he's mine to deal with."

Walking up to one another, the red dragon threw his fist around Cynder's head. She ducked and hit her fist into his chest before turning around and slashing at him in his cheek with her tail blade. He growled as he put his paw on the cut. Pulling his paw back down, He threw his punch under this time. Dodging to the left of him before he could hit, she spun around and kicked him in the side, knocking him over on the ground with a loud thud. Spyro smiled seeing Cynder was able to hold her own against this dragon. Standing back up, he threw his fist to the side as he growled, "Enough!"

Shooting fire at her, she dodged to the left of him, then the right as she avoided his fire. Ducking underneath his head, she swung her fist up and slammed it up under his chin. He growled as he tried to force himself to take the pain, which worked. Grabbing her arm, he burned her with his fire on her wrist. With a loud cry, he threw her against the side of the wall he was on. With a loud smash against the wall, Spyro's heart skipped a beat as he saw her in pain from what the dragon had done. Growling from the burn, Cynder put her other paw on her head, and growled even more. Looking at her paw as she pulled it down, she found blood was on her paw. _Damn, I haven't fought for a couple of days and I'm already so weak... What do I do?_ Cynder thought, feeling light headed from the hit she took. The red Dragon stood in front of her and spat, "Could've been so simple!"

"Don't kill her, he will kill you if you do!" His green friend yelled.

"Shut the hell up!" He growled, looking back over at Cynder, he chuckled, "I can do more when she's... paralyzed."

"Cynder!" Carith cried, about to help Cynder, but the green Dragon shot a sharp rock into the side of Carith arm.

She growled from the pain, and looking over at him, she knew she wouldn't be able to react fast enough to help her even if she wanted to. _Damn it, Damn it! I've only been back for two days and I'm already about to die... No... No... how can I get my lover to show... Malefor..._ Carith cried, thinking about what could happen to Cynder, Winter, and her. Reaching his claw up, he went to slice at Cynder's chest. She closed her eyes and backed her head waiting for the pain. A growl was heard, along with a smack. Slowly opening her eyes and looking forward, she saw the back of a purple dragon, and she quickly knew who it was, "Spyro!"

Spyro had grabbed the dragon's claws by digging his claws into the top of his paw. She looked over to see the green Dragon had a sharp rock stabbed into his arm as well. Looking over and passed Spyro, she saw Malefor was standing in front of his lover with anger towards the green Dragon. The red dragon chuckled, "Damn that hurts. And I was this close to getting to have my very own girl."

With his words, Spyro bend his paw more down, cracking the bones in the red dragon's paw, causing him to kneel and growl in pain. He continued to chuckle even from the mass amount of pain, "Sorry, what I meant to say was, my very own girlfriend!"

The red Dragon used his other paw to swing at Spyro's cheek, which he saw, and quickly twisted and popped the red dragon's paw bone out of place with a loud snap. He cried in pain and dropped his other paw to the ground. Grabbing his neck, Spyro dug his claws into his neck, causing him to bleed from different parts of his neck before throwing him on the ground and over to his friend. Looking over at Cynder, his face quickly turned to fear as he asked, "Are you okay?"

Tapping a claw on her chest, an hour glass appeared. Twisting the hour glass, he pushed it back into her body, completely healing her wounds. Lightly grabbing her paw and pulling it up to his mouth, he shot water at her paw, and washed all the blood off, along with any other blood that was on her. Malefor watched as the red Dragon started to get back up, and popping his bone back into place, he growled, "Ugh, I'm going to kill that bastard!"

"Spyro!" Malefor growled.

Before being able to go over and help, Cynder put her paws on both side of his face and pushed her lips against his. She enjoyed the quick kiss and wished it had been longer, same for Spyro. Pulling away, she whispered, "Thank you... There is more where that came from I swear."

He smiled, and as she put her paws back down, he helped her up. Walking back to the others, Spyro looked at the sharp rock spear that had stabbed into Carith's arm.

"Carith, this will hurt for about a second. Malefor, I need you to quickly pull it out while I get the healing ready. If I heal it now the rock will rip in half and that rock fragment will float around in her body and kill her. I need you to do that for me," Spyro quickly explained, scaring Malefor as he looked at her not wanting to hurt her.

She giggled at him, "Rather be alive then dead, am I right... Malefor... It's going to be okay, thanks to you and Spyro, I promise."

He growled as he put his paws on the spear, "You better be as ready as you've ever been."

Tapping a claw on the side of her arm near the spear, he twisted the hour glass and said, "Alright... go!"

With a quick pull and a cry from pain, Spyro quickly pushed the hour glass into her body, quickly sealing up the wound. Washing off the blood from the side of her arm, he looked back over to see the green Dragon had done the same with Malefor's rock spear that he had shot into him. But he wasn't able to heal it up. Putting her claws to the side of his cheek, she pushed her lips against his, enjoying the embrace of their lips, she constantly moved her lips all around Malefor's as she had feared for the worst would happen. In between breaths, Malefor begged, "Spyro... Can you... while I..."

Spyro chuckled a little and agreed, "Alright, fine. But you owe me for not letting me having my time with Cynder. I can handle these guys."

Looking over at Winter, he asked, "Are you okay as well, Winter? Ignitus was scared that you would be hurt, and we were all afraid of our lover's being hurt so it was a win win when we came along. Will I be able to make Ignitus happy by telling him you are you?"

"Ignitus... sent you... to make sure I was okay?" Winter asked with disbelief.

"What, you think Ignitus doesn't care about you?" Spyro asked with a smile, looking back at the dragon's, earning a big smile from Winter as she thought about his words.

Snuggling up to Spyro's side, Cynder whispered, "Always coming to help at the right time. So tell me, how long have you been following us?"

"Are you mad?"

"Mad at Malefor for not letting us kiss, but you, never."

Spyro smiled, nuzzling the side of her cheek with a smile.

"What do we do? We can't take them on?" The green dragon asked, "I think it would best if we just retreat."

"No! I have a better idea. Just before we left, I asked if he could give us a little fall back plan which should still help us win, or at least get us to help in the retrieval of Claire... And I'm talking about some dark energy... He disagreed to it, remember. That's why I needed your help to dig up those dark energy spots that that red dragon had talked about for last resorts. He then said we should never use them but who gives a damn."

Using some of the dark energy, it flowed out of his body, causing Spyro's eyes to go wide as he felt the dark energy, and looking at the Dragon, he had a flash of the dark master, before coming back to the red dragon. Taking a Step forward, everyone looked to see the darkness that Spyro was seeing. As the two stopped kissing, Malefor cried, "Oh no... Cynder, he's going to think I'm still the dark master, what do I do?!"

"I... I don't know..."

The red dragon chuckle as he saw the fear in Spyro's eyes and his body language.

"Hahaha, I knew you would be scared. Now, hand her over now, or else..."

"Not again, we are not going to go through this again!" Spyro growled as his scales turned dark along with a dark black aura that formed around his body.

Flashes of red, green, blue, and yellow showed from the dark aura that came up from his body. The red Dragon feared more for his life now, but he tried not to let it get to him, "What ever. So you have a dark power as well, but lets see how it stands to mine."

Walking up towards one another, he quickly, and in the blink of an eye, threw the first punch. Spyro quickly ducked as his anger took over, thinking back to when he fought the dark master, and what had happened to Cynder. Slamming his fist into his chest, he pulled his head up and slammed the back of his head on the bottom of the red dragon's chin. Before he could recover, Spyro grabbed him by his neck again, and threw him backwards into the ground, still holding onto his neck. His green friend ran over to help, but Spyro put rock over his red friend's neck before disappearing. The green Dragon stopped, and heard wind whip behind him. After the wind, a loud crack was heard as he hit the green dragon's side with his fist, cracking his ribs, and slamming him to the wall. Disappearing and reappearing in front of the green Dragon, he grabbed him by the neck before he disappeared and reappeared in front of the red dragon. Slamming him to the ground, he put rock over his neck to keep him down, and he growled, "Where did you get this darkness from! Who!"

The red Dragon chuckled as he knew how to get a rise out of Spyro, "Long live our dark master... Master... Malefor."

Spyro's eyes widened, as he looked over at Malefor, and growled, "Damn it! I knew I couldn't trust you!

Walking up to Malefor, he backed away and cried," Spyro, it wasn't me, I swear! You know I wouldn't!"

"Then who else could it be?! You are the only one with the darkness in you who could do something like this! And he just said it was you. You couldn't even hire dragon's good enough to keep their mouths shut! And now you get to pay the price for it," Spyro growled, but Cynder grabbed his tail and tried to get him to stop before he did anything else.

"Spyro, if it was me, why would I have them hurt my lover?"

"You wanted to come out here so badly, not because you were scared for your lover's life, but because you wanted to make sure that they did the job right! The red one attacked and killed my lover while the green one only slightly hurt your lover, but she still lived! Then you would've easily took me out from how depressed I would've been!"

"Spyro, please, clam down."

Trying to keep her tail wrapped on his, Cynder walked to Spyro's front. Standing in front of him, she put her paw on the side of his face, and begged in a whisper, "Spyro... please, everything will be okay, I promise. Just breath, and let him explain."

"But..."

Taking her paw down, she wrapped her wings around his back and put her head over his shoulder. Slightly nuzzling his neck, she stopped, and the whispered, "Spyro, please... Everything has been going good so far. Yes, what is happening right now isn't the best, but lets get this over with with no one dead, not like the past."

Taking a deep sigh, and calming himself down, he turned back to his normal self. Pulling her head back, she smiled at him and whispered, "There's the Spyro I know."

Looking at Malefor, he growled, "Don't tell me after what has happened you are still the same."

"No... I'm trying to remember how there could still be darkness... I remember! In case I had ever lost the darkness, or if I had ever took back control over my body, the dark master had little patches of dark energy stored at locations just in case for any reason or emergency! They must've found one and blamed me because they know of my past. Spyro, please, after everything that happened that day, after what we all went through, don't tell me you still don't even have a little trust for me... Please..."

Winter felt terrible as she already knew the answer, but she knew if she gave up the answer, something else terrible could happen. Pulling her wings off of Spyro, she put her body against the side of his, and looking at him, she whispered, "Spyro?"

Shaking his tail a little, she knew he wanted her to let go. Unwrapping her tail from his, Spyro quickly ran up and punching him in the side of his face he grabbed Malefor's neck and growled, "I better be making the right decision! And I better not regret it."

"Spyro... why won't you... trust me."

Taking his paw off his neck, Spyro backed away from Malefor, and as he looked away, he growled, "Because one day, I might trust you to much, and when that day happens, you could kill everyone I know and love, everyone I care about, and I can't let that happen. I only trust you now because I trust what Cynder's said. I will never trust you... You should just be glad you are even alive."

Walking away and over to the other Dragon, Malefor frowned, hating the fact that he was stupid enough to have caused everything that had ever happened to everyone. Standing in between the two, the red dragon chuckled as he said, "You know he is lying, don't you? He said he was scared we would tell you, but still he trusted us. We only wanted to tell you because we thought you should know... Know that he's still a..."

With a quick punch to the side of his head, Spyro knocked the red dragon out cold. Looking over at the green Dragon he shivered, and admitted, "It wasn't Malefor, it was someone else, but I don't know his name. He just looks like a dark dragon, that's all I know! Please don't don't hurt me..."

"Carry your friend home, and if I ever see anything that has to do with the darkness around here ever again, I will be sure to kill you all very, very quickly."

Breaking the rock around both their necks, Spyro backed away and watched as the green dragon picked up his red friend in his arms, and quickly flew away. Turning back around and walking back towards everyone Spyro stopped in front of Malefor with anger. Malefor smiled in hopes he would as well. Bringing his tail blade up, he lightly put it on his chest. Shaking his head, he pushed his tail blade off his chest, and walked away from him. Everyone frowned from what had happened, and Cynder quickly ran up to catch up with Spyro. Standing in front of him, he stopped, and looking at her, she said, "Spyro... You know it wasn't Malefor. How come your giving him a hard time?"

He sighed sadly as he said, "Because if I wasn't here, you would've been taken from me. And because of something he did so long ago, all this would've never happened if he just would've done the right thing. And I'm scared, one day, he will do the wrong thing once again and we will all be back to where we were before, and I'm afraid that some of us won't be there when it happens. There is still some darkness out there that could cause another Hell on earth event and I might not be able to stop it."

"But Malefor has grown, we all have. In the past, he's never really had someone to look up to, someone he could talk to, as a friend. The Guardians definitely weren't the best at being friends back then, and he had his lover, but his only friend was the Chronicler back then. He steered him in the wrong direction... So maybe, you'll be able to do better by him then the Chronicler did."

"I'm just... I'm scared Cynder. I'm strong, and I know it, but I'm scared I won't be."

Pecking him on the cheek, she pulled back, and whispered with a warm smile, "That's why you'll have Malefor by your side to take care of some of that fear. You'll have Malefor when you feel angry and you need to punch something, he will be right there for you."

The two shared a small laugh. Looking into one another eyes, Spyro couldn't hold back any longer. Blushing a little, Cynder opened her mouth to say something, but she was quickly tackled to the ground with her lips locked with Spyro's as the two pushed into their kiss. Malefor looked at Carith and murmured, "Does that mean I've lost my trust to Spyro?"

"Malefor, it's going to be okay, I promise. He's scared, we all know it. Cynder will calm him down," Carith assured her lover, and looking over at Winter, she asked, "But what I wonder is, why did they want you, Winter? They said you needed to come back to your rightful owner. What were they talking about?"

Winter felt anger for what she had done boil up inside of her as she had wished she never would've stayed, but she tried to hide that anger as she responded, "I was talking to the wrong guys at the wrong time, and I guess one of them got mad and found some of that darkness that Malefor was talking about. I'm so sorry for causing you all this trouble."

"Don't worry about it. No one died, and everyone is still here. Ignitus will be glad you are okay."

Seeing the sadness on Malefor's face, she felt as she needed to help as it was her fault. _After what he has done, I shouldn't, he doesn't deserve my help... But after what he's done, I was able to meet Ignitus... I was able... this better not bite me in the butt,_ Winter thought as she walked up and sat down next to Malefor. He looked at her and sighed, "Life does loop doesn't it. Just a day or two ago, I was yelling at who I thought was the Chronicler. Then Spyro helped me even though I thought he hated me. But this time, your talking to me because you hate me, and you agree I am still the dark master."

"If you want me to do that I can," Winter joked with a small smile, seeing him look at her, she continued, "Look, I'm not, I'm not completely good with what has happened, but I have tried to look to the good of everything, and every time I do, I think of Ignitus. Maybe he is the one for me, maybe he isn't, but I trust that you aren't the dark master. I've seen what you've done first paw, and I know you aren't like him. But... Will you ever be like him again?"

"I try not to be."

"Then keep trying, because once you give up, it just might happen. It seems like Cynder believes in you, and so does your lover. I will believe in you if it helps, and maybe even soon, Spyro will believe in you. I know it seems like you lost a lot of progress to being friends with Spyro, but look for the good in what has happened: Everyone is alive, Spyro hasn't killed you yet which means he still trusts you, and you can still live your life with your lover."

Malefor's eyes got slightly wide as he smiled from her words, "Thank you, for your kind words. But, why are you helping me? I thought you hated me."

"Just like how Ignitus taught me, look for the good things. I lost my lover, but I've found some good things in what has happened. Which doesn't mean I'm glad it happened, it's just good to love and hope again... And even cuddle with someone who cares about me."

"So... you do care about Ignitus?"

"Once we get back, and I see him again, I will know for sure. A lot has happened, and I don't really remember his face from how little we've spent time together. And even when I do, I remember the time we cuddle in that room, and then the back room of theirs... I really do hope he feels the same."

"Go for it Winter. You believe in me, and I believe in you."

"Thank you Malefor."

Finally pulling away and looking at one another, they breathed heavily as they smiled, glad to finally be able to kiss one another once again. Standing back off Cynder, he helped her back up and thanked, "Sorry Cynder, I just, I really needed that. Thank you for that."

"Says the one who basically forced me to do it," Cynder joked, standing back to his side after she was helped up by Spyro.

"Oh come on, you know you liked the kiss."

"You could've done better."

"Wow. Alright, don't worry, tonight, I actually already have a plan to make a kiss feel better, just you wait."

"I will be the judge of that."

Turning back and walking over to the three, Malefor looked at Spyro as he walked towards him. Watching Spyro sit down in front of him, Malefor lifted his his tail to his side with a slight smile, wondering if he was still trusted by him. Sighing from his motion, Spyro shuck his head and admitted, "Just like with that whole you and Cynder happening, I'm going to ask Ignitus if you are lying to me to be sure."

"Spyro, you know if you asked Ignitus, he would just cover up what happened to keep me alive. And even then, you still wouldn't believe the truth, and then you would try to kill me again because of something I wasn't in control of. Like just now, I wasn't apart of this nor was I in control of it, and you still blame me for what happened," Malefor defended himself, putting his tail back to the ground.

"Who else am I supposed to blame? You are the only one who has ever had dark powers, and it just so happens that when they leave, they almost die."

"I already told you about the darkness left over. How does this make me the bad guy again?"

"You've always been the bad guy, ever since the beginning."

"I'm the bad guy because of what the dark master did to your lover? How is that fair to me?"

"Because it was your fault any of this ever happened!"

"I wasn't the one who took myself away from my lover to go train, the Chronicler was!"

"And yet even with all that training, look what happened. You've failed to do anything right and that's what makes me so different from you."

"You're right, we are different. And you want to know another difference between me and you? I actually give a damn about someone even after something I've heard about in their past."

"You think this is so easy don't you?! You think everything is simple because you're not the one who has to worry about some bastard Turing into a dark force that could kill everyone you know and love! Not like you would care about someone you loved, as you killed her parents, because you're such a good lover to her!"

Malefor's teeth clenched from his words, thinking back to how that was one of the hardest time for him. Quickly punching Spyro on his cheek, he cried, "You think I enjoyed that?! You think I felt good about myself when I killed her parents! I tried to control myself, I tried, and the only thing it did was make their deaths slower and more painful! How do you think that felt to me?!"

Quickly doing the same and punching Malefor's cheek, Spyro growled back, "Maybe I should do the same to you and ask you later when you're on your way down to hell!"

"Spyro," Cynder whispered, putting her paw over his shoulder, while Carith did the same to her lover.

Coming back to what had happened, and the two took a breath, Spyro continued, "I don't even know why I bothered to let you stay. Even now if you weren't here, I wouldn't have had to deal with this. Cynder never would've came out here, she never would've gotten burnt, and she never would've gotten hurt, and it's all because of you."

"Why do you always look to the bad of what I do when you never look for the good?" Malefor murmured.

"Because there isn't anything good you've ever done to make me think good of you. I think back and see our fight, after that, nothing but us talking, and you yelling at Ignitus because you thought he was the old Chronicler. I only helped you because I thought you could change, but I'm not sure after what's happened."

"You act like I would put my lover's life in danger to ever hurt you. Didn't you see? If it wasn't for her, I would've never came back, Spyro. Because of her, I was finally able to break free. You see that I'm not him, I don't look like him, I don't sound like him... Why do you still think I am?"

"Because I don't look or sound like my darkened self, that is, until I transform into that state. That's all I can think about is how one day, you will turn and everything we would've worked for would've been for nothing. And worse comes to worse, someone dies, and no one will ever be the same after that day."

"So then why don't you just kill me now if you think that way? I know it must be so easy for you to kill me, so why don't you just do it?"

Sighing, he frowned as he said, "It's because it won't be easy for me."

"What... What do you mean?"

"Look, I don't, I sort of hate you, but I try not to. I know what has happened wasn't your fault, and I know you tried to fight back, i believe you on that. I'm just scared. Fighting the darkness for so long and to think that at one point someone could be lost is just scary to me. Having you as help isn't so bad. You fought the green dragon while I fought the red one, and for some reason, I trusted you, and everything worked out... And I wish that would be the same for anything that happens in the future, because I could be weak some day, and you would be able to help..."

"Spyro..."

Growling, he turned and walked a Step away from Malefor, trying not to make it seem like they were friends.

"Don't think this means I trust you. I never will. I trust you even less now, that I know there is still some darkness out there, but... I still do trust you. I could never forget what you did for Cynder when I was unconscious. Even though you caused it, you made up for it," Turning his body back around, Spyro looked at Malefor, and walking back up to him, he continued, "Don't ever be like him again, or else I will put you in that coma next time instead of Carith."

"I promise."

Pulling his tail blade up, Malefor was surprised to see that Spyro had rested his tail blade on his chest. Malefor smiled slightly, and pulling his tail blade up, he put it on Spyro's chest as well. The girls both sighed, glad to see they were able to still be friends. Winter giggled a little, and everyone looked at her, wondering why she had. She explained herself, "You're probably going to hate me for this, but Malefor is right."

Pulling their tail blades back down, Spyro asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, that dragon actually did obtain one of those dark spot you were talking about. I only know because I was there when he had done it. He saw me as a witness and that's why he wanted me so bad, because he was afraid I would tell someone else and release that information."

"Ha! In your face! Oh, what's that, you want to apologize to me? Oh well, if you insist," Malefor joked and teased Spyro about what he had done.

"Alright, calm done. So, why didn't you say something sooner? And how come they said you were using a fake name?"

 _I feel like telling them about that dark master I was talking to would be a bad idea. After how he feels about the darkness, he could kill him and Malefor, and I don't want to be the reason for everyone's pain. And since Spyro is Ignitus's son, I don't want him to know his son would end up a murderer,_ Winter thought as she tried to make a cover story, "Well, since the darkness is such a powerful thing, I'm guessing they said that to try and make it so you would believe them and hand me over to them. And I didn't say something sooner because... I wanted to know if Malefor was who he said he was. And since no one did die, I'm slowly gaining his trust. I'd still kill him if he were weak and lying on the ground, but not kill him when I see him so... It's a Step up."

"Damn, that's harsh even for you. High five," Spyro joked.

"Don't encourage this!" Malefor cried.

Pecking his lover on the cheek, she pulled away, and as she looked at him with a smile, he smiled back as Cynder said, "I'm proud of you."

Spyro chuckled with a small smile and a blush as he said, "Yeah well, it was mainly thanks to that kiss."

"Oh, the kiss is what did it?"

"I said mainly, I didn't say completely. Kinda like how I haven't completely been able to love you today, and that part of my heart has been burning hotter then fire."

"Sounds like someone wants another kiss. But I think you don't deserve one today."

Walking around his lover, he stopped as he put his nose on hers and teased, "Then I guess I will just have to control you in to doing so."

"What?! You were listing about that... I didn't really mean to say that, I was just caught up in the movement and I didn't know that..."

Pulling his tail blade up to her lips, he whispered with his lips up against his tail blade to tease her about the kiss, "You didn't know i had control over you? Sounds like I need to show you just how powerful I really am. I'm going to make sure you always want to be controlled by me... to kiss me."

"Spyro, there are Hatchlings here," Malefor said, as everyone watched as a family walked by with the parents having huge red blushes on their faces.

Spyro growled with embarrassment as he pulled his tail blade down from Cynder's face, turned, and yelled at Malefor, "Why didn't you say something?!"

"They came out of nowhere, how was I suppose to know?!"

"By paying attention to something else other then us you creepy bastard."

"I'm not the one talking about this creepy stuff out in public!"

"That's it, I'm going to kill you. You've lived for to long."

"I'm not the one who invented the public, why kill me?"

"Because... I hope that brick ate your back!"

"Well good for you, because it did!"

"Wait... So when we heard those bricks break, that was Malefor?" Carith asked, as the three looked at the two, wondering if they have been following them ever since.

Malefor and Spyro chuckled with blushes as they tried to explain themselves.

"Well, you were talking about how there was something bad about me and I wanted to know. I wasn't paying attention and... fell off the roof top of a building," Malefor explained, seeing the blush on her face as she knew that he must've heard every thing she said about him after that, but all the girls giggled a little at the embarrassment on their faces.

"So, you heard everything up until that point... even..."

"Even me controlling you into kissing me and to lay with me... Yeah, I heard that part too."

Carith blushed as she had hoped one day it would've just happened and she wouldn't have had to tell him about it, but since it was out in the open, she had wondered what he thought of the idea, "Well... What do you think?"

"Well, it sounds like someone missed me... But it also sounds like there is something for you to look forward to in the future."

The two smiled at one another, ready to go in for the kiss, but Spyro prevented them as he said, "Come on, we have to get back to the Guardians. It's getting dark and I'm not exactly the best when it comes to the darkness."

"What?! No! You get to have your chance now I want mine..."

Putting her tail blade against her lover's lips, Carith agreed with Spyro, "Malefor, it's okay. I would way rather you tackle me to the floor with a kiss then on concrete. Plus, there will be no witnesses like those parents. But if you want to we can, but it won't last very long."

Pulling her tail blade back down, he sighed and agreed, "Okay..."

Turning towards the Guardians Building, Spyro and Cynder walked side by side with his wing draped over her, and same went for Malefor and Carith as they walked beside the other two. Winter joined along as she walked next to Cynder. Wondering why they had shown up, Winter asked, "So, how come you all followed? Or, when did you follow? I'm not complaining on the outcome but I thought you two wanted your lovers to have some free time."

"Well, I had to, Spyro wouldn't quit crying about how he missed Cynder or how he thought she was going to get hurt. I wasn't as scared, I know my lover is strong, but I still came because I couldn't stand not seeing her," Malefor lied, earning Spyro a kiss from Cynder, which he then realised his plan back fired.

"Yeah, that so happened. We were both very scared about you three going out on your own, but apparently, Ignitus was probably even more scared and depressed then we were. After you had left, he went from the biggest smile in the world, to the biggest depression in the world. Ignitus was desperate to know if you were okay so he cloaked us for a while so you couldn't see us. So we actually came because we all wanted to make sure you all were okay, and even Ignitus wanted to know if you were okay," Spyro told the truth, earning wide eyes from Winter as she didn't know Ignitus was that protective of her.

"Aw, someone likes you," Cynder joked, earning a blush and a smile from Winter as she sighed.

"Spyro, you are Ignitus son, and, I was wondering if you know more about him, like how he feels and stuff?" Winter asked.

"I guess you can say that. Why do you ask?"

"Well, I was wondering, and this has nothing to do with my feelings or if I do or don't like him but... I was wondering if you knew if he does or doesn't like me? Yeah he told you all to make sure I was okay as well, but anyone could do that and not really care about that dragon. So, do you think he likes me?"

"Let's see... A hundred percent is as high as I can go so I guess I should say, um, a hundred and ten percent."

"What! Really?!"

"Someone's excited."

"I mean, uh, that's cool. But what makes you think that he thinks so highly?!"

"Like I said, he was super depressed, and ever since you left he has been nothing but that. I feel like he is just in the need for someone to care for him because of his slowly ageing behind."

"That's why am confused if he does or doesn't like me. We've only really been together, somewhat, for a day, so I don't even know if he does or doesn't like me. Yeah we laid in bed together, and yeah it was... very enjoyable, but I just don't know if his smile was real, even though it felt real."

"Trust me, he likes you," Cynder said.

"Why do you think so?"

"Because Ignitus is acting like how Spyro was when he first saved me. We were only together for a couple of hours before going to sleep together. I slept out of the Dragon Temple because I knew I didn't deserve to be in there were everyone was still scared I was a monster. I cried, wondering what my life would be like now that Spyro had saved me, and I thought my life was saved because I was meant to feel the burden of what I had done. Hehe, but then someone came from out of the doors to check on me. He made me feel so good that day, and even when I believe I had lost everything... He helped me gain everything."

"It was Spyro wasn't it."

"Who else," Spyro smiled.

"Even on that day, he didn't even know if he liked me, but apparently he did. Maybe the same thing is happening to you. I would say to trust it, trust Ignitus, because who knows, maybe he is the right one for you. And if you really didn't believe Ignitus liked you, then why would you walk back with us when you know you'll see Ignitus again?"

"Because... I want to see when Spyro kills Malefor."

"What is with you all?" Malefor grumbled.

"We all want to see that, but we all also know that it took a while for you to come up with an excuse."

"Alright, when something happens I will be sure to tell, but not right now."

"Fair enough, I can respect that."

"And yet you can't respect me," Malefor grumbled once again.

"Why do I need to do that?"

"Because... Even I have a heart..."

"Not a very good one."

"And how would you know? The only heart you've technically seen was Spyro's."

"What?!" Winter cried.

"Long story made short, Malefor reached into my chest and grabbed my heart, but that was like, one, maybe two, or three days ago."

"Wha... how..."

"I know right, he isn't dead because why?"

"That was when he was in his dark form. He got that form somehow. I know after I was injured badly, I woke up to see Spyro in that form. Wait, were you in that form when your heart was grabbed by the dark master?" Cynder asked Spyro.

"I don't really remember, oh that was Hell, i know that much. No wait, I wasn't in that form because then I helped Sparks and it took almost all the power I had away from me. Bad times, bad times."

"And I ask again, no offence to Malefor, sort of, but you haven't killed him because?" Winter asked, wondering why Malefor wasn't dead, especially after hearing this.

"Because even after everything that had happened, it was actually... Malefor... Who saved both me and my lover's life. While I was near death for like the third time in a month, Malefor had come back to himself and helped Cynder heal and save me, and the while he could've easily turned, killed me and Cynder, along with the Guardians. But he pulled through, and... I do thank him for that. It's the only memory that I have that keeps me from killing him. That and, if I have to go through the whole, 'Carith is dead, I'm going to destroy the planet to join her' bull again, I'm going to slap him, or have Cynder do it."

"You would've done the same thing." Malefor defended himself.

"I wouldn't have cried about it."

"What?! Please, you cry about everything little thing. Oh no, Cynder, don't hate me, or, oh, Cynder likes someone else, I will never be with her. Or even that time when you thought you had burned and killed Cynder with your fire fury. You cry more then a new born Hatchling."

"How do you know about that?!"

"Please, I wasn't stupid when the dark master broke free of that crystal. He watched almost every move you made ever since then. You cried like what, three times in one day when you were heading to the Chronicler's place. Or I think that was Cynder, either way is the same."

"Says the guy who was crying because I was going to kick him from Warfang so he could never see his lover again."

"That was a real reason to cry!"

"And me thinking I had killed Cynder isn't?"

"She clearly can go through any object with her abilities, how did you not put two and two together?"

"How am I supposed to do that when I clearly saw a burn Mark of Cynder, Malefor!"

"You look for her, not that hard."

"You have been very snappy as if you are testing my passions. Maybe I should show you who is still the boss around here."

"Malefor, he is right," Carith joined in.

"What do you mean?" He asked.

"There isn't anything wrong with tears. After we joined back together, you cried that night, and the day after, glad everything had worked out and I was alive. Stop picking on Spyro, after all, Cynder is the only one really holding Spyro back, and if you slip up and make her mad, then I can't help you, nor will I probably ever see you again."

"You sounded so calm about that."

"Well, I know things have been tough, but I know Spyro just wants peace and safety for everyone. With you alive and happy, I feel like Spyro can be the same, because he knows he doesn't have to worry about you, and everyone wins. And soon, someone else might join in on the peace and fun pack. Winter and Ignitus would make a very cute couple."

Winter smiled along with everyone else, glad to hear that the world was at peace. Thinking about Ignitus as they walked back, she thought of what he would say to her once they returned, _Back with my other lover, when ever I went somewhere, he waited for me, and when I returned, he asked if I was okay, and when I said I was, he said he was okay as well. It might not have been as romantic, but I still loved him. I... I want to know how Ignitus will react._

"Even though I've gone through hell and back, apparently now I have some dark spots to deal with." Spyro grumbled, wishing he could just get a break.

"Hey, Spyro, you're not in this alone. I know you might not trust me, but I will have your back any time you need me. I don't work as the dark master any more. For now on, I want to work with you, and to help fix what I've done. If you need help, I will. You don't have to do this alone," Malefor suggest with a smile, seeing a small smile form on Spyro's face.

"Yeah yeah, what ever... but, thank you. I just might take you up on that offer."

"Thank you, Spyro."

Approaching the building, Spyro and Malefor were talking back and forth about how he did most of the work then the other. Looking over at Winter, Cynder was surprised she was smiling, but she had wondered why and decided to ask, "So tell me Winter, why are you really coming back with us? Is it because of what Spyro said about how Ignitus was hoping you would be okay?"

Looking at Cynder, she agreed, "Yeah... sort of. I'm also just excited to see Ignitus again, and I don't understand why."

"Come on, you know you like him."

"Which is wired because I feel... I feel more."

"What? You don't mean... Love, do you?"

"I haven't confirmed anything."

"Please, I can already see it. You two are going to cuddle up tonight, and you won't be able to restrain yourself from kissing him on the cheek."

"And how do you know that?!"

"Some girls just show it better then others, and you are very easy to tell."

"And what if that does happen?!"

"Then somebody is going to have one amazing life choosing Ignitus."

"You... you really think so?"

"Oh yeah. But not as amazing as the life I have with Spyro of course. That actually reminds me, you think we should tell Spyro about what Carith said about him?"

"What did she say about me?" Spyro asked, scaring the two half to death as they quickly looked over at him.

Carith dripped a sweat of fear as she knew quickly what they were talking about. The two looked at Carith as she kept waving her paw underneath her chin and near her neck, trying to tell them not to say anything. Looking back at Spyro, now even Malefor was interested, "And what might have Carith said about Spyro. It's already out in the open, and if you tell a lie, Spyro already has questions for Ignitus so why don't we find another."

Cynder and Winter were backed up against a wall on what to do, but trying to make an excuse, Cynder failed, "Well, she was talking about this rock, a red, no, purple rock, she had found in a volcano..."

"Your lover is a terrible liar." Malefor said.

"Alright, Cynder... let me, explain what happened..." Carith sighed, knowing this was going to be brought up sooner or later.

As Everyone looked at her, she explained, "Malefor, I love you, I really, really do. But while we were talking, and Spyro was brought up, I, I was talking about how I have a... little, little, very tiny crush on him."

"What?!" Malefor cried, and looking over at Spyro, he growled, "I guess I might as well turn now since you are taking my lover!"

"I haven't even done anything!" Spyro defended himself.

"Wait, Malefor, hear me out," Carith cut in, causing Malefor to look back at her with a frown, "I only have this small crush on Spyro because of him strong he is, that's it. When ever he flexes out his muscles, and his wings, and all that power he has it, it's just something that I can't look away from."

"First Terrador and now Spyro." Malefor whimpered.

"I said the same thing," Cynder giggled.

"So after all this time, you really don't care about me anymore... then I guess I should find someone else who does..."

The four gasped at what Malefor had said, causing Carith to stop before they were just about to reach the entrance to the building. Carith looked at him, and as he looked back, he looked to the ground and frowned.

"Maybe we should go," Spyro whispered to the other two girls, and they both nodded their heads and quickly pushed opened the door and walked into the building.

Taking his wing off her back, he turned, walked away from her and looked over Warfang. Sitting down, he slightly sniffling from his sadness. Walking up to his side, she looked at him once again, and he looked away, trying not to show his smile. Feeling her paw on his chest, he went to put his paw on hers, but he was surprised as she pushed him back completely, causing him to fall backwards and nearly hit the back of his head. But luckily, Carith's wing was right behind his body, and she gently put him on th ground. With his wings sprawled out on the ground, he tried to roll himself back up using his wings, but his lover lightly step on them, keeping him from rolling back over. _I have no idea what is going on, but I like it..._ Malefor thought to himself. As Carith looked at him, he tried to look away with his frown, but she grabbed the to sides of his cheeks with her paw and made him face her. Looking at him, she had a commanding voice which sent a chill of joy through his body, "You listen to me. I own you, do you understand. I don't love anyone else and I never will. If you ever try to find someone else..."

Licking her lips, she continued, "You can say goodbye to my lips."

Pulling her paw off his face, she placed her paw back on his wing, and he was still so surprised at her actions. Taking her paws off his wings and putting them on the ground, she growled, "I don't love Spyro, but you, you are the full package that I want."

Malefor quickly took this opportunity to take advantage of his lover. Quickly wrapping his wings around her, he rolled her over onto her back as now he stood above her and she laid on her back on the ground. Turning his frown into anger, he growled, "Don't tell me if I can't leave you, I control you, and I tell you want I can or can not do, and you just have to comply. Now, kiss m...!"

Quickly pushing her head up and locking lips with him before he could continue, he closed his eyes and pushed into the kiss, causing her head to slowly come back to the ground as she closed her eyes and enjoined the kiss she had waited so long for. After kissing for a good while, Malefor had slowly pulled away, and the two rested their foreheads on one another. Breathing heavily, Malefor said, "You... can't like... or love... any one else... but me... do you understand?"

"Yes sir... Master Malefor..." Carith purred, nuzzling the side of Malefor face with joy.

Walking back, he reached out his paw and helped up his lover. Grabbing onto his paw, he pulled her up, and the to stood looking at one another. Putting her paw on the side of his face, she thanked, "Thank you Malefor... But, I'm... I was wondering if... if you were serious about what you said, about leaving?"

Putting his paw over hers, he smiled, "Of course not. Even for me, I have to admit that Spyro is quite muscular and powerful. But now the real question is, do you still have that slight crush on him or not."

"Not any more."

"Good, but tonight, I need to make sure. My powers to control you seem to be weakening, and I need to fix that."

Hearing his words, Carith shivered with joy and a smile. With a small drip of a tear, she hugged him with her wings over his back and her head on his shoulder, she whispered, "I love you."

Malefor smiled as he felt her head rest on his shoulders. He put his wings around her back as well, resting his head on her shoulders, he whispered with a slight tear, "I love you too."

* * *

Coming up on the corner of the Guardians Chambers, Winter ran up, stood in front of the two, and cried, "Wait!"

The two quickly stopped, surprised by her sudden out burst.

"What's the matter? I thought you wanted to see Ignitus," Spyro asked.

"I do, I really do but, what do I say to him, what will he say to me? Is it okay if I tell him what happened, should I just tell him everything went okay and disregard everything that has happened?! What if I make the wrong move which ultimately will make him think less of me!"

"Winter, Winter, calm down. Everything is going to be fine. You don't need to worry so much. You remind me of how I thought when I'm with Cynder: always worrying about what if this happens or, what if that happens. Just be yourself and you will be fine. I will tell Ignitus what happened. No offense but I will be able to explain it better without having Ignitus freak about what has happened."

Winter didn't know what to think, but she trusted Spyro. Walking a little further with the two near the corner, she peaked her head slightly around the corner to see Ignitus with all the other Guardians. Ignitus had chuckled at something Sparks had said, which made her blush slightly as seeing him smile made her remember how handsome he was. Turning back around and looking at Spyro, he waved her on, trying to convince her to go after him. With a huge sigh, she thought to herself, _He's right, everything will be alright. He will see me, and ask if I was okay and everything will turn out okay... okay... okay yeah, I got this._ Nodding with a smile, she turned her head back around and walked into the Chambers with the other two. As she walked in, Ignitus quickly looked over to See Winter walking into the Chambers.

"Winter?" Ignitus asked, standing up and putting a paw out in front of him, ready to run up and hug her.

Winter smiled as she sat down and waved her paw, "Hey, Ignitus. I'm back."

Quickly running up and hugging Winter, she was surprised as she didn't know he had missed her this much. Draping his wings over her back and putting his head over her shoulder, he closed his eyes and smiled, happy to see she had returned. The Guardians all smiled, glad to see he was reunited with her. Sparks sighed as he flew over to Spyro and said, "Great, you two, Malefor and Carith, and now Ignitus and Winter... Why can't things just be one and one, not two."

"You jealous?" Spyro joked.

"Yes, I am very jealous. And that's why I'm not getting a girlfriend. Mainly because it would be to easy for me, but what ever."

"I'm not so sure about that. Cynder would back me up on that as well."

"She always backs you up."

"Because she loves me."

"Unfortunately."

With her eyes wide from Ignitus hug, she went to hug back with her wings, but Ignitus pulled his head back and asked, "Are you okay?"

Not knowing what to say, Spyro decided to help her as he explained, "Well, you sending us out there was a big help. Apparently there are some dark spots I have to worry about, some dragons attacked the three, but we were there to stop them, nothing me and Malefor couldn't handle."

"Attacked?!"

"Don't you write history or something, how do you not know about this?"

"I do but, I haven't really seen anything. After you two found Winter and the others, my vision has dissipated. I haven't been able to see through your thoughts or see anything that has to do with you all. Please tell me that Winter wasn't hurt. Were you hurt?"

Smiling at his concern, she assured him with a smile, "No, I wasn't hurt. Cynder and Carith helped protect me from some of their attacks. They were the one's that got hurt. Spyro and Malefor jumped in to help save us and we were fine from there on out. And... I... they told me that you sent them after us to make sure I was okay. Is that true?"

"Well... Yes. I just haven't really been feeling like my self lately, and because I haven't been able to see where you were, I wanted to make sure you were safe."

"See where I was?"

"Long story, but don't worry about it, dudes old," Sparks said.

Ignitus smiled, putting his paw on the side of her face. She smiled from the warm feeling of his paw, and as she gently rested her head on his paw, she put her paw on his. Putting his paw down, he walked to her side, taking one wing off with his other still draped over her back. The two walked back over towards the Guardians and sat back down where they once did. Looking at one another, their faces seemed to be moving to one another's. Running into the Guardians Chambers, Malefor yelled, "In your face...!"

Winter cried as her head shot over to him and she quickly shot ice right at Malefor's head. He cried and quickly ducked his head as the ice shard slammed against the wall.

"So close. So very close!" Spyro joked, seeing Malefor grumble.

"Sorry, Sorry, still trying to use to the fact that your alive and not a killer," Winter apologized, feeling terrible that she had almost killed him.

Carith walked around the corner and asked Winter with a smile, "Did you just try to kill my lover?"

"Who doesn't," Spyro said.

"I'm sorry, I was, I wasn't really thinking and he just came from out of nowhere," Winter apologized once again.

Sitting down next to her lover, Carith giggled as she said, "Winter, it's okay, Malefor's fast enough to dodge. I'm just messing with you."

Winter smiled as she put a paw on her chest and sighed hugely, thinking she had made a mistake which made her think that Ignitus thought less of her. Looking at Ignitus, she apologized to him as well, "Sorry. I'm not use to the way things work around here."

Ignitus chuckled, causing her to smile a little, "Winter, you don't need to be sorry. Trust me, Spyro tries to kill Malefor on a daily basis, it's nothing new. I know you didn't mean to do that, but even if you did, it's fine. We joke around here mostly, other times Spyro or Malefor is probably crying about how their lover hates them or how their lover is going to leave them."

"What?! No, that's Spyro," Malefor heard and interrupted Ignitus.

"How is that me?!" Spyro growled.

"I just told you as we walked up here! You never pay attention do you?!"

"Just yesterday you were crying about how you thought Carith was going to leave you because I slipped up and embarrassed you. I haven't even cried about Cynder leaving me today."

"Yeah, yesterday, let's go back to the past and count how many times you have cried about Cynder, and she's cried about you! Oh wait, that number doesn't exist!"

"What's the matter, can't count to three?"

Walking up and standing in front of Spyro, he put his claw on his chest and growled, "I counted to three just before I stabbed your heart."

Throwing his tail blade at Malefor's neck, Spyro growled, "I didn't count when I was about to send you back to Hell!"

Winter couldn't tell if they were joking or not, especially since now the two were basically ready to kill one another. But looking at the smiles on everyone's faces, and the warm feeling she got when she looked at Ignitus smile, the warmth from his wing, she knew they had to be joking. Pulling his tail blade up to Spyro's neck, he pulled his paw back down to the ground and growled, "You know you couldn't have killed me, you were just as weak as you'll ever be! After all, being pushed around by your lover to keep me here is pretty sad."

Walking up to the Guardians, Cynder and Carith both yawned. Looking at Ignitus, Cynder said, "Well, we are off to bed. It was pretty fun night, thanks to you Winter. I hope we can do this again."

Winter smiled as she hoped another day like this would come.

"And Ignitus, you're fine, trust us. And Winter, speaking of what Cynder was saying, maybe we should do another girls day out when one of the other Guardians bring a girl along," Carith suggested, earning a smile, and a blush to both Ignitus and Winter as they knew what they meant.

"So never then," Winter joked, earning a chuckle and giggles from both the girls and Ignitus.

The Guardians all sighed as they rolled their eyes with smiles. As they turned and walked away, Cynder turned back around and whispered, even though she knew Ignitus could hear her talking to Winter, "Thank you for today. Just remember what we talked about. You two would make a great couple."

Winter and Ignitus had blushed, but she nodded at Cynder's words, and watched with a smile as the two walked out of the Chambers. Looking at Ignitus, he had looked back, and she thought, _They are right. Maybe... maybe it's time I move on. I will never forget my previous lover, but looking for the future, I believe, I want to be with everyone here. Including Ignitus... and somehow... Including Malefor._ Looking back to the two still fighting, she had wondered a way to see if she could find out if they were joking for sure.

"Says the one who needed his lover to convince me not to kill you when you couldn't even do that yourself!"

"Um, guys?" Winter said.

The two looked over at Winter, wondering what she had to say. Pointing a claw behind them, they looked to see their lovers were gone. Malefor and Spyro quickly pulled their tail blades down. Panicking, Spyro cried, "Ugh! I got caught up with fighting with you that I wasn't watching after my lover! I'm so stupid, this is all my fault!"

"No, this is all my fault! I shouldn't have started this stupid fight! I'm sorry," Malefor cried.

"Guys, they just left. They said they were going to bed," Winter giggled, glad to see they weren't actually fighting.

"Quickly, to our lovers!" Malefor cried.

Quickly running to the entrance, they stopped, looked at the Guardians, and said, "Goodnight guys!"

Turning back, they ran and hurried after their lovers. Sparks grumbled as he flew to catch up with them, "Remember everyone else but don't remember me why don't you."

Stretching out his body, Terrador agreed, "Will, I guess that means we should be getting to bed as well. Not much happens in a somewhat world of peace."

Walking to the back of the room and opening the door, Volteer followed as he agreed, "Yeah. Now all we do is just sit around and talk. Sounds pretty boring."

Lastly, Cyril followed the two and said, "You ask and you'll receive. So for the love of everything, do not ask for something to do."

Before walking into the room, Cyril turned back and faced Ignitus as he asked, "You going to bed or what?"

Looking over at Cyril, he said, "Yeah, just uh, give me a minute real quick."

Cyril shrugged and decided to let him be as he walked over to his respective bed with the other two Guardians. Turning back and facing Winter, he had wondered what she was thinking about, "So, how have things been? I haven't seen you all day basically and I was hoping you were doing alright?"

Winter giggled, glad that he was concerned about her, "I'm fine, I truly am. The walk was nice up until we were attacked and honestly, I felt weak, and it scared me. Carith was hurt, Cynder was burned on her arm..."

"That Dragon isn't alive is he, the one that burned Cynder and hurt Carith."

"I was as surprised as you. But there were two, a red and green Dragon. I was just so glad that Spyro and Malefor had shown up when they did. It was scary not being able to help, and Cynder was almost killed today."

"Spyro would never let that happen. Even if I didn't tell them to follow you, they still would've. I just thought it be more... nice, if I told them to follow you as well. I would've joined along and helped but, I would've just gotten in their way. Even though I am more powerful then them, I don't think I would've been much help."

"More powerful? How?"

"I will explain it tomorrow, or some time in the future. _I can't tell any girl I meet I'm the Chronicler, but, maybe, maybe I should. I have to make sure that... that she is the one Im looking for. I know she is but... That night... With the ice..._ But you shouldn't worry. To be honest, I was surprised you didn't interrupt those two while they were fighting. You know, since they had their tail blades at each other's neck and all."

"I really would've but, after today, and in the morning, I trusted them. Plus, I know that their lover's would've interfered if something really was about to happen. I was still scared, but... when I looked at you, smiling... with your wing draped over me I... I guess I just felt safe. Because you weren't scared, I wasn't either... Thank you. I know you weren't trying but, you were a big help."

"Of course, anything to help."

Hearing his words, she didn't understand why, why was he so helpful to her, she had to know, "Ignitus, ever since you first found me, or, you know, I found you, you've been nothing but a big help. And I'm not talking about a help as a tour guide, but... a help as, someone who cares. You helped me in that room, you, cuddled with me and kept me protected through the night. And even now, because of you, I was able to be brave enough to stand by you and watch as Malefor and Spyro fought. And if it wasn't for you, I would've jumped in and killed him, but now... I don't want to. Why help me so much if you could easily give me a tour of Warfang and have me go my own way?"

Ignitus frowned, as her talking about him liking her was very much true, but the fact that she brought up that she was thinking about just leaving saddened him, "If that's really how you feel Winter, I can give you the tour tomorrow so you won't have to be with us anymore..."

"No!" Winter cried, causing Ignitus to get wide eyes from her cry, "That's not what I want. I want to know why you're helping me. I don't want to leave all of this, this, family. I don't understand why you haven't just took me around Warfang and told me to leave. Please tell me."

Ignitus smiled slightly, glad to hear that she wanted to stay with everyone, and he knew she wouldn't say if she loved him or liked him, so instead, he took a nicer, softer, approach, "Because if I give you the tour, then there will be no reason for you to stay with me. As long as I don't give you the tour, you'll just have to be stuck with me until then. I'm sorry things have to be this way."

Nuzzling the side of his face, Winter let a small tear drip down her face as she begged, "Ignitus... Don't ever give me the tour of Warfang. Even if you do I... I will want another! I want... I want to continue waking up like this, with Spyro and Malefor fighting, everyone laughing, and you, smiling. I haven't had this feeling in so very long and to lose it again I... Ignitus..."

Ignitus was surprised by what she had said, and the cold tears that dripped from her eyes made it seem so real, and to him, he felt as though she was scared. Wiping away a tear with his claw, she pulled her head away and looked up at him. He smiled as she did, "It's going to be okay. And I will tell you what, once you go to sleep, tomorrow will be just how you want things and I promise, you will never have to worry about losing someone else ever again."

Winter nodded with her cute smile and tears as she thanked, "Thank you, Ignitus! But, I was wondering... Could I... could I sleep with you again? I mean lay next to you!"

Ignitus chuckled as he remembered making the same mistake from before, "And here you picked on me about it."

Winter giggled, "Alright, Alright, you know what I mean."

"Well, what ever you want. You can lay with me, or you can choose one of those rooms. Which one would you prefer."

"That depends, where are you going go sleep?"

"Probably the floor, right here sounds good."

"Then I guess we can sleep on the floor tonight."

Ignitus smiled as he knew what she was doing, and it made him feel good inside as he felt as though she really was the one for him. Shaking his head, he decided to tell the truth, "I would never do that to you, you deserve the best. Let's go and sleep on my bed. After all, I'm sure the Guardians are already asleep. I know Terrador seemed very tired so I'm sure he went to bed."

"Sounds amazing."

Walking into the back room with one another, Ignitus grabbed the door knob with his tail and shut it behind him. Soft snoring filled the silent room as the two walked over to the bed. Standing next to the bed, they hopped up on it. Laying down together, Winter looked outside to see the beautiful full moon shining in from the glass windows. Feeling the warmth and comfort from Ignitus, she felt as if this would be the best sleep she's ever had in her life. Looking back over at him, she was surprised to see he hadn't laid his head down yet. Taking this opportunity, she laid her head down on his paws. He smiled as he laid his head down softly over her head and whispered, "I was hoping you would do that."

Wrapping his tail around Ignitus, he chuckled with a smile that was the same as Winter's, "And I was hoping you would do that as well."

Nuzzling her head towards his chest, she felt small tears form in her eyes as listening to his heartbeat reminded her back to the past, and she thought that one day, she might never get to hear his heart beat, and she would have to move on, but she couldn't. With a soft voice from Ignitus, she felt everything in her body shiver with hope, "It's going to be okay, Winter. It will be okay. Just think about how, in the morning, you'll see everyone laughing, and smiling. Even Malefor. You're safe, I promise."

Hearing his words gave her hope that he was right, especially after seeing those two fight. _When Cynder and Carith were wounded, I knew I would have to go with them, and that's why I've been trying to suppress my... my feeling for Ignitus. But after seeing Spyro, and Malefor, protect us, seeing how good everything can be, even after everything that happened, everything somehow turned out okay. And even when those two were fighting, all it took was me telling them their lovers were gone for them to be friends again. I have to tell Ignitus, I have to tell him that... that I really do like him!_ Winter thought to herself, motivating herself to tell the truth about everything that has happened.

"Goodnight Winter," Ignitus whispered, closing his eyes and falling asleep.

"Goodnight, Ignitus," Winter whispered back, closing her eyes and telling herself she could do it as she looked forward to tomorrow.

* * *

"We thought we had lost you all!" Malefor cried, as the doors to the house shut behind them, "I'm surprised you two were even up here. After we ran to find you, and we didn't see you in the hallway, we, we actually panicked for a good second. How did you two get up here so fast?"

"It's purposely because we ran," Cynder joked.

"Man, after that, now I'm pretty tired. Well, I got nothing better to do. We can talk more in the morning about yesterday, because Ancestors only knows that nothing really happens much any more. Aside from what happened today which I really really hope never happens again, but still, we will have more to talk about in the morning."

"Why off to bed so soon?" Carith asked.

"Well... I want some privacy when we are making out. Because last time, we tried to do that in Spyro's hallway and got yelled at."

"You make a fair point."

Walking over to his room, and opening the door, Malefor stopped, and turning around, he thanked, "Hey, Spyro. I wanted to, uh, Thank you, for back there. I know hearing those dragons say long live the dark master wasn't exactly what you wanted to hear, especially since our... partner ship isn't the best. But you didn't kill me, and I thank you for trusting me."

"Yeah yeah, I still don't trust you as much as before though. But... I do trust you somewhat. And that's why I didn't ask Ignitus about those things I wanted to ask him about. Just, keep being yourself, don't screw up like in the past, and I know it wasn't completely your fault but... You have dragons who care about you, and ones who even loves you, don't lose that," Spyro said, surprising everyone that he was being so helpful to him.

"Thank you, Spyro."

Walking into his room, he ran up and jumped up on his bed with a big smile on his face as he thought, _Does this mean Spyro really does trust me?! Please, Ancestors!_ Looking at Spyro, Carith thanked him as well, "Spyro, I, I don't know how to thank you. I really thought you would've killed him, but because you didn't, we had one of the best moments we've ever had in a long minute. And because of you, I was able to have that moment, with Malefor. I... I can't even imagine what life would be like with out him."

"Alright alright, I'm not going to kill him. Sheesh... Well, as long as he keeps behaving... you have nothing to worry about."

"Thank you Spyro... Goodnight to you two."

Walking over to her room, the two said to her, "Goodnight."

Shutting the door behind her, Cynder raised a brow at Spyro and asked, "Alright, what are you playing at?"

Spyro chuckled with a grin, "What do you mean?"

"You only did this because you knew you would make me proud and I would give you a proud kiss for it."

"Well, I was telling the truth, I just realised half way that I was making you proud. So, did it work?"

Licking her lips, she whispered, "You better believe it worked. But just like them, a bed is better then a hallway."

"Sounds fair to me," Spyro chuckled.

The two walked over to the door, but as Spyro went up to reach for the door knob, Cynder put her paw on his shoulder and suggested, "You know, it takes away from the fun if we have to open and close a door every time we want to kiss one another so quickly. So I have a better idea."

"Better idea...?"

Pulling Spyro underneath the ground, she appeared back above ground and into their room without even needing to use the door. Spyro shuck his head a little as he said, "Man, going down into that, dark, shadowy void always gets to me. But it's so worth it."

* * *

Flying into the hole above the main door, Sparks looked around and thought to himself, _Lets see, in their room kissing, and Spyro, in their room kissing. Well water fall, it's just me and you again._ Flying over to the forest room, he flew through the hole above the door, and landed down on the ground. Closing his eyes and before falling asleep, he thought to himself, _Why have I been so tired? Maybe I should visit my parents some time and see what's up... Ugh! Yawn!_

* * *

"Did you hear what he said?!" Malefor asked with excitement as he jumped up and down on the bed, watching as Carith hopped up on the bed with him, "I honestly thought I was as dead as I could get, but he trusted me, even after I sent those dragons to take care of Spyro's lover... Oops..."

"Wait, What?!" Claire cried, looking at him as he they both sat down together, he chuckled with a smile.

"I didn't mean for you to get involved Carith, I just knew what would happen if Cynder was gone. Then they ratted me out and I knew I had to think of something."

"I wasn't born yesterday, and I definitely didn't come back yesterday. You're joking, right?"

"Probably, but that's what I'm wonder. Do you think I would've done something like that?"

"Knowing you, absolutely. You are just the kind of monster I know you are."

Putting his paw over his chest, he felt betrayed as he fell down onto his back. Pretending as if he was dying, he murmured, "How could you do this to me?"

Giggling, Carith walked up to him and stood above him as she joked, "How could you do this to me? Trying to scare me like that? You already tried that when trying to fake your death mister. It won't work this time."

"I've never been very convincing, but I have been very powerful. Now, I suggest you go back and lay down, or else."

"Or else what?"

"Or else, this!" Malefor joked, as his wings quickly wrapped around Carith's back, and he rolled her over onto her back with him now on top.

The two shared a laugh as they rolled over, and looked at one another, they shared a smile.

"You know I have control over you," Malefor whispered, teasing Carith as he slight kissed her lips.

"Keep telling yourself that. Last I checked, one word about me leaving you and you can't even keep yourself together."

"Can you blame me? I can't risk losing your beauty."

"As that all you care about?" Carith murmured with a slight sigh.

"Oh my gush no."

Climbing off of Carith, he laid down and watched as she rolled to her side and looked at him. Patting a paw next to him, she rolled her eyes with a smile, and standing up to lay next to him, she joked, "Making me walk all over the place."

He chuckled as she laid down next to him. Draping his wing over her, she wrapped her tail around Malefor's and laid her head down on his paws. Laying his head down over hers, he closed his eyes as she did the same, and asked, "Do you really believe Spyro trusted me though? Even I could've said something like that to make everyone else feel more at ease. Plus, Cynder was watching, so he could've planned for it."

"He seemed like it. I was kinda skeptical on what he said, but, I choose to hope and believe he is right. If he is right, then who knows what this could mean for the future. If he was faking, well, I could always ask Cynder and make sure, but I believe he was telling the truth..." Carith hoped, yawning as she closed her eyes and continued, "Don't worry so much about it. Spyro won't kill you unless you turn, so as long as you don't, your fine. Well, along with not hurting his lover, you'll still be fine."

"Yeah but, knowing him, he will pin something on me that I didn't do. Like with those dragons," Malefor murmured with a frown.

"Don't think about it like that. He was stressed out. Think how you would feel if the darkness you thought you had destroyed came back and caused a risk of your lover dying. Cynder almost did take a pretty serious injury, and if you two weren't there, Cynder wouldn't been knocked out and taken."

"But why would they? If they wanted Winter, why take Cynder too?"

"Hopefully we won't have to find out, but let's rest knowing things went well."

"Yeah, I guess your right."

With another yawn, Carith whispered, "Goodnight Malefor."

"Goodnight, Carith."

As they went to bed, Malefor couldn't shake the feeling that Spyro was just acting, and he couldn't know for sure. _He said he trusted me, and it seemed true, but just two days ago, he couldn't stand me, let alone look at me. It took his lover and mine just to talk him down, but does that mean it worked? I'm not dead so maybe it did. I really hope it did,_ Malefor thought to himself as he drifted off to sleep with that one thought in mind.

* * *

"Come on, tell the truth, were you telling the truth or were you just trying to make Malefor feel better because he was going through a hard time?" Cynder asked as she laid down next to Spyro, and draping his wing over her back as he laid, even he wasn't completely sure to himself.

"Well, maybe a little bit of both. It was a stressful moment and I was, not exactly happy that you were hurt, and I knew Malefor wasn't happy his lover was hurt either. And even if those guys were with Malefor, when would he have the time to get away from his lover? The last time we were away from you guys, you woke up minutes later, and I'm sure Carith has done that during nights just to make sure he is still there. So I think I can trust him from what happened today," Spyro answered honestly, but feeling as if he was giving him to much praise, he growled, "But still, I can use that to probably kill him later."

Cynder giggled knowing he was embarrassed to give Malefor some much praise, "It's okay to be nice to him. I'm not mad at him for what happened. But I will agree that if he ever turned, then yes, we can hurt him very very badly, come close to kill, but not kill. I like having Carith around to talk to as she is the only girl, aside from Winter, and if Malefor leaves or worse, dies, then I know I will never be able to see or speak to her ever again."

"Huh, fair enough. I guess close to kill is almost as painful as kill so, I can go with it. But if he ever turned and hurt you, then I wouldn't be as nice as I was to those damn dragons who hurt you. I should've let that red Dragon stay longer so I could've shown him what happens if he ever tried something like that again."

"Well, you did pop his bone out of place, along with slamming your head up at his chin. You basically humiliated that dragon, which was pretty amazing to see."

"Which brings back memories of that one dragon, what was that Bastards name... Flint!"

"Spyro, it's okay."

"I what to know what happened to him. After what had happened, he said something, he was talking about something, I saw his lips move, but what was it? Maybe I should ask Ignitus."

"Why worry about that guy so much?"

"I don't know it's just, I want to know what happened to him. Just like Malefor, or, the dark master, after the first fight we had, he came back. And I can't help but feel as if the first fight I had with Flint, he would want to come back... But, I could be wrong. I just want to know, and make sure, that I won't have to worry about him coming back."

"With hope, he probably just found someone else to love aside from me."

"Someone, loving him? Hahaha, sorry, sorry..."

"You know, I said the same thing about you."

Spyro frowned at her words, and laid his head down in his paws. Cynder giggled and teased him as she put her lips just barely touching Spyro's, "Come on, I know you're not mad at me. You just trying to get me like you did last time. If it makes you feel any better, for one, I was joking, and two... I thought no one would love me, but you proved me wrong. Don't think I don't ever love you, because, well, you know I do, and I always will..."

Cutting her off, he quickly pushed his lips against hers and sent a small jolt of electricity through her mouth, making her eyes wide from pleasure before slowly closing them to enjoy the kiss that felt amazing to her. Spyro pulled away from the kiss, causing Cynder to go mad as she opened her eyes and cried, "No! Why did you stop?! And what was that?! Why did that kiss feel so good?!"

"Just a little special trick I picked up from some help. Volteer told me of a trick to make the kiss feel better, so I decided I would go ahead and see how it felt. And as amazing as it felt to kiss you, I knew you were having a better feeling then me, so I stopped on purpose."

"How dare you! Why would you do such a thing?!"

"Because, a kiss like that needs to be saved for a special occasion. I love you, and I will give you a kiss like that again, but lets keep that kind of a kiss for special occasions."

Sighing with a slight smile, she laid her head down on Spyro's paws once he moved his head up. Laying his head down over her, she whispered, "Sounds fair to me. A kiss like that does seems like only a special occasion kind of kiss... especially with how good it felt. But what occasion could possibly be more special then us going to sleep together at night?"

"I will probably make up ones, but there are, other, real occasions that I can give you the kiss on," Spyro hinted with a smile.

"Wait, what do you mean by that?!"

Spyro chuckled as he closed his eyes and whispered, "You'll find out... in the future... Goodnight Cynder."

"Good... Goodnight Spyro," Cynder whispered, with her eyes still wide open.

 _What could he have been talking about? He wouldn't... No... Ugh, you always know how to mess with my mind... But what if..._ Cynder thought about it through the night, wondering what her lover meant by it, but closing her eyes, she smiled, and as she dozed off with Spyro, she thought once more, _I will find out one way or another... But I hope that... I already have._


	3. Chapter 3: Forced Attack

Chapter 3: Forced Attack

Sleeping soundly and listening to his heartbeat, Winter felt at ease as she had slept, but there was only one thing that had bothered her, _If those dragons were after me, that must mean there will be more to come. Maybe... maybe it would be best if I left and sparred everyone the pain. After all, if it wasn't for me, Carith and Cynder never would've gotten hurt._ Opening her eyes to the moonlit room, she frowned on what to do, as she didn't want to leave, but everything in her body told her not to. _They didn't seem to care much about what had happened. Even after being attacked, Spyro healed them, and then beat those dragons. But what if he wasn't there? What if, I, wasn't there..._ Winter thought, pulling her head slowly back, allowing Ignitus's head to gently rest on his paws. Looking down at him, she continued to fight in her thoughts, _You are the only reason I don't want to leave. Everything about you tells me not to. Would it be best if I leave...? I wish I could tell you what has happened... I wish... I wish I had never made the mistake I made._ Moving her head down and slightly nuzzling his cheek as to not wake him, she pulled away with a small tear as the feeling from his scales made her feel so happy, but she knew she couldn't stay. _I'm sorry... so sorry, Ignitus. I... I like you, I, I might even love you but, I can't put everyone at risk because of what I've done._ Her body tensed up with every move she made, as she slowly tried to make her way off the bed, every move becoming more and more painful as she knew she wouldn't see him again. Standing on the side of the bed and looking at him as his smile turned to a frown, she clenched her teeth as she thought, _Damn it! What do I do?! I can't leave him, I can't! I can't even make it out the room without him by my side now. I... I will just tell him... tell him... about what has happened. I... I know he will forgive me... I... But... I was the one who froze over his mouth... I almost... killed him._

 _"Alright, alright, enough, sheesh,"_ A voice said from in her head. _"Oh no..."_

 _"Surprise! Guess who's back, and all because you just had to play the crying game about what to do. You know, to be honest, I didn't think you were this stupid. You clearly know I can control you, but when your around Ignitus, well, my power doesn't work so well."_ Flint chuckled. _"Why do this now?! You could've control me back then, but why now?!"_ Winter growled, feeling Flint controlling her to move up her paw. _"Because I thought a couple of simple idiots could take care of one. And once they get back, I'm going to have a long, deadly talk with them. But hay, good news for you, we are going to kill him right this time. So don't worry, he'll die quick."_ Flint joked, moving Claire back up onto the bed. Trying to resist, Flint chuckled once again, _"It's funny how you're trying to resist even though by every second you get closer to him. If you resist when I put your tail blade in his heart, it's going to hurt like Hell for him so, you might as well let it happen!"_ Tears formed in her eyes as she was now right in front of Ignitus, and she begged for Flint to not go through with this, _"Wait, Wait! Dark Master, please, I can, I can get Cynder for you, I can! Just, don't make me kill Ignitus, please!"_

 _"You can't lie to me Claire, I can read your thoughts. You were just going to break free, snuggle up to Ignitus, and tell him everything, or, or, you were going to have all the Guardians ambush me. Well to bad, I've already moved to a newer, darker location. You can't get out of this Claire. So, any last words to him? No? Don't care,"_ Flint chuckled as he raised Winter's paw up, and then down towards his chest. _"Oh no wait! His brain, yeah, his brain would be much funnier to see!"_ Flint agreed with himself, raising Winter's tail blade above Ignitus's head. _"You're, you're insane!"_ Winter growled, trying to get control over her body. _"Hey, you have a chance to call for help. Come on, do it. Let's see how fast I can kill Ignitus before he will respond to your cry. As soon as he jumps up to help, Bam! tail blades right in his brain! Oh, it would be so good to see what Spyro will do to you when he sees this!"_ Pulling her tail blade down to his head, her blade neared his head, making her tears feel endless as she was to weak to stop him. _"Almost there, come on, you got it,"_ Flint teased her. As her tail blade almost touched his head, Ignitus mumbled softly with a smile, "Winter..."

Biting her lip, she used every bit of force and power she had to stop Flint. Throwing her tail blade away from his head, she still felt her tail blade rip through something before it fell straight into the bed. With a loud hiss from Ignitus, he put a paw on the side of his face. Opening his eyes, he looked at Winter to see she was in shock. Pulling his paw away from his cheek, he saw through the small light from the moon, blood. Even with her best efforts, she had still managed to cut his cheek bad enough for him to bleed. Looking at her, he shivered in fear as he knew if he said something, she would run, but he had to, "Winter..."

Quickly bolting off the bed and running out of the room, she threw open the door and ran, but not before hearing Ignitus cry, "Winter, Wait!"

"Damn it, no!" Ignitus cried again, quickly jumping off his bed to chase after Winter.

The Guardians all woke to see and hear Ignitus crying out for Winter as he ran out the door. The three quickly got up and out of their beds and chased Ignitus in case he needed help.

* * *

Slamming the doors open to the outside, Winter cried tears as she knew what she had done, and she knew what had to happen. Feeling the cold air and rain as it hit her back made her remember the time she had lost her lover in the rain, and now she was experiencing it all over again. Looking out from the top of Warfang, she cried, _I never should've done this! I was so stupid! And now... now I have no one... not even Ignitus!_ Opening her wings, she burned that thought into her mind, but even as she tried to leave, she still tried not to. Her wings tensed, and with one flap of her wings, she stopped to feel someone's tail wrapped around hers. She looked over to see it was Ignitus. Clenching her teeth, she cried, "Ignitus, I'm sorry, I never wanted this to happen. I never should've come here, I never deserved to have anyone, and after hurting you, I've finally accepted that truth."

The Guardians peaked out the door to listen in on the conversation the two were having with one another. Ignitus shuck his head as he got closer to her. Sitting down next to her, with his body not touching hers, he asked, "Winter..."

"My name isn't Winter! My... my real name... my real name is Claire," She cried, Shaking her head, knowing how Ignitus was feeling right now, and all the hate he must have for her.

"Claire? But, why hide your name?"

"Because... There... Ignitus..."

Claire could feel Flint fighting back what she was saying, which angered her, but it also scared her, as she knew if she didn't say the right thing, she would never have the chance to explain herself. Putting his body against the side of Claire's, her eyes widened a little. Putting his wing over her body, he looked at her and whispered, "You don't need to be afraid, just tell me what happened. I will understand if you do or don't, but I'm hoping that what ever decision you make, it will make you smile."

She smiled slightly, feeling his now warm body, and the darkness was completely out of her mind once again, allowing her control over her body once again. She took the opportunity to finally explain what had happened and explained while she sat down with him, "I was told to come here to assassinate all of you. But, as I came to see who you all were and how nice you all were to me... I couldn't bring myself to do it."

"Why not?"

"Spyro has never done anything to me, and although Cynder was turned into her dark form, she wasn't the one that killed anyone I love, so I didn't have anything bad against her. Malefor is a different story, but seeing him laugh and smile with everyone, and for him to have a lover, I thought I was wrong to think Malefor was actually who I thought he was. I haven't forgiven everything he has done but, I know I won't have to worry about him after Spyro's words."

"And what about the Guardians?"

"Volteer and Cyril were getting along so well, and I've never had any hate towards the Guardians, not even Terrador. Killing one would make me hate myself because, thinking of them crying from one of their friends deaths, I couldn't bring myself to even attempt to kill them."

"And... what... what about me? Why... why didn't you kill me?"

"I never wanted to kill you! I tried to fight back the dark master's control over my mind, and when I stood up, he took over, and, I couldn't stop him. By the time I hurt you, it was to late, and the damage to you was done... I'm so sorry, I swear I am. For some reason when I'm under your wing, he can't control me at all. But, when I got up... I never should've come here... I shouldn't have."

 _Dark Master?! No, this only makes things worse. I was hoping their wasn't a dark master, but now this provides me with the truth! What am I supposed to tell everyone else when they know someone else has become the dark master?!_ Ignitus thought, but was broken from his thoughts as Claire begged, "Just let me go, please Ignitus, I don't ever want to hurt you ever again. I don't want to risk the fact that I could hurt you again."

Looking to the ground, she didn't want to struggle, as her mind told her that she would accidentally hurt him again, but her heart told her she would never do something like that ever again, so she didn't want to try and get away. Putting his paw on the other side of her face, she looked over at him and wondered what he was doing. Pulling his paw back, he whispered, "Let you go? Because of some darkness, for something you never had control over? If you're afraid of the darkness, I can take care of that, at a price."

Claire saw the smile on Ignitus's face, and she blushed as she said, "Ignitus... well... I'm... what... what's the... price? You mean like... me... And you..."

Ignitus's face turned red, just as red as his scales as he quickly took it back, "No no no, wait, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry, I'm not use to having to comfort someone like a dragoness."

Claire giggled from his embarrassment, and continued to listen to his words, "What I meant was... Claire, I love having you around, I really do. I want you to stay, and I can even get rid of the darkness for you completely if you stay... But, if you don't... I will still get rid of the darkness just... please be safe... I won't feel better unless I know you're telling the truth."

"You... you want the truth?" Claire asked, as her heart started beating faster as she felt like this was her chance.

"Please."

Claire giggled, seeing he was just as desperate for her to stay as she was. _Please be what I'm thinking is going to happen. Ancestors, please,_ she thought, as she grabbed every bit of courage she had as she gave her response, "Well, I guess you taking away the darkness... Yeah, I can stay."

"Really!"

Carith smiled at the way he acted, making her wonder if he really did care about her, but the horror she felt, the apprehension that something bad would happen because of what she did to him, she murmured, "But, Ignitus, I don't know if I could even if I wanted to. After what I did..."

"Claire, I'm not going to blame you for hurting me when you never even had control over your body. And, there is a saying that my son has that makes me smile every time. When ever his lover says how she is scared of hurting him, he looks at her, with a warm smile, and with a soft voice, he tells her, 'The only way you could ever hurt me is if you left me'. Claire, that's how I feel right now... please don't leave."

"But..."

"Here, I will erase the doubt that you've said so far," Ignitus said, putting a paw over his cut.

Swiping his paw over, the cut completely disappeared. Claire was astonished that he was able to do something like that, and she watched as he put a claw right on her forehead. Tapping his claw on her forehead, he put his paw back to the ground, and asked, "So, now that the darkness and the cut are both gone, tell me, why are you so sad Claire?"

"What... how... I don't feel the darkness anymore... how? And, the cut, that I did..." Claire asked, completely boggled by what just happened and how he did such a thing.

"What darkness? And what cut? I don't see or feel anything. You must've been imagining this all along," Ignitus said with a smile and a smart looking face, seeing her completely confused, he knew this was the best time to try and get her to stay, "It's okay that you're scared, we all get scared, but there is always someone there even if you don't think they are. I want to protect you, Claire... But..."

He stopped, feeling her head nuzzle up underneath his, the two smiled from the feelings of one another.

"I already said I would stay. Sounds like someone would be sad if I left," Claire teased him, "Why is that I wonder."

"What, well, you know, it's just, there are to many guys, and having another female around wouldn't be so bad. Having you around is great because you understand most of my jokes. The Guardians usually just chuckle awkwardly, or act like they didn't even hear me. And, I know Carith and Cynder love having you around because you all get to hang out without guys."

"Don't you already have a lover around that laughs at your jokes?"

"A lover? Unfortunately, no."

Claire quickly pulled her head away and looked into his eyes to see if he was lying, and she even asked to make sure, "Are you sure, or are you messing with me?"

Ignitus smiled at her reaction, and it kinda confused him, but he assured her, "I don't have a lover. It was actually funny, I was going to find a lover two days ago until I ran into you. Everyone was talking about how I should find someone, but when you said you needed my help, I had to put everything aside to help you, which I'm glad I did, it was nice to meet someone like you."

"But... Spyro, he's your son."

"He's my adopted son. Me and him have gone through a lot, and he calls me father some times and I call him my son. I love having Spyro as my son because he's everything I would've wanted if I ever had a hatchling: Strong, caring for his lover, has lots of friends. I'm glad Cynder was there with Spyro. And, don't your remember? Spyro's parents were killed by the dark master, sadly, so I couldn't be his real father."

 _So he doesn't have a lover! And Spyro isn't really his son! So do I really have a chance?! But I hurt him... But his words... I have to ask him,_ Claire thought, blushing a little as she had hoped Ignitus wouldn't catch on to what she was really asking, "Ignitus, what will you do tomorrow now that you've freed me from the dark master's control?"

"That depends, what do you want to do tomorrow?"

"What... What do you mean?"

"Well, I was just thinking, and I don't really know what to do. Now that I've helped you, and we don't have to worry about anything for right now, I was just wondering if you would like to do something tomorrow?"

"But... Why with me?"

"Well, because, you've seemed like your were having a great time with everyone and smiling more then you did before I'm assuming. I want to keep you happy, and I thought us doing something tomorrow would be just as fun as any other day. You don't have to if you don't want to, I would understand..."

"No, no! I really do!"

"Then what would you suggest we do tomorrow?"

"Well... I've... I haven't had a problem just... snuggling up to you in bed. Would it be okay if we just did that?"

Ignitus chuckled with a warm smile and asked, "That depends, can you tell me what really happened last night? To be honest, I was, bummed out from what happened when I first met you. Apparently, the ice on my face wasn't from Cyril, so, I want to know if... I want to know if it was you."

She frowned, but from what he had said before, she felt better in being able to trust his better judgement, "Well, when I woke up, and I stood up, I was taken control over. I was forced to freeze over your mouth with my ice. The dark master formed a shard in my paw and told me to kill you. I'm sorry, I, I wanted to tell you but I knew what would happen if I did. I didn't want to tell you because, I didn't want to... I didn't want to have been banished from Warfang, and have everything taken from me... I needed you."

"Claire, remember what I said, about you being controlled?"

She giggled slightly, and said, "Yes..."

"Were you going to kill me out of the hate in your heart?"

"What?! Ancestors no. I have no hate towards you what so ever."

"I'm curious, what stopped you from killing me then? You barely knew me during that day, and I only helped you with those dark creatures. So why didn't you kill me, why fight back?"

"Because... It was the night in the room. When I was at the point where I was scared, and I felt like I should just get it over with, you were there for me. When you had shut the door, I thought you had left, but no, you just had to make everything so cheerful and calm with your oh so soothing voice."

The two shared a small laugh from her words, remembering the night from before.

"You really helped me through that day," Claire continued, "heh, and all though you did make a cute little mistake when you asked if I could sleep with you, I was glad you did. It was funny seeing you so embarrassed, and I really enjoyed seeing you smile. I haven't laughed in a long time... and, I haven't really smiled either... So, I thank you."

"I should be thanking you. You found me, I didn't find you. If you had found one of the other Guardians, things would've been way different, so I'm glad you came to me and not those other three."

"Why, because they are better then you?" Claire giggled.

"Wh, ugh, my heart... Why do you hurt me?" Ignitus chuckled.

"What do you mean? I haven't left you."

Ignitus looked at her with his eyes slightly widened as she looked at him a smile and a blush. He smiled back. Nuzzling her head back underneath his, they smiled as they closed their eyes, feeling as if they could easily fall asleep right then and there. But Claire knew that Ignitus would run out of energy from giving her heat at some point, so she asked, "So how long do you think you can keep this up?"

"Pardon?"

"Sooner or later, as enjoyable as this is for me, and I hope for you, you're going to run out of energy from keeping me warm. How long do you think we will be able to just sit here with one another?"

"Hehe, Well, as long as you want. Trust me, I have an, endless, supply of power, which I will explain later. It's just a little complicated."

"Fine by me," Claire agreed, glad she would be able to stay with Ignitus.

The Guardians looked away from the two and looked at one another, wondering what they would have to do, what they would have to say to Ignitus.

"I'm sorry Ignitus. And I'm sorry to the both of you but, I believe it would be best if, we separate the two from each other. Even if it seems like the darkness was cleansed by his claw, she could easily be controlled by this, New dark master, and she could easily be able to try and kill Ignitus again, and maybe this time she won't fail. We can't take that chance," Terrador suggested with a frown.

"It's true. As much as I hate to say it, we might not be able to trust her. Ignitus likes her, and we all know that, and that's why this is going to be painful. But it's going to be painful if he gets killed by her," Cyril agreed.

"As much as it was wounds me inside to consider such an act, it's superlative that we help Ignitus now before he has to suffer any further," Volteer agreed with the two, as they all had their minds made up on the situation.

The Guardians all frowned as they turned and walked back to the Guardians Chambers, hoping they were going to make the right decision unlike in the past times. Slowly opening back his eyes, Ignitus realized he had almost fallen asleep. Nuzzling the bottom of his head against the side of Claire's cheek, he whispered, "Are you awake?"

Claire slowly opened her eyes as well, and with a slight yawn, she whispered, "I was about to fall asleep somehow."

"Sorry."

"Ignitus, it's okay. I would much prefer a bed then standing out here and falling asleep and someone seeing us like this. But since I've almost fallen asleep, I think we should go inside and sleep for real this time."

"Alright," Ignitus agreed, stretching out his body slightly while Claire did the same.

The two stood up and walked over to the doors. Pushing the door open with his paw, Ignitus and Claire walked into the building. Taking his wing and his tail off her, he let her dry herself off. Before she could shake the water off, Ignitus had an idea, "Wait! Claire, I have a fantastic idea, since we are so soaked."

Looking at him, she asked with a slight blush, "What could that be? Nuzzling your wet scales with mine was a pretty good idea."

Ignitus chuckled, "We can do that again, I promise. But here, let me show you something."

Tapping a claw on Claire's side, Ignitus backed up as he pulled his claw back, grabbing all the water off her body and forming a big ball of water. She was in awe to see something so fascinating as she even felt dry now. He chuckled, and said, "Open the door real quick, I want to show you something."

She did as she was asked, and opening the door with her paw, she watched to see what Ignitus would do. Pulling his claw back, he threw the big ball of water into the open with a loud splash following it. She giggled and watched as Ignitus did the same thing to his body. Pulling the water bubble above his head, Claire shut the door and ran up to him. Popping the bubble with her claw, the water spilled all over Ignitus's body. Claire laughed seeing his smile as he was completely soaked once again. He chuckled as he shuck the water off his body, now getting Claire soaked once again. The two shared a laugh with one another. Looking at each other, they nuzzled each other on their cheeks. Pulling away, they smiled.

"We are never going to get dry are we?" Claire giggled.

"No, probably not," Ignitus chuckled.

Putting his body against Claire's, he draped his wing back over her while she wrapped her tail around his. The two smiled as they walked down the hallway, and Claire asked a favor, "Ignitus, would there be a way to wake everyone up real quick? I want to get this off my chest, since I still feel terrible about everything that has happened. I know what you said, and I thank you for your words, I just want to talk to the others and tell them what's happened. I know the girls will feel better knowing I made you happy."

"Sure. Just make sure never to tell Spyro or Cynder about this new dark master, okay?"

"Okay."

"Alright, I will try and get those others up. It shouldn't be to hard. If I wake up even one of them, they will all wake up. Or if I wake up say, Cynder, and Carith, both those two will be up in a matter of seconds trying to find their lovers, so this shouldn't be to hard."

"This is a, random question, random, out of nowhere, question. If you ever had a lover, should you do the same?"

"Of course I would. I might not be very good talking to the ladies, but, just like Spyro, no matter how hard someone would try to touch or hurt my lover, they would be long broken into the ground before that ever happened. That's why I agreed to let Malefor and Spyro go invisible as to follow their lovers and not get into to much trouble."

"Yeah, on the way back, Malefor was joking about how Spyro was crying because he was afraid something would happen to his lover."

"Haha. It's funny you say that because Malefor was actually the one who was freaking out so bad. Spyro was of course as well, but Malefor, he couldn't keep it together."

Cutting the corner and walking into the Guardians Chambers, Ignitus was surprised to see the Guardians were awake, "Hey guys. Sorry for waking you up."

Looking at Claire, he whispered, "Do you want to tell them what happened while I go and get those four?"

"Sure," She said with a smile.

Taking his wing off her and taking a couple of, he was stopped by her tail that was still wrapped around his. He looked at her as she said, "Don't take to long. Sleeping tonight, and together, is going to be one of the best nights I will ever have."

Ignitus smiled big at her words. She let him go by taking her tail off his. He walked out of the Chamber and cut the corner. Sitting down, he decided it would be best if he just woke the four up in their minds so he wouldn't have to be very far away from Claire. Looking at the Guardians, she saw they weren't in the best of spirits, so she tried to cheer them up, "So, me and Ignitus have had an eventful night. What about you three?"

The Guardians didn't know how to responded, making Claire feel as if she had done something wrong. Terrador decided he would break the bad news to her before anything else had happened, "Winter... Claire, we heard you and Ignitus talking, about the darkness, and how you tried to kill him, twice. We... We don't think it would be best if... if you stayed."

"What?!" Claire cried.

"Claire, we really do like you, you've made Ignitus smile a lot, and laughing along with you was great. But, we can't risk the fact that you could try and kill Ignitus again. Even if the darkness is gone, maybe a little is hiding away in your body. That little bit can easily be the death of Ignitus, and we can't change that. I'm sorry, I truly am," Cyril said sadly, feeling now as if maybe they should think of a different solution to handle this.

"I'm not going to leave Ignitus, I'm not going to walk away from this close to being with him."

The Guardians knew this was going to be difficult for them, but they tried not to stir up to much of a fight.

"Claire, even an outsider should know a big rule in Warfang, but if you don't, one of the biggest rules in Warfang is that; Attempt murder on a Guardian is punishable by banishment, and if the murder is successful in killing a Guardian then that act is punishable, by death. We don't want you to be killed, or Ignitus, and that's why I'm saying what I am now. Please understand that we do care, and that's why we are trying to protect you both," Terrador murmured, seeing the sadness in Claire's eyes as she sat down and looked to the ground.

"Is this really the best decision?" Cyril whispered.

"I don't know, but I know that this will keep both of them safe," Terrador whispered back.

"Maybe we should think of something else."

"Like what?"

"A new plan, obviously."

"Okay captain obviously, what is the plan?"

"Not go with this plan for starters. If Ignitus comes in here and sees her like this, who do you think he's going to hate?"

"We will tell him we are trying to protect him."

"Maybe we should let him decide. After all, they've, they've bonded pretty well, and I think Claire really does like him."

"Maybe you're right. I just don't know how to make a right decision. I don't want things to take a turn for the worse."

"What do you mean?"

"Claire knows the dark master, one wrong move, and everything could go wrong. Cynder dies, Carith dies, Malefor turns, Spyro turns. There is so much that can happen if we make the wrong decision so how do we know what the best decision is?"

"When you put it like that... I don't know."

* * *

 _Ignitus pulled the four into the dream world of his and watched as they laid together with their lovers. Not knowing the best way to wake them up, he thought of his plan before, "Spyro would kill me if I took Cynder away just to get him to wake up. And, he would probably kill Malefor first. So I can't do that." Looking at how peaceful and happily they were sleeping, he sighed, deciding it would be best to just do a frontal approach. Walking up and putting a paw on Spyro's side he whispered, "Spyro... Spyro it's me, Ignitus." Spyro grumbled in his sleep as he woke, "If this is about me and Cynder possible getting torn away from one another, I'm going to kill Malefor on the spot."_

 _"No no no, this isn't about that. It's about something that Claire wants to talk to you about, or, you all," Ignitus said, backing up as he saw Spyro lift his head up and yawn. Opening his eyes and stretching his body, Spyro said, "Well, since I don't know anyone by the name Claire, I don't know what exactly I'm getting myself into."_

 _"It's Winter, but her real name is Claire," Ignitus explained, "She found some, dark energy, nothing to be worried about I assure you. But some small left overs of the dark energy made it into her mind and she was controlled by it to kill me and everyone else. She fought back and I saved her and completely took away all the darkness in her mind."_

 _"Darkness! You better be right about a small piece... then again, it could be those dark spots Malefor was talking about," Spyro growled as he stood up, "But now you confuse me. You can take away her dark power, but you can't take away Malefor's so I don't have to worry about him going full evil again?"_

 _"The darkness was very, very small. And it hasn't manifested into her body completely, so I was able to extract it before it could. You two got your powers from the source, not Claire, so I can't take away that power as it will only come back a few minutes later," Ignitus explained, seeing Spyro look at him with a raised brow. He decided to forget about it for the time being and agreed, "Alright, fine, I will talk to her. I'm super tired so let's just get this over with. Seeming how every time I have a good day you ruin it with this awful place."_

 _"Awful? I thought you would fined it cool and relaxing to look and feel as if you were in space surrounded by planets and stars. Is there some where else you would like me to make in the dream world to make you feel more comfortable?" Ignitus asked, feeling hurt as he actually liked it here. "No no, that's not it. It's just, coming here every time, doesn't bring back the best of memories. But hay, taking a Step forward in the right direction to forget about it."_

 _Ignitus smiled at his positivity, as he was also glad he told Spyro about the little bit of darkness now since he is so tired and he would probably forget anyway. "So, let me guess, I have to wake up Malefor as well?" Spyro asked, walking over and looking at him as he slept. Walking around to Malefor's side, Spyro looked at him as Ignitus said, "Well, yes. I was hoping you would find a way to wake him up better then I did. My thoughts were, abysmal as Volteer would put it. I knew how bad it would be if Malefor saw Carith was gone so..." Interrupting his words, Spyro lightly kicked Malefor in his side and grumbled, "Hey, Malefor... wake the hell up."_

 _"Not what I was going for but, that'll work," Ignitus said to himself. Malefor grumbled as he said, "Okay, you can stop kicking me." Spyro stopped, and walking back over to his lovers side, Malefor grumbled again as he opened his eyes and picked up his head, "Where are we... Oh, we're here. That Bastards use to take me here when ever something bad was about to happen with the apes or something... Is something bad about to happen!"_

 _"Malefor, calm down, it's fine. I'm now using this place just to wake you up for something that isn't a super emergency. Long story made short, something happened, Winter is really named Claire, and she wants to talk to you all," Ignitus explained, earning a huge sigh of relief from Malefor._

 _"So you woke us up first because you knew we could wake up are lover?" Malefor asked. "Yeah, of course, that was totally my plan from before," Ignitus chuckled, knowing his other plan probably would've been a way worse idea, "Good thing I woke Spyro." The two woke up their lovers in different ways. Spyro woke his lover by giving her a soft nuzzle to her cheek. Malefor woke his lover by giving her a soft kiss on the cheek before whispering to her. Cynder woke with one eye opened and looked at Spyro. "Good morning my love... Wait, why are we here?" The tone in her voice made Spyro chuckle. She picked up her head and opened her other eye. "Ignitus I swear..."_

 _"It's nothing bad, I swear. I told Spyro, and Malefor. Everything is okay, it's just about Winter who's real name is Claire," Ignitus explained once again, realising that maybe this place doesn't bring back the best of memories. Cynder sighed, but then said to herself, "Wow, Claire is a way prettier name." Carith was the next to wake up. Opening her eyes and yawning she looked at Malefor and whispered, "What a nice wake up." He chuckled, "Well, you know." Everyone stood up and looked at Ignitus. Carith had never been in this place before, but Malefor didn't seem scared so she wasn't either. "Alright, now that you all are awake, please come down to the Guardians Chambers. Claire would like to have a talk, then when you're done, you all can go back to bed for the night. And, Spyro, I owe you one for coming up with a better idea then the one I had... so, thank you."_

 _"Anytime," Spyro yawned, causing everyone, even Ignitus, to yawn as well. "Alright... I will see you all soon."_

Pulling out of his thoughts, Ignitus shuck his head as he didn't know it, but he actually felt tired for once. Walking back and around the corner, he said, "Alright, I was able to wake them but they are going to be a little sluggish getting down here. So, what did I miss?"

The Guardians didn't know how to respond as Ignitus looked at Claire to see the sadness on her face as she looked to the ground in front of the Guardians. Looking at her, he looked back at the other three and asked, "What happened?"

Terrador knew that he would have to speak, as he knew he would probably be the best one to explain it to him, "Ignitus, we understand that you want to help Claire, we really do, but we don't think you should help her as closely as you are now. We understand, we truly do, but we know nothing about who Claire really is, if that's even her real name. She attacked you, and who knows if she will do it again, who knows if that darkness wasn't just a diversion to get you to trust her so she'll kill you. We don't want to take that chance."

"What are you talking about? You do know what I can do right?"

"But, you said you couldn't see her thoughts or her location through your thoughts."

"It was because of the darkness, it's nothing to be worried about. Now with the darkness gone, I can sense and feel how Claire is feeling. And yes, that really is her name."

"I'm just saying that anything could happen, and we think it would be best if we, let go, of Claire. We don't know if there are other surprises that could emerge if she stays."

"Enough, Terrador. I understand you are trying to protect me, and I thank you, but throwing her out is not an option. I can tell if she's scared, I can tell if she's angry, what more do you want? What more proof do you need that everything will turn out okay?"

"The small chance that she still has dark energy in her. This Dark Master obviously wasn't stupid, he gave her a fake name, and she was able to get so close to you so easily. He could easily have made improvements to the dark powers and some is hiding in her that could easily jump out and turn Malefor, or, control her."

"I've already told you..."

"And I'm telling you that all because you took it away, how do you know it's all gone? The darkness can always find a way to hide even when there is light. We know that with Spyro, we know it with Cynder, and we know it with Malefor... Please forgive us, Ignitus, but, we just don't want to see you get killed. Everything can go wrong no matter how we look at things. You die, Spyro's anger takes over. She leaves, you get depressed, and everything goes down hill. We are trying to think of the best option of what to do."

"So," Ignitus murmured, "You know how I would feel if Claire left, so you're trying to get her to leave?"

The Guardians all looked at one another, saddened by what they've come to decide, but they didn't know what was best for everyone. Claire listed to every word they said, and she knew the darkness was gone, it was her body, she could feel it, but she knew if she said something, they wouldn't believe her, only Ignitus. A knock was heard from the entrance of the Chambers. Everyone looked over to see it was Spyro and the other three.

"Come on Claire. Ignitus said you wanted to talk to us," Spyro said, waving a paw over to follow.

She did with sadness. Walking with the three to the hallway, Spyro walked with them as well, but stopped, looked at the Guardians, and said, "What ever is happening between you all, just call me so I can help. We did the whole crying thing back in the day, so let's try and smile so more, okay? Okay. Now be good little Guardians and play nice."

Walking away, the four knew he was right, but they didn't know how they were all going to come to a decision. Walking over to everyone else, he saw they all sat in the hallway, waiting for him to arrive. Claire sat in the middle while Malefor and Carith sat with one another against the right side of the wall. Cynder sat in front of her, then Spyro did as well as he sat next to his lover.

"Alright, so what's going on? Apparently something about a little darkness that found its way to you and made you almost kill the Guardians?" Spyro asked, seeing her frown from the memory.

But even with the frown, she tried to explain the best way she could, "Well, yes, you are correct. Ignitus took all the darkness away from me, but Terrador believes, along with the other Guardians, they believe that there is still darkness in me, and at some point, it could come back and cause me to kill Ignitus. I feel like I understand them. They are probably scared because they think I could kill them as well."

"Are they right?"

"What?! No. I... I... I like Ignitus, I really really do, and when I'm under his wing, I feel so safe and warm and happy. I can feel that he took away the darkness, I know he did, but I don't know how. Ever since he did, I've been able to walk around freely without becoming under attack by the darkness. I swear there isn't any more darkness in me, I swear there isn't."

Spyro sighed at the predicament and knew he would really have to wake up and make sure he makes the right decision here. Looking at her eyes, he asked her to see if she would lie, "I need to know. How do you truly feel about Ignitus, and are you certain, one hundred percent that you are darkness free."

She nodded her head thinking about it, "I... I truly feel like I am. But, I feel terrible for, for hurting Ignitus."

"Hurt! How?!" Spyro asked, trying to hide his growl, but he failed, scaring Claire.

"Spyro I'm sorry I wasn't in control I swear. I, I cut the side of his cheek with my tail blade, but I was controlled in doing so! I... I know it's not an excuse, I should've been stronger to fight back but, he looked at me and smiled as he said that the only way I could ever hurt him was if I left him. He said he loved your words, and as bad as I felt, his words, his warmth and voice, Spyro, I can't lose that."

Spyro shuck his head at the thought that Ignitus could be killed if she were ever to turn again, "Claire... I'm... I'm sorry, you have to leave."

"What?!" Everyone cried in unison.

"Wh... Spyro..." Claire cried.

"I can't trust you with Ignitus. You like him, and I understand that, but I believe I'm right, you could still have darkness in you, and we can't risk having you here any longer. There are things I can handle, and having the dark master live two doors down from me is one of them, because I can trust him not to become the dark master. But hurting Ignitus... I can't think about a world without him. I'm sorry Claire, but you have to leave," Spyro commanded with a sigh.

"Spyro," Cynder whispered.

"Spyro, please, I can't leave Ignitus. If, if you wanted the truth of how I feel, about Ignitus... I... I love him! The first day, and then the day we woke up together, the time we spent... I don't want to let what happened before happen now. I don't want to lose someone else that I love. When I was controlled, I was almost forced to kill him, I tried so hard, I tried, I really did. Just like you, I can't be in a world without Ignitus! Please give me another chance, Spyro! I will make you proud, I swear!"

"I'm sorry. Love or not, you don't truly mean that. You've been together for two days, and two days isn't enough..."

"It's enough for me to know I love him!"

Spyro knew this was going to be difficult, he had to try his best to make things work out, "Claire, you tried to kill Ignitus. I can't believe that you would do that. I don't want to do this, but if you don't leave, then I'm going to have to make you. Like it or not, I was going to suggest you stay, but after hurting Ignitus, I will never forgive you. But I will make you a deal, get through me, and you can have Ignitus, and if you don't, then you will leave like it or not."

 _This doesn't sound like Spyro at all,_ The three thought with similar thoughts. Claire growled through her teeth and tears as she cried, "Fine! If there even is a small chance that me and Ignitus could be together, then I will try. I've made it this far... But without Ignitus, I know I won't be able to make it any further. I don't care what it takes!"

"Alright, if you say so. But, I get the first punch," Spyro growled, popping his knuckles and neck as he went into his dark form, scaring Claire as she knew how powerful this form was because of his fight with the dragons that had attacked them from before.

Cynder put a paw on Spyro's shoulder. He looked at her, and decided it would be best to give her a soft kiss on the cheek. Feeling the kiss before he pulled back, she felt like it was a trust me kiss, and she decided to. Clenching her body and preparing for the hit, she closed her eyes as Spyro pulled his fist back, and swung it right at her. A loud crack emerged from the punch as the wind from it whipped past, slamming and slashing at the walls, somewhat damaging them. Claire's breathing was fast, her heart raced from the sound, but she realised she heard the sound and felt the wind from the punch, but she didn't actually feel the punch. Slowly opening her eyes, nearly passing out from fear, she looked to see Spyro's fist stopped right in front of her face, causing her heart to skip a beat. Pulling his fist back, he sighed as his body returned back to its normal form. She stood there, completely frozen with fear, wondering what happened. Looking at her, Spyro smiled as he said, "You pass."

"What?" Everyone cried once again.

"I... I passed?" Claire asked, still coming back from the horror that she thought was about to happen.

"Yeah, you pass, you can go back to Ignitus now."

"But... But... I don't understand..."

"Alright, I will explain. First, I wanted to see how you would react to my words, I wanted to know how you felt, how you see Ignitus, I wanted to know more. I wanted to see how much you really care about Ignitus, and for you to openly admit you love him, and stand there and almost take a punch from that form... you really showed me you do love him. And if there was darkness in you, it would've reacted to my darkness, or attacked me, which it didn't, so that shows me you really are darkness free. So, you're free to love Ignitus as you please."

"Really?!" Claire cried happily, trying not to get her hopes up, but she failed.

Spyro nodded with a smile, "Of course. But seriously, you try and hurt Ignitus again, I won't be so easy. I know how difficult it is to stop yourself when being controlled by the darkness, and because you didn't kill him, and you were able to stop yourself from killing him, it tells me, you might be the one for Ignitus, and I hope you won't disappoint me."

"I won't! I promise! Thank you Spyro, Thank you!" Claire cried, hugging Spyro with her arms and wings, "I thought I was going to lose Ignitus... I... Spyro, I don't know how to thank you."

Malefor saw the blush on Cynder's face and joked with her, "Aw, Cynder's all jealous."

Cynder growled at him but tried to ignore him. Tapping a claw on her shoulder, Claire looked at her as she said, "Spyro's my man."

Claire giggled and quickly backed off as she said with a blush, "Oh yeah, I knew that. Plus, I love Ignitus anyway."

Feeling the excitement in her body, she thought with joy, _I can't believe I'm able to love Ignitus! Thank you so much Spyro! Thank you... But, what about the Guardians? They still aren't convinced._ Toning down her joy, Spyro could see that as her joy had disappeared as she asked, "But, what about the Guardians? They still believe I will hurt Ignitus. I don't want to be enemies with them, I just want everyone to be happy. But it seems that the only way for them to be happy is if I left."

"Gosh, you ask so much of me," Spyro joked, "Don't worry, I will take care of them too, don't worry about it."

Claire believed in his words, so she quickly grabbed back her smile and ran to go back to Ignitus. But she stopped, and just barley looking at Malefor, she asked with a soft voice, "Malefor... Will the dark master take Ignitus away from me, like with my other lover?"

Malefor gave her a smile and his word, "Don't worry, the dark master won't hurt anyone anymore. Especially not your lover."

Claire giggled through her smile, as she quickly turned her head back around and ran into the Guardians Chambers. Cynder looked at Spyro with a smile and whispered, "You had me fooled. I actually thought you were going to tell her to leave. Sounds like someone deserves a nice reward."

"What kind of reward?" Spyro purred

"The best kind," Cynder whispered back, touching her lips against Spyro's.

"Um, guys," Malefor interrupted, causing the two to look at him and growl, "Maybe we should wait to kiss our lover's. Think about it, we, or, I'm guessing you, still have to speak with the Guardians about everything. When Claire walks in there, everyone is still going to be against her staying."

Spyro growled, but he did agree. Cynder giggled at his growl, but she promised him, "We still have time. You'll get that kiss, I promise."

Spyro smiled, knowing it would be true. Getting a slight nuzzle from Cynder, Spyro smiled. As she pulled away, she said, "Come on. The sooner we get this done, the sooner everyone will be happy."

"Alright," Spyro agreed with a smile, walking with the four to the Guardians Chambers.

* * *

The Guardians looked over to see Claire had ran in the Chambers. Before being able to say a word, Ignitus was quickly hugged by her. She wrapped her arms around the back of his neck, and putting her wings on his back, she nuzzled her head underneath his. He smiled as this is exactly what he wanted. The Guardians looked at one another as they didn't know what happened.

"Do we say something?" Cyril asked.

"No... I... I don't know," Terrador answered honestly.

The three looked over to see the four had come back from the talk with Claire. Spyro walked away from his lover and up to the Guardians. Standing in front of the three, he said, "Look, I've made my decision, she's staying. Now you can fight me on it, that's fine, but I'm a Guardian too, remember? And you all surprise me, your scared she could turn and kill Ignitus because of the darkness when you aren't scared of Malefor doing so, you aren't scared of me doing so. I'm actually disappoint in you all."

The Guardians looked at one another, quickly regretted the decision they had made, and they were already in agreement with what Spyro had stated.

"Look," Spyro whispered, "She even openly admitted she loved Ignitus. She stood there while I went into my dark form. She said she would fight me if it meant getting past me and to Ignitus. She stood there, scared, but she didn't back down. I told her she passed. And plus, if she did have darkness in her, the darkness in her body would've reacted to mine, or I would've felt it, since she was right there. So you need to stop worrying before something bad happens, and i will knock you three out if it does."

The Guardians all sighed and decided it would be best if they trusted Spyro and his words. They all smiled, knowing that he hopefully made the right decision and the right move by letting her stay.

"But, maybe you should apologize to Ignitus. After all, you tried to take the one he cared about away from him, which hurt him, which hurt me, which means I might have to hurt you. But you all apologize, and I will let it slide," Spyro threatened, causing all the Guardians to swallow hard before quickly nodding.

Walking back over to his lover, Spyro sat down next to her and awaited for the apologize. Terrador was the first to speak as he walked up to Ignitus's side and apologized, "I'm sorry for being unhelpful. I should've trusted you, and the fears from the past just got to me, and I made the wrong move, and the wrong words to help make the situation better... I hope you can forgive me. I hope, you can forgive us, Claire."

Ignitus could only smile as he was to busy enjoying the embrace from Claire, which he thought he would've never felt again because of what the Guardians were suggesting. " _You all can repay me for what you did by giving me and Claire some time alone,"_ Ignitus said through his thoughts to the Guardians. They smiled, and turning away from him, they walked towards their Sleeping Chambers. _"Thank you, Spyro. You were a really big help, and I truly do owe you one... But I have one more request. Can me and Claire have some alone time?"_ Ignitus said through his thoughts to Spyro's. Spyro chuckled as he said, "Alright, mission accomplished, time for bed."

Walking out of the Chambers with his lover following, Malefor looked at him and asked, "What about Ignitus and Claire?"

"What do you think?"

Malefor chuckled as he knew exactly what he was going to say, but Carith shut his lips by saying, "If you say what I think you're going to say, you will sleep on the floor for the rest of the night."

He quickly shut his mouth and chuckled with a smile. The two walked out of the Chambers with one another and followed behind the other two. Malefor was confused by Spyro's words from before and wasn't able to bring it up, so he decided to now, "Spyro, when you went into your dark mode, you said how the darkness in her body would've reacted to yours. So, doesn't that mean that my darkness or Cynder's darkness should've reacted as well?"

"When I'm in my dark mode, I can feel the darkness close to me. I sensed yours and my lover's, which is impossible since my lover is the most purist dragoness on this planet. When I sense that darkness, I can choose which of the darkness to react to. Like right now, if I wanted to go into my dark mode, I could react your darkness and possibly turn you, which I'm not going to do. When I tried to react my darkness with Claire's, there was nothing to react to, so after that, I just chose to see if she would take a punch if it meant she could stay with Ignitus," Spyro explained, only confusing Malefor even more, but he acted like he understood things so he didn't have to get even more confused.

"Punch? Yeah right, more like death. Did you not see the hallway after that punch?"

"I had to make it look convincing."

"And deadly?"

"It worked didn't it? It just shows how much Claire really does love Ignitus."

"You think she really does?"

"From her words and body language it seemed that way, but until she kisses him, then we won't know for sure."

"Why does it have to be a kiss?"

"Because a kiss shows a lot. You kiss someone and they make a disgusted face from kissing you, then they don't like you."

"Maybe because that Dragon they kissed was rolling around in mud before getting a kiss."

"You're missing my point."

"You mean your kiss explanation?"

"Oh, Ancestors, why did I save Malefor instead of killing him."

"Harsh."

Getting up to their house, the main doors opened and the four walked into the hallway. Walking up and opening the door, Carith said, "Well, we hope you both will have a good night rest once again. And who knows, maybe depending on how fast those two are getting along will show how long until they do kiss."

Spyro smiled as he said to himself, "I hope that day comes."

As Malefor walked into the room past his lover, Carith looked to see he had jumped onto the bed and awaited for her to join him. Looking back at Spyro, she thanked, "And, Spyro, thank you again, for not killing Malefor. I know how you might feel after everything that happened, but because of you, I can sleep with my lover in a bed once more, and for hopefully the rest of my life."

"Yeah well, thank Cynder. If it wasn't for her, I would've made the better decision in my mind," Spyro said, embarrassed to say that he was having somewhat of a good time hanging out with Malefor.

Carith giggled as she looked at Cynder, "Well, thank you Cynder. But, if you want to, since Spyro hasn't killed Malefor, you should reward him for that too. You know, just to make him feel better every day he doesn't kill my lover."

Cynder giggled at her words, "Don't worry, I already have a good reward planned out for him."

She smiled and nodded, "Well then, I will see you two in the morning. Funny saying this for the second time this day. Well, any way, goodnight you two."

"Goodnight," Cynder said as Claire shut the door.

Spyro sighed hugely as he said, "First the whole Dragon incident, Malefor still being alive, and the whole thing with Claire. I just can't seem to catch a break."

Putting her tail blade to Spyro's neck, he smiled at her as she whispered, "Well now you're being held hostage by your lover, and you can't escape until she is satisfied with all the kisses she desires."

"Sounds like being a hostage isn't so bad," Spyro chuckled.

Pulling her tail blade down, she walked with Spyro to there room. Opening the door, Spyro let Cynder go first. As she walked in, he shut the door behind himself with his tail. Cynder jumped up on the bed and waited for her lover, which he jumped on seconds later. Snuggling up together, he draped his wing over her body while she wrapped her tail around his. Spyro sighed at the whole Claire incident and asked, "Do you think I made the right decision?"

"Why do you ask?" Cynder wondered.

"I truly do believe that Claire is darkness free, and I do believe she loves Ignitus, but I'm scared that the darkness that is still floating around in those dark spots will cause the same effect to her again and possibly infect her for good. I want Ignitus to be happy, because I know he likes her as well, but I don't want him to get to attached if she ever does get infected again, and that's why I kinda agreed with the Guardians."

"You love me, and yet you know I could easily turn from darkness at any point."

"I don't like to think you have darkness in you. I wish with my powers, I could learn to take others dark powers without the dark power completely consuming me. Even if I was fed with more dark energy, I have more control over it then most others, I'm probably the only one who can really control it."

"Maybe it's best if you don't. Last time you tried, you didn't even realize you were about to be controlled. I understand that you want to help everyone, you always have wanted to, but I'm sure you don't have to worry about the darkness with Claire. She did say she was cured of the darkness thanks to Ignitus, so I'm sure she is completely fine if she ever did get infected with darkness again."

"But what about Malefor? He has a lot of dark energy in him, and he could easily get infected once again by it. What if I won't be able to help him because I wasn't able to control the dark powers before he was infected? I understand your fears, I really do, I just... with your permission, would I be able to continue to train and control my dark powers."

"Hum... alright. But you can only do so when ever I am around. You going into that form is just a little bit of a... It's gets the blood flowing near my lips lets just say that. And hopefully maybe by you doing this, you'll be able to get a, less evil and less darkness form, but still be able to keep all those muscles."

"Muscles? You mean these muscles," Spyro chuckled, flexing his arm and showing Cynder his muscles.

She blushed with a giggle as she agreed, "Yes indeed. But, they are not as good as the ones I see in that form, and your body looks so muscular as well. Oh, just thinking about it..."

Pushing his lips against Cynder's, he knew she wanted to kiss him, and he decided it would be best to do it now while she still had the thought in her mind. Closing her eyes, she felt the joyful pleasure, along with the thought of him, causing her eyes to roll to the back of her head with joy. Slowly pulling away, Cynder smiled, and opening one eye, she said, "Alright, you can train without me, but be careful, that's all I ask... I really want to see if you can achieve that body."

Nuzzling her head underneath Spyro's, she closed her eyes again and laid her head down on his paws. Spyro chuckled as he whispered, "Is there something wrong with my body?"

"Nothing is wrong with your perfect body. But your body isn't why I fell in love with you, so you don't need to worry... Goodnight Spyro," Cynder whispered with a smile, earning a smile from her lover.

"Goodnight my love," Spyro whispered, laying his head on Cynder's before closing his eyes, and the two fell back to sleep with smiles.

* * *

With the two snuggled up, peacefully and happy, Claire almost fell to the floor from how exhausted she was, but Ignitus was there to help her. Looking at him, she chuckled, "Guess I'm still pretty tired, and scared from what has happened."

"Like you said, a bed is better then sitting out here where someone could see us," Ignitus agreed with her previous statement as he looked at her with a smile, "But look on the bright side, you no longer have to worry about the darkness, or the Guardians. Which I still can't believe they would try something like that. But at least it was good you told me to call Spyro down here."

"Yeah, he was a big help."

"He usually is. Unless it has to do with deciding with rather Malefor lives or dies, then he is some one you don't want an opinion from."

The two shared a small laugh before yawning. Turning with Claire towards the back door, he walked with her and asked, "So tell me, how is it going to feel to finally be able to sleep well for once?"

"I slept fantastic with you. I just wasn't able to sleep, comfortably, with that darkness. But, now that you mention it... I feel like tonight might be the best night I will ever have."

"And why do you say that?"

"Because I can sleep well, knowing that everything will hopefully be like today, aside from what happened with those dragons and the Guardians, but other then that, it was fantastic. I never thought I would be able to smile near Malefor of all dragons. And with Cynder and Carith, I don't have to be the only girl going around talking about who they like or what they like about their lovers."

As the two jumped up on the bed, Ignitus was confused. The way she said it made it made it seem like she already had a lover, as if she took part in that conversation. Laying down on their belly, he saw her smile as she laid her paws out in front of her before doing a quick stretch. Somewhat wanting to know that answer, he asked, "Claire, you said you talked about what you liked about your lover. Does that mean your lover from the past, or someone I don't know about?"

"Oh, well, I, I meant that, one day, I would be able to join in on that conversation. I was somewhat left out on what they were talking about, and they kept teasing me about who they thought I liked. But after what's happened today, actually... I agree with them. And I knew it before, but I know it now."

"Like? Interesting, please, tell me more."

"Nice try. But don't worry, you'll find out soon enough."

Laying her head down, Ignitus was deep in his thoughts, wondering who it could be, but he didn't want to look back and ruin it, he wanted to find out for himself. Looking over at Cyril who laid in the bed next to Ignitus's, Claire asked, "Cyril, do you believe I am darkness free? I know Spyro talked with you but, I want to hear it from you, I want your thoughts."

Moving his head from one side of his paws to the other, he looked at Claire and opening his eyes, he sighed, "I was scared, that's all. I haven't really been the best when it comes to darkness, and I've made some stupid mistakes. If it wasn't for Terrador and Volteer, I actually probably would've died, or maybe even Cynder."

"What?! What happened?"

"Sparks, the yellow dragon fly came into the Chambers at one point yelling about how Cynder had poisoned Spyro and she was holding him hostage basically. I haven't had, the best of trust for Cynder, and during that time, I was ready to help Spyro. But apparently it was just a prank to get Sparks away from them so they could talk. I could've made the worst mistake of my life just because of what Sparks said. I trust Spyro, and I trust Cynder now more then I did before. And, I'm not going to make the same mistake, so, I do trust you are darkness free."

"Wow, where is this coming from?"

"Sorry, Like Volteer, I was just a scared about what could go wrong. And Spyro was right about one thing; There is darkness in him, Malefor, and Cynder, and yet, when Malefor came back, we trusted him enough to not banish him, let alone kill him as soon as he returned to Warfang. But when we heard you had darkness, we quickly tried to push you away. And, the reason I thought it would be best is... well... I was wrong... And I'm sorry."

"Spyro's right, you guys do cry a lot. Lighten up, I was just asking."

"Right..."

Looking past Ignitus and over to Volteer, Claire asked him as well, "Come on Volteer, tell me the truth."

Looking at her, he grumbled with a smile and admitted, "Alright fine. I have to agree with Cyril on this. Aside the fact that I kinda trust Cynder more then Spyro, I haven't had the greatest time with the darkness. Since my parents were killed, I haven't really trusted the darkness. I only trust Cynder because she hasn't really been the one to cause me fear, it's only Spyro who causes my fear because he has purple scales like Malefor, and it brings back memories of what's happened."

"Sorry, about, the loss of your parents."

"And it's true I did lose them, but, I just hope I don't lose anymore. As you can see, thanks to Spyro, we have grown more into a family, along with Ignitus returning, Malefor and Carith... It's good to know that I still have family that I can come to."

"Ignitus returning? What happened?"

"Um, well, I think Ignitus can just give you those memories, but long story made short, we thought he died in the volcano but he didn't because magic or what ever, and now he's back... And hopefully for good?"

Ignitus chuckled at Volteer as he looked at him, "Yeah, you can say that. Plus, I think your going to like what I do to this back room. Now that I'm able to stay, most of this room is going to be piled with books about everything on Dragon history."

"Books?!"

"Who gets excited about books?"

"Me, who else."

"Volteer, I know you read about three thousand words per second, but even if you did read that fast..."

"Actually, I can read at about around five thousand words per second. Or, if you want to put it simply, you could say that I read about point two words every millisecond. And since it takes one thousand milliseconds to make a second, you can easily get to such a comprehensive answer: One thousand divided by point two would give you five thousand, showing that I can in fact read that fast... Sorry... I got a little carried away."

"... Wow... Volteer it's, it's fine I've just... I didn't barely following a single word, but that still sounds quite amazing" Claire said, both confused and astonished at the same time, "Are you being serious?"

"Unfortunately, he is. He's the smartest Dragon I know. Usually when he's backed into a corner on what to do, his mind can work as fast as the earth spins. But that is what confused me, Volteer, if you're so smart, why didn't you see that Claire staying would be the best course of action?"

"Well... I thought Terrador was making the right call at the time and I didn't have time to really think about it. Like I said, I'm not really the one to make the best call when it comes to the darkness."

"So the truth is revealed. Come on Terrador, what happened?" Ignitus asked.

Terrador sighed, knowing he would be called out sooner or later, and he knew he should take the blame as it was his idea. Pulling his head up and looking at the two, he apologized, "I'm sorry, Claire. I should've trusted what Ignitus had to say but, I didn't know if I could because I thought he was making the wrong move because of how you were nice to him, and I thought he was just trying to be nice back and defend you, and he was right, I should've trusted him."

"Terrador, calm down. I said I would forgive you if you gave me some time with Claire, and you did, and you all had your reasons, just make sure when you come up with such a drastic decision, talk to Spyro. Like he said, he is a Guardian as well, and we can all agree he is a damn fine good one at that. I mean, look at us now. Malefor surprisingly is still alive, Claire is still hear, and now we don't have to worry about anything for today. Unless... Claire, is there something else we should know?"

Claire giggled at Ignitus as he looked at her with a smile and a raise brow, "That depends, what do you want to know?"

"Who this dragon is that you like."

Laying her head down on his paws and up against his chest, she closed her eyes as she whispered, "There's always tomorrow. And even if I can't tell you tomorrow, I can always tell you later on tomorrow night. But for this night, I just want to enjoy this peaceful sleep without having to worry about anything. Just me, you, and I guess the Guardians on their other beds, but I will try not to think about that."

The Guardians gave a slight chuckle and smiles, somewhat glad about what she said as they knew she was right. Volteer and Cyril closed their eyes, Comfortably going back to sleep. Laying his head down, Terrador thanked Claire in a whispered, "Thank you Claire, and you two Spyro. Everything worked out, and that's all we could hope for."

Laying his head over Claire's, Ignitus closed his eyes and whispered, "Goodnight Claire."

"Goodnight, Ignitus," Claire whispered back before falling asleep, followed by Terrador.

Checking through his thoughts, Ignitus wanted to make sure everyone was okay. Checking on Malefor and his lover, he was glad to see they were asleep, along with Spyro and his lover, Sparks, the Guardians, and Claire. With a sigh of joy, he thought, _Thank the Ancestors. I truly do own you one Spyro, but knowing you, you'll probably ask me to kill Malefor._ Chuckling with a smile, he fell to sleep, glad to finally have Claire safe, and the truth about what happened revealed.


	4. Chapter 4: All Out Brawl

Chapter 4: All Out Brawl

"Damn it! How could this have happened! Everything has fallen apart because of you two!" Flint yelled with rage, slamming his fist into the rock wall of his room, and looking back to the two as they stood there with blood still on their bodies from what had happened, "Now that Ignitus knows of a new dark master, it's going to make things more difficult on everything that I have planned! Just leave and let me think! Spyro isn't someone you two could've taken on by yourself so I won't blame you as much as to what happened, and with Malefor joining that fight, I guess there wasn't much you could do."

Both the dragons were quite surprised how nice he was being to them. Waving his paw, they knew they should leave before Flint got any more angry then he already was. Walking out of the room, the red Dragon shut the door behind him, giving Flint time to himself. Walking back to his bed, he laid there, thinking of what he could do to counteract what has been revealed, _Ignitus knows of a dark master, but he doesn't know who, and that's why I never revealed who I was to Claire, and the apes are too stupid to say anything. Even with the information I have from the past dark master, Malefor, I still can't find what else I can do. With him being the Chronicler, he can alert Spyro at any time if I make a misstep. I need to pull my dark forces back aside from the fast one's and make sure they are not discovered._ Standing up off his bed, he started to pace back and forth in his room, scared to know what would happen, _It's fine, we can work with this actually. Ignitus is still new to the Chronicler thing from what I've found with my dark forces scouting him. And if he is the Chronicler from what I've gathered, then that must mean he can't see through the thoughts of dark minds. Malefor figured that out as he became corrupted... So as long as there is darkness in my mind as well, he won't be able to track me... Which is very good, as I can still track him very easily._ Growling from a slight stabbing pain underneath the right side of his wing, he looked down at it, seeing a good size scar that went across his side. Putting his wing back down, he tried not to think of it. As things seemed to be quiet, a knock came from the door.

"Come in," He commanded as he stopped in the middle of the room and looked to the door.

As the door opened, it revealed a yellow Dragon, "Sir, we are nearly completed with the preparation of the building. Is there anything else we can work on to increase our efficiency?"

Thinking of a possible idea, he had one idea that came to mind. Looking through his thoughts and the memories of Malefor from when he was the dark master, he had the perfect idea, "Yeah, I have a perfect idea. See if you can look for the Destroyer. Malefor was a fool to hold himself back from someone he loved, but I don't have someone I love... Get some fire dragons that are strong enough to withstand the heat. Malefor knew he could bring back the Destroyer, but he didn't, so why don't we try it out and see how it goes for us."

"Wait, what?! But that doesn't make any sense. If the Destroyer already failed in his mission to destroy the world, how would he be able to do such a thing again? When he was awake, he wasn't awakened near the volcano at all, so even if we brought him back, he would it come back from the middle of the earth."

"Think of it likes this; When the Destroyer fell into the volcano, his body was as heavy as almost a planet. When he fell into that volcano, it reacted to the core in the earth. And lava to him is like water, he would've floated back up from the lava pushing him up. Which means, he is in the volcano somewhere, laying dormant to be awaken again. It's going to take a while as we need to find a way to get him out without any one seeing and give him enough of a running start to jump back into the volcano."

"But... wouldn't that kill everyone on the planet?"

"Your point being?"

"Well... I only helped because I want to get revenge against Malefor, same as everyone else. I don't plan to destroy the planet to do that. Even if it would kill Malefor, what about everyone else, they've never done anything to us."

"Oh, is that how you feel? Well, think about it this way; Why does it matter about what happens to everyone else? Huh? This is the way the world works, when one fails to destroy the world, another will rise and take it's place to deal with it. Except, the second time will be different. Why does it matter what happens to every one else when everyone you care about is dead? Why does it matter what happens to everyone else when all of the pain and suffering everyone would go through would end right then and there? I'm trying to save everyone from this world, do you understand?! There is nothing in this world that is worth living for if it all comes to an end anyway! You die softly, you wake up to a life without pain and suffering, without loss, don't you understand!"

"Yes but... Even though I've lost everyone I've cared about: My parents, my sister, and my brother, what if there is someone else out there for me? Some one I can love?"

"Why does it matter who you will love when they'll die in the end anyway?!"

"Because... There is more to life then death and pain. Even after your worst days, there is always that day that makes up for it, that day where, even though it was a bad one and everything went wrong, this day, everything went right. Maybe that could happen one day, where every day is a good day."

"Lies!"

"What..."

"You are wrong! Where was my good day after what's happened in my life?! I've had to work so hard to get to where I am today, and your telling me that it doesn't matter what you do because in the end you'll have a good day?! What a stupid line of thinking! Tell me, how was your day good when your parents died, when your brother or sister died?! They all died and your telling me that everything turned out okay in the end?!"

Looking to the ground, he realised he was right as he didn't have anyone after that had happened, and he knew it was all Malefor's fault because of what had happened. Sighing from his anger, Flint continued, "Look, it doesn't matter if you have this, good day, or not. In the end, the worst days you have will hit you harder then your so called best days. Why go through life when you know that you'll have a bad day, a day where you could lose it all. That's why we need the Destroyer, we need him to get rid of the world and stop the pain and suffering, along with killing Spyro and Malefor in the process."

Looking up at him, he apologized in advance, "Sorry to ask sir, but, what about... what about Cynder?"

"Cynder... What about her?!"

"I didn't mean anything by it I swear it's just, if the world explodes, what will happen to her?"

Sighing slightly from his words, he explained, "The destroy is as a last resort if I feel it need be to destroy the world. I can't talk to her directly so I will need to pay the Chronicler a visit one day and tell him that if Cynder isn't delivered to me and become my lover, my mate, then I will destroy the world. And if the Destroyer fails to do as I would hope for it to do, then I will try more, advance, tactics in trying to get Cynder to be with me. Even if it means force."

"Yes sir... I will, leave you be and try to get a team together and get back to you when I have them."

"Alright..."

Turning and walking out of the room, he shut the door behind himself as he left, leaving Flint to himself once again. Looking to the ground, he was back to his thoughts, but it wasn't about what had happened, _Cynder... The first day I laid eyes on you, I knew that I needed you, to love, to have as someone to live by... and yet, I forgot about you. I'm sorry. I need to not stress as much, I need to remember who I'm doing this for. If you were to come with me my love... I know I could find a way to end it all, without destroying the world. But for now, that's what I must do._ _I will see you soon, and I will have you as my mate._ Walking back to his bed, he laid down, and closing his eyes, a small tear dropped down his cheek. _You shouldn't have had to go... it's all my fault._

* * *

Putting a paw on the side of Volteer, Ignitus looked down at him and woke him, "Volteer, hey, wake up. I have a surprise for you."

Grumbling slight, he slowly opened up his eyes. Opening his mouth and yawning, he closed his mouth and asked, "Ignitus...?"

"I hope you slept well."

"Didn't really dream so, Yeah, I guess I slept pretty good. But then again, I feel like I'm dreaming now. There's no way you would be standing up talking to me without Claire under your wing."

"Hehe, you're right about that. I wanted to wake you but, I also didn't want to move and wake Claire in the process so..." He paused as he moved out of his line of sight, seeing Ignitus was still laying with Claire, "I'm technically what you can call a clone. I needed to do some more work after what's happened and I've made a clone of myself to fulfil that."

"Wow, I'm flipping out right now. Does that mean if your clone gets stabbed in the shoulder along with your real self, you will feel pain two times the amount you would before?"

"Thank Ancestors it doesn't work that way. Think of me like, another version of myself. I can touch, see, hear, and feel, but until I disappear, I won't gain those memories."

"So, when you disappear, all the memories and everything you've done will return to your body itself."

"Precisely."

"So, if you were stabbed in the shoulder and returned to your body..."

"I would disappear and return to my body without a side affect."

"What? So your telling me you could basically fight in this body right now, then it gets wounded, and you would just disappear without having to worry about being damaged or hurt? When did you learn to do this?"

"A lot happens when you all are asleep, but let's just say, other Chronicler's of myself are finding different ways to make sure we are prepared for anything to come. And since what happened last night, Spyro was right about one thing, the world has finally gone back to a more peaceful state, and I wanted to be helpful in keeping that. So, last night, now that I have Claire with me and I'm staying here, I brought almost every book from the White Isle and brought it here for you to read."

"What?!"

Looking all around the room, he saw books surrounding the entire area, aside from the door and windows. He jumped right past Ignitus and quickly dove into the books with a huge smile on his face, dying to read more on Dragon history along with elements, plenty of words, and math. Opening up a book, he sat down, opened it, and started reading. Ignitus chuckled to see him smiling as he read a book on the chemicals on his ability, along with fire, ice, and earth.

"The only books I couldn't give you were about other dragon's lives, but, I'm sure you understand," Ignitus said.

Volteer nodded and continued to read more on the book. Walking back over to his body, he placed a paw over it, and just before he disappeared, he looked to see the smile on Claire's face, _You're so beautiful. Thank you, Ancestors, for allowing me to have a life with her. And thank you, Spyro, for being such a big help yesterday._ Disappearing into smoke, Ignitus shivered as he gained the memories from his clone on what has happened, which made him smile a little, but with the memories he got, he found something that his clone had found. _Weird... A lot of these dragons have gone dark, and I can't seem to figure out where they've gone. They walk into the forest, and then nothing. I need to look more into what's happened in their past and find out why they've disappeared... Strange._

* * *

 _Should I be scared? I believe in what Malefor had said but, even from what I said I, I don't know if I can trust him. Even with as easy as I took out those dragons, that might mean there are more, and what if they are stronger, or faster, or even smarter then me? I need to be more prepared, and, that might even mean training with Malefor. He was somewhat of a help when it came to those dragons. And maybe while we are training, I can get some information on if he was telling the truth or not,_ Spyro thought, slowly opening his eyes, scared to know if peace was still out of reach. Slowly standing up, he took his wing off Cynder, and carefully pulled his tail from her tail as well. Jumping off the bed and walking to the door, he grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and pushed open the door. Walking over to Malefor's room, his door was slowly being opened. Spyro stopped, and looked to see Malefor was already awake.

"You're awake?" Spyro asked, somewhat surprised to see him up so early.

"Of course I am. The last times I've gone to bed, you were always there to wake me up, threatening to kill me. It's best I wake up before so I don't have to worry about you almost killing me every morning," Malefor joked, popping his neck as he stretched himself out, "And look at what we have here. You were coming to wake me up, weren't you?"

"Yeah... Malefor, come to the training room with me. I need to talk to you."

"Okay..."

Walking to the training room, Spyro grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and pushed open the door. Walking in, Malefor was right behind and shut the door as the two entered. Waiting by the door, Spyro walked to the middle of the training room, causing Malefor to quickly block the front of himself with his wings, "Let me guess, another ice shard? Come on, I'm ready for it. I know you're dying to shoot one at me."

Putting his wings back to his side, he looked to see Spyro turned to face him, and he looked so serious, which made him somewhat sad, "Alright, fine, You've caught me, while I was asleep, I killed everyone you love including the Guardians. Is that what you what me to say so you can kill me? You're bumming me out man. Last night you said I did good and now your back to, this. Is there even a point in trying to prove myself to you if at every day you'll end up like this?"

"That's not what this is about," Spyro declined his words, "It's true I still don't trust you, but I wanted to wake you up in hopes that we could train together some and see how we do. With those dragons out there, there might be more, and I need to be ready for anything. I don't like the idea of you getting stronger, but, I might need you later on to keep everyone safe for me if I ever go off and have to deal with something... or someone."

"Wow, okay, so you don't trust me enough to not kill me, but then one day, if you ever leave to do something stupid, you'll trust me not to kill everyone? I'm kinda getting two different signals from you."

"I trust you a little more then I do. I would've trusted you more if it hadn't been for that dragon's words. And even if he was lying, I just need to make sure that he wasn't."

Walking up to Spyro, he sat down in front of him. Putting a paw on his own chest, he swore he had nothing to do with those dragons, "Spyro, I swear on the little bit of respect that you have left for me, i didn't call those dragons to hurt any one of you. And even if I did, you think I would send two, bony little dragons like those guys to fight? I'm not that stupid."

"They weren't bony."

Putting his paw back to the ground, he disagreed, "What? Yeah, sure, they had muscles, but compared to us, they didn't have nothing. So stop being so worried all the time because then you get all grumpy, and last time that happened, you almost killed me on the pavement of Warfang... Not the best way to go."

"Malefor, I'm not grumpy, I'm just scared... Last time I told myself I was strong, I put Cynder through more then she should've been through. I told myself I was strong... but where was my strength when she needed me the most."

"Spyro, you had the strength, remember. You took an arrow to the heart, held on long enough to get to gems, and still had enough time to destroy those dark forces with your powers. All because you don't have over whelming power doesn't mean you are weak. It's true you've gotten stronger, but a stab to the heart, come on man, even I know that would've killed me if Carith wouldn't have done the same that Cynder did."

"But look at me now. With that new, dark form, I can easily take a hit, a wound, a fatal one, and still keep on going. I wasn't able to do that back then, and who knows what else I can do, who knows what else someone else could do if they were more powerful then me. I couldn't live with myself if I had lost Cynder because I wasn't powerful enough. Do you not understand that?"

"Of course I do, but that's my point, if you have that form, why bother training so much? Remember when you tried to show Claire your power? You ripped up the hallway and then some. I mean, imagine what that would do to a dragon, to his scales, to his body. Why are you so worked up about your power?"

"Because... I don't want to have to rely on that ability, especially because of what it took to get it."

"What? Spyro, come on..."

"No! Every time I use the ability, the only thing I can think about is what you did to Cynder! I feel like this ability of mine was a curse; It gives me overwhelming strength along with a scar that I have to forever remember! You act like having that power is some kind of gift, well it's not, it's Hell, and even as calm as I try to be, it still takes anger and sadness to control, and because of that, I still think back to that day... To think I made it get that bad... And to think, without that power, I still would've been too weak to stop you... And that's pissed me off every time I think about it."

"What I did... to Cynder?"

Growling at Malefor's words, he turned and looked away from him, taking a couple of steps away. Shaking his head with a frown, Malefor knew he shouldn't have said something and knew he should help him out with what was happening. Walking up to his side, Malefor had sat down just as Spyro did. Looking at the ground, Spyro continued to speak, "I've relied on my convexity too much. I've pushed the light in my powers too far down, and I've become too dependent on my dark powers for help. It's actually funny... Cynder said she would love to see me in that form, just without all the darkness, and it gives me more to strive for... I have to get better."

"Spyro... I... I know you are scared about what had happened, and I know that form you have isn't ideal, but look at what it has thought you. It shows that you can be strong enough to take a hit, it shows you are fast enough to protect someone, it shows that, you have the power with in you to be more. I will train with you to get stronger, and if you think I'm too strong, then I guess you'll have to take my death up with Carith, she should be fine with it."

"Malefor..."

"Dude, it was a joke, chill. Maybe you can ask mister know it all Volteer about what he might know on your light power compared to your dark powers and see if there is a way to become stronger then your dark powers, see if your dark powers unlocked something you were never able to do before. Cynder might've been hurt, but look on the bright side, now with this power, you never have to worry about that ever again."

Sighing with a smile, he was somewhat glad he had Malefor to talk to, but that didn't stop him from having hate towards him. With a loud cry from Malefor, he looked behind himself to see a dark force had stabbed him in the tail with a sword. Looking at Spyro, he growled at him, causing Spyro to chuckle, "What, you said you wanted to help me train. Now quit whining, kill him, pull the sword out, and lets keep going."

Doing as he said, Malefor turned to the dark creatures, quickly burning it in flames. Grabbing the sword from his tail, he yanked it out with another loud cry before throwing it to the ground, causing it to disappear. Hundreds of dark creatures started to form all around him and Spyro. Standing up next to his side, Spyro faced the other direction of him, and the two got into a fighting stance. Putting his tail blade against Malefor's chest, he thanked him, "Thank you, for the talk. Still going to kill you one day but, I'm glad you proved me wrong."

Putting his tail blade against Spyro's chest, he joked, "Well, you know, tons of dragons usually look on to me when it comes to advice."

Pulling their tail blades down, Spyro chuckled, "Yeah right. After today, you're going to be looking to me on advice on how not to act like a little hatchling when you get stabbed or slashed by one of these little Bastards."

"Yeah yeah, we will see who's whining after I beat these guys. Bet you will take more damage then me."

With a launch of an arrow, the two ran in battle to fight the army of dark forces that surrounded the room. Slicing at the dark creatures throat before spinning around and slicing another one with his tail blade, Spyro thought to himself as he fought, _Maybe I can trust Malefor after all. And talking with Volteer more about my powers does sound like a good idea, so maybe I can take on a, less threatening form, when I fight._ Looking at Malefor at any chance he got, he saw he was somewhat struggling to keep up with the mass amount of dark creatures and decided to help him. Jumping to the ground, he used his wings to launch himself forward to the fight. He slammed his paws into a dark creature before jumping back off of it. With a quick spin as he back flipped into the air, Spyro landed on an arrow that nearly hit Malefor's back. Spyro saw his smile knowing he was thankful. Knocking the dark creatures back, the two stood side to side, facing different directions. More dark creatures crawled from out of the ground, giving Spyro an idea, "What do you say, we work together on this?"

"What?!" Malefor asked, looking behind and at Spyro.

"Keep impressing me, alright."

Malefor smiled wide, and looking away, ready to help, he agreed, "Right!"

* * *

Patting around the bed with her wing, Cynder felt all over the bed but didn't feel anything. Even using her tail to look behind her, she didn't feel him. Opening her eyes, she looked around the room and didn't see any sight of him. Looking out to the hallway, she saw the door had been opened, as well as Malefor's door. _Oh no,_ Cynder thought to herself as she stood up and jumped off the bed. Walking over to the room, she stopped as Carith walked out from the room. Looking at Cynder, she asked with a little bit of fear, "I swear, if Malefor pulls another prank on me, I really will dump him this time."

"That's if he is even alive," Cynder shivered, looking over to the training room with Carith.

The two walked over to the training room, scared to know what they would hear, what they would see. Slowly grabbing the door knob, Cynder gently pushed the door open. Both their hearts skipped a beat as they held their breaths. As the door opened, they sighed hugely to see they were just training in the room, which surprised both of them. Carith sighed more so as she thought they were real dark creatures, but she knew they weren't, especially because of how Spyro was acting.

"Wow, I really thought they would be yelling at each other, or at the very least they would be at one another's throat from yesterday," Cynder said, watching as the two seemed to be working together the more and more she watched.

"I'm going to be at Malefor's throat for not kissing me when I wake up. That's twice he has done that," Carith grumbled, feeling unloved by her lover.

"Same here, but, is it just me, or are they, working together?"

Carith watched with Cynder to see that it had seemed that way. With arrows flying all over the place, one came very close to hitting Malefor, but from out of nowhere, Spyro bit down on the arrow while flying over his back. They watched with wide eyes as an arrow came close to hitting Spyro, but Malefor grabbed it out of the air before flying up to the ceiling and throwing it back down at a dark creature, hitting it in the skull. They looked at one another, dumbfounded, wondering if what they were seeing was just a dream.

"Are... are we dreaming?" Cynder asked.

"I... I hope so... this doesn't feel right," Carith said, looking at her paws.

"We are just going to have to go with the pinch technique."

"Alright."

With a small yelp, Malefor and Spyro looked over at the door to see their lover's had pinched themselves. Flying past Malefor, Spyro asked, "Did they just pinch themselves?"

Going back to fighting, they flew past one another once again, and even Malefor still wasn't sure, "Um... yeah, but I'm at a lost on why."

Rubbing their arms from where they pinched themselves, they both nodded and agreed they weren't dreaming. Looking back at the two as they worked together, they still couldn't believe what they were seeing. _I thought Spyro would've had less trust towards Malefor after what has happened and yet, he seems better then he was before. Is it because he is glad there is darkness? Of course not, but what is it?_ Cynder thought as even Carith was in her thoughts wondering what it could be. _Malefor and Spyro getting along? This feels way too much like a dream... Maybe we are in that dream thing that Ignitus puts us in when ever he needs to talk to us. But where is he?_ Carith thought, somewhat already knowing the answer. The dark creatures looked at the entrance to see the two standing in the door way. Pulling back their bows, most of them started to target Cynder and Carith.

"Um... Why are they looking at us?" Carith asked, taking a step back.

Cynder took a step back as well and guessed, "Because they look for a reason to be annoying."

Looking at the two, Spyro had just jumped away from the door from kicking himself off a dark creature. Looking at Malefor, he cried, "Malefor!"

Looking at the door, Malefor knew what he was talking about. Flying near Spyro, he wrapped his tail around his. Spinning him around, he let go of his tail and threw him at the door. Just as the arrows were shot at the two, Spyro landed in front of door, digging his claws into the ground to stop his momentum, he opened his mouth and blew a huge wall of fire, incinerating all of the arrows as well as some of the dark creatures. Placing his paw up, Spyro growled, "Malefor, out of the room."

Malefor quickly flew over to the door. Landing next to Spyro, the girls backed up and let him exit the room. He was panting from the amount of dark creatures he had to face without stopping and nearly fell to the ground. A small ball of fire formed in Spyro's paw as the dark creatures surrounded the door. Pulling his arm back, he then threw it forward, blasting a huge giant wall of fire that engulfed the room in fire, burning and killing everything in the room. As the fire subsided, he pulled his paw down, and looking back at Malefor, he asked, "Don't tell me you're tired after all of that? That was like, a couple of minutes we were fighting."

"Look... I haven't... really had to fight... like this in a long time," Malefor grumbled, looking at him and trying to catch his breath, he felt bad for being so out of shape, but that didn't stop him from growling back, "Plus, why did you have to act so heroic when you needed to protect our lovers? You could've just frozen time and helped the two, or even used your earth power to launch yourself off the wall. You've shown you're able to use your abilities without touching anything, so why go through all this trouble?!"

"Because, I don't want to have to rely on my powers every time things take a turn for the worse. I've lost my powers once before, and I could lose them again. And if they were in real danger, I would've used my powers, but I knew you would help, so I didn't have to worry much about using my powers."

"And yet you use your powers when we get out of the training room."

"Because training was over, and there was no point in keeping the dark creatures alive any longer. And it gave me the idea of how powerful my powers are."

Talking about powers gave Malefor the idea of asking him about controlling his dark powers since Ignitus had said something, "Oh, yeah, Spyro, that brings up something I wanted to ask you. If there was a chance that dark energy made its way to me, and it did infect me, bringing back the dark master, I need your help in making sure that doesn't happen. And by that I mean, I... I'm asking with you trust you have for me... please, I need your help in controlling the dark power within me to make sure that I'm prepared when it comes to the darkness."

Thinking about what he had asked, he saw the hopeful smile on Malefor's face, but thinking about the darkness, and the dark master made him decline, "I'm sorry Malefor, but I can't do that."

"What? Why not? This works out for the both of us, the dark master..."

"That's the problem: The dark master. I told you about that form and what it took to get it. What if this new control can work for the dark master later on? What if the dark master knows how to fight back against this control, and Ancestors forbid, what if that attacks Cynder and turns her as well? I'm sorry but, I just don't want to take the chance that someone could be hurt or killed."

"Spyro, come on, you're talking crazy right now. How would me controlling my dark powers help the dark master? Yeah yeah, it would work for him later on to help him fight back, I get it, but even still, that's like saying that ice would find a way to not melt when there is fire near it, it's pointless to think about something that way."

"Okay, fine, let's say I trust you to control your dark power. You gain the ability to control it, and you harness the powers that you have deep within you. Then what? You'll just want more power to protect your lover, and with more power, the harder it is to control, and the harder it will be to bring you back, and like I've said, I'm not taking any chances of having you turn."

"Wouldn't the same go for you? You're power hungry as well, so how am I any different?"

"Because I don't have a monster laying dormant inside my body ready to kill when ever I get the chance. The dark master was more powerful then you, which means his power can amplify your power right now, same as how my dark form does the same. Just forget about it, Malefor, I have at least some trust to let you train with me, but anything above or beyond that, I can't help you."

"But..."

"Malefor..."

Sighing with slight anger, he wanted him to understand why he had feared so badly. Looking at his lover and pecking her on the cheek, he pulled away after a couple of seconds and asked, "Can you, give me and Spyro some more time to talk? We will see you down in the Chambers, I promise."

Looking at Spyro, he already knew what she was thinking, "No, I'm not going to kill him while you're away."

She slightly smiled, and looking back at him, she pecked Malefor on the side of his cheek. Pulling away, she agreed, "Alright, just please be safe and play nice, that's all I ask."

Malefor smiled at her, and nodded in agreement. Looking at Spyro, Cynder had wondered if he would've wanted a kiss as well, but looking at her, he whispered, "Don't worry, we won't kiss one another on the cheeks. When I get down there, I will make sure to give you a proper kiss, so you don't need to worry about a thing. I know better then that."

She nodded with a smile and decided to at least give him a nice nuzzle. Pulling back from the nuzzle, she walked behind Malefor, and walked next to Carith's side as the two walked over to the main door. The four looked at one another, hoping everything would be alright. As the door opened the two looked away and walked out of the house. As they walked with one another, Cynder asked, wondering why they were acting this way, "What do you think? I mean, I woke up thinking they would be at one another's throats. So, is this a good thing, or a bad thing?"

"Well, seeing how most days went, this might be a Step up. First, all Spyro wanted to do was kill him, after that, he woke up with a tail blade to the neck, and now, he woke up training with him. So maybe this is a good thing, and as long as they don't kill each other, I'm sure they will be fine."

* * *

Once the door had finally closed, Malefor sighed, hoping he would be able to convince Spyro to help him control his dark powers. Looking at Spyro, he thought to himself, _We were able to work together in the training room, which must mean he has some trust towards me, and I don't want to destroy that trust, nor do I want to push the fact that he does trust me._ Watching as he starred at him, Spyro asked, "Is there something you want to tell me? If this is about your dark powers, I already said..."

"Hatchlings."

"What?"

"Spyro, you've read my past, and you picked on me a lot about it, but even to this day it stays true. I'm not training to become strong enough to beat you, to be better then you, or even to kill you, nothing of the sort. I want to train to protect Carith, to protect a hatchling of mine if I ever had one. Do you know how embarrassing it would be to lose against someone who tried to attack your lover? Who tried to attack your hatchling? Like with Cynder, if you weren't strong enough when you fought that red dragon, she would've been taken... and what if I'm not strong enough to prevent something like that?"

Sighing from his words, he didn't want to admit it, but he did actually agree with what he was saying as even he had feared of the same things. Before trying to decline it, Malefor tried to persuade him some more to get him to help him, "That Malefor, the one you read of in the past, that is me now. No darkness, no problems, just hanging out and having fun. But when it comes to being serious, I try. We were serious when we fought those dragons, and I can be serious now. When I know I can joke with you about me being evil and you won't kill me, yeah, I do poke fun at you, but because I want to show you I'm not what you fear... I'm what you trust..."

"Alright, Alright, I get it... I know you're scared, and I don't blame you. Hell, I'm scared every day I wake up because I think someone will be dead because of you. I woke up today to train with you only because I thought I could get answers on whether or not you were the one who called those dragons... and from what I've learned... I... I trust you... I trust, that you didn't."

"Really?!"

"But! With that being said, that doesn't mean I trust you anymore then I have before. I trust you a little less then I did before with the darkness that had shown. And honestly, I think that I should just kill you now and get it over with because I would sleep better knowing I wouldn't have to worry about the main problem."

"Oh..."

"But... with that being said... again... I will, take into consideration with what you said... If you really are serious, about having a family with Carith, then you will need to be strong enough to protect that family, and that's, something I can agree on. Give me some more time to think about it, and in do time, I will help you control your dark powers."

Trying to hold in his excitement, he smiled wide, somewhat causing Spyro discomfort, "But if anything happened to my lover because you wanted to talk to me alone, I will make sure you learn your dark powers in the sun."

"Hehe, yeah, I guess we should get back to them."

"Guess? Of course we should. Plus, maybe the Guardians aren't awake yet and we can pick on Ignitus about Claire."

Walking over to the main doors, Malefor continued the conversation, "Do you think those two are still together?"

"Who knows. I know Claire isn't leaving Ignitus anytime soon, and he definitely won't let her go. And plus, if she did leave, one of the Guardians would've walked up here, told us the bad news, and everyone would've been all mopey again, and I would've had to fix something else again."

As the doors opened for the two, they walked out of the house and down the stairs towards the Guardians Chambers, still continuing the conversation.

"Can you blame them? Ignitus would've gotten dumped by someone he likes. Yeah we all know what she said, but even still, could you imagine him going through the stages of denial?" Malefor asked, somewhat chuckling along with Spyro.

"Oh yeah. Then maybe he would do that thing were he would blame it on us, try to save her, fail, then look for the purpose of the red Guardian, bring forth the destroyer, just to see her in the afterlife."

"Hahaha, yeah that... Hey, wait a minute. Well you can go to Hell too then, damn."

"Malefor, I'm only joking," Spyro chuckled, "But honestly, knowing Ignitus, he probably would've asked to borrow your dark power so he could control her into staying."

"That sounds more like Ignitus. And I'm not saying this because I like Claire, I'm saying this honestly: Claire is way better looking then Ignitus could ever be. I feel like she is torturing her self by staying with him."

"What did Ignitus ever do to you? Is it because Claire is with Ignitus and not you?"

"What?! No, of course not. It's just, it feels like maybe after Ignitus took her darkness away, what if he put her under his like, spell, or, powers, or something like that to get her to stay? Man, now thinking about it, I'm actually quite curious. Because that would also explain why she was on him after everything that had happened... What am I talking about her being on him for, as if."

"Says mister third base over here."

"I haven't said that in a long while."

"You said it like yesterday."

"Look, all I'm saying is, Claire is better off finding someone else."

"Going back, what did Ignitus ever do to you?"

"I don't know, probably something he did while I was training back then. Or because the fact he is the Chronicler. I mean, if he is the Chronicler, why doesn't he do something that actually benefits all of us? Why didn't the Chronicler just come over and show me what I had done wrong rather then letting everything happen? It doesn't make any sense."

"Well, Ignitus did say he couldn't help because you would've killed him so..."

"So, who would've killed him if he was there?"

"You, oblivious."

"How? I was too busy..."

"Yelling at the Guardians? Yeah, I know."

"It was a tough time, Alright. Do you not think I feel bad about it?"

"Well, tough times are over, Alright. From all of my adventures, I've been kicked, stabbed, stabbed again, stabbed in the heart, kicked probably again, and then you grabbing and almost pulling my heart out from the inside. There is no way in hell I will ever go back to that, so that's also why I'm training more with you so I don't have to worry about stuff like that... but Damn man, the heart, really?"

"I was barely in control at that point. I remember black, I remember blue, and then everything came back to me."

"Everything?"

"Yes... even the feelings of what I had done that were bottled up inside me, they were all there... I can't believe Carith was there that day... to think I raised my paw to her, to think I could've actually... That's another reason why I need to be more in control, so I never have to worry about something like that again. I'm, I'm sorry, I made Cynder attack you, and because of that, I know she feels bad, and it's all my fault."

"I said I would give it more thought, Alright. And as for Cynder attacking me, well, I attack her all the time with my lips so, it doesn't really matter. Plus, I talked to her about it. Rather her attack me then the other way around. She's been through enough. I'm just hoping that I can do something special for her one day, to make up for everything that has happened."

"Killing me better not be one of the options."

"Unfortunately, it's not. Cynder and Carith get along very well, and... and... ugh."

"Come on, spit it out."

"That's... another reason I don't want to kill you. Cynder has more friends then ever, and killing you would take Carith away from her. And now with Claire joining in, I feel even better knowing that I am slowly but surely, making the best life for her."

"And yet mister, 'wait', wanted to wait and watch his lover fight those dragons. And because of that, Cynder was hurt."

"Back off! I knew something was off, and seeing my lover kick that dragon's teeth in made me smile. And you could've jumped in at any point, but no, because of you, Carith was hurt!"

"That's because I knew you would've complained about it, or I thought you had a plan. But then I realised two thing, one of which was that you complain about everything, and two, you never come up with a plan. Killing me at the end of every plan is not a plan!"

"I never made up a plan like that, but for now on I will!"

"Here you go again, pulling what you always do! Just kill me already if this is how you are going to be!"

"I already said I couldn't because of Carith."

"Then I will get her to dump me and you can kill me, sound fair enough to you?!"

"No...!"

"And why not..."

"Because... because even you deserve a life. I'm not going to fill my selfish needs and take you away from her."

"Yeah... well... I wasn't going to dump her any way. She is the boss when it comes to our relationship so I can't really do much."

"I thought you controlled her?"

"Oh yeah, I do. Pretty sexy stuff."

"Malefor."

"What?"

"Yeah, true, especially when I'm with Cynder. But don't you think it's wired that no one is here?"

Looking all around the Guardians Chambers, they had sat there for quite a while talking amongst one another and no one had shown up, not even their lovers. Fearing for the worse, Spyro slowly let his dark power take over, preparing for a fight. Completely powered up with his dark power, he closed his eyes as tried to sense if there was anything around, but all he felt was the dark power within Malefor. Opening up his eyes, he shuck his head and growled, "Nothing."

Feeling something touch his tail, Malefor jumped forward and thrusted towards the entrance, scaring Spyro.

"What?! What was it?" Spyro asked.

"Something... Something touched my tail," Malefor cried, somewhat shivering as he swore something touched his tail.

"This is no time to be..."

Before he could finish, something touch Spyro's tail, quickly causing him to jump forward and stand next to Malefor, tail blade ready.

"What the hell was that?!" Spyro cried, "I don't sense anything at all."

"What... what do you think it is?"

"I don't give a Damn what it is! My lover is missing and I'm already pissed off that I don't know where she is," Spyro growled, igniting the black aura around him as his anger grew, "Come on, we need to see if the Guardians are in the back room."

"Right. It doesn't matter what it is, I need to find Carith."

Walking over to the door, Spyro bumped into something. Taking a Step back and grabbing his chest, he didn't understand what was in front of him. Taking a step forward again, he put his paw up against something. Trying to push it, he had no luck. He tried even harder and heard a crack. Pulling his fist up, it exploded with a red and black aura as he yelled, "Enough!"

Slamming his fist into what ever it was in front of him, a huge gust of wind filled the room with small black and red fire flurries slowly burning away in the air. Looking at Spyro, he asked, somewhat more scared of him then what ever was happening, "Spyro... are... are you okay?"

"No! I told you this would happen! And of all dragon's, I thought you would actually be concerned about your lover's safety. What's the whole point of that training if you don't even show me you really care?!" Spyro growled, not wanting to look at him from his anger, as all he could thing about was hitting him.

"It's just that... I... I don't trust the Chronicler, but I do trust Ignitus. He said he would warn us if something bad ever happened, and he hasn't done that, so, I feel like I should trust him."

"And yet he didn't warn you that our lover's were going to be attacked."

"He was going through a tough time."

"And what if that's happening now?! Damn it... Cynder! Please, where are you!"

"Spy...!"

Malefor's voice went quiet, and quickly turning around to see what had happened, Spyro was tackled to the floor. What ever had tackled him was faster then him. Before he was able to push it off, his paws stopped it its chest, as the dragon that was on top of him pushed its lips against his. Seeing the emerald green eyes, he knew exactly who it was, and decided to close his eyes and enjoy what he thought he had lost. His dark powers disappeared as the kiss took all of his darkness away, replacing it with satisfaction, joy, and even sadness. Pulling her lips away, he opened his eyes and looked at her as she smiled down at him. He smiled back and said in almost disbelief, "Cynder... how..."

Looking back, he even saw all the Guardians, along with a broken rock wall and Terrador shivering. He even saw that Claire was still with Ignitus as they sat together. Looking over, he saw that Carith was on top of Malefor, giving him a nice, heartwarming kiss. Looking at Cynder, he asked once again, still just as confused as ever, "But... how... I don't understand."

"Hehe, you're not the only ones who can pull pranks on us. After what you did to us and the Guardians, we all thought we would get you both this time. With the brilliant minds, we all worked together to come up with a plan. Thanks to Volteer's quick thinking, we had the perfect plan. We used that invisibility thing you did when you followed us to hide from you all. We sat and listen, to everything you had said," Cynder giggled, glad she was able to get that kiss from him, and nothing bad had happened.

Wrapping his wings around her back, she gently laid down on his chest, surprised by the hug. He sighed with joy and whispered, "I will admit, you got me... I promise I will never do something like that again. Just, please promise me you will never do something like that ever again... please."

"Hehe, okay okay, I promise... I was actually quite lonely without you too... I missed you."

"I missed you too."

"I almost died!" Terrador cried.

"Told you. And you were fighting me on it saying how it would be a waste of power," Cyril said.

"Will technically speaking, you wouldn't have died. You're body is a lot stronger then a small rock wall, so, if he were to hit you straight on, he would've broken some bones, but not your body," Volteer explained.

"I don't know, even for an all knowing guy such as myself, I would say he would've died," Ignitus disagreed.

"I have to agree with Ignitus on this. If he could punch and destroy a rock wall, imagine what he could do to your bones. I'm pretty sure your bones aren't stronger then rock, or earth for that matter," Claire agreed with Ignitus.

"We could always go through some test before we get to such a result," Volteer suggest with a small smirk, "So, before we begin, what is our hypothesis?"

"What the hell! No way! You can go through the test of yours on your own," Terrador cried.

Standing off of Spyro, she allowed him to stand back to his paws. As he did, he sighed once again, still glad that it was just a joke, and nothing happened to anyone. Draping a wing over his lover, he looked back at Malefor and said, "I didn't know someone could kiss that long without coming up for air."

He chuckled as he pulled away and admitted, "I did, but it's like clapping. You always have to be the last one to clap after something has happened. Unfortunately, speaking of clapping, Carith did the same, and I got yelled at for it."

"What?" Spyro asked, watching as Carith backed off of him with a smile and a giggle.

As he stood up, he draped his wing over his lover and explained, "Ignitus had told us about something of our powers, and he showed how powerful he had become after something he was doing while training. I clapped my paws, along with the Guardians, and Carith. The Guardians stopped clapping, but me and Carith looked at one another and slowly went back and forth as we constantly clapped. Terrador popped me in the back of the head and told me to be quiet!"

"You seriously believe I would hit Carith in the back of the head?! Two things, one, she is a female. Second, you were standing right there. The dark master would've woken up a lot sooner if I had done something like that," Terrador defended himself, and everyone agreed almost immediately, "And if that would've happened, I would've been killed unlike how I am now."

"Malefor, name one, one dragon in this room who hasn't hit, slapped or punched you," Spyro joked with a slight chuckle.

"That's probably the hardest question you ever giving me. Um, Volteer, Terrador, Cyril, Ignitus, Cynder... They are all no goes, You sure as Hell are definitely a no go with all the times you kicked my teeth in... I guess technically Claire is the only who who hasn't hit me, so far, I mean, day isn't over."

"Wait, so, Carith hit you?"

"Hehe, yeah, that was, my fault. The Chronicler, the old, thankfully dead one, changed the color of my scales to help me pull a prank on her. I went in for a kiss and she slapped me upside the head. And of course, because the Chronicler thought he was so funny, it took every single bit of convincing to help Carith know that it was me. I even told her about the whole, little miss cutie blue. That's what her parents called her."

"Hahaha, I remember that!"

"Wha... you... Damn it, Ignitus! How much of my past did you let him read?!"

"I didn't even let him read that much. Just about you meeting Carith, the part where she pecked her dad on the cheek for good luck, and the part where you thought you failed to save Carith, that was it," Ignitus defended himself, as he remember putting some of his powers on the book to make it so Spyro couldn't have done something like that.

"Why?! Privacy man! You don't see me going back and reading your past!"

"Hey, you should be grateful. If I hadn't read what I did, I probably still would've considered you a monster. But it still was pretty funny reading about that dad part. You were crying in your bed without Carith. And it's because of that part that I actually slowly started to accept that you weren't a monster. You actually cared about Carith, so it was surprising to see that," Spyro said, somewhat starting to feel good that he was able to save Malefor rather then kill him.

"Aw, you were crying for me while I was gone?" Carith teased, causing Malefor to grumble with embarrassment, but he still had a small little smile.

"Yeah, and he was also contemplating on hurting you."

"What?!" Almost everyone cried.

"What are you talking about?" Malefor asked.

"You don't remember? You were the one thinking about it. You were like, 'because she hurt me, I should hurt her'. That's why I still didn't know for sure if I should or shouldn't kill you, because of what you had said in your thoughts... Do you, not remember?"

"I... Ignitus, did I say that?"

"From what the book had said, and from the memories of The Chronicler, unfortunately... you did," Ignitus murmured, as he didn't believe he would say something like that, but it was in the book and in memories.

"Malefor... is that true?" Carith asked.

"Spyro, are you sure I thought that?" Malefor asked, trying to remember what he did think about during that time.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's what you were thinking," Spyro said, feeling bad that he had brought it up, but now he was confused if he really did read what he had seen.

"Wait, no I didn't!" Malefor growled at him, remembering what he had been thinking about, "I was contemplating on fighting her dad, or, at the time, who she had kissed, to show that I was stronger then him, and that I would be strong enough to protect her. I never once had any thought of hurting Carith. If I had thoughts like those, how why she have been able to break me free of the dark power's control. There is no way I would think that way."

Looking at Ignitus, he wanted to know whether or not he was telling the truth as he believed he was. Hearing it from Spyro and Ignitus also made him second guess what he had said, but he didn't believe he would say such a thing. Ignitus sighed and said, "Hold up, let me go check..."

A small whit light appeared above Ignitus's paw as he raised it. As the book appeared in his paw, he looked down at it, causing wide eyes from almost everyone as it had happened so fast. Looking through, he saw what was written, and said, "No, Spyro is correct."

Walking up to Ignitus, he gave the book to Malefor as he reached out his paws, and he read what was written. Reading through it, he growled through his teeth, throwing the book on the ground and scaring Claire, as well as some of the Guardians. His growl even started to scare Spyro, "That Bastards! Even in the past he was screwing me over! He wasn't even there! He didn't even know what I had went through! Why?! Every single day I was alive he made me look like a monster! Even the training room at the Temple, I looked like a monster! And his response for that, temple statue, he said it was for the best!"

Seeing and understanding his frustration, Ignitus tried to calm him as he explained, "Maybe the Chronicler was just scared to see what really would've happened and put small precautions in his books if anything ever happened to them."

"Happened to them! He lived on an island out in the ocean no one knows about. Even if they made it there, they would have to face their fears, find the book, and get out, all while the Chronicler is still there, and he is all knowing so he would've known!"

"Malefor..." Spyro whispered, taking a step in front of Cynder.

"You went through fighting your fears too, didn't you!" Malefor growled, looking back at Spyro and continuing, "What was it! What was your fear?!"

"My fears were fighting Cynder when she was controlled. Then my other fear, the last time I went, was losing Cynder to you."

"Well lucky for you! Both fears you went through, and same for me! My fear... my fear, was that I had become what the Chronicler knew I would. I lost everything and everyone! You were able to prevent your fear... But I never had the chance... And the worst part is, The Chronicler knew of everything, and not once did he try and stop it... At least Ignitus helped you. I was stuck with... him, to look after me."

"But you didn't lose everything, or for the most part, you didn't lose everyone. Everyone is here now, and it's because of you. You stopped yourself from hurting Carith, you helped Cynder save me, and you could've easily killed anyone while I was knocked out, but you didn't, which also means you saved everyone else by being strong enough to not let the dark master take control and kill everyone."

"You know, he is right," Ignitus joined in as Malefor looked at him, "You were in a gem room. You could've easily killed Cynder when she was paralysed with fear from you, and Spyro as well as he was already down, and you could've healed all your wounds. After that, you could've killed all the Guardians on your way down. So really, because of you, we are all still alive. And... it's wired, the Chronicler, the old one, was who helped me in making sure the future was safe. He told me to stay when I could've helped, so he also saved me."

Malefor somewhat had calmed down from the help of both Spyro and Ignitus, and remembering what he had done, he already knew who he had disappointed. Looking at Claire with a frown, he apologized, "I'm sorry for lashing out like that. I was just upset. Not dark master corrupting me upset, just normal, upset... self. You know what I mean."

Claire giggled at him, somewhat surprising him, "Malefor it's fine. I won't lie, you did scare me, but I've seen who you really are. Plus, I believe in the first promise you ever made to me. So, I do still trust you. Also with the help of Ignitus of course; Keeping me under his wing, but other then that, I was sure you'd be okay. And Carith would've step in if anything was really happening."

"Thank you, Claire," Malefor thanked with a smile.

Walking back over to his lover and draping his wing over her, Ignitus snapped his fingers, and the book shined with a bright white light before disappearing. Claire wanted to ask how such a thing was possible, but since no one else was worried, she decided not to, but he knew she had questions, "Don't worry, I can explain everything later about that kind of stuff."

She nodded her head at him. Seeing how quickly he could grab books on the history, Volteer asked, somewhat with desperation in his voice, which only grew the more he talked, "Wait, Ignitus, you can grab books about all things in dragon history and this that and another, right? I... I want to know... if you have a book. When I was reading, I didn't find a book, or, a notebook I should say, and I want to know if you have it."

"What kind of book are you asking for?"

"The... The book that me... and Ersa... worked on."

"Ersa?" Spyro and Malefor asked in unison.

"Oh... that one. Is it still undereath that brick in the dragon temple?"

"Yeah, that one!"

"I can go check real quick."

"Please..."

"Alright, one sec..." Pausing, A small gust of wind filled the room and it didn't even look as though he had moved, but his face did change from a smile to a frown as the two looked at one another, "It wasn't there Volteer. Which means someone else might have it, or someone else knew of the spot. Did one of you two take it?"

Terrador and Cyril shuck their heads, not even knowing of a book made by the two. Wanting some information on who Ersa was, Spyro asked, "Who's Ersa?"

No one spoke. The Guardians only frowned, remembering to the last time they saw her. Ignitus knew it would be difficult to tell, but he knew he should rather then Volteer, "Ersa was a yellow dragoness who showed up while Volteer was in Warfang. The two talked a lot and shared the same ideas, as well as the same thoughts. They kept all their ideas in a book. After Malefor had attacked Warfang, he waited a couple of months before he attacked somewhere else: The Dragon Temple. And at this time, it hadn't been attacked yet. Volteer helped Ersa escape, leading her out the back door while we protect the temple. Volteer, as well as all of us, heard a scream, causing each of us to look away, and we all paid the price by being punch, slashed, or kicked by Malefor. This was the day we trapped Malefor with the help of one of Volteer and Ersa's inventions. We didn't have time to see if she was alright so... we all went to defend the eggs."

"Wait, so, Malefor attacked once before, and you still thought keeping the eggs there would be a good thing?"

"Well, at the time, he wasn't allied with the apes, it was just him and a small army of dark forces. With our first victory, we believed we could do it, but... we were wrong."

"Well, is she... you know? If you are the Chronicler, you can see if she is alive or not... Right?"

Volteer looked at him, somewhat hopeful for the answer, but Ignitus sighed sadly as he admitted, "Unfortunately, that's not something I can say is or isn't true."

Volteer sighed, hating himself for getting his hopes up, but it confused Spyro, "Why? Because Volteer would be happy? You've looked up a book on Malefor's past, which also must mean you have Ersa's past, so why don't you let Volteer see it?"

"I only let you read about Malefor's past in hopes that you wouldn't kill him. The only reason I don't what to show, or let Volteer read the book of her past is because... I don't want to hurt him. How would you feel if you had to read the book of your lover's death? It's been years since we last saw her and... The Guardians were, trying to help Volteer through it after the whole destroyer thing happened. Volteer walked around and asked if anyone had seen her but... no luck."

"What?!" Spyro growled.

"Spyro, calm down, they were just trying to help him... And, I don't want to sound rude in saying but, for Volteer's sake, I agree that he should move on. I don't want him to be in pain from what has happened."

"Oh yeah, like how Terrador tried to help Cynder move on when I was supposedly dead! He can move on when he wants to. Don't tell him if he should or shouldn't, it's his life, and his dragoness, not yours. It wouldn't feel good if I tried to push you away from Claire because I believed it was for the best!" Spyro growled, earning wide eyes from almost everyone,"Sorry... I... Just, let Volteer choose what he wants in life..."

"Spyro, it's okay, I promise. I have tried to move on but, a part of me keeps hoping she is out there," Volteer thanked, wishing he could turn back time and keep her safe in the dragon temple.

"And she could be. Don't become a Malefor and almost kill all inhabitants because you thought your lover had died but she was just in a time coma."

"Dark Master. He meant to say dark master, not me," Malefor defended his name.

"Don't be either is what I'm saying," Spyro joked, "But since I'm already saying, I want to know what your guys problem is. With Cynder, and with Volteer, you are so quick to jump on the whole, forget about it type deal. Ignitus, now that Claire is here, how about when she leaves, you just forget about her. I mean, I'm getting that vibe from you and Terrador."

"I guess, I thought it would help, but now I know what's it like... So, sorry Volteer. You don't have to listen to me. I thought it would help, but maybe your memory of her is better then trying to push it away," Ignitus agreed, now with Claire by his side, he could almost feel how Volteer must've felt when he lost someone he cared about, which got him thinking, _For Volteer, I should look to see if she is alright. And It would help him tremendously if she was. Losing his parents and the one he cared for was tough on him, but if she were alive... maybe things could change for him._

"I'm sorry, I swear. Think of it like this, alright; Carith just passed away, and Malefor was standing over her body, ready to turn and kill all of us at once. What would you have done there?" Terrador asked, still feeling bad about what he had said, and he believed he was doing it to protect everyone.

"If it was Malefor, I would've just killed him, simple," Spyro chuckled.

"How did I know you were going to say that?" Malefor chuckled.

"Which is quite funny, because all I remember when I was passed out was you crying and whining about how you wanted Cynder to accept you because you weren't evil. And yet you make fun of me for crying all day back then."

"I also didn't want to die. I mean, I just found out Carith was back, and I thought I would still have a chance to make up for everything I did."

"So you tried to touch Spyro while I was right there? It was like you wanted me to kill you," Cynder giggled.

"I saw him breathing and I thought I could help."

"Yeah, and then you got all technical saying how you needed to check his pulse. All you needed was to see if his heart was beating."

"Which none of you ever did!"

"That was Ignitus fault!" The three Guardians cried in unison, interrupting the two.

"Wha...?" Ignitus somewhat spoke as he was at a lost for words.

"He kept making us think that one of you were going to die, and when Spyro fell, we thought it was him," Terrador said honestly.

"So you didn't even bother to prevent it from happening? Why are you called Guardians again?" Spyro asked, shaking his head with a sigh, "Which is funny because, even though Malefor did... not really save me, it was really Carith who saved all of us. If she hadn't come back when she did, we all would've dead."

"No, we would've killed Malefor for sure if the Guardians didn't fly down and tell us not to when we were just about to end it," Cynder said, earning a chuckle from Spyro.

"Yeah, and because of that, Malefor found his way to my heart... literally."

"Mine too, remember?" Volteer said.

"Oh yeah. What was your problem man? What did we ever do to you for you to act the way you did?"

"I'm sorry, to both of you. All I knew is that I wanted to end up with Carith. I knew killing you would make Cynder turn back into her dark form so while I was gone, she would continue to finish what I started... or... what the Dark Master started but, you know. That's why when Carith came back, I quickly knew that's not what I wanted. So I tried my hardest to make sure that the dark master's dream didn't become a reality," Malefor apologized with a frown, still remembering the time he raised his paw to his lover.

"Wow, cry much? All because your lover was gone?"

"Shut up! You would've done the same thing!"

"Actually, no, I wouldn't. Because I wouldn't leave my lover all by herself because someone told me to. I guess you didn't love her as much as I thought you did... so maybe that part of you hurting her from anger was true."

Everyone in the room hissed through their teeth knowing that he wasn't going to take that so lightly.

"What the hell is your problem! I already told you! And Ignitus said that there was nothing I could've done!"

"He also said that someone would die when I fought you, but I didn't... no one did. And no one died when you came to save Carith. So there was something you could've done; You could've just watched and learned how to use your time ability rather then messing around all the time like you always do."

"I couldn't! He only showed me how to use it in a description because he didn't what me to hurt him! There wasn't enough time for him to tell me everything, and the way he acted towards me, do you really believe he would've told me? Why yell at me, when the all knowing Chronicler could've told me himself! Why would he have kept me there?! What was the point of all my training if all it ever got me was the power to destroy the world rather then protect it! Even with all my training, I raised my paw to Carith! Maybe you should've just killed me... maybe you were right all along... and maybe... so was the Chronicler."

A small tear dripped down the side of his face, wishing that he could've done something different, wishing he had been more powerful to protect the one's he cares about. Slightly nuzzling the side of his cheek, Carith pulled back, and looking at him, she whispered, "Malefor... I've never been controlled by the dark power, but from the sounds of it, you tried. You didn't hit me, and what's even more impressive, the dark master had a pretty strong grip on you at the time with all of that blood lust. So... you truly did protect me when that happened."

"But it never should've happened... And for you to see me like that... even you were thinking about leaving me at the time..."

"Malefor..." Spyro whispered.

"Yeah yeah, go ahead and rub it in; I'm just as evil as the dark master was and I should..."

"Train with me some more," Spyro suggested, earning wide eyes from almost everyone, but especially Malefor, "I've gotten pretty good when it comes to controlling my dark powers, and maybe you should as well. Don't won't another incident to happen, and you seem dedicated enough, so when ever you are ready, just tell me, alright? Oh and... you are probably going to hate me for saying this but... cry much?"

Even Malefor had to give off a slight chuckle as he was always saying how Spyro cried all the time. Ignitus smiled at his son, as he had hoped he would agree to helping Malefor control his dark power. Even Cynder had a smile as she moved her lips towards his, the two looked at one another, and she whispered, "All you have to do is ask if you want a kiss, you don't have to keep impressing me to get one."

"Yeah... But it feels better that way..." Spyro whispered with a small kiss to her lips.

Pulling back, they smiled at one another while Malefor was still in shocked from what he said. Looking at him, he apologized, "Sorry, I know my tactics are a little extreme at times; Sorry Claire if I scared you when I threw that punch, but it's tactics like those that help me understand what you're really feeling. I know what it's like to be manipulated by the Chronicler. He told me to wait out the storm when i could've been out there saving Cynder from your little mountain. And because I didn't listen to him, I'm here now. And, as much as I still fear about what you could be, and I might always will... I know I don't have to be afraid of that when Carith's around. I'm trying not to be too hard on you, but I'm just making sure that everything stays the way it is: No deaths, no fears, no loss, no pain, and definitely no reason to be looking for the purpose of the purple dragon. Malefor, if you think I'm joking, I will kill you if you try something like that again."

"Hehe, okay okay, I won't. Besides, Ignitus found that out a long time ago... Thank you, Spyro."

Everyone loved the sound of Spyro's perfect vision, but the Guardians and Malefor knew the worst was yet to come with dark creature still roaming the world. _Spyro says that now, but if he ever saw the dark creatures out there... his and Malefor's friendship is going to be put to the test. I have some homework I need to do,_ Ignitus thought to himself, hoping that Spyro wouldn't see the dark creatures until his friendship with Malefor had grown much more stronger. Hearing what sounded like steps coming from the hallway, along with a voice, the Guardians knew exactly who it was.

"Even if you were to save Warfang, you were still way out of her league," A voice said.

"Out of her league? Man, you say that to every girl I talk to. I feel like you're just jealous because you don't want me to get a girl before you," Another voice said.

Walking into the middle of the Guardians Chamber between both Malefor and Spyro, they backed up against the wall with their lovers giving a lot more room. Terrador smiled as he saw it was the three from before who helped them defend Warfang during the attack, "Hey, it's you guys again. How's life been for you after what has happened?"

"The same old same old," The red dragon said with a slight frown.

"Don't mind him. He's depressed because even after saving Warfang, he can't find a girl," His yellow friend chuckled.

"She's out there, I promise you. But, I was never really able to thank you properly for what you've done. You really stepped up and helped in killing the dark master's army," Terrador thanked, brightening up the faces of the three.

"What?! This little guy was able to take on my dark army?" Malefor chuckled, causing everyone to shake a little as he just gave up the fact he was the dark master.

Luckily, the three didn't catch on.

"What do you mean your army? And plus I'm sixteen and almost the same height as you, so who are you to talk? Aside from being another purple dragon, I'm sure I could take you on," The red dragon challenge.

"You're adorable. Tell you what, what is your name, and after we exchange names, let's see if your still up for a challenge."

"Malefor..." Carith whispered for quietly.

"Don't worry, I got this."

"Well, if you must know, I usually go by the name; Savior Of Warfang And The Guardians. But, if you must know, my name is Blitz, along with my friends Bolt and Sesal," Blitz said with a smile and a puffed out chest, trying to show off how strong and manly he was.

Each of the three reminded the Guardians some what of how they looked when they were young, and each shared some details that were that of ones of the Guardians. Blitz shared the same color of Ignitus's chest and wings, along with a similar looking tail blade to him. He had two white horns both on the top of his head and shaped the same way as Ignitus's, one on the left side and the right side of his head. Along the top of his head and in between his horns and all down his back were the same red and brown fins going down his back and to his tail. Bolt shared similarities to Volteer with a yellow body and a blue chest, along with his wings and tail blade. He had two horns with the same color and shape of Volteer's only different size as he was much younger, along with his fins that went down his back were similar to his, only smaller. His tail blade was a little more different as on one side and the other showed a lightning shaped tail blade. Sesal had the same blue body and purple chest. Along with the fins, horns, and tail blade which were quite similar to that of Cyril's, only smaller and shaped a little more differently. Each of the three had a different facial structure to that of the Guardians which is what is easily noticeable and to tell the three apart from the Guardians. Terrador saw this and it made him think about possibly training the three to become Guardians if anything ever happened to them, _Even with all of Spyro's power, along with the help of Malefor and everyone else, at some point, there might be a time where we can't protect ourselves... and at that time, maybe it would be best if one of these three took our spots just in case._ Hearing Terrador's thoughts, as he sounded troubled, Ignitus tried to change his mind by talking to him in his thoughts, _"Terrador, you shouldn't think like that. It's true that they could be capable of being Guardians with the right training, but do you think everything would just go back to normal if one of them took our spot if we died? Imagine how Spyro would feel? He doesn't want to see anyone hurt, and he doesn't want anyone to die. How do you think he would feel knowing he failed to save one of us?"_ Listening to his friend's words, he agreed with him and apologized, _"Yeah, you're right. It's just, with the whole new dark master thing, I'm afraid something will happen that we won't be strong enough to live through."_

 _"I trust Spyro will be there if anything happens. Malefor and Spyro's friendship is my only concern right now, and if there is anything else that is bugging you, tell me. We can't have thoughts like those in Spyro's perfect world now can we?"_ Terrador chuckled with a small smile, agreeing with him on that, and earning confused looks from both Volteer and Cyril. Looking at Blitz, Malefor knew he was taking a leap of faith in telling them who he was, but he knew it would be best to say it now before something else happened, "Alright, let's see if you, or, you three, can take on the dark master himself. You probably don't recognize me now, but... The name is, Malefor."

"Malefor!" The three friends cried in unison.

"Feel confident to fight me now?"

"There's no way you're the dark master. If you were, everyone in this room would be dead right now. And plus, everyone knows the dark master was defeated by Spyro, and his... Oh so lovely dragoness companion... So, with that said, you shouldn't be alive. And plus, Malefor looked evil and had holes in his wings and stuff. You look completely clean of any battle damage," Blitz said with disbelief, seeing Malefor start to chuckle.

"You think those two could've beaten me? Please, I broke free. And after sending my dark army, I attacked both Spyro and Cynder."

"What?! What did you do?! You better not have hurt her!"

"Wow, some one cares about me," Cynder giggled in a whisper, trying to make fun of what he was saying, but looking up at Spyro, he wasn't smile, he looked serious.

"She's fine, for now. But once I see her again, I will make sure to take care of her and that other purple dragon."

Elbowing his side slightly, Carith looked at him as he chuckled and the two saw the three hadn't caught on to his little act.

"Wait! You mean Spyro!"

"Yeah, what about him?"

"You don't... you don't think he... got together with her, do you?"

"Why?"

"Well... because... She's super hot and, I was thinking of trying to ask her out. Being a savior of Warfang isn't really going to show that I'm good enough for her, so maybe, when or if I get with her, I can show her that I can try to be everything she needs me to be. I mean, have you see her. I would definitely fight your army if it means getting together with her."

"What about fighting me?"

"I... I would try."

"So which means is, if we were to fight, and you were her, lover, you would lose and I would take her off your paws. Sounds like you should train some more before you try and take her."

"So what? All I have to do is train hard enough to fight you, win, and I will be able to make her my lover?!"

"Hehe, no, it's not me you have to fight, it's him," Malefor said, pointing a finger over to both Spyro and Cynder.

The three friends looked over to see the two, and a huge blush erupted from out of Blitz's face as he realised he said all of that stuff in front of her and he never even noticed. But he quickly shuck off that embarrassment and walked up to her. Standing in front of her, he said, "Hey, uh, my name's uh, Blitz... well, I guess you already know that but uh... I... I guess since you heard what I said I... I wanted to know if... if you'd like to... go on a date?"

Cynder giggled at how embarrassed he was talking to her, and it made him smile. Spyro took his wing off her and stood in front of his lover causing Blitz to back up, and he tried to hide his growl as something about him reminded him of Flint, and it burned his scales, "She doesn't need to go on a date with someone like you. She already has a lover."

"Oh! Spyro, I'm so sorry sir! I didn't mean... Wait, she already has a lover?"

"Basically what Malefor was saying is that you're going to have to fight Spyro if you want Cynder," Bolt explained in one sentence , somewhat causing Volteer to smile at his perspective skills.

"And I can tell you right now, he is a lot stronger then me," Malefor chuckled.

Blitz groaned in sadness as he was to late, and he had hoped he would be able to get with Cynder. Looking over at her and passed Spyro's shoulder, he said with a slight smile, "Well, Hey, if you ever want to talk, I'm always available."

Pulling his wing forward and blocking his view of Cynder, Spyro got a little more aggressive towards him as he growled, "Back off!"

"Okay okay, I'm sorry... But, now that I think about it, if I fight you and win, I could also win the greatest prize of all time!"

"Cynder isn't a prize, she's a dragoness and my lover. But tell you want, you can use your whole paw, and I will only use one finger. You beat me in a arm wrestle, and I will let you have her."

"Deal!"

Spyro raised one of his claws up, and a small pillar in the shape of a circle rose from the ground at chest level of the two. Placing their elbows down, Blitz gripped onto his opponent's finger, and he whispered, "One, two, three, Go!"

Trying with all his power to push Spyro's finger down, it wouldn't move at all. Even as he tried, Spyro still felt the feeling of the time he first met Flint, and it mad the anger only grow, "Tell you want, I will let you use both paws, how does that sound?"

"Are you... mocking me?" He grunted as he put his other paw on Spyro's finger and tried to push it down.

His paw started to move down as he was surprised he was a little more stronger then he had thought. But going back to what he said before, after he had called his lover hot, he snapped. Throwing his finger back and slamming Blitz's paw into the pillar, it completely cracked before being destroyed as his hand went right down the middle. Letting go of his paw, Blitz pulled his paw out of the hole and started to roll on the ground, holding his paw in pain. Even with the pain he was in, he still tried to crack a joke, "Damn! Holy mother of Ancestor...! Ugh... Two paws and I still couldn't beat you... Even I have to admit that was pretty impressive. Even though you aren't a Earth Dragon, you're pretty... solid."

Everyone agreed with him on that as seeing something like that showed how powerful he really was. Even as impressive as it was, Cynder knew that wasn't from his power, but from his hate. Standing next to him, she asked in a whisper, "What's wrong? It's okay that he's hitting on my Spyro, I'm not going to leave you for someone else, I promise. If that is what's troubling you, you know I'm here for you."

He sighed, unable to hold the truth, "It's just, he reminds me of Flint. He doesn't talk as, rude to you, and I know he's trying to be respectful but... when he said you were, hot. It just made me think of him."

"It's okay, Spyro. He's not like Flint. To be honest, from the way he acts, he seems like a nice guy."

"Nice guy?"

"Not in a sense that I would get to know him and leave you," She giggled.

"Alright... I guess you're right."

Malefor chuckled watching Blitz as he got up, holding his paw in pain, "That's not even close to how strong he is. You're lucky he didn't bring out his dark form."

"Man... Spyro... where did you even learn to get that strong?" Blitz asked, seeing him sigh with a small smile.

"Long story... very long one. Sorry about being so hard on you... there was this guy I use to know, well, guy I met, and when he called Cynder hot, and the way he acted towards her..."

"He punched him so hard he went flying into the walls of Warfang," Cynder giggled from that memory.

"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to offend her in any way... If there is anything I can do to not go punched into the walls of Warfang, please let me know as soon as possible," Blitz begged, as he remembered something else about what had happened, "But now that you talk about it, someone did say you broke his arm or something like that when you did that... I come in peace!"

"Just, the word, when describing a dragoness, don't use the word hot, okay?" Spyro asked, and seeing his reaction, he could tell he was already on board.

"Deal."

"It's funny, now after using some more of my energy, I feel like training some more... And I think I might have a way we can do that," Spyro smiled as he looked over at the Guardians before looking back at Blitz, "Hey Blitz, how would you feel if you, your friends, the Guardians, and Malefor all teamed up against me outside as a competition to see how strong I've gotten?"

"What?!" Almost everyone cried.

"No way am I doing that. You're just going to single me out," Malefor disagreed.

"As much as I would like to help you train, I would prefer not to be hit by one of your billion pound punches," Cyril disagreed as well.

"The fact that the Guardians, as well as the dark master himself is scared of you... I think I might pass as well. Plus, I used both my paws and I barely moved your finger," Blitz disagreed as well.

"Oh come on... Actually, Ignitus... you owe me a favor, and I think I would like to use that favor now," Spyro chuckled.

"Oh no..."

"Oh yes. You already know what I'm thinking so I would like for every one to be at the back of Warfang when I'm ready to begin."

"What is he talking about?" Malefor asked, looking at Ignitus.

"Well, see, since Ignitus owes me a favor, there is either two thinks I could do. One of which is to have everyone come out to Warfang to help me train myself or... I will just force Ignitus to kick you all out there. So either way, it's going to happen."

"You wouldn't do that to us, would you, Ignitus?" Terrador asked as he looked at him, somewhat scared to know the answer.

"Well... He was the one who helped out when I needed him the most, and Claire is still here so... I'm turning to the dark side today," Ignitus chuckled slightly, knowing that he would have to betray the Guardians as Spyro was right that he did owe him a favor for what he had done.

"No... Ignitus..." Volteer begged.

"Come on guys, I won't be that hard on you. Plus, last time, Volteer did get a hit off me way way back when you three teamed up against me," Spyro said.

"Yeah, because you let me," Volteer grumbled.

"But look on the bright side, you have Malefor and Ignitus on your team this time. As well as Blitz, Bolt, and Sesal. And I'm curious to see what kind of powers the Chronicler has in store for me."

"I never said I would join. I still want to find a lover before I die," Blitz declined.

"Tell you what, let's make another deal. You beat me, with your entire team..."

"And I can go on a date with Cynder?!"

Spyro looked at her, and she had wide eyes, wondering why he would make such a decision, but then again, it did come from Blitz. She giggled at him, and looking at Blitz, she agreed, "Sure. But this is Spyro's idea, so if he does lose, he might lose a lot more then just a battle, he will lose me as well."

"What? How so?" Spyro asked.

"Well, maybe Blitz is someone I would like in my life. Maybe this date will be one of many."

"Oh I'm so in," Blitz quickly agreed, trying to now convince his friends to join in on this battle.

Looking at Blitz, and then looking back at his lover, Spyro asked, "Well now that you say that, I'm not so sure."

"Relax. I have faith in you. But are you sure about fighting everyone? I mean, Malefor is almost as strong as you, and you don't even know how strong Ignitus is. And plus, Blitz seems like a funny guy, but going on a date with someone else aside from you sounds weird to me. I just want to know if you are a hundred percent sure about this," She asked, as even though she was joking, she didn't know Blitz would take it so seriously.

"When it comes to protecting you, I will find strength. Going on a date with someone from my loss will motivate me."

"Alright... but... if you do manage to beat all of them... I don't know if you'll be able to talk straight when I'm done kissing you."

"Sounds like something else to motivate me..."

Sharing a loving kiss with one other, Blitz continued to try and convince his friends. Malefor looked at Carith and joked, "Well, I guess this is it for me. Do you have anything you would like to say before I die?"

"As long as you don't turn into the dark master mid battle, you'll be fine," Carith giggled with a small smile.

"Hehe, yeah... but, going back behind Warfang is going to bring back some terrible memories."

"Malefor, it's okay, it's done and over with and you never hurt me. And look at it this way, going back there shows how much your and Spyro's friendship has grown. He isn't always next to you ready to kill you, and I feel like that's a big step up, and even if he doesn't want to admit it, I know he trust you a little more."

"Yeah, you're right... Thank you, Carith."

"You can thank me when you beat Spyro."

"And if I don't?"

"Well... Spyro's strong so I won't blame you, but I will be there to kiss your wound when he slams his fist into your cheek."

"Hehe, thanks."

Pulling away from their kiss, Spyro chuckled as he heard Terrador ask, "Ignitus, how could you betray us like this? What did we do?"

"Aside from almost making Claire leave? This is the perfect punishment for you all," Ignitus chuckled.

"But you have to fight him too," Volteer pointed out.

"But like he said, I'm the Chronicler. I'm a lot stronger then Spyro, and even still, I have time powers, and even if he used his, I can use mine and still fight him, so I'm sure I will be fine."

"So what's the chance you'll win this for us?" Cyril asked.

"Well, let's just say, Blitz better prepare for his date."

"Alright Spyro, we are ready... finally, and we will see you out in the back," Blitz said with a smile, walking with his friends to the front entrance, but before leaving, he turned and looked at Cynder, "Hey Cynder, looking forward to that date though."

Spyro growled watching him leave, but he knew he shouldn't be worried. Unfortunately, now that he was thinking about it, he knew he would really have to get serious if he would prevent this date.

"How come you won't let us fight?" Claire asked.

Looking over at her, Spyro responded, "Because if Cynder fought, I would most definitely lose. If Carith fought and I hit her, then I would have the dark master himself to deal with. And if you were to fight, Ignitus controls my dreams, and I'm pretty sure he would haunt them twenty-four seven."

"Controls dreams?"

"Oh yeah, you still don't know about that."

"Know about what?"

"Ignitus has this other girl..."

Ignitus chuckled, somewhat making her wonder even more what was happening, "I will tell you about the Chronicler later. Basically, I know all about Dragon history and stuff like that, and, well, I can read minds. The only think I don't write about now is your thoughts and actions because... I want to keep things secret between us as to not ruin anything."

"Ruin anything? Wait... Ignitus... does that mean... you know what I said in the hallway yesterday?" Claire asked as her face went red with a blush.

"Why, what happened yesterday?"

"Nothing!" She cried, "But, just trust me that... I will tell you later on. But, if you do write down, Dragon history, promise me you won't look back at that moment until later."

"Um... okay, I can promise that."

Pecking him on the side of the cheek, everyone froze for a second, wondering if what they were seeing was real, and not some illusion. Ignitus face went red as well, and even as he tried to hide it, a small smile went across his face. Pulling away from the kiss, she looked to the ground and sighed with a smile, thanking him, "Thank you, Ignitus. I know I can trust you."

Looking at him to see his blush, and then looking at everyone else to see they were looking at her with wide eyes, she asked, "Did... did I do something wrong?"

Looking back at Ignitus, her face went red as she realised she had just kissed him on his cheek. _I'm so used to the... the last lover I had that, I completely forgot that me and Ignitus aren't even in love! I completely forgot that... I don't even know if he really likes me!_ Claire cried in her thoughts, completely hating herself for doing such a stupid thing. Walking over to Carith, Cynder whispered to her, "We need to talk to her about it."

Carith nodded, still completely dumbfounded at what she had done.

"Hey, Claire, me and Carith were going to walk and talk some more before the fight... Do you, want to come with us?" Cynder asked as she walked to the door with Carith.

She couldn't tell if Ignitus enjoyed the kiss or not, but she was scared he would say something about how he didn't like her that way. Claire looked away from Ignitus and decided it would be best if she joined along. Walking over to the door with a small frown, the two smiled at her as they had both been through the same thing before. Walking out of the room, the guys all looked at Ignitus, ready to hear his opinion on what had just happened. Ignitus swallowed hard before he started to freak out, "What was I doing?! I, I couldn't do anything! I, I didn't know she would kiss me! I should've kissed her back, I should've said something! What should I have done?!"

"Ignitus, relax, I've been through this before, and I'm pretty sure so has Malefor," Spyro said, trying to calm him down as he didn't want him to get worked up about her leaving him, "And before you start saying anything, she's not going to up and leave you. Yes, she did leave with the girls; Malefor, I already see you trying to make a joke about it, but don't worry. If she didn't care about you then why would she have kissed you?"

"I... I... I don't know I... is this how you two felt on your first kiss?"

Malefor and Spyro chuckled as they looked at one another. Looking back at Ignitus, Spyro continued, "More or less. I mean, you do remember when Cynder first kissed me, don't you? I woke up twice that night, scared she would've just kissed me and then ran away but... Now she kisses me... and kisses me... and... Damn... I really need to kiss her again..."

"I... then I need to see her again! I... I can't let her know that I didn't like it... right?"

"Exactly. Go out there and tell her you like her too. Because, honestly, if one of you didn't put the moves on one another soon, it would've been sad, seeing you two scared to tell one another."

Quickly running out of the of the Chambers, he chased after her, scared to know what would happen if he didn't say something. Everyone chuckled seeing how desperate he was to tell her, which made everyone smile as they never knew they would see a sight like that. Walking to the entrance, Spyro said, "I guess that means we should get going as well."

Walking over to the entrance, Spyro moved out of the way as the Guardians started talking to one another as they walked out. As Malefor walked out, Spyro walked with him, which scared him to death, but his words were very surprising, "Hey, Malefor, thank you for, you know, not killing Ignitus. I know it was tough seeing the Chronicler again the day you came back, especially because of what happened. I never knew I would be seeing Ignitus like that, and, I never knew I would be talking to you. So, thanks for what you did back then as well."

His eyes went wide, never knowing he would hear Spyro say something like that ever to him in his life, and he wanted to know why, "Why are you telling me this now? I thought you hated me? What did I say or do to you that made you change your mind?"

"Well... your words from the training room was a big eye opener for me as I never knew you would say something like that. And with you around, everyone is even happier then they were before so, keep up the great work, and, I will make sure that hatchling you have will never be hurt, because I will make sure to get you just as strong as I am."

"Alright, now I know you messing with me. What's the catch?"

"You beat me, and I will train you sooner, how about that?"

"You know if you lose, Cynder's going to go on a date with Blitz, right?"

"I know. That's why I'm getting your hopes up so I can crush them just like how I'm going to crush you when we fight."

"So you are going to single me out?"

"Probably. Strong ones first, then the weak ones."

"Great."

* * *

"I'm so stupid! When I kissed him, I... He... Because he was a red dragon... just like my other lover, I completely forgot we weren't even in love... I had forgotten that we hadn't even kissed yet. You don't think he likes me back... do you... I ruined everything, didn't I?" Claire murmured as the three walked down the halls, feeling bad for how she was thinking, but they were glad they were there to help her, "And don't get me wrong, I love him like you wouldn't believe but... I'm scared to show that."

"Claire, it's fine. Something like this won't make Ignitus leave you, as if anything would," Cynder said with a smile.

"Yeah, trust us, we've been through the same thing. Even after I kissed Malefor on the cheek, he was still scared from times that by him kissing me, I would leave him because he wasn't doing a good job or that I already had my eyes on someone else, which, I never did because... Malefor was really something to look at almost every day," Carith giggled and agreed with Cynder as she had hoped she had nothing to worry about.

"So... do you think he enjoyed the kiss? I just want to know if I did something wrong. After what he did for me, I, I don't want to have done something he didn't want me to do. And what if he already has his eyes on someone else," Claire begged to know the answer.

"Please, if Ignitus did care about you, and he already had his eyes on someone else, why is he still laying with you? He likes you too, and even if he might not show it, I can guarantee he will miss you by the end of the day. It's not like he's going to avoid you because of some kiss... I think... Oh I sure hope not," Carith started to tease her about it, seeing that it only scared her, so she apologized, "Sorry, I was only joking. Just trust me, you'll be fine."

Nearing the door, the three heard steps as if someone was running at them. They stopped and looked behind themselves to see a red dragon. Ignitus had stopped in front of the three and was glad to see Claire was still with the two. Breathing heavily, he smiled at her, and apologized as soon as possible, "I'm sorry, for not saying anything back there. I quickly ran down as quickly as I could but... I tripped and bumped my head on the stairs, hehe."

"Are you okay?" Claire murmured, feeling as though it was her fault because, if she hadn't walked away, he wouldn't have had to chance her.

Kissing her on the forehead, her eyes went wide as the other two smiled, knowing it would've happened sooner or later. Pulling back and looking at her, he smiled with a chuckle, "I am now. Again, I'm sorry for not saying anything back there. That kiss caught me completely off guard and, if I'm being honest... I actually quite enjoyed it."

"You... you did?" She said with a smile.

"But I enjoy you being by my side most of all," He said, raising his wing, and waited for her to come by his side.

She happily walked beside him, and putting her body up against his, she nuzzled underneath his neck as he draped his wing over her, and the two smiled, glad nothing bad happened. Pulling away and looking up at him, she asked just to be sure that he was telling the truth, "So, you aren't mad or, upset at what I did? You really did enjoy it?"

"Of course I did. I was shocked, I won't lie. But at least now, I can kiss you when ever I want," He whispered, pecking her on the cheek.

Pulling away, he looked her with a heartwarming smile, and she believed he was telling the truth.

"I'm going to guess this means everything is okay?" Terrador asked.

Ignitus looked behind himself to see Terrador walking with the other two towards them. He chuckled with a smile. As the Guardians walked in front of the two, he wondered where the other two were, and looking back once again, he saw them talking and joking with one another, which surprised him, as well as Carith and Cynder, as they thought they would have to stop one another form killing the other. Walking to Ignitus side, Spyro asked, "We going or what?"

Walking over to the door, Spyro pushed them open with his wings and walked out of the building, followed by everyone else. Looking over Warfang, he was glad to see everything and everyone appeared to be okay. Standing next to him, Spyro looked at Malefor before looking back at Warfang and saying, "You know, last time I was looking at Warfang, it was being destroyed by your dark army."

"Was that yesterday or the day before," Malefor chuckled.

"Brings back some memories though, doesn't it? I never even thought I would be walking around Warfang ever again. After what happened in the volcano, I thought that was it for me but," He stopped as he looked back and saw Cynder smiling at him, "I had someone there for me when it all happened."

Looking back out into the distance, he was surprised at how well the land had formed back together. Walking over and standing next to her lover, Cynder looked at him and asked, "Did you ever think you would be sitting next to Malefor himself, talking about what has happened over the years?"

"Hehe, no, not really. I'm just as surprised as you."

Carith walked over and sat next to her lover, and looking at him, she whispered, "They are right. I never knew, especially after what happened, that I would have the privilege of standing with you once again, and looking over Warfang."

"Yeah but... even after everything had returned to normal, what about what I did, especially to you all," Malefor turned away along with his lover, Cynder, and Spyro, and he looked at the Guardians, "When I was free from captivity, for all those years you all had to endure what I had done to you all... more then four years, and it was all my fault, and I know I could never give you that time back."

"Malefor, it's okay. Those four years were the worst times of our lives. But look at my side, that scar I had, completely gone, along with everyone else's battle scars that we had endured over the years, thanks to the help of the Chronicler's powers. The rips and holes in are wings are gone as well, thanks to this power, the Ancestors were nice enough to let me do the same to Volteer, Cyril, and Terrador," Ignitus explained, now making everyone understand why they looked a lot younger then they did before, "And four years of War is nothing compared to the years of peace we can endure. With you back at our side, there is nothing we can't accomplish."

"Yeah... you're right."

"Don't worry about the past, alright. It wasn't the greatest, so let's make the present better, alright? And at least we don't have to worry about the dark master coming back ever again since Carith is with you, so we are fine."

"Oh, since we are on the topic of things I didn't know, Volteer, what happened to your voice when we met once again? You only talked for a little bit before you helped us and that was it," Spyro asked, seeing Terrador chuckle as Volteer looked at him with a raised brow.

"During the time of the attack, Me and Terrador rounded a corner. Apparently he didn't know it was me, and elbowed me in the throat, so my voice wasn't the same for a while," Volteer explained, rounding his paw around his throat from the memory as the pain was excruciating to him.

"Sorry again for what happened, I was honestly just frightened from what was happening," Terrador admitted and once again apologized.

"Well, compared to what we are about to go through, this will be nothing to be honest."

"Agreed."

"I won't be too hard on you guys, probably..." Spyro chuckled

"Gee, I feel so much better."

"Well, let's get this over with I guess," Volteer sighed, opening up his wings and flying into the air, followed by Terrador and Cyril.

Spyro followed along with his lover, and so did Malefor and his lover. Looking at Claire, Ignitus asked, "You ready to see what a fight between a purple dragon and other purple dragon looks like?"

"Well, last time that happened, I pretty sure the earth was split in half," Claire giggled.

"Hehe, well, it won't happen this time. And this time, we won't have a destroyer to deal with."

"You all fought that thing?!"

"Yeah, we couldn't beat it though, it was way beyond anything we could've handled, but if it ever does return, I'm sure we will be fine."

"I trust you."

Taking his wing of her, he flew into the air and waited for her. Opening her wings, she did the same, and flew into the air. The two flew over to the back of Warfang, quickly trying to catch up with the others. Landing down on the ground, Blitz looked at Spyro before looking back at his friends, talking about some kind of strategy they would use to take him down. Malefor landed down beside Spyro and as he did, Blitz looked at Malefor and called him over, "Malefor, come over here, we need to talk to you about our plan."

"This should be good. I will see you soon," Malefor whispered to his lover, and before he ran over to the three, he gave her a loving peck on the lips.

After the Guardians had all landed, Blitz looked back and called them all over, "Guardians, come over here for a sec. Before we start, I want to talk strategy."

"Strategy?" Terrador asked as he walked over to him.

Pecking Claire on the side of her cheek, Ignitus pulled away and whispered, "Wish me luck."

She smiled at him and said, "I believe that at least one of you will get him."

"Let's hope."

Walking over to the other, Ignitus was joined by the other two Guardians as they walked over and talked in a group. Looking towards Spyro to see him smiling, Claire wondered if he was confident in his abilities to take on all the Guardians and then some, "Spyro, you don't even seem scared, are you excited about the fight or what?"

"Of course I'm excited. I haven't really been able to let loose my power for a while. Unlike before, I can go all out without having to worry about healing any one, or worrying about someone possibly dying. This also gives me another excuse to fight Malefor again, which coming back here feels like the perfect chance for payback for what he did," Spyro growled, but still holding his smile as he remembered what everyone has said to him about Malefor and the dark master, and he trusts everyone.

"Payback as in, no death of my lover, payback?" Carith giggled slightly.

"No, no death of Malefor. Not like I would have a chance anyway. Even if I tried, I still have everyone else to deal with."

"Just, be careful out there. Last thing I want to happen is for you to end up passing out or having another hole in your chest," Cynder pleaded, remembering what happened last time she was back her, and it didn't bring back easy memories for her.

"Hehe, I will try my hardest. I find it wired that back here has been completely fixed. I remember there was a ton of holes in the ground from my fight with the dark master."

 _I fixed up everything while you were away. I do a lot while everyone is asleep, and fixing up this place took a lot more time then I thought it would for someone like me,_ Ignitus said to Spyro through his thoughts, getting him to understand. Stretching out his body, Spyro exclaimed with excitement, "Man I'm excited! Malefor is a lot weaker since he isn't being controlled by the dark master, and the Guardians I've already fought before. Blitz didn't seem very strong, but he was a little more stronger then I thought. But what I'm really excited for, is fighting Ignitus. The power of the Chronicler is something I've always wanted to test, and today's the day!"

"You sure picked a strange one to love didn't you," Carith giggled at Cynder, seeing her blush a little with a smile.

"Strange? Look at Malefor, that guy is as sad as I knew he'd be. Tell you what, when he's face first eating soil, let's see who's the stranger one, and who's the stronger one."

"Alright, you know what, let's make a bet. If Malefor is the victor when he beats you, you can't kiss Cynder for the rest of the day, and you have to say how amazing and powerful my lover is. That also includes that date that Blitz will have with Cynder if you lose. So what are you Spyro? Are you going to be a strange one on this deal, or a strong one?"

"Oh strong for sure, and I agree."

"Really?!"

"Of course... I'll just target Malefor first."

"Oh... yeah."

"What about you Claire? Want to make any bets with your, Man? Which, while we are on the topic, how does it feel to know you can kiss Ignitus without having to worry about him leaving you?"

"Well... Aside from the fact that I'm sure I would've flipped out bad without the help from your lover and Carith, it felt... really good. I miss the feeling of having someone there for me and when he pecked me on the forehead... Something about him just makes it so right, and so nice. It was a lot more romantic then with... my first lover. It kinda happened on accident actually. He fell over on me and kissed my cheek and after that, we kinda just went with it..." Claire explained, remembering that it wasn't the most romantic way to get her first kiss, but she still keep it within her heart about what happened.

Looking at Ignitus from afar, Spyro then looked back up at Claire and thanked, "Thank you, Claire."

"What did I do?"

"You really came through last night for him. And even if you did, hurt him, I won't blame you for it. I don't even think he would be out here if it wasn't for you being with him. So I wanted to thank you."

"Well, you know... I knew I couldn't run away from his body... Every night we lay, and when that rain felt so cold when I had tried to run away... that warm body, and the feeling of his scales... I can't forget that feeling... Try not to hurt him too much for me, please. The thing I'm most worried about is you breaking his back and we can't cuddle tonight."

"Hehe, I will try. Ignitus is tough I will give him that."

"Alright, we are ready," Blitz called out.

Pecking her lover on the lips, Spyro pulled away and before running into battle, he whispered, "Wish me luck."

She nodded at him and watched as he walked over to all of the others.

"You don't think, Spyro could just be using this as a way to kill Malefor?" Carith asked, as she knew it wasn't true, but she still would've like to hear it from Cynder.

"Hehe, no. Honestly, Spyro hasn't really been this excited to fight in a long time. Last time was back with the Guardians but, after that... I feel like he's also doing this in hopes to train Malefor. After all, he did ask if he could train him some more, and maybe he is finally looking forward to doing so. But what could've made him what to train him?" Cynder said, wondering how Malefor convinced Spyro to help him train, but she didn't know if her theory was right or not.

"Yeah... I trust him."

The eight split up as Spyro approached the middle of the field. They all stood in a circle around the area, completely surrounding him from going anywhere. Spyro saw through this pretty quickly, but he knew they had other plans of how to take him out so he knew he had to stay on guard. Getting into his fighting stance, he focused his attention on his main threats: Malefor, and Ignitus. _I know the Guardians aren't close to how strong Malefor is, and I haven't seen Ignitus's power in action yet. And with the Chronicler's power, there is no telling how strong he is,_ He thought, but his thoughts were broken as Blitz asked, "Are you ready?"

Not taking his attention away from the Ignitus and Malefor, Spyro chuckled, "Yeah. But if you were asking Cynder if she's ready for that date, you're living in a dream, Blitz."

"We'll see who's laughing when I win... Begin!"

Spitting out all their abilities: Fire, Electricity, Ice shards, and Rock shards surrounded him at every corner. _What do they think I am? A hatchling?_ Spyro chuckled to himself as he jumped into the air, avoiding everything all together. As the elements collided, a small explosion engulfed the area. Flying in the air, he still saw everyone was where they were before, but that quickly changed as he realised someone was missing. Turning behind himself, he saw Volteer coming down head first to hit him. Just in time, he dodged out the way, but not without getting a hit in on him. Timing it just right, Spyro punched Volteer in his side which sent him to the ground even faster then before. As his body met the ground, his body bounced and slammed into a tree, cracking it down the middle. Flying down to the ground, he looked and saw Malefor and Ignitus were missing. _Damn!_ He growled, looking to find the two, but as he looked, everyone else had disappeared as well. Trying to take a step forward, he looked to his paws, wondering why he couldn't move. Rock covered all of his paws, keeping him from moving. Two shards of ice from both Cyril and Sesal made their way right towards him, one high and one low so he had no way of dodging them. Looking above him, Terrador shot a shard of earth himself, completely pinning him on where to go. As they neared his body, he broke free just in time as the two shards approached him. Grabbing one shard with his teeth and the other with his tail, he broke the one in his mouth by biting down on it. Throwing the other one from his tail up into the air at Terrador's shard, the two collided and shattered. Landing back on the ground, Terrador hid from Spyro and waited for the right time to strike. Emerging from the bushes, Malefor walked up to him and asked, "Alright... seems like tactics aren't going to work. So maybe brute strength will."

He smiled at his challenge. As Malefor approached him, he started to run faster and faster until he was right on top of him. Spinning around to try and cut him with his tail, he ducked. Pulling his paw up, he slammed it into Malefor's chin before grabbing it. Pushing him forward, he forced Malefor onto his back. Pulling his paw away, he grabbed his neck with his paw. Opening his wings, he flew to the air. Turning upside down, he spun in a circle as he reached the ground. Throwing Malefor into the ground, his head slammed into the ground while Spyro safely stopped his decent and landed on the ground.

"Malefor..." Carith whispered, hoping he was okay.

Standing in front of him as he laid on his side and in pain, Spyro chuckled as he pulled his tail blade to his neck and asked, "You can always tap out, or do you need to take more of a beating? I know you're stronger then this."

"Hehe... you're right!" Malefor growled, hitting his paw to the ground, pulling and pushing himself back.

Just as he flung himself backwards, he was able to slice at the side of Spyro's cheek with his tail blade, causing him to bleed. The girls gasped as he got the hit off. Standing a bit away from him, he knew it was going to take a lot more then a cut to hurt him. Looking at Malefor, he smiled slightly, glad someone was able to do some damage to him. Taking a step forward, Spyro disappeared before reappearing behind Malefor. Pulling his paw up to hit Malefor in the back of his head, it was quick, and surprised even Spyro. A shard of ice stabbed into his arm. With a loud growl, he fell to the floor. Malefor looked at the shard that poked through his arm completely and cried, "Spyro! Are you okay!"

"Damn! Who did this!" Spyro growled, seeing Cyril emerge from the bushes.

"Spyro, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean for them to hit. I was just trying to distract you," Cyril apologized, feeling terrible as he didn't mean to put a hole inside Spyro's arm.

Everyone felt fear and confusion as Spyro's chuckle started to turn into a laugh. Ripping the ice shard out of his paw, he knocked Cyril upside the head before quickly hitting his elbow into Malefor's side. The two growled in pain as they fell to the floor. Reappearing in the middle, Spyro made something very clear, which made them wonder if he was being serious or not, "Listen! This is not some little hatchling fight, understand?! I don't care what it takes or how badly I get injured! You come at me as if you want to kill me!"

"Is he... joking?" Cyril asked, still trying to recover from the random hit.

"Spyro's going to get himself killed," Carith said.

"What are you planning?" Cynder whispered, as seeing the hole in Spyro's arm made her shiver.

"Ignitus, with that out of the way, maybe we should just rush him? I have no intent to kill him at all, but using all of our power might be easier then trying to suppress it," Blitz whispered to Ignitus as the two hid behind a bush and waited to see what they would plan.

"Alright, I will tell everyone," He agreed, wondering why Spyro would want to take so much pain just for a spar between everyone.

Everyone walked out into the middle of the open from where they were. Spyro looked at Ignitus, and showing him his arm, he asked, "Before we continue, should I fix it, or can you?"

"I'll fix it," Ignitus said, as a white circle went down his arm, healing the wound completely before disappearing, "Spyro, are you sure you want everyone to go all out? Yes I can just heal you with my time power but, even for you, that seems pretty extreme. We've just seen what would happen if one of our attacks hit, so maybe it would be best if we didn't."

"I will be fine. If I think I can't handle it, I will tell you, trust me."

"You know, Cynder's going to kill me if I agree."

"You're right..."

Looking over at his lover, he asked her, "With your permission, can everyone fight seriously towards me?"

She sighed, scared to know of the out come, and made some rules, "Alright... but two rules to this. One; you better not end up like you did before when we were back here with that dark master fight. And Two; You owe me a really good kiss when this is all over. Understand?"

"Yes my love," He said with a smile, knowing that she was scared, so he decided it would be best if he used his powers and didn't get hurt by the other.

Looking back at Ignitus, he smiled as he said, "Alright, since we are going all out... I'm not going to hold back my power either, so neither should you all. If I use my dark form, this would be over pretty quickly, so I will stick to my basic abilities. Sound good to everyone?"

"Great... I can't wait to be set on fire..." Cyril grumbled.

"You'll be fine... hopefully," Malefor said sarcastically.

"Alright then, let's begin," Ignitus said, as everyone rushed head on to fight Spyro.

But as everyone rushed in, Ignitus didn't, and the girls noticed that, but mainly Claire. Swinging their tail blades, using their abilities, and trying everything possible to attack and take Spyro down, they were almost successful as it seemed they were getting closer and closer to hitting him. He saw that and knew he would have to take a breath. Slapping his paws together, he pushed them outwards away from his body, engulfing the entire area in flames. The flames kicked everyone back as the heat from the fire felt like it burned their eyes. As the fire neared the girls, he suppressed the power before absorbing it back in completely. _"I will watch after the girls, you go nuts. I want to see what you can really do,"_ Ignitus said through Spyro's thoughts as he stood in front of the girls. _"Thanks. But are you sure you don't want to fight?"_ Spyro asked in his thoughts. _"Don't worry, I know you want to fight me, and you will. Just, the sooner you deal with them, the quicker you can fight me, Alright?"_

 _"Alright. Oh, and tell Cynder thanks again for letting me do this. I know it's not easy for her seeing me get hurt like that, but let her know I was fine, thanks to her."_ Ignitus chuckled and agreed to tell her, _"Alright."_ Looking at Cynder, Ignitus conveyed the words to her, "Spyro said thank you for letting him go through with this fight. He knew it wasn't easy for you seeing him get hurt like that, but he was fine, and it was all thanks to you. Do you have anything to say back to him?"

She sighed with a smile as she whispered to herself, "That's my lover... And the greatest one at that. It's fine, Ignitus. Thank you for that."

"They weren't my words."

"I know... but, I remembering being back here... Standing here now is pretty... I never saw myself being here in a thousand years."

"I'm the all knowing Chronicler and it has surprised even me. Plus, I never knew I would be back here enjoying time with someone I care about, and someone who cares for me."

Claire giggled at him and asked, "Care for? How about you come over here and I can show you how much I care about you."

He chuckled, and walked over to her side. Sitting down next to her, she nuzzled her head underneath Ignitus's, making the other two feel jealous that their lover's weren't there to do the same.

"You're so Lucky... Now I wish Malefor wasn't in this little fight if theirs," Carith whimpered, wishing she could feel the sweet nuzzle and feeling of Malefor's scales on hers.

"Now that I keep talking about kissing Spyro, and now talking about nuzzling with the ones we love... I don't know if I can last much longer without Spyro," Cynder agreed with Carith, hoping that the the battle would be over soon so they could nuzzle and kiss their lovers.

"Alright, we are going to play a little game called; Freeze Lightning," Spyro said with a smile as everyone stood back up to their paws.

"What the hell is freeze lightning?" Malefor asked.

"Simple. Since their are only two dragons with the lightning ability, that being Volteer and Bolt, I will go for them last. In this game, I will being using my lightning to shock your nerves into paralyzing your bodies. Volteer and Bolt are the only one's to help you, so if you got caught, you're going to have to wait until one of them comes and gets you. Sound fair?"

"What?! I thought this was a fight, not a game," Blitz said.

"Alright, fine, we will continue are fight, but let's see if you can keep up."

Disappearing and reappearing behind Blitz, he slammed his paw into the back of his neck, knocking him to the ground. Terrador swung his tail around to slash at him, but as Spyro backed up and dodged, he grabbed his tail with his paw. Spinning around in a circle, Terrador slammed into a tree after tree before Spyro lit the bottom of his tail on fire. Letting Terrador go, his body flew into another tree, and he growled as he also felt steam from the fire that burned at his scales. Patting his tail on the ground, the fire went out, and Terrador sighed hugely. Bolt took into consideration of what Spyro had said and went to paralyze him. As Malefor attacked Spyro, he took the opportunity to attack him. Throwing his paw at him, Spyro wrapped his tail around Bolt's paw. Punching Malefor in the chest, he looked at Bolt and asked, "Paralyze me? Come on Bolt, you're better then that..."

Slamming his fist across Spyro's face, it caused him to let go of Bolt, and Malefor growled, "Don't get cocky!"

Hitting the ground, he tried to roll on his side, but Malefor jumped on top of him and froze over all of his paws and tail blade. Putting his tail blade at Spyro's neck, he chuckled "You lost."

"Oh, I did? Sorry, I didn't know, seeming how you obviously don't know what that word means," Spyro growled, lighting his body on fire, breaking his body free.

Pulling his back paws forward, he slammed them into Malefor's gut, sending him flying backwards and onto the ground. He didn't mean to do this, but as he threw his body, Malefor's tail blade went around his back and slashed at Sesal's. Malefor rolled off his body as Sesal was now down for the count pretty quickly. Turning his attention back to Bolt, Spyro was punched by Volteer this time. Bouncing on the ground a couple of times before hitting a tree, he quickly stood back up. Digging his paws into the ground, he propelled himself forward at a pretty fast rate of speed. Knowing Volteer would react in time, he froze time, and just as he was about to hit him, he turned time back to normal. Hitting Volteer right in the chest with his head, he knocked him to the ground and bounced off him. Spyro used this to spin around and kick Bolt right in the side of the face. His head hit the ground with a loud crack, almost as if his jaw had done the same. Standing back up, Malefor watched as Spyro approached him, and he had enough of being so weak in front of his lover. Going to punch Spyro, he dodged, which Malefor had hoped for. He used his other paw to hit Spyro in his chest causing him to stand on his two back paws before he fell back. Before he could stand back up, Malefor punched Spyro in his gut, causing him to cough of blood from the force of the punch. On his back, and grabbing his gut in pain, Malefor didn't want to really hurt Spyro at all, but he heard what he had said and went for it. Moving his tail blade around and putting it right at his heart, he struggled and shuck, not knowing if he could go through it. Seeing Spyro look at him with blood going down the side of his mouth, he softly growled at himself. Pulling his tail balde back, he got off his body and stood off to the side. The girls and Ignitus smiled as they knew what he was thinking, and they were glad he didn't go through with it. Looking at Malefor, Spyro asked, "Why... why didn't you attack me? You had the chance? I said you could use you abilities."

Malefor turned back and watched as Spyro stood back up. Seeing the confused look on his face, but also somewhat of a smile, Malefor apologized, "I know... but, I can't... I don't want to put you through that pain again... Not like before."

Placing his tail blade against Malefor's neck, Spyro asked, "Then how do you expect to beat me?"

"I... I don't know..."

"You better know in the next second or else I'm going to make you feel the pain that I was going to feel. If you don't come at me with as much power as possible like you were just doing, you'll never win. I only let you attack me while I was on the ground because I was hoping you would've attacked me, but you didn't. What if I hurt Carith? You wouldn't stop to think then."

"But you didn't hurt Carith... Look, Spyro, I want to get strong, I do. But, using you as a source to attack... It just makes me think I'm the dark master again..."

"I understand, Malefor, it's okay... I understand where you are coming from but, next time, I want you to attack me, as a spar partner, not as the dark master. I know you're not him anymore so it's okay about what happens. Just promise me that next time, you will try, Alright?"

"Alright..."

"Now go to Carith before I kick your ass for trying to kill me."

"Hehe, Alright."

Walking away from the battlefield, they didn't really hear their conversation so they didn't understand why he was coming over. Sitting down next to Carith, he draped his wing over her, and nuzzled her gently. She wasn't complaining at all as she was kinda glad that he walked off the battlefield. His smooth scales felt so wonderful to her, and her scales felt amazing to him. Pulling away, he looked at her, and she asked, somewhat scared to know the answer, "Oh no... please don't tell me Spyro's planning on killing you because he thinks you're the dark master?"

"No... he... he actually trust me. I told him I was scared to really fight him and, hurt, him, because it made me feel like I was the dark master. I would much rather work with him then fight him but, he said next time, I have to go all out. I'm scared to fight him, and I know I agreed to it but... Cynder, I know I'm not exactly the kind of guy who should ask a favor with what's happened, but, is there a way you can, convince Spyro to work with me rather then fight me?" Malefor asked, hoping she would help him, even though he knows everything isn't good between everyone, and he understood.

"Malefor, it's fine, I trust you. I will try and talk to him and see what I can do. I can convince Spyro pretty easily with this simple trick," Cynder agreed, knowing she would be able to convince Spyro pretty easily.

"Let me guess, your trick is either kissing and or nuzzling him, or it's threatening to leave him," Carith giggled.

"Definitely the first one. Threatening to leave him, I'm trying to hold off on. I know we are joking about it but, I feel bad when I say that because I don't want to leave him. So for now on, I'm going to rely on my nuzzles and my kisses."

Malefor chuckled with everyone else, but he was confued about something that Cynder had said, "Cynder... I don't mean to bring this up because i know it doesn't bring back good memories but... Why do you still have the chains on around your arms, legs, and neck. Is it because you are still afraid of me or... are you using them for style to impress your lover."

Putting her paw over the chain on her neck, he was right that it doesn't bring back good memories. Looking at Spyro as he helped Terrador up from the fight, she looked back at him, and thought more about his words, his actions, and how he was around everyone and his lover. Pulling her paw down, she giggled and decided to tell him why, "It's... I still wear these chains because... I'm afraid of one day becoming the dark master's servant again. I just felt like I should leave them on because, I thought that was all I was meant to be. And even after Spyro broke me free of the dark master's control, I knew I didn't belong... But I was wrong."

"Cynder... I'm... I'm sorry..."

"It's fine, Malefor. Looking back, it was... it was tough. But look at me now. I've found someone to love, I have the Guardians as friends, and meeting Carith and Claire to have some girl time with, I never thought something like this would ever happen. And... now that you mention it... I'm not afraid anymore."

"You're not?"

"What is there to be afraid of? I've seen how you are around Carith, I've seen how desperately you have tried to make everything right again, and all those times you could've killed me... You never did. So... maybe you're right... maybe I don't need to wear these chains any more... Hehe, but now here comes a fear of mine... What will Spyro think? Does he think I look good with them, or will he like me more if I remove them?"

"Well, tell him why you wear the chains and see what he says from there. Bringing up the dark master might make him what to kill me but... I want to thank you, Cynder, for trusting me enough to even take off the chains. I know you still have fear towards me, and I understand but... Thank you... I don't know how to show my gratitude."

"Show me that I'm right in my decision... I know I trust you, but you're going to have to show Spyro, I know that for sure.

"I will definitely try."

Walking back over with the other Guardians as well as Blitz, Sesal, and Bolt, Ignitus asked, "Well, how did it go."

Almost falling over as they all sat, Terrador chuckled, "Well, the fight, somewhat, continued in the woods. It took a while for Blitz to give up but as he went to punch Spyro, he punched a tree and he said he broke his paw. As Spyro approached Volteer, he quickly tapped out and begged for forgiveness, understandably as he was approaching him with fire in his paw."

"So Spyro won after all... Sorry Blitz."

"It's fine... It just shows that I need to get stronger, and for the time being, I will, let, Spyro take care of her," Blitz sighed, sad that they were all defeated by one dragon, "Then again, doesn't help that the hard hitters such as you, and Malefor decided it would be best to just walk off the field so... kinda knew we were screwed after that."

"Hehe, sorry, Blitz. But, here, let me help you all with your wounds."

Raising his paw, a white ring appeared around everyone's body, including the girls even through they didn't fight. As the ring went up their bodies, it then went down and disappeared as it completely healed everyone and cleaned everyone off of anything. Blitz felt so much better, but even after being healed and completely confused on what happened, he said, "I was about to yell at you until you did that, but I still have to wonder, why didn't you fight?"

"I was looking after the girls in case Spyro went over board on his powers. Which I know he would've suppressed but I wanted to see all his power. Which I'm about to find out right now."

"Oh, I've been waiting for this day!" Spyro exclaimed with excitement.

Before walking to the middle of the field, Spyro walked past Terrador and patted his shoulder as he said, "I can always give you some lessons. Even still, you're not as weak as you make yourself out to be."

He chuckled as he watched Spyro walk to the middle of the field, preparing for the fight. Looking over at Ignitus, Cynder asked, "Ignitus, I hope you are as powerful as you say because, I need a favor. I need you to distract him while I take off my chains."

"Are you sure about it? I'm surprised you didn't ask him. I mean, I have no problem at all as I think it's sweet what you are doing. So why didn't you ask him?" Ignitus said, knowing it would be a simple task to keep Spyro away from her, but he didn't understand why she didn't say anything to him before he walked away.

"Well... I want it to be a surprise. He's reaction will tell me if he does or doesn't like it. I kinda hope he does..."

"Alright, I will try. I've never fought Spyro while he is in his dark form so this will be difficult for me to understand in the beginning, but I know a way to get him away from the start."

"Thank you."

"Your welcome. And to be honest, I'm curious as well. I can't imagine you without the chains so, this will be something new for us, as well as a step forward in the right direction in my opinion."

She smiled at him as now she was convinced that taking off her chains would be for good. Pecking Claire on her cheek, Ignitus pulled away and whispered to her before walking to the middle to fight Spyro, "I'm so glad we can do that now."

Watching him as he walked away, she couldn't describe the joy she felt now that she was able to kiss him. _I went from trying to assassinate the Guardians, to being saved by Ignitus, then being cared for by Ignitus... and then falling in love with Ignitus... I hope the day comes where that last part happens for the both of us,_ Claire thought, as she wondered more about what her life would be like with him more into the future. Watching as Ignitus stood in front of Spyro, everyone had wondered how Ignitus was going to take care of him from the start. As the two talked back in forth, Spyro smiled as he turned into his dark form. Ignitus chuckled with him and after he did, he looked over to Cynder and asked, "Are you ready?"

"Ready?" Spyro and Cynder asked in unison.

"He means with the chains," Carith whispered.

"Oh yeah. Ready!"

Looking back at Spyro, Ignitus smiled once again and asked, "Since you are so confident in your power, how about you let this old Dragon go first with the hit?"

"Sounds fair enough to me," Spyro agreed.

Pulling his paw up, he put one finger close Spyro's forehead, somewhat confusing everyone. But that quickly changed. Pushing his finger forward and making contact with his forehead, a huge gust of wind exploded out of the air. Spyro was completely blown backwards through tree after tree, skidding on the ground before making it all the way to the ocean. His body tapped and skid across the water a couple of times before his body sunk into the water. Everything in front of Ignitus was now a barren wasteland with nothing but dirt and knocked over trees. Everyone froze at this power, and even somewhat scared to fight him now more then ever. His power made it look like Spyro's dark form was nothing more then a joke from a story. He saw everyone's reaction, but he knew it wasn't going to be that easy and that Spyro would come back any moment, so he quickly yelled, "Cynder, the chains!"

"Oh, right!" Cynder said, using her tail blade to get off the chains on her tail, arms, and then her neck.

Looking down at her front left leg, she tried to cut right down the middle and hoped she wouldn't cut herself. Just as she had cut off the chain on her front left leg, an explosion erupted from the water as it had looked like a tsunami had just slammed against the shore. Flinging his wings outwards and shaking off the water and the pain, Spyro looked down at Ignitus ready for round two. Cynder was scared to think he would look over before she was able to get her chains off, but as she looked up, a quick blink of the eye proved that she had more time as. Pushing his wings back with enough force to sound as if it broke the sound barrier, he tackled Ignitus as the two went sliding into the woods to continue the fight. He held Ignitus's back to the ground as they slid through the ground.

* * *

Looking back at her front right leg, she knew how to get the chains off quickly and did so. Getting off her other front right chain with her tail blade, she looked back up and watched as the fight continued, scared to think it would be over so quickly. She tried not to think about it as she moved her tail near her side and tried to get the chain off with her claws.

* * *

Kicking Spyro off of himself, Ignitus sent him soaring into the sky. Appearing behind him in the blink of an eye, he spun around before kicking Spyro into the ground. As his body hit the ground, it blew a huge hole in the ground around where he kicked him. He growled and quickly tried to stand up, but just as he had jumped to the air, Ignitus appeared behind him once again. Picking him up by the tail, he spun him around and around. After a couple of seconds, he finally throwing him right back down to the middle of where they had started. Flying down to the middle, Ignitus chuckled at him and asked, "You give up? Maybe that dark form has more flaws then we thought."

Standing up slowly, he stood back to his paws. Twisting his neck around, he popped his neck as he chuckled, "Flaws? No, no no no. See, when it comes to power, there are no flaws. I needed to see how powerful you are, and to be honest, the power of the Chronicler would make the dark master's power feel good about itself knowing it could easily take you out."

"Hehe, You sure are cocky today aren't you?"

"No... I'm just confident!"

Putting a massive hole into the ground as he kicked off it, Spyro landed a hit right on Ignitus's face. A huge blast of wind whipped and ripped at the trees as Ignitus was flung all the way back into the mountain of the Guardians Building. Everyone backed up as they did not want to get involved in this fight at all. Successful in getting the chain from her tail off, she then went for the one on her neck, but a tail blade stopped her. Looking over, Carith and Malefor changed places, and he asked her, "Do you need help with that?"

She giggled at him with his tail blade being at her neck, "Spyro would kill you right now if he saw your tail blade at my neck."

"Thought it would be best if I did the last one... it would, make me feel better knowing that I broke the last one to show that even Malefor, the dark master, will no longer control the lover of Spyro."

"Well, when you put it like that... I will allow it."

Cutting off the last chain, it fell to the ground. As he pulled his tail blade down, he watched as she grabbed at her neck, moving her paw around it as she said, "Well, I definitely feel a difference. That thing has been around my neck for years and now I finally have the chance to walk around without it... Well, what do you think?"

Turning her body towards him, he was quiet surprised at how different she looked now with the chains gone. As Carith looked at her, she also liked the new look, mainly because it made her look a lot more free then she did before, "Dang Girl, look at you looking all good. I know for a fact that Spyro will love it. Not to say he hasn't loved you before, everyone knows that from the way you two act, but maybe this will have a different result."

"The way we act? Alright, I understand."

"You know what I mean. The way you two are always snuggling up together."

"So snuggling up together with my lover is an act?"

"Act? No. The only acting that I wish would happen is Spyro saying he would kill Malefor but then doesn't because he's only acting... but I mean, maybe he's getting there. I mean, just today the two were talking all the way down the halls until they got to the Chambers."

"How do you... know about that?" Malefor asked, somewhat with a blush as he remembered Spyro talking about how he doesn't want to kill him.

"You're not quiet. We heard almost everything you all said, especially about the part where he doesn't want to kill you."

"Yeah well... here's to hoping."

Looking over at the Guardians, she asked them next, "Hey guys, what do you all think?"

The Guardians as well as the three friends looked over at her in amazement at the new look. Blitz felt like his heart was going to explode out of his chest, and he groaned in sadness, "It's not fair... why... why couldn't I have been as lucky as Spyro..."

Patting his friend on the shoulder, Bolt comforted him, "There there. Maybe next time."

"Well, I don't want to get slapped to Hell by Spyro for calling you pretty but, you look nice Cynder. The new look without the chains really brings out who you are," Volteer said honestly, but as he said that, he wish he hadn't as he knew he was going to get picked on by everyone about it.

"Wow Volteer, first you call my lover pretty, then you call Cynder pretty? Dude, we need to get you a girlfriend bad if you are this lonely," Malefor chuckled along with his lover, Cynder, and the Guardians.

"Why did I bother..." He sighed.

Looking away from them as they laughed, listing to them talk about finding a lover made him think, especially since Ersa was brought up today, and he wondered if it was a sign about what he should do, _Should I move on from her? The Guardians told me to do so, but Spyro retaliated and said I should choose on my own. Should I move on or... Should I hope that I can find her... if she's even alive. I wish I had my book... maybe she left something in that book before we left. Maybe... What would you do if you were me right now... my love... but... I was never able to even tell you that... I liked you._ The warm feeling of a paw on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts, and looking over at him, Terrador assured him, "Volteer, it's okay, we are just picking on you."

"I know, i know, it's just... What do you think I should do? Should I move on and try to find someone else or... hope that she's still out there?"

"Oh... is this about... Ersa. I'm... I'm sorry... but I couldn't give you a clear answer. It has been over thirteen years, Volteer. Even if she is still out there, how do we know if she hasn't found someone else?"

He frowned as he looked to the ground, knowing that there is more bad then good.

"So, if she's alive, then she would've moved on and left me, or forgotten about me entirely. And if she's dead then... I'll never know how she felt about me."

"Well... I wouldn't say that."

Looking up at him, Volteer asked, "What do you mean?"

"Look, I didn't trust Ignitus's judgment when it came to Claire because I was scared the darkness would've come back and taken everything away from us after everyone had just come back together. But, something about Spyro's words, I knew I had to trust him. That, as well as the fact he probably would've killed me but, look at Ignitus now. Already kissing the one he likes. So, maybe you should listen to what Spyro said, maybe you shouldn't move on... Maybe... He could help you search for her if she's alive."

"You think he would do that?! For me?!"

"He does a lot for the ones he cares about. Yes he made us fight him and he will probably do it again but, the good news to that little fight, we get a little stronger. And I know he had that line of thinking as well. Plus, he's holding his own pretty well against Ignitus right now so... If you want, we could all join forces and beat Ignitus in to letting us read about where Ersa is if she's alive."

"Hehe, thanks, Terrador. I will probably ask if Spyro would help me with the search. And I don't want to force Ignitus to tell me where she is as he's done enough for us already. Saying he would stay with us again is a big enough for a help as it brings back good memories."

Patting him on the shoulder, he took his paw off and said, "That's the spirit. Just don't give up and hope she's out there."

"Right. And also, ouch. Even though Spyro hit me in my chest, when my back hit the ground... We really are out of shape."

"Hehe, no kidding. After that little fight, I'm in more pain then I look right now. Even after Ignitus healed us, I still feel the pain."

"Yeah, same here."

Hitting the ground on his back, everyone watched as the fight had continued, but what they saw was less then comforting. With Spyro on his back, he coughed up blood onto his chest, and the reason was because Ignitus's tail blade dug right down into his chest.

"Ignitus! What are you doing?!" Cynder cried.

Grabbing Ignitus tail blade and yanking it out of his chest, blood spilled out of his chest only causing her to fear as much as everyone else as they thought they had taken it too far. Punching the side of his face, Spyro then backed up and kicked Ignitus off of him. Jumping and spinning up backwards, he stood back to his paws as blood spilled from his chest. He chuckled as he joked with him, "Thanks for the hole in my chest, again. But I know as much as you do that you have the same powers."

"Hehe, of course I do. It didn't take me long to catch on. I knew I shouldn't have underestimated you."

"Then do you think you can keep going?"

"Ignitus, Spyro already has a hole in his chest. You two don't have to kill each other to show who is stronger. Let's just head back," Claire suggested as she was scared that one of them would kill the other over a little spar.

"Claire... Cynder... It's fine. At least now, even as I fight, I won't have to worry about death. And now that I can go all out on my power," Spyro paused as the black aura moved towards the wound, quickly healing it and eliminating any blood or damage and making it seem like he was never hurt, which everyone was surprised to see, "You're going to have to do a lot more then put a little hole in my chest to stop me."

"Or we can go back," Malefor now suggested, as everyone was on the same page.

 _"Ignitus! I don't know exactly how this works but if you can hear me, the chains are off. You don't have to keep fighting my lover,"_ Cynder said in her thoughts, hoping this would get the two to stop. He heard and understood, but even he knew he couldn't stop this fight. _"I hear you loud and clear, but... Spyro really wants to see more of my power. Unless you can stop him, I'm going to have to fight him, I'm sorry. I know seeing him hurt scares you, but don't worry, if things get out of control, I've always got my healing power. I promise everything will be fine,"_ Ignitus promised back through her thought, causing her to sigh, but she knew that her lover wanted this, that he wanted to get stronger, so she didn't want to interfere. _I still have to find out how I'm going to show off to Spyro that I don't have my chains anymore,_ She thought to herself, but the fight between the two couldn't let her think long enough. Spyro's paw moved, and in the blink of an eye, blood spilled down the side of Ignitus's cheek, and he chuckled from the pain, "That was pretty dirty using your time power."

"You have it don't you? That's your fault for not seeing it," Spyro smirked as no one knew what had happened as his paw had moved and nothing else.

"Alright then, let's see who can use their time power better then."

The two disappeared and reappeared all around the land and sky, with concussive blast being the only thing to show where they were fighting one another. The Fight was taken over to the ocean as holes in the water started to explode one after another before taking it back to the land. Ignitus body appeared from the air as his body slid on the ground and into tree after tree. His body disappeared as the two continued to fight. No one could keep track or see as the two fought which made Malefor go into his thought, _Could I even reach this kind of power? Spyro basically let me attack him that one time, so... Am I really that weak? Will I be able to protect Carith if the day ever came?_ He broke from his thoughts as the two reappeared on the ground in front of everyone, covered in blood from their heads down to their tails. Spyro stood above Ignitus with his tail blade to his neck, both completely out of breath, gasping for air. Putting his tail blade more against his neck, Spyro struggled to say, "Give... up... or... else..."

Looking over at his Claire, he saw she was desperate for the two to stop, along with everyone else, and looking at Spyro and himself, he could understand why. He chuckled and rather then using his powers to heal himself and continue, he tapped the ground and sighed, "Alright... you win."

Falling to his side, the darkness quickly disappeared, causing Spyro growled in pain as he laid next to Ignitus in pain, "Thank... Ancestors... But even I know... you could've... continued."

"Yeah well... Claire would've probably killed me if I did, and I'm sure Cynder's not happy with how much you pushed yourself."

"Oh no... she's going to kill me for what I've done... What should I do?"

"Hehe, try not to die I guess."

"Hehe, thanks. But which comes first, her killing me, or her dumping me?"

"Neither, as long as you play your cards right."

"Then if I played a King, do you think I'll win?"

"Hehe, maybe a joker. But then again, in your mind, Cynder's the queen, you're the King, but in everyone's card world, Malefor's the joker."

The two shared a laugh, making everyone sigh hugely, glad to see they were done with their fight. Standing to their paws, everyone shivered again from their condition, and couldn't believe they were able to stand after that fight. As Ignitus snapped his fingers, a ring appeared around himself and Spyro. It went up their bodies then down, and then disappeared. The ring completely healed all of their wounds as well as cleaned them off completely of anything, but mainly blood. Walking over to Claire, Spyro walked with him, and Cynder knew it was time to make her move on him. Cynder giggled as she walked over to him and joked with everyone, "It's not that hard to take him out, you all know that right?"

Spyro stopped to see her walking towards him. His eyes went wide, his mouth opened from amazement to see her new body without the chains. Every thing about her screamed at him as he was desperate to kiss and nuzzle her, and he couldn't understand why. Standing in front of him, seeing her smile made him even blush. Putting her paw on his chest, she pushed him onto his back which he did so willingly as he couldn't believe what he was seeing. As she stood above him, she whispered with her warm breath on his lips before kissing him, "I hope you like what you see."

Pushing her lips against his, even as wide as his eyes were, the two closed their eyes, and something about the kiss felt even better then before. _Why... Why does this kiss feel so good? Like, it feels better then when Spyro used his little lightning trick on me... Does he feel the same?_ Cynder thought, as her nor her lover could figure it out, so they enjoyed every second of it. Slowly pulling away from the kiss, the two opened their eyes and looked at one another for a second, wondering if they felt what the other felt. Seeing his blush gave her hope, and she giggled as she asked, "You better tap out before things get... messy."

Her words made him at a lost of his words. He chuckled with a big smile and tapped the ground and whispered, "I give up to my lover... And I admit, I lost."

She giggled at him and looking back at everyone, she said with a smile, "See, it's not that hard."

"Um, yeah, I don't think I'm going to be kissing Spyro... ever," Malefor blushed.

"Yeah..." Everyone agreed.

"Maybe," Carith giggled, seeing the raised brows of everyone as they looked at her, but mainly his lover.

"Well it's not like you kiss me," She teased.

He knew he had to prove her wrong and he tackled her right then in there, locking lips with her to prove her wrong. Looking back at one another, Cynder asked, hoping that his answer would be what she had hoped for, "Well, what do you think? You know, with me being without my chains and all?"

Putting his wings over her back, and flipped her over, he stood over her. As she laid there, he looked at her and couldn't hold his smile. Nuzzling her neck, he was finally able to go all the way up her neck and then back down. She purred happily as she had never felt this kind of feeling before, and with her chains gone, she was finally able to experience every bit of it. Pulling his head back, he completely agreed to it, "I love it! I never knew you would take the chains off, and I didn't want to bring it up, but, with the chains gone... I'm able to see who you really are... Not to say I didn't love you when you had your chains, Ancestors no, but... I like you without your chains now. It makes you look... free, it makes you look happy, it makes you look in control... And... That's something I never knew I would see."

Small tears formed out her eyes as she knew she should've expected this much from her lover, which got her thinking, _And here I was worried that he would've hated or been disgusted by it._ But she knew she would have to give the reason behind her taking off the chains, which didn't take long as he asked why she did, "But, why did you take off the chains now and not a long time ago? Like I said, I'm not complaining at all, I just, I don't remember why you had them. You never told me why you wore them after I saved you."

"Well... I wore them because... I was afraid of being controlled by the dark master again and it was a way to get over my fears. I knew one day I would be controlled again, so it would've been best if I had the chains. But, as I've come to learn, which I never knew I would've learned was that; Malefor isn't going to hurt me again. And even if by chance I turn, I always have you and your promise. And seeing you fight, I doubt the darkness will even want to surface from seeing that."

"Malefor... Are you sure we can trust him? I've, talked to him a lot today, and, I do have to admit, I know he is trying to gain my trust. Part of me says he's a good guy, but the other part says he will use that trust to get to you, control you, and hurt everyone or worse. But, when I go back to what he said after you two left and we talked... He sounded honest about what he said. He shuck. And, seeing that, I do trust him some more, and because of that conversation, I did talk to him a lot more."

Putting her paw on the side of his face, she whispered to him, "Trust me. He really does love Carith, and even he knows what would happen if he turned. He doesn't want to lose everything, and I feel the same, and I understand. Just like before, all I ask is for you to give him a chance. Trust him and see where it can lead to. Who knows, maybe our little family will have the other three get lovers so we can all be happy."

He sighed, "Alright... It does sound like a pretty good life. As long as you're happy, I'm happy."

"Thank you, Spyro. Now, because of what you did, fighting Ignitus like that, you owe me another kiss."

"Hehe, I'm sorry for my incompetence my love. As you wish," He chuckled with a smile, kissing his lover lovingly.

Pulling away from his lover, the two tried to catch their breaths. As they did, they smiled at one another, and Carith agreed, "Alright, fine. I don't even need to kiss Spyro to know you are far superior then he is. Now the question is, how superior are you in bed?"

"In... In bed? You mean..." Malefor blushed, causing her to blush as well, and he chuckled.

"Don't you start, you know what I meant," She giggled at him with a smile.

Helping her back up, the two watched and saw the Guardians were talking amongst one another, and looking at Spyro and Cynder, he wasn't surprised to see the two were kissing. Looking at everyone, he was glad, surprised, and happy everyone was still happy and joking as they always had. And even now, the other three friends who had joined in on this fight were joking along with the Guardians. But the only ones who weren't talking with the Guardians were Ignitus and Claire. They were snuggled together with her head resting on his shoulder. They had their eyes closed as they enjoyed one another's company. _Man, how does Spyro and Malefor do it? Even now, I want to tell Claire I love her, but even I have fears. I've seen what has happened with the other two, but even still, I've seen other dragon lives as well, and some end pretty badly. And I know Claire is nowhere near how they are but... What would she think of me?_ Ignitus thought, opening his eyes to see Spyro helping Cynder up. As the two walked over, Claire, opened her eyes and whispered, "What are you thinking about?"

"You know... just someone special," He chuckled.

"Is this someone another dragoness of yours?"

"Hehe, no, I saved my life for you and you only."

"You didn't even know I was alive until I met you."

"I didn't know I was alive either, until I met you."

Pulling her head away, she pecked him on the cheek. Pulling away, he looked at her, and she agreed with a smile, "Alright, that one definitely deserves a kiss... Thank you, for saving me that day. Even if Spyro helped, if it wasn't for you, I would've gone back, and I would've been all alone, and it's all because you were there for me."

"You stayed with me, even now, so, I should be thanking you."

"Yeah well... I just have to make sure you have a happy life."

"As long as I have you, I'm sure I will."

 _I love you. Damn it, just say it! Say it! I'm so desperate to say it! This is so frustrating that I can't say it! I just, I have to wait for the right moment, and... Ugh! Even if the moment came I would still be too scared to say something! Seeing him smile makes me so desperate to kiss him. Every second I'm desperate for him! Especially when he snuggled up to me in the rain after everything that had happened. I... I have to tell him... This future will be different for me... I know it... I... I hope,_ Claire thought, and since Ignitus couldn't read her thoughts with the agreement from the ancestors, he wasn't able to hear what she was thinking. Opening up their wings, The Guardians all growled knowing there was no way they would be able to fly all the way back over towards the Guardians Building. Terrador looked at Ignitus and asked for a favor, "Ignitus... since you, basically forced us to fight, can we ask you a favor?"

"A favor? Sure I guess, what's up?" Ignitus asked.

"Could you, do your little teleporting thing to get us back home. We can't exactly open our wings that much without feeling so much pain."

"That I can most certainly do. Is everyone done here?"

Everyone nodded at him, and they all knew to close their eyes. Blitz and his friends didn't understand what they were doing, but him and his friends joined along, both out of curiosity boredom. As they did, they waited for him to say something, and he did, "Alright, we are all good."

Opening their eyes, they were back in the Guardians Chambers with everyone sitting where they once were before they had left. Being back in the Chambers, it was all cleaned up and looked new after what had happened, but no one questioned how. Popping their necks and stretching out their bodies, almost everyone, aside from the girls, were starting to feel the aftermath of the fight more and more. Looking at the Guardians, Blitz thanked him for having him train with them, "Thanks again you all. I never knew I would have the pleasure of fighting next to the Guardians, as well as fighting the legendary purple dragon. And I never knew my teammates would consist of the dark master."

"Which you might want to be on the down low about. I'm not exactly the dark master as I was controlled. And if you go around telling everyone that I am the dark master, well then I'm going to be dead pretty quickly because of the hate from everyone. Can you do that?" Malefor asked, and Blitz understood completely as he nodded his head with a smile.

"Yeah sure. But before I do go, there is one more thing I need to do."

Taking his step carefully, Blitz stood in front of Cynder with a smile and flirted with her, "Hey, so, just know that I'm out there. So if you and Spyro don't work out, you know you don't have to take it slow with me. I'll have a ring ready for you when ever you need it."

"Ring...? You mean like, a marriage ring?" Cynder blushed.

He clicked through his teeth, angering Spyro as he didn't feel anywhere near as much pain as anyone else, so he was still ready for another fight. Putting his wing in front of his lover, he growled at him, "She doesn't need someone as weak as you to protect her. Which is actually pretty funny, because in my opinion, you were the weakest out of everyone."

Everyone chuckled at Blitz's embarrassment as he blushed, and he tried to defend himself, "No I wasn't. Every time you would knock me down, I would've just gotten back up."

"Yeah, and then I'd knock you down, then I would knock you down, and every single time got easier and easier."

"You are pretty cold to say the least."

"I think you fit in well as a red dragon. You always seem so hot headed."

"Oh so you're going there now."

"Hey, don't be mad at me for you not getting that date. Blame your teammates, as well as Ignitus and Malefor as they both walked off the battlefiled. And no offence to any of you, but those two were probably your strongest. I had a Hell of a time trying to fight Ignitus, so their is no way I would've won if you all banded together... probably."

"I would be mad but, Ignitus did heal me, and with Malefor, I don't know what happened to him. Plus, I'm kinda glad we weren't there for that fight. You could've easily taken us all out aside from Ignitus and Malefor of course. Which, does that mean that you are stronger then Ignitus?"

"I know I'm stronger then Malefor and everyone else, but Ignitus... We could've continued by using our time power so it would've been a fight for endurance later on. While we were fighting, we lost a lot more energy then I guess we thought. Ignitus stabbed my side and punctured both my lungs so in had to heal that. I stabbed through his neck so he had to heal that. A lot of stabbing a bleeding was going on... like a lot of it."

"Oh Ancestors... were you... okay?"

"Hell no. I haven't felt that much pain since I was stabbed in the heart. But even still It was great practice for sure."

"Then why did you stop?"

"Because Cynder would've killed me if I kept going, and I'm sure Claire would've done the same to Ignitus. In the end, it comes down to: Should you keep fighting even as your bones feel like they will shatter, or do you listen to your lover, get tackled and kissed only to be kissed again. Even I'm a sucker when it comes to giving my lover a kiss."

"Bone breaking? You didn't..."

"Oh yeah."

"What?!" Everyone cried except for Ignitus as he tried to hide himself with his other wing.

"Yeah, me and Ignitus punched one another's fist and my arm like popped backwards. Ignitus said that we should've stopped which gave me enough time to snap my bone back into place and heal myself. It felt like we were fighting for eternity."

"You have to be the craziest Dragon I've ever met... Well, since it seems like you are dedicated to staying strong and protect Cynder, I will let you do so. But Cynder, Hey, like I said, we don't have to take it slow. We could always skip marriage and go even further if you know what I mean."

"Get out,' Spyro growled through his teeth.

"Just saying, just saying. Alright, come on Bolt, Sesal. And thanks again for letting us have a spar. Well, I say spar but Spyro and Ignitus's spar was more like a death match."

Walking out of the chamber with his friends, they continued to talk amongst themselves, but mainly about the fact that he's trying way to hard to get with Cynder. Spyro sighed, glad he was gone, but he still enjoyed his company. Claire looked at Ignitus with a raised brow, and looking at her, he tried to hide his face some more with his wing.

"Wing, down, mister," She commanded.

He frowned and did as he was told. Now that everything had settled, and the adrenaline wasn't pumping through his veins, he apologized for what had happened, "Sorry... I didn't mean to take it that far. I guess because I hadn't fought in a long time, it was good to get the stretch out. I know what we did was more then just a little fight, and I apologize that you had to see us in such a condition."

Looking at his lover as he looked at her, Cynder asked him with a raised brow as well, "And what's your excuse."

He chuckled and apologised as well, "I'm sorry, my love. To be honest, I was just doing it to show off to impress you, but then when he tapped my head and basically destroyed the land and sea, I knew there was no showing off."

"Yeah, that was a little stupid of me. I had to fix and clean that area before and now I have to do it again. I was just trying to distract you long enough for Cynder to take her chains off which I thought would be more difficult then I thought but, you didn't seem to care about Cynder at all when we were fighting," Ignitus teased, casing Spyro to growl at him.

"If I didn't care about Cynder then I wouldn't have fought you. Even after all the pain and blood, I know that I will wake up better and stronger then before, and I'm excited to see just how much better I can be when it comes to protecting everyone. If my dark power can come close to the Chronicler, then it shows that I really do have a lot more power then I think I do. Maybe even I could one day do the whole, touch forehead with claw and completely destroyed the land trick as well."

"Which... I do have to admit... that was pretty... good to look at," Claire blushed with a smile, "Not Spyro getting hurt of course but, wow..."

 _Damn it, kiss him!_ Claire yelled at herself in her thoughts. Ignitus chuckled from that and even he had to admit that, as impressive as it was, Spyro's power was just as impressive, "You actually surprised me Spyro. I wasn't going all out when it came to my power, but even still, you did pretty good holding your own against twenty percent of my power."

"Twenty percent?! What the hell is a hundred percent then?!" Spyro cried.

"Give you a hint, snap my finger, I could destroy both the sun and the moon at the same time."

"Alright now you are just making up things at this point."

"Well, I would never be able to show you as the Ancestors would fire me from my job and I would die right then and there for what I would've done so, I will never know how powerful the Chronicler really is."

"Die? How?"

"Let's just say, if someone else wanted the Chronicler's power, I would have to die to give it to them. An example is when the old Chronicler fused with me. I have everything he had aside from, well, him. His body completely disintegrated basically so he is now dead. My body would do the same if I ever had to give up the Chronicler's power, or if I was fired."

"How do you... get fired as the Chronicler?"

"Don't worry Spyro, I'm not going to die. They are responsible at times so you don't have to worry."

"Just... making sure... Then that's means you're not giving up your power and you won't break the rules?"

"I try. But don't worry, I will be fine."

"You better not leave me. You'll be in more trouble then you are now," Claire giggled, pecking him on the side of the cheek.

Pulling away, he smiled at her and she smiled back. Every single time she looked at his smile, she felt as though she couldn't resist kissing his lips. So instead, she knew it would be best if she filled her other desire to snuggle up to him in bed, trying to get her mind off things. Looking at everyone, she thanked kindly, "Thank you all for, showing me what a day is like with everyone. I know you don't fight every single day, at least I hope not, but today was fun. Just, next time, to make the day more fun, we should do something that doesn't involve dislocated shoulders and blood."

"Agreed," Spyro and Ignitus chuckled in unison.

Putting her paw on his chest, Claire looked at Ignitus and whispered, "Now come on. I need to feel your body again."

He smiled slightly and quickly agreed. Walking with her to the back room, the other Guardians soon followed. Ignitus opened the door for her, and she giggled at him being a gentlemen. The other Guardians then soon followed. Walking into the room with everyone else, Volteer turned to close the door, but remembering back to what Terrador had said to him, and so he took the opportunity to talk with Spyro. Opening the door, he ran over to him, some what confusing Spyro. Stopping in front of him, he asked, "Spyro, I know this is a lot to ask and I don't want to deprive you of your lover but... I wanted to know if you would help me look for Ersa. You know, if she's... hopefully still out there."

"So you haven't given up hope on her?" Spyro asked.

"I... I just can't. I've lost my mother, father, and my lover... I had lost it all, and if it wasn't for the help of the other Guardians, I don't know what I would've done. I have hopes that she is out there, and since Ignitus won't tell me where she is, if she's alive, I was, hoping you would help me search for her... But, like I said, I understand if you don't as I know you're..."

"Of course I will Volteer."

"Really?!"

"You are right, losing your parents and your lover, not even I would've recovered from something like that. And since you haven't given up hope and forgotten about her, I thank you for putting my words into consideration. We can search for her when ever you want. But, I do have a question about her. Did you love Ersa?"

"I... I more, then loved her. I wanted her to be my... mate, and it's because of the time we were together. She was always just so joyful, and knowledgeable, and... everything about her screamed at me to tell her I liked her, to tell her I loved her, and to tell her... I wanted her and me to be the definition of forever.. for her to be my mate. But... before I was able to, the same day, the dark master attacked... and the worst part, I didn't even tell her I liked her, because I was so scared... and now I'm afraid that she doesn't even care for me anymore..."

"Hey, Volteer, it's okay. I never knew you had your eyes on someone."

"Spyro... are you sure I shouldn't give up? It's been around fourteen years and I don't even know if she still likes me, if she ever did. I don't even know if she hasn't found someone else to love, someone else as her mate. Fourteen years, Spyro... everything about me tells me something wrong will happen, but... I just... I just want her back... and I'm afraid I won't have that chance."

"Enough, Volteer!"

"... Sorry... I shouldn't have brought it up... I will leave you be..."

As he turned to walk away, a wing blocked his path. Spyro blocked him from leaving, and he didn't understand why, but all he knew was that he looked mad at him. Turning his body back towards him, Spyro made his point very clear, which almost made complete sense, "You think fourteen years is long? You do realize that Carith and Malefor were apart for way longer, right? They were apart for so long, but after all the pain, and suffering that everyone went through, they got back together. The only difference is that Carith was in a coma, but even if the time power woke her up before, the dark master still would've been set free. You don't know unless you try. You talk about her like you loved her, you said it! You even called her your mate, and yet you stand in front of me and tell me you've lost hope... Sounds like you never even cared to give it thought."

Volteer frowned as he talked about what he's said, and he understood where Spyro was coming from with his words. Thinking about it, it made him feel like even if they did search for her, he would give up hope again so easily, and it scared him. _I don't know what to do... I loved her so much, and yet I tell myself I should... forget about her... But... I... Damn it..._ Volteer fought with himself, but a warm paw on his shoulder broke him from his thoughts. Looking at Spyro as he smiled at him, he continued, "If she's out there, we will find her, but until we now for a hundred percent that she has passed, you should never give up hope. If she was like your mate, then show me, or else when ever we do find her, I will tell her so she knows that you just wanted to give up on her when she never gave up on you."

Volteer didn't care what anyone had to say or think about him as he took to the opportunity to show how thankful he was. As Spyro dropped his paw to the ground, Volteer hugged him with tears rolling down his eyes, and as Spyro looked over his shoulder, he saw Malefor smiling as he opened his mouth to say something. Spyro raised a paw, and Carith got onto him about it before he could do something. Pulling away from the hug, he both apologised and thanked, "Thank you, Spyro. I... I have faith that... I will find the answers I need... I'm sorry for doubting myself like that. I believed the Guardians were right but... I... I trust you... I do."

"I'm here if you need me. Now go get some rest. It's going to take a lot more energy to ask Ersa to be your mate then it is to fight me."

"Right!" Volteer cried with a big smile, running back over to the Guardians Chamber, still holding his big smile.

Watching as Volteer closed the door behind himself with his tail, Malefor looked at Spyro and said, "I know you were trying to help him out but... if she's dead, this will only hurt him more then it did before. I do recall the dark creatures fighting a yellow dragoness, and she was injured pretty badly, Spyro. Even if she made it to gems in time, she would've died. What will you do then?"

"I need to make sure everyone is happy, and I will find a way to do so. I know Volteer doesn't really trust the purple dragons as he lost everything to them, so I need to show him that we are there for him. And hopefully I will be successful in finding some kind of clue as to where she is or what happened to her. I will just need to get to the Dragon Temple to find out more of what happened."

Carith shivered hearing the name as it brought up bad memories for her, and even Malefor as he was once there and he saw a fake version of her. Draping his wing over Cynder, he walked with her out of the Chamber and said as he looked over to the other two, "Come on, let's walk and talk."

Walking with his lover along with the other two back to their house, Spyro and Malefor walked side by side next to one another which was perfect as he actually had some questions for him, "Are you... sure you want to go to the Dragon Temple? That place doesn't exactly have the greatest reputation... and the reputation of dragons going there isn't exactly the greatest either."

"This isn't like the past, Malefor. We will be fine as long as we keep flying. If we get attacked, I will handle it. It's what I've been training for. And it would be fun to go back to that balcony and lay down with Cynder. I haven't done that in years, and it would be great to see how far we've come," Spyro responded back, somewhat glad he was talking to Malefor, but he couldn't understand why.

"Yeah... when I was there before as the, dark master, another Carith figure appeared behind me, completely making the rain around me disappear. I thought it was her for a second there even after what has happened but, then she disappeared, and the rain that had vanish came back. That's why it was a little more difficult for me to fight back because I thought it was another fake. I thought I would never get the chance to see her again."

"Oh man, weren't you surprised."

"I... I really was. But to be honest... I was a lot more scared then I was surprised."

"What...? Why?"

"Because for that time, I knew if I did anything wrong, if I made any mistake, I would've lost either Carith, or my life. It was scary and difficult enough for me to get Cynder to trust me which was understandable, but... every single time someone attacked me or yelled at me, I thought to myself, this is it. And because Carith didn't seem to love me anymore... I didn't care what happened to me either way, just as long as I saved you... Hehe, which, it's funny to have saved someone who's always at my throat with their tail blade..."

"I... I wanted to talk to you about that,' Spyro murmured, standing in front of the main doors as they opened.

As the four walked into the house, they stood in the middle of the hallway. As the door shut behind them, Spyro turned towards Malefor and explained, "It took some convincing, I'm not going to lie on that. I didn't want to admit to myself that the greatest threat to Dragon kind was nothing more then a normal, everyday dragon. Then again, your not exactly, normal, but you're better in some ways. But, before I continue, and be honest with me, have you ever hurt Carith?"

He chuckled and joked, "No. But let's just say she showed me who was the boss in our relationship real quick. But since we are asking questions, I have a question for you. When did you learn who was the boss of the relationship?"

"When, even after fighting all the Guardians, three others, and the, use to be dark master, and winning, I was still beaten by her even though she used a single paw... And good looks."

"Wow, which means back then you thought you were the boss. Is that what I'm hearing?"

"No. Honestly I know that who ever I love will be the boss. Mainly for, other reasons, but also because you being the boss all the time is no where near as fun as when your lover is."

"Other reasons? You don't mean like... kissing, do you?"

"Look, that's not important alright, let's go back."

"Alright, alright."

"I don't know what it was like to be in your situation, but unfortunately, I know what it was like for Cynder. Even when the Guardians said they trusted her, if they rounded a corner and saw her, they would jump, so I never wanted to leave her because I didn't want her to always feel like she was feared. Its taken me a little bit of time to understand that you were going through the same thing. You came back after being controlled, and even after everyone tries to trust you, they still feel that fear. But what's funny is... now... I tend to fear less and less. And even today, Cynder took off her chains because she wasn't afraid. And... how could she be if there will never be a dark master?"

"Spyro..."

"Don't make this wired or I will seriously think about killing you when I wake up."

Malefor quickly shut his mouth and continued to listen. Spyro sighed, and continued, "With that being said, she also knows I would never let the dark master control her. You should really thank your lover and mine. If it wasn't for them, I would've killed you long ago, but now, as I look back, you were sad, scared, alone, and no one trusted you. After what had happened, you laid in a corner by yourself, and, I'm sorry I was, difficult towards you, I was scared... But now... I'm not as scared as I was before... Since Cynder trust you... I... I will as well. I will give you a better chance. So you also won't have to worry about me killing you."

"Really?!" Malefor squealed happily, "Thank you Spyro! Thank..."

"But, but but but, I will still have my eye on you. I'm only saying this because, for the night, and in the morning, for now on, I will warn you before if we have something to do rather then waking you up by threatening to kill you. I want you to get some sleep. And... after what happened today, when you could've stabbed me but didn't... Maybe I was wrong to have ever judged you... Carith, if he does something suspicious, tell me, even though I know you won't because you love him and you're trying to keep him safe. And as long as everyone stays that way... Then I can promise, Malefor, that... I might just think about calling you my friend one day."

"I... I'm dreaming aren't I... Spyro killed me in my sleep and I'm in Hell... an endless loop where Spyro says he trust me but then it never happens because we loop again... Am I dreaming?!"

"I said I trusted you and I said maybe. That also means I'm going to be looking very closely to make sure you aren't who you are. The whole years you took from my lover is what holds you back the most, and it's going to take a lot longer for me to get over that... But for now, I at least trust you enough not to kill you, understand?"

Malefor nodded with the biggest smile on his face, somewhat causing Carith to giggle. He grumbled at himself, knowing that his words were making Malefor feel happy, "Now get out of my sight before I change my mind."

He nodded with his big smile and did as he was told. Taking his wing off of Carith, he opened the door and quickly slipped into the room. No one saw but he did a small little dance, shacking his hips from side to side before jumping up on his bed and dancing some more. Carith never knew this day would come, and seeing Malefor so happy again made her feel just as good as he did. And because Spyro was such a big help in making her lover feel the way he does, she decided to help him as well, "Cynder, since Spyro was such a big help today, and since he didn't kill Malefor, you should give him an, extra, special kiss. Agreed?"

"Sounds like I'm going to have fun tonight," Cynder giggled, seeing the small blush and smile on Spyro's face.

"Well, until tomorrow I guess. Goodnight you two,' Carith said, walking over to the door, she stopped, seeing how happy her lover was, she turned back over to Spyro and thanked, "And... Spyro. I... I know you don't want to hear this, but... Thank you... I know you don't like making Malefor happy because of what he's done but... Thank you for helping him out. He's been scared for quite some time that you would kill him in his sleep, and now that you talked to him, and know he will sleep better then he has ever before."

"As long as he remembers our promises, we will be fine," Spyro said, knowing he was doing the right thing to help, but he still tried to not think much of it.

"Then I guess that means... We are all fine."

Walking into the room she closed the door with her tail, leaving the other two in the hallway. Spyro sighed, glad that was finally over with as he didn't know if he could make Malefor smile any longer without threatening to kill him. Turning away from the door and over to their room, Cynder asked, "What's wrong? Is it that you made Malefor happy, or that you are doing the right thing? I'm just confused as to why you are mad."

He chuckled as he opened the door and explained, "I'm not mad just, confused... But not as badly as I was when I first saw Malefor."

Walking into the room, Spyro shut the door behind themselves with his tail and walked with his lover to their bed. Jumping up on their bed, they laid down side by side on their belly and Cynder continued the conversation, "Well, I'm not here to judge you, only to listen and love you. So what's on your mind?"

"It's still so, mind boggling, to think that, the dark master was nothing more then a, normal, laughing, and all around fun dragon to hang around with. When you think of the dark master, you think of Malefor, but now, when I think of him, I think of who he really is. And to be honest, I'm glad we didn't kill him. I always thought he was a monster like everyone else but... even he has a heart, and even someone like me who doesn't care for him knows that... And before you two left and me and Malefor talked, when he said he wanted to train, he was serious, and the reason behind it only made more sense."

"So... does this mean you really do trust him?"

"Unfortunately... I really do."

"You do?"

"It's all thanks to your help and Carith's, along with a little bit of everyone else, including Claire even though she doesn't know it, but because everyone has talked to me and convinced me not to kill him, I looked to see what everyone else saw in him. He really does try to show he isn't bad anymore. Just today, he hesitated to stab me, and I never knew he would do that. And after he said he couldn't... I don't know, it... I was at a lost for words. But then, you took it a step further and removed your chains... and I..."

"Hopefully were very happy?"

"Happy? I wish Volteer was here to help me find a stronger word then that. When you took off the chains and you told me why, I thought, I should change too. And now, seeing Malefor with that, creepy, but somewhat, satisfying smile, because I know the dark master would never smile like that, I couldn't believe I was taking such a step to trust him, and I want to take that step but... what if I take the step and sometime happens? I know I say it a lot but, even if you say it won't, something always happens... and what will I do when it does...? And I keep thinking I will have to kill Malefor but... I don't want to..."

"Wow... Spyro, What's with the change in heart? I love it, i really do, and I know everyone will love to hear this, so, What's going on?"

"I don't know, I guess I'm just tired. Especially after all that fighting, I'm beat. And I guess another part of me is just scared to think of what the future has in store for us. Today was pretty good to us, but I don't know what tomorrow will be like... And also... You look, so beautiful, without the chains. I guess because I like the fact that you are free."

"Hehe, free. You know you'll always own me."

"Hehe, Thank you Cynder."

Nuzzling her all the way up her neck and back down a couple of times, she purred, feeling better and better about taking off the chains. Pulling his head away, he then went in for a kiss which made her feel as though he was giving her too much, but she wasn't able to complain or say anything. Pushing his lips against hers, it was a soft kiss, and she could tell this kiss was needed for him, and she pushed into it. Pulling his lips back, he looked down at the bed with a frown before looking back over to the door, "I know I need to give him the chance. I don't want him to feel scared all the time. Hehe, Carith would kill me if I took time away from the two... I hope I'm strong enough to protect everyone."

"Well, you did say you'd work with Malefor didn't you? You said you'd help train him? Maybe even as powerful as you are, you can help Malefor become as strong as you. That way, no matter where we are, what ever happens, we can deal with it quickly, without worry, and without casualty. I mean, even with your power now, you beat Ignitus, and that's saying something."

"Yeah, but he wasn't going all out remember? For all I know, he could've been using five percent of his power rather then twenty. And if the Chronicler has unlimited power, why is their a percentage to his power? And if his power is infinite, then that would mean I was no where close to ever being able to really fight him. And the worst part, I will never know how powerful I am until a threat comes by for me to stop, but I don't want that to happen."

"Well, you do always say Malefor is a threat, why not ask him to fight you?"

"I probably will... But for now, we should end the day off on a good note."

"Agreed."

Laying her head down over his paws, he laid his head down over the back of her neck. Feeling her scales rather then the chain, he chuckled, "You know, even now, I can lay on your neck, rather then that chain."

"Does this mean I shouldn't go back to the chains?" She giggled.

"What makes you happy makes me happy. But I would say no. Mainly because, of what you said, and why you took them off."

Closing her eyes, she assured him, "Yeah... I guess I took them off because, maybe I can see into the future and I saw that Malefor really will never turn, and that he will never hurt us."

"So you see the future? Where do you see us?" He chuckled, closing his eyes as well.

"I don't want to spoil anything, but the future is just like the present: With us in love, everyone happy, and the world at peace."

"Sounds fantastic... Goodnight my love."

"Goodnight Spyro."

* * *

"Did you hear what Spyro said?! He was like, I trust you, and I was like, no damn way did he just say that! But then he said it again and I was like, holy mother of Ignitus's Lover!" Malefor exclaimed happily happily, jumping up and down on the bed in circles as Carith laid next to him, giggling and smiling at how happy he was, "i never knew this day would come for me! I'm not he's friend, but not yet! Soon I will have his trust, and then, nothing will stop me from concurring this world. Hahaha!"

"Concurring the world? Sounds like I should tell Spyro to stop you."

Stopping from jumping and looking at her, he licked his lips and smiled, "But first, I need to start by making sure I keep you from saying anything."

Walking next to her, he rolled her over onto her back as he stood over her. With her wings spread out on the bed, he put his paws on her wings to keep her from escaping, and she blushed at how he was acting, but she liked it. Pushing his lips against hers, her eyes went wide before closing them and pushing into the kiss. The Kiss made her light headed, but a good sense, and the kiss made her think of that one time when he hugged her from excitement and kissed her. Pulling away from the kiss, Malefor looked up somewhat near the door and growled with a smile, "You bastard. I knew you would be in here."

Looking upside down, Carith saw Ignitus standing there as he chuckled with a smile. Seeing the position they were in, especially now with Carith's head upside down as she looked at him made Ignitus chuckle, and he decided to say it in his thoughts to Malefor's, _"Wow Malefor, I knew you wanted to have a hatchling with her but at least get married before you do?"_ He blushed hard and quickly got off of his lover and growled, "You're lucky Spyro isnt my friend, because as soon as he is, you're going from number one to number two on my friend list."

He put his paw on his chest as Carith rolled back over on her belly, and he felt offended, "What? Wait, then who is at the bottom of your, so called, friend list?"

"Oh the old Chronicler for sure, even though I dislike him like you would not believe, without me, he would've had like, no one to talk to."

"I sure hope I don't end up at the bottom then."

"Still waiting for you to give us a warning , and as long as you give it when needed, you'll be fine. But then again, with me and Spyro working together, we should be completely fine against anything that comes our way."

"I'm glad to hear."

"Oh yeah, why are you here? Is this another one of your clones come to help me again? Because I know for a fact you'd never leave your lover down there all by herself."

"Lover? She's..."

"Dude, don't even try to act like you don't love her. I don't have to be a chronicler to see you're a terrible liar. And if you say you don't love her, I'm going to go down there and disappoint her, and let's see how long you can keep it up with your little lie."

Ignitus grumbled with a blush, not knowing how to respond to that

"So come on, when you going to tell her? We all know she digs you and your whole, I could blow up the sun and the moon with my finger, thing. Which even for you, you don't have to be such a show off. Unlike you, me and Spyro are working for our power."

"Okay, first, I could do that, second, I did work for my power, just not all of it, and third... I... I don't know how I'd tell her. Unlike you and Spyro, I don't know how long I can go without kissing her. After the time we've spent I... I just want to kiss her so badly, and to tell her everything will be okay. How did you survive so long without kissing the one you loved?"

"Oh man, it is not easy. I would rather fight Spyro in his dark form then go through me not being able to kiss my lover again."

"That bad?"

"You'll go into denial, honestly. It's either you say you love her, or she leaves you because she thinks you don't love her. It's a pretty tough call to make."

"Ugh..."

"Don't worry Ignitus, "Carith joined in to help, "I'm sure, when you tell her, she will say yes pretty quickly."

"Are you sure?"

"I have, a feeling, that I am a hundred percent right. All you have to do is find that moment."

"Yeah... all right, you know what, I will go for it then! I just have to find that moment!"

"Oh great, if Claire and Ignitus do love one another, we now have to worry about them kissing one another in the Chambers as well," Malefor chuckled.

Ignitus sighed with a smile, "Just thinking about it now... I'm actually really excited."

"Remember to get married first, that's all I'm saying."

"Shut up..."

"Hehe, but... going back, what's up?"

"Well, I wanted to be here to see the joy from you. I of course listened in on the conversation and, I'm glad to see he has finally trusted you, and before you say anything, yes... he truly does trust you now. And, it brings such a smile to my face to know my son has really made such a big difference today for the good. Seeing you happy because he trusted you, and seeing Volteer so happy was... it was something to see. He went on and on with his vocabulary, explaining how happy he was, and how excited he was to start looking and hopefully finding Ersa."

"Oh yeah, about that, how does the Dragon Temple even, exist? I, or, you know, the dark master raised the temple above the volcano. He wanted to do so to show it as a symbol of his dominance. Which believe it or not is why he called it, Malefor's Lair. I thought it was destroyed for good."

"Funny story, It was destroyed when the Destroyer broke the world apart in its show of fire during the final battle you had with Spyro and Cynder. Kinda like in the back of Warfang, I repaired it using my powers to help keep things natural. So, I decided to start also fixing the Dragon Temple, only slowly as I do still have lots of work, and I want to make sure I get everything right. Even the sculpture in the training room, only, with the true, Malefor. I've erased everything when it came to the dark master in the temple so it's also taking time to get everything right."

"Thank you... Ignitus... Going back, that fight, with the two..."

"Malefor, it's okay. We know you aren't him any more. You are you."

"It's just scary to think about."

"Well, look at it this way, Spyro and Cynder trust you, we all trust you now, and I'm repairing most if not all damage cost to erase the fact the dark master ever existed. I can't... bring back loved ones, but I can make sure that everything is how it should be to make everyone as happy as I possibly can. That's also why I got rid of all the battle damage we've taken over the years, as well as my scar so you wouldn't have to worry about seeing what has happened. Which, it's a lot easier to fly with a wing that doesn't have cuts or holes in them. I didn't have to repair any damage done to you because when you were broken free of the darkness, you came back to your old body basically. And I have to say, you look way better without all the long horns and scars and broken up wings. Which I guess I should relay to everyone just in case they ask... and... done."

"Hehe... Thanks... that means a lot... It's just, talking about the past again, I understand why Spyro hates me. I just wish I could've done something about that Damn dark master!"

"You know, no one ever asked why you broke the crystal."

"What do you mean?"

"If you hadn't taken control, you wouldn't have caused the dark creatures to break those two free. Even when the dark master took control and decided to kill the two with the chain, you broke free again and prevented their deaths. You saved them, and you ended up saving all of us. So it's because of you that we are all even alive right now. You fought the dark master. And when ever I can, I will go back and put the truth about what you've done in your book. And to help you out, I will let everyone know in their thoughts real quick... Dot dot dot, processing... and, done. And I guess while I'm at it, it will also give everyone the memory of our conversation about the Dragon Temple."

"Hehe, how does that work?"

"I just put what we said into everyone's mind as they sleep, and if they have any questions, they can just ask me."

"I didn't get anything, at least, not that I know of," Carith said.

"Well, since you are right here, there is no need, and it makes it easier on me."

"Fair enough."

"So... do you think I am clean, of the dark master?" Malefor murmured, now somewhat scared as they talked of the past.

"Well, it is true the dark master could be laying dormant inside of you, but we won't know and I can't check because, well, Chronicler reasons being that darkness like the dark master and the light being the Chronicler can't ever fight one another. Why do you think the dark master never came to my place even though he knew where the Chronicler lived?"

"Oh...! I... I honestly never thought about that."

"But I know for a fact you are darkness free, I know it, your lover knows it, the Guardians and my lover knows it. But more importantly, Cynder, taking off her chains, she knows it. And even your nemesis, now knows it."

"Lover?" Malefor chuckled with a raised brow.

He sighed with a smile, "Man... now you've gone and got me saying it. I sure hope I don't slip up and tell her before I can get the right moment for us.

"You believe in me, and I believe in you. You got this."

"Thanks Malefor. Well, I got lots of work to do. If you have any more questions, just, ask for my name in your thoughts and I will be there. The Guardians fell asleep with smiles on their faces after what Volteer was saying, Spyro and Cynder fell asleep, and me and Claire curled up with one another. She kissed my cheek, so then I did the same, and we went to bed."

"Only the cheek?"

"Look man, I'm trying."

"Hehe, I know. Well, good luck with... what ever you are doing. Alright, one more question, what are you doing?"

"Helping with Volteer and seeing if Ersa is alive or not. I won't say if she is or not, I'm just curious. And I also have to find the book that her and Volteer made."

"Well, if the Dragon Temple was destroyed, how would the book be there?"

"Even for me, this is the mystery: There was only one book. I've used my time powers to restore the building, and even somewhat making it look brand new by eliminating the mold and stuff. But what's crazy is, if the book did burn in the fire, it would've been put back to where it was. Like, if a brick fell from the ceiling and onto the ground. If I used my powers to reset time, it would go back up into the wall just in reverse order how it fell. So, if the book did burn in the fire, it would've gone in reverse. It wouldn't have been burned, and it would've appeared back in it's spot."

"My head hurt."

"Here, to some it up, when I was resetting everything, the brick that was supposed to be covering the hole where the book was, it was moved just to the right of the hole. Which means, someone other then the Guardians knew about it, and took the book before the destruction of the temple."

"What?! Wait, but if you didn't take it, and the other three didn't take it, and only Volteer and Ersa knew of the spot then, that would have to mean... Ersa has to be alive, and she has it!"

"And I've thought the same thing. I haven't gone completely back in fixing the Dragon Temple, so it could be the book was probably destroyed by something else. But even if it was Ersa, how would she have gotten the book? The Dragon Temple was attacked and we had to flee. The place was in ruins. If you remember back, the rubble you were walking over is a couple weeks after the attack. So if I hurry and finish it completely, I could know what happened and who took it."

"But how would you know? If you are reversing the time of everything, wouldn't the book come back as well no matter where it is? And also, even if you reverse time, you wouldn't see who took it."

"If I reverse time, I can see at exactly what point and at what time it was taken so I could look back to then. So say, if the brick was moved a week ago, but not a couple of days ago, I know what time I need to look for. And here is another problem. If someone has possession of the book, the power won't work because someone has it. Think if like this: You just grabbed Spyro's heart again..."

"I actually hate you."

"Hehe, I'm joking, I'm joking. But basically, if he were to use his time power to heal himself, it would heal his body, but, it wouldn't put his heart back into place. And that's what's going on with the book, I probably repaired the damaged parts of the book, but it won't come back because someone has possession over the book... Now you're making my head hurt."

"Okay okay, but one more question. Why would the book return if you are repairing the Dragon Temple? The book isn't apart of the Dragon Temple so wouldn't it not return either way?"

"It is late at night and you are asking me to find the meaning of life? Which Volteer said the meaning of life is forty two... and I found the book he was talking about. Okay, here we go again. Think of it like this. I put a, ball underground surrounded by more bricks. If I were to dig it up, move the brink, and take the ball out, it would've been messed with. If I left the ball there and reversed time, it would go in reverse. The ball would go back in, the brick would be moved back, and the dirt would put itself back. The reason the book isn't returning when someone has possession of the book is because the Ancestors don't won't anyone who gains this power somehow to use it to steal. The only thing that won't go back in time though is a body. That's why when anyone uses the power to heal someone, they stay there..."

"Alright... I... I think I completely understand."

"Now I wonder, why do you want to know?"

"Well, looking back to the past, Volteer lost everything... because of me. It would be nice if, at the very least, he could have his mate back."

"Yeah... I listened in on that as well... I'm trying everything to find out what has happened and hopefully... maybe it was Ersa."

"Do you think, Ersa liked Volteer that way as well?"

"Hehe... let's just say, before the attack, she trusted me enough to tell me something that she wish she could've told Volteer, but she never did... I want Volteer to be happy, and I know she was the greatest dragoness out there for him. I wish you could've gotten to meet her. Even during the times we were going through, when she was there, she helped him tremendously. He even was open about what happened with his parents and she was very helpful to him."

"Wait, when did he meet her?"

"About six month after you left."

"Oh... How did he meet her?"

"Hehe, she saw him moping down the paths of Warfang as it was being built. She felt bad and decided to talk to him. It took off after that."

"Where was she when I attacked the Dragon Temple the first time?"

"She was in Warfang with her parents because it was someone's birthday, luckily. Then after you attacked again with the apes, Volteer tried to help her flea but, we all know what happened after that."

Malefor sighed sadly at what had happened, and he didn't want to waste anymore of Ignitus's time when he could be searching for her, "Thank you, Ignitus, for all of your help. But, I will stop talking so you can hopefully find a clue as to who had the book and where it is. Also, I think Spyro wants to go to the Dragon Temple tomorrow to help Volteer search for her so you might have to hurry repairs."

"Right... It's was fun talking with you Malefor. I miss these times you know."

"Hehe, well, when I first came back, all I remember is crying in bed all night because I was scared Spyro would kill me. As well as the day after that... and even the day after that. Thank you for being there then as well, and you too my love. And also thank you for using your powers so I didn't have to worry about being so tried when we woke up, that was a big help too."

"Will, you sleep well now, knowing everything is okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah I think I will. I would sleep even better when we find out what happened to Ersa. But then again, I won't sleep as well when we have to tell Volteer if she's dead."

"Don't worry, you rest with you lover and I will work on everything."

"Are you sure you don't need help?"

"It's fine. Remember, I'm sleeping while the duplicate of me right now does all the work so I'm not wasting any energy."

"Alright just, please be safe."

"I will."

Walking over to the door, he pushed it open as he had already had the door opened slightly when he had came in so he didn't need to twist the doorknob. Turning back and looking at Carith, he thanked, "Thanks for choosing Malefor to be your lover. You've done a lot for him, as well as all of us. Spyro even said you played a big part in keeping Malefor alive so... Thank you."

Carith nodded with a smile, "Any time, any day."

He chuckled and walked out the door, he shut it behind himself with his tail. Malefor sighed while he laid down on his bed as his brain hurt more then anything, but he still hoped that Ersa was alive for Volteer's sake. Snuggling up to her lover and nuzzling her head up his neck, he smiled, glad she did this as he needed it. Pulling away from the nuzzle and laying her head down on his paws, she whispered to him, "You know I love you right? And no matter what the dark master did, I will always love you. Even when my parents died, and the Guardians told me, I was scared, and sad... but, when I saw you... I couldn't lose you too. I needed you then, and I will always need you when ever."

"Oh no... what did I do wrong?" Malefor chuckled slightly, laying his head down over his lovers neck.

"I just... I want you to know that I love you. I know you are you, and you'll never be the dark master ever again... I know that, we will be together, just like how this family of ours is. And, even though I lost my parents, I still have the Guardians as my friends, along with Spyro, and even Cynder and Claire... and I hope even one day, when one of the other Guardians find someone, we should have another girls day out... I... I hope."

"I will, make sure, one last time and see if Spyro won't kill me, and then I can tell you for a hundred percent that, me and him can work together and make your dream a reality."

"Hehe, see, and I know you're my lover because that's only something you could come up with."

"Anything to keep you happy... I love you Carith."

"I love you too Malefor," Yawning and closing her eyes, she whispered, "Goodnight Malefor."

Closing his eyes, he whispered, "Goodnight Carith."


	5. Chapter 5: A Nice Get Away

Chapter 5: A Nice Get Away

 _Alright... Just need to turn back time a little more... and... done... Okay, now with the Dragon Temple completely fixed, I can now use the pool of visions to figure out when and how the book was stolen. But more importantly, by who,_ Ignitus thought to himself as he stood on the patio outside of the Dragon Temple. Turning around and blinking, he reappeared inside of the Chronicler's room on the White Isle. Walking up to the pool of visions, he watched as it swirled and molded into an image of the destroyed Dragon Temple. _Okay, so I was two weeks away from the complete repairs of the Temple. So now lets go back and see if the book was there two weeks after the attack._ The pool of visions did the same as it swirled and molded into another image of the old and destroyed temple. Looking at it, the brink had been moved, but there was no sign of the book. _Okay... Let's try... A week from the attack._ Using the pool of visions, it showed him an image. He smiled greatly to see the book was there inside the hole. The brick that protected the book had been moved. _Which means, Volteer forgot to put the brick back after the attack... That would explain why, when I went looking for it, the brick had already been moved out of place. Well... let's see who took it then._ The image sped up a little as mold and grass formed around the Temple. As the image came close to the second week, Ignitus noticed a dark creature walking over to it. _What the hell._ He watched as the dark creature picked up the book before looking around, almost as if it sensed something. Turning around, the dark creature walked out with the book before the image of the pool of visions went dark.

"Damn it!" Ignitus cursed, looking away from the pool of visions and wishing it would've been who he thought it was, "All this time it was a dark creature! But why would it have the intelligence, the, the information, any sort of knowledge to go to the Dragon Temple and pick up that book?! It doesn't make any sense! And I can't look any further because he walked into a zone that was once controlled by darkness..."

Walking back and forth towards the door and to the pool of visions, he continued to think, hoping there was some possibility that he could bring her back. _The Ancestors would never approve if I, went back to the past and saved her, and with the book destroyed, Volteer has lost almost everything: His research, his notes, his love... everything... Ugh, Damn it all... Even if I were to look for the book, going into this, New dark master territory is going to be risky since I don't even know who he or she is... And as much as I want to look back into her past I'm... I'm scared about what I'd see. I don't even want to look into Malefor's past from what has happened... But... Volteer, I'm doing this for you,_ Ignitus made up his mind, and walking forward, he blinked and appeared in a huge hallway of books. Looking to his left, he grabbed a book. Walking forward, he blinked again and reappeared back in the pool of visions room. Placing the book on the ground, he skipped all the way over to the attack. _Come on, come on, where is it... Yes! Here it is... 'As Ersa tried to fight off the dark creatures, it proved to be to much for her as she was attacked and stabbed in the back by a dark creature. They all started to laugh and with her last words she whispered... I love you, Volteer... I'm sorry I couldn't tell you'... As the dark creatures moved into attack her, she ran into the crowd of dark creatures before meeting her... end...'_ Reading the last part, Ignitus clutched his paw in anger, knowing that he shouldn't have read about what had happened. Closing the book, he sighed, knowing there was nothing for him to do now. Tapping a claw on the book, it disappeared in a white light. Sitting down on the ground, he thought to himself, _What am I going to tell everyone...? Spyro said he would help him find Ersa, and i don't want them to be hurt chasing after... someone who's already died... What am I supposed to say...? It's hard to believe she would've died so easily. She was so smart, maybe even smarter then Volteer... But... numbers beat intelligence... and there was nothing she could do._ He knew the Sun had come out which was his queue to get back to his body. Blinking and appearing near his body, he looked down at himself as he sighed. Looking over at Volteer, the wide smile on his face only made it more difficult for him to tell him the bad news. But even for him, he couldn't go through with it. Turning back around and placing his paw on his body, he shined white before disappearing. As Ignitus gained all the information from his clone, he sighed with sadness, "Sorry... Volteer."

* * *

 _Sun's been out for a while... I haven't heard my door open, and I don't feel his cold ass tail blade on my neck... Which means,_ Pausing his thoughts, Malefor slowly opened up one eye to see if anyone was in his room. Opening up his other eye, he looked around the room, and with excitement, he whispered to himself, "Yes..."

 _But now that I think about it, I should ruin his sleep just as he's ruined mine for the last three or four days. He said he trusted me, so let's put that to the test,_ He thought, moving his paws, tail, and wings gently away from Carith as to not wake her. Hopping off the bed, he walked over to the door, but stopped. Turning around, he looked at his lover and nodded at himself. Running over to his lover, he gave her a small kiss to her lips before pulling away. Running back over towards the door, he opened it. He walked out of the room and over towards the other room, not knowing that he had woken up Carith from his kiss. _Only going to give me that little bit? Oh no, mister, you are going to give me the full package,_ Carith thought, opening her eyes and licking her lips.

Quietly pushing and opening the door, Malefor snuck into the room. Carefully walking over and trying to hide every one of his foot steps, he was successful as he made it to the bed undetected. Raising his tail blade up, he stopped as he thought, _Maybe I shouldn't. Maybe he was just going off of what Cynder told him to tell me... he doesn't really trust me, does he...? I mean, by trying this, it will show if he does or doesn't._ Moving his tail blade around, he couldn't figure out how he was going to fake attempt at slicing his throat if he couldn't even see it. _Well, this is going to be me difficult then I thought. Spyro's neck isn't exposed since he's laying his head over Cynder's, and her head is completely on Spyro's paws... then again, there is a little bit of her neck showing. This is perfect! With her chains gone, I can use that to my advantage._ Moving his tail blade against the side of her neck, she shivered a little from the random feeling of a tail blade which scared her a little. But she knew there was only one dragon who would dare attempt such a thing while Spyro was around. Without even opening an eye, Cynder grumbled, "Spyro... Malefor is trying to kill me."

"... Malefor...? Wha... Malefor... is this true?" Spyro grumbled as his eyes were still closed as well.

"And you thought trusting me was a good thing. You move, and she dies."

Spyro sighed as he wish he could've still been asleep, now that he didn't have to worry. But to end this quick, he decided to cheat, "Carith. Malefor is still being the dark master. Can I kill him and you can find someone else?"

"That sounds like a fantastic idea," A voice came from the door.

Malefor looked behind himself to see Carith looking at him with a slight smirk. Taking his tail blade away from Cynder's neck, he explained himself, "Wait wait wait! I can explain..."

"You better. That half ass kiss you gave was nothing more then a tease. You better have a lot more then that little peck. And attempting to kill Cynder right after Spyro said he had trusted you? Spyro, if I were you, I would cut all ties with him and just go with what you had to say before."

"Ugh... fine," Spyro agreed, taking his wing off Cynder's and moving his paws gently away so her head rested on the bed, and while he did that, he stretched out his body as he opened his eyes and continued, "I would've been fine if you tried that trick on me, but my lover, even after everything I said about you. I guess I was wrong all along... Well, let's get this over with. So how do you want to die."

"Wait! Stop!" Malefor said towards Spyro before looking back at his lover and begging for forgiveness, "I'm sorry, I swear. Please, what can I do to not die?!"

"Hold up on killing him Spyro, hopefully I can show him what he's done wrong and lets see if he can correct his, dark, actions," Carith giggled, having fun with messing with her lover, and she knew she had him in a corner, and she wanted that kiss, "First things first, you better give me one really good kiss. If I'm not satisfied, then I have no need for you any longer. Second, apologize to Cynder for attempting to kill her. Do you understand?"

"Yes mama..." He murmured with a smile and did as he was told.

Walking up to Carith, he stood there, and she looked at him with a raised brow, wondering how he would redeem himself for what he has done. Opening up her eyes and stretching out her body, Cynder watched as the two pushed their lips against one another in a heartwarming kiss. Picking her head up, Cynder rolled on her back and teased her lover, "I'm So lonely... even after I was almost killed, I don't even get reassurance?"

Looking at his lover, he chuckled and smiled. Walking over to her and standing next to her side, he moved his head down and gave her a kiss as well. Her body plopped back down into the bed sideways as the kiss felt like he was absorbing her energy. As the other two pulled away from her kiss, Carith saw the other two kissing, and looking back at her lover, she smiled, "It's good to know that Spyro really does trust you. Seeing that made me so happy to see we've finally made it here, together."

"Hehe, yeah... I was surprised he didn't kill me on the spot either. Granted, I know he had fears, and he probably did want to kill me since, I was at his lover's throat but, that's understandable. Now that I'm thinking about it, I was pretty scared that maybe, just maybe, Spyro would've woken up and attack me. But now that I know he won't... I wish me and you were still in bed. It's pretty chilly honestly," Malefor agreed with Carith, but she also agreed with him as it did feel pretty cold in the morning time.

Pulling away from their kiss, the two smiled at one another, and looking over at Malefor, Spyro asked, "Come on, where is the apology?"

"Spyro, Carith, it's fine. Malefor was probably still excited to see that I didn't have my chains on any more. It's definitely new with me having a full neck and all. Just know, Malefor, that, no matter what you do, showing that you act like the dark master but then it ends up being a prank... You aren't proving anything to me by doing that. I know you aren't the dark master, and I know you will never be him ever again. And because I believe that, I took off my chains, and they will forever be off... Just remember that."

Malefor was glad to hear her words, especially since he knew her live was ruined the most by what the dark master had done. Spyro grumbled slight as he chuckled, "Man, I wanted to see what his apology would've looked like. I would've been like, get on your knees and beg for forgiveness."

"I wouldn't have done that," Malefor said.

"You would've if Carith said so."

"Well yeah... also because she probably would've sucked the life out of me when she kissed me."

"She can do that, and I don't have to deal with you?! Carith, do it now."

"Of course you would say something like that."

"And of course, even after I said I trusted you, you tried to kill my lover. Does this mean I should never trust you and never give you my friendship?"

"No! I'm sorry. I just wanted to make sure you truly did trust me. I wasn't exactly able to try it on you because your entire neck was laid out over Cynder's. So the only neck I really saw was a little bit of Cynder's."

"Maybe she should put her chains back on then."

"No no no! It was a joke alright, calm down. You are getting too radical."

"I was joking too so calm yourself down. But now that you talk about it... Cynder sure does look pretty lonely."

Looking at her with a smile, she had a raised brow, wondering what he was thinking about. Looking back at Malefor, he said, "Tell you what, since Cynder forgives you, I will give you another chance if you wait outside for a second and let me and Cynder um... talk, about your uh... oh, what ever, you know what we are going to be doing anyway. So get out, give us a minute and I'll forgive you, okay?"

"Deal," Malefor quickly agreed, turning and walking out of the room with his lover following behind.

Shutting the door behind herself, the two sat in the hallway, and looking at him as he turned and sat down in front of her, she whispered, "I sure hope you have the same Idea I do."

"Conquering the world now that I have Spyro's trust?"

"Well, it depends on how well you kiss me, then I will tell you if I will help you concur the world. But first, you have to concur my lips with yours."

"Oh well... when you put it like that, conquering the world just sounds too difficult. So I should just stick to what I do best."

"Then get to it."

* * *

"You know, I'm actually pretty surprised Malefor isn't dead right now. When I said Malefor was attempting to kill me, I expected you to fly off that bed and end his life right then and there," Cynder said with amazement, rolling back onto her belly with Spyro laying down next to her, and her words made him chuckle.

"You're not wrong, I really wanted to. But... I guess I wasn't as tired as I thought when I said what I did. And, since I trusted him, no one way hurt, and everyone was able to just laugh it off," Spyro admitted to her, but she understood, "Which, now that I think about just laughing everything off, maybe we should all head to the Dragon Temple today so I can help Volteer find his long lost lover, or, mate. It would be good to know that we can laugh off the fact that we thought she was gone when she really wasn't."

"And what if she is?"

"Then, it's going to be pretty difficult for me to tell Volteer, but, you know me; Keeping everyone happy is what I try to achieve in life. Seems like I've made that so for Malefor, and since he doesn't fear me killing him, I know Carith is thankful. Ignitus has someone he loves so he's happy. Terrador and Cyril I have to talk more with as I'm not sure. And then, comes Volteer. I know for a fact if I could find her, I could make him happy, then I just have the other two. I'm so close... so close to achieving what I've wanted to for such a long time."

"I thought you telling me you loved me was your only goal."

"Lucky for me, goal complete, thankfully."

"Hehe, well, now that you talk about Terrador, I don't think he is as happy as could be. I mean, he did have that one girl from before."

"Yeah... which I'm trying to figure out what to do about. Luckily, we don't have to worry about her anymore, but also sadly, if you know what I mean. Trying to find him a lover is going to be difficult. I mean, he has the looks and the strength, all he is missing is the determination. I will talk to them some more about it."

"Then do you want to get down there, or would you like to lay with me some more."

"As much as I would love too, I just want to make sure, one last day, that I can completely, one hundred percent trust him. I know what I said, I do. But if we are going to the Dragon Temple, I really wonder how he'd react. After all, the journey to that Temple is how this all started. Which, makes me afraid but, I'm sure me and Malefor can handle apes. But if anything happens, stay behind me, okay?"

"What, I can't fight?"

"Not at the risk of an injury."

"I've been injured plenty of times in the past. A little punch or kick won't kill me."

"But..."

"Hehe, alright alright, I won't fight. And I guess a bonus to this is I get to watch you fight. With every punch, I get to see those muscles of yours flex."

"I know something you'll like even better then my muscles."

"Oh? And what might that be?"

Gently pushing his lips against hers, he closed his eyes, somewhat needed some relief from what Malefor tried to pull. Closing her eyes, she pushed into the kiss, and even she could feel that he needed it. The two pulled away from the kiss, and opening their eyes, they smiled lovingly at one another. Moving her head underneath Spyro's, she nuzzled him up and down his neck, both smiling from the feeling. Pulling her head back, she whispered to him, "I love you."

"I love you too," He whispered back with a smile.

Standing up on the bed, she put her tail blade against his neck and slowly groped his neck with her blade as she got off the bed. Reaching his chin, she pulled her tail blade back and he purred from every bit of the feeling. She smiled at him, and turning her side towards him for him to see, she teased him some more, "Are you going to join me, or are you going to lose all of this?"

He blushed slightly with a chuckle. Standing up and walking off the bed, he jumped onto the floor and walked next to her as she now faced the door. Putting his body up against hers, he draped his wing over her body and whispered, "Please, you know you belong to me. It doesn't matter how strong the dark master is, I will always be able to control you."

"Yes, Master Spyro," She giggled.

Hearing a door open, Malefor opened his eyes, but he was still in the middle of kissing his lover. Spyro looked at him with a raised brow as he shut the door behind himself with his tail. Carith opened her eyes hearing the door shut and slowly pulled away from the kiss. A small saliva string from Malefor and Carith's mouth made them blush hard as they tried to ignore it, but looking at the two as they blushed, they felt embarrassed to say the least. Wiping off the saliva from both their mouths with their own paws, Spyro watched as he put his paw back on the ground, and looking up at him, he shuck his head, "Great. I now know at some point, I'm going to have to walk there and I'm going to know exactly what I'm stepping in."

"Well it's not our fault," Malefor growled with embarrassment.

"And yet... it was your saliva... hopefully."

"You're gross."

"And you just wiped your saliva on my floor. Thanks dude, really nice."

"Where else... no, never mind. Plus, I wasn't going to wipe it off on my body If that's what you were thinking."

"Look, next time, keep it to yourself, okay?"

"Well I couldn't because it was being stolen by..."

"Stop! Stop what ever you are about to say. If you keep going I will actually throw you out a window."

"Look, you think it's gross now, but wait until you and Cynder start kissing like how we are. Then let's see if you think it's gross."

"You know, I'm not seeing a reward here for keeping you alive you know. I keep you alive, and my lover gets a tail blade to her neck in the morning, and now you wipe your saliva on my floor. Something tells me I should seriously change my mind."

"Look I'm just... I'm just really happy to hear I've gained your trust, so I'm just having some fun now. I know just a day after you trusting me, and I pretended to almost kill your lover doesn't sound like the greatest thing in the world to do, but when you didn't kill me, and you didn't attack me, I was just, really happy to see you actually trusted me."

"Well... when you put it like that... I understand. I will give you a pass for what you did as I said I would if you gave me and Cynder time together. As for the saliva thing, keep it to yourself, understood?"

"I uh... kinda can't."

"Oh for the love of, keep it to yourself or keep it to your lover."

"Hehe."

Trying to forget what happened, Spyro walked over towards the door with Cynder. As the doors opened, Malefor walked over and stood next to his lover. Draping his wing over her, she blushed and whispered, "I thought they were going to talk for a lot longer then I thought, I didn't know we'd get caught. I think Spyro is still trying to work out the whole trust thing so, lets just give him some time and maybe if I talk to Cynder, he will be completely in trust of you."

As the two walked down the stairs, Malefor and Carith followed behind and continued talking, "Yeah but, I thought he said he trusted me? Yeah, It was embarrassing to see what he saw but even still, what do you think is up with him? Even he knows that getting in the way of one another loving each other is extremely frustrating... mainly because I was having fun."

"Hehe, of course you were. Well, go talk to him, see what's up. I will stay back and talk with Cynder."

"Okay."

Taking his wing off of Carith, he walked up to Spyro's side. As he looked at him, Malefor asked, "Hey, Spyro, can I talk to you?"

"What for?" He asked.

"Well, I just wanted to see what's up and talk about guy stuff. And while we are doing that, Carith said she wanted to talk with Cynder."

He sighed, and looking over to see what Cynder had to say, she smiled and nodded as she was looking forward to talking more with her. Taking his wing off her, he whispered, "Just make sure to stay close. Last thing I want is for you to disappear like yesterday. Still gives me a heart attack to this day thinking that you were actually gone."

"Don't worry, I promised I wouldn't ever do that again. I will be right back, I promise."

As Cynder backed away from her lover, she walked next to Carith while the other two talked. Looking at Spyro, he wanted to know what was wrong, so he asked, "Come on, you have to at least tell me what I did. Yeah yeah, I understand you're butt hurt about me playing around, but the thing about me kissing Carith? I thought you would be happy to see I was happy. Or at the very least, you would've said something like, 'at least your not trying to destroy the world, Malefor, keep up the good work'. So what's up?"

"I'm not, butt hurt. I just didn't expect for Cynder to say that you were trying to kill her. I understand you were joking, but my biggest fear was giving you my trust and then you using that to your advantage to destroy the world or, take Cynder from me in my sleep. I slept pretty good knowing I could trust you, and I know you were only joking. Just, give it some more time before you pull a joke like that."

"Wait, wouldn't that make it worse? I mean, if you trusted me say, three days from now, and then I tried to pull a prank like that, wouldn't you flip out even more, and growl as you said, 'I knew he was still the dark master'. In that case, that means you'll never truly trust me from what I'm hearing. Which in the case, also means that I will never be able to become your friend if you always fear what I am the opposite of."

"I know, I know... I know you have tried to show me that you aren't the dark master any more, and I want to trust everyone because I believe they see what I don't see. But in my mind, I feel like they are just saying that because they don't want to lose you again, so I had to go off of mainly what Cynder and I had talked about. I do still trust you from before, that's why I didn't quickly jump off that bed and attack you, because I wanted to see what would happen. And... everything turned out the way I had hoped: Everyone smiling and laughing because we didn't need to worry about the dark master really attacking."

"So... does that mean we are still good?"

"Alright, fine, we are still good. I guess I was also jealous because I was worrying about what you two were doing and I missed out on kissing Cynder some more. And yet, there you were in the hallway enjoying every second with your lover. Tomorrow, I just need to lay in bed with Cynder and kiss her from Sun rise to Sun set."

"Your mouth is going to be pretty dry if you do that."

"Hey, in the end, it will have been totally worth it. But best part, I have my water ability, so I can keep going along with Cynder for as long as I like."

"Wait... I thought you were just complaining about me and Carith and the whole saliva thing. And here you are saying how you'd use your water ability to keep her lips wet as well. That water is still coming out of your mouth meaning it's still going to have your saliva."

"I wasn't complaining, I was jealous, because I wish me and Cynder were doing the same. Secondly, I feel like you're just jealous because you don't know how to make water so you can do the same with your lover."

"I am not!"

"Dude, even I know that you are."

"Okay... fine... I kinda am. Well, do you, trust me enough to teach me one day?"

"Well, I will be honest, I trust you like, ninety five percent after what you pulled. Let's see how today goes, you gain that five percent back, and yes, I will agree to teaching and training you to protect Carith."

"Will this power also help me, you know... protect my Hatchling if I ever had one with Carith?" Malefor whispered very quietly.

"Why else would you want power?"

"Look, I only seek power to protect, not to harm. I'm like you. We've been through enough and I don't want you to be alone in a fight. That way, we can get it done without having to worry about casualties, and we can all go back home, joking about how I was probably punched or you were kicked by what ever we were fighting."

"Alright fine, ninety seven percent I trust you, happy?"

"Honestly? Very."

Walking into the Guardians Chamber, everyone was surprised to see the Guardians hadn't woken up yet. As the four sat down with Cynder and Carith on one side and Malefor and Spyro on the other, they thought it would be best to wait it out and see if they were just getting out of bed. Just as the four sat down, the door in the back had opened, and all the Guardians came out of the room. Cyril was the last to come out of the room, and Ignitus was the first to speak, "How come you all are creeping on us?"

"We always come here in the morning, what are you talking about? And it's not our fault. What took you all so long to get out of bed?" Spyro defended himself and the other three.

As the five sat down in a row, Ignitus explained, "Well, I was up finishing some, late business which is finally done. I don't know what took the others so long to get up. Me and Claire were talking for quite some time, with an, occasional kiss on the cheek from here to here. I'm surprised Volteer didn't wake up three hours before us to read up some more on his books."

"Just been thinking about a lot lately. And even for me, thinking about something else, then reading and having to think about what I'm reading would just give me a headache after awhile," Volteer admitted as his mind was still dead set on how he would be able to find his lover.

Spyro noticed that and knew what was on his mind and asked him about it, "Well, since everyone still seems like they are groggy from waking up, how about me and you go on a little adventure to the Dragon Temple and see what we can find? I told you I would help you find her, so why not do that today?"

"Really?!"

"Yeah, of course. I mean, why don't we all go? We all haven't been there in years, so it would be fun to go back and see where we've used to be."

"Spyro, after that fight, I, along with the others are still in a lot of pain. The reason we couldn't really get out of bed fast enough is because our joints feel like they keep locking up on us. We are nowhere near as powerful as you, and our bodies still need to relax and heal from yesterday's battle," Terrador admitted, still feeling the pain even now.

"We could always go to that hot and refreshing pool of water that me and you use to go to," A voice said from the entrance of the Chambers

Everyone looked over to see it was Sparks, and they all felt like they hadn't seen him in days.

"Hey, Sparks," Spyro chuckled, seeing Sparks fly next to him while he crossed his arms.

"That's it? Hey Sparks? I slept all day yesterday and no one even woke me up, no one even knew I existed! I woke up and found you asleep, again, and you didn't even remember I was alive?! I thought we were brothers man, how could you do this to me?" Sparks cried sadly, not even knowing if they were brothers anymore.

"I was excited, okay. I was finally able to fight everyone, including Ignitus in a fight."

"So a fight is more important then me? I can't even believe you would be like this."

"Come on, Sparks. Look on the bright side, you always said how you wanted sleep and now you had a full days worth of sleep. Now you won't have to complain about not getting enough sleep when you should be well rested... right?"

"You know I will still find a reason to complain, like... uh..." Sparks paused as he looked around the room, wondering what he could point out, and as he looked at Cynder, something seemed different to him, "What in the everything happened to, Cynder...? She's missing something... what is she missing...? She still looks like a demon ready to kill on sight... And unfortunately, she's still with you... Wait! I got this one... the chains! I almost forgot! So, why did she take them off? I thought Cynder deserved to be in Chains."

"Sparks," Cynder growled, raising her tail blade, "You annoying ass little mother..."

"Sparks, you keep it up, and I will let Cynder gut you like a fish," Spyro chuckled, seeing Sparks back up a little and shiver from what she was doing, "She took off the chains because she doesn't fear being controlled by the dark master anymore. And with the chains gone, she enjoys it, Malefor feels great about being trusted, and since everyone is happy, so am I."

"Oh yeah, Malefor is still a thing. Not coming off as hostile, but I'm surprised you're not dead."

"Hehehe, me too," Malefor chuckled.

"Why the change in heart. I thought you were like watching this dude twenty four seven."

"Don't make me get into details, I will make him smile and it creeps me out. Just know that he's good, everyone else is good, so I'm good," Spyro explained, seeing as Sparks looked over to Claire and Ignitus, and for some reason, he felt like he was going to pull something and warned him, "Sparks, I'm telling you man, pick on the Chronicler and he will seriously give you nightmares."

"I know but, come on man, you know me, and right now it just feels so easy for me to say something. And I know the other three will never find someone so this is the only other dragon I can joke about with. Then again, thinking about it, you are all down right rude when it comes to a joke. Ignitus would give me nightmares, Cynder would kill me if I joked about anything for you or her, and Malefor is just one scary ass dude. Like, honestly man."

"I'm not scary... Am I?" Malefor whimpered.

"You are literally, the only thing, that keeps me up at night."

"Same here," Spyro chuckled, "But come on Sparks, it's embarrassing when you talk about me loving Cynder, especially back then when I didn't even know if she loved me."

"Oh yeah, says mister, 'I sure hope she doesn't leave me, what if I did something wrong, I should've done better, I'm going to cry about what happened all night until Cynder helps me but doesn't kiss me because she doesn't love me'. That's literally been you for weeks until she told you."

"Shut up..." Spyro blushed, causing everyone to chuckle, "Besides, it's not like you'd ever know since you'll never find someone."

"Dude, even if I found someone, I usually would blind a lot of girls from how manly I am. You know, because I fought along side you when we fought Cynder, The Destroyer, and even when we fought Malefor that last time. I guarantee you, I could have any girl I wanted, but I choose to be a free man. I mean, look at you now. You always have to have Cynder by your side which is scary enough. Malefor always has Carith which I feel bad for her, and Ignitus has Claire which... I don't know enough about you two to pick on you about."

"Lucky us," Ignitus and Claire laughed slightly.

"If I'm always near Cynder then why am I by Malefor today?"

"One, you became a Volteer and I'm sorry you've fallen this far. Or two, you both have finally broken up and I can enjoy time with just you and me. You know, that bro time we almost never have because you're always face to face with the evil queen over there."

"Spyro, I'm gonna kill him," Cynder growled.

"Bam, blood thirsty, what did I say."

"Stop picking on everyone Sparks. Plus, Volteer once did have a lover even though he wasn't able to tell her, so you can't pick on him about that kind of thing," Spyro defended Volteer, and Sparks had no idea he had a lover, but it only gave him more fuel to burn as he wanted to pick on him next, "Volteer and I wanted to go to the Dragon Temple to hopefully find answers on where his lover could be. Until we know for a hundred percent that she has... passed, I will help him look. So, since you are awake, do you want to come with us? Maybe we can even visit our parents."

"Mom and Dad! I haven't seen them in forever. Hell yeah I'm all for that. Since it's just you and Volteer does that mean we can have some bro time?!"

"Well..."

"Well what? Come on man, don't do this. Don't do that thing where you do a thing and ruin everything!"

"I'm sorry, Sparks, but no matter where I go I have to bring Cynder, I can't leave her here. And I'm going to force Malefor to go because I don't want him to be in Warfang all by himself. I trust him, I truly do , but, I still need a little bit more time before I trust him that much. And I want the Guardians to go because we haven't been there in forever."

"You're bringing everyone?!"

"Why? Am I not allowed to bring everyone?"

"Um, Spyro... I know you don't trust me to stay in Warfang, but, maybe it would be best if me, Carith, Cyril and Terrador stay behind while you all go," Malefor suggested, shaking a little as he didn't want to admit that he didn't want to go because of what happened in the past.

"What? Why, and what's going on?"

"I... I don't want to relive the past, Spyro... what if something happens? What if we are attacked?"

"Then we fight? What, you think apes could kill me? Please. Combined with your power and mine we will be fine. And if you don't want the past to repeat itself, then don't use your time power when someone gets hurt and forget to use the hourglass properly. Oh that's right, you don't have the hour glass, and no one is going to get hurt so, what's the problem?"

"Well... Ignitus, couldn't you just, teleport us there with your powers? Like how you did yesterday?"

"I... I can't," Ignitus murmured.

"What? Why not?"

"The Ancestors won't allow it. Most of my power I can use but, because it's such a long ways away rather then how close we were from yesterday, they won't allow me to use my powers for such a trip."

"Then that just proves my point that something could happen! Spyro, I'm sorry but, there is no way I can go, not after what has happened."

"Then what's the point in me training you if you'll never use your powers to show me that you want to protect Carith?" Spyro asked, understanding where his fears were coming from, but he wanted everyone to come along and he knew trying to convince Malefor was going to be difficult.

"Even when I had trained before with the Guardians, I wasn't powerful back then. What makes you think that one day's worth of training will make me more powerful then when I was before? I haven't trained enough to feel confident enough to go back out into the world. And I'm scared that if we do get over run by apes and ancestors forbid everyone goes down, I'm afraid I will have to use my dark power and summon the dark master again. I can't do that Spyro... I just can't."

"Alright, fine. I guess I will just have to make you an offer you can't refuse."

"Offer?"

"If you come along, along with the Guardians... I will trust you one hundred percent all the time so you will forever have my trust, and, when ever you need training, I will show and help guide you to become as powerful as I am. And, if you want to, I will help you control your dark power so you'll never have to worry about the dark master taking control over you... What do you have to say to my offer?"

Malefor bit his lip as it was the most tempting offer he has ever been given in his life. _I will forever have Spyro's trust, he will help me become just as powerful as him, and he will help me control my dark power?! Damn it! I really want to agree but, I don't want to put Carith at risk. What's the point of power if I don't have her to protect? Spyro is powerful and confident in his powers but..._ Pausing, he looked at Carith, wondering what he should do. She knew he was in a tight spot, and she knew that he really wanted this. Knowing it would help tremendously, she nodded at him with a smile. He sighed, hoping that nothing bad would happen, and looking at Spyro, he agreed, "Alright... fine, I will go. Just, if anything happens..."

"Then I carry the team by taking out anything that gets in our way. You trust me and I trust you."

"But what if I pull a prank again and i lose your trust?"

"I will trust you a hundred percent all the time so you will forever have my trust'. That is what the deal is, right? And I know that as long as Carith lives, I won't have to worry about you. I will probably tell you I was scared but then you would say you were joking and as long as Cynder is okay, or anyone else you prank is okay, then I'm fine with it."

"I thought you were scared of me controlling my dark powers because you thought it would help the dark master and not me?"

"Anything you have to say, I say Carith. It's taken me a while to notice that but, after today, I will cut ties completely with the dark master and you. Then again if the dark master does return, you're dead. And you do somehow survive, it will definitely take time for you to earn my trust back, but since you know as much as I do that would never happen, you have nothing to worry about. And since there aren't any dark creatures from what I've seen, then I know there isn't a dark master so I don't have to worry about killing you."

Almost everyone swallowed hard aside from Cynder and Spyro as they weren't there for the conversation of the new possible dark master, and they all had the same thoughts on the matter. _I knew it. Even if Spyro does trust Malefor completely, there is no telling what he would do if he saw dark creatures. And even if we told him, he would just kill Malefor then the next dark master. And I still have to worry about telling Volteer and Spyro that Ersa is dead. If I said it now, Volteer's heart would be crushed, but, if I do tell them, we wouldn't have to go and we wouldn't have to worry about the dark creature problem. If I don't say anything, we risk Spyro finding out about the darkness. Along with the fact that if I also don't say anything, Volteer will still look forward and have hope to find her, and Spyro will trust Malefor enough to train him, which he could use to defend himself if Spyro ever accused him of being the dark master, and maybe everyone would be able to calm him down. But, then again, it would all come down to Cynder and Spyro's trust for Malefor... Even for me, I have little time to figure it out... what should I do?_ Ignitus thought for as long as possible, hoping he could find an answer before they were one hundred percent on their decision.

"What about me? I almost died," Volteer chuckled.

"Well, I don't need to convince you since I know you are already on board. I guess just, try not to almost die next time?" Spyro chuckled.

"Hehe, yeah, sounds fair enough. Hopefully you can carry me through the fights if we get attacked."

"We will be fine. If anything happens, we can just push Malefor at them and run."

"Good to know you have my back... to push," Malefor grumbled with a smile.

 _There's no way I could tell Volteer and break his heart. I just have to hope that we don't encounter any dark creatures... Ugh! But it's such a big risk though! Either way it... It won't take us that long to get there, not as long as I think. But everyone is in pain and we might not be able to fly that far..._ Ignitus continued to fight with what to do and what not to do and it only made it worse on him, causing him to shake slightly. Claire noticed this and while everyone was talking, she looked at him and asked, "Hey, are you okay? Is it about the kiss I gave you? Ignitus, you can tell me the truth."

He sighed as he couldn't keep it from her, and since everyone else was talking to one another, he took the opportunity to tell her, "I don't know what to do. On one paw, if Spyro goes to the Dragon Temple, he will give Malefor his trust as well as his skills and training. And Volteer will still believe Ersa is alive. But if I tell him that she isn't, it would break his heart, and Spyro won't keep that promise because all of us won't go to the Dragon Temple. Along with the fact that if we go, we risk Spyro seeing dark creatures."

"Wait... Ersa's dead?"

"Unfortunately... Just, don't tell anyone about what we are discussing, okay?"

"I don't know. I think if you give me a kiss, I could make it happen."

"Hehe, fair enough."

Giving her a peck on the side of her cheek, she smiled even as he pulled away.

"So, what do you think I should do?" He asked.

"Well... that's a tough one... Um... I would say... we should still go."

"Why do you say that?"

"Well, look at it this way. Volteer will still be happy if we go and Spyro will trust Malefor along with helping him train, so we are getting more out of this then we think by that happening. And if Spyro sees a dark creature, it's true he might attack Malefor, but he wouldn't kill us for trying to protect him. Here's what I want to know. When Malefor came back, did he try to kill him?"

"Of course, why?"

"Did he though?"

"No, but, he came very close."

"And who stopped him when that happened?"

"Well, when he came back, he laid in a corner without his lover. Spyro came out of one of his rooms, Terrador said something, and even though he could've killed Malefor, he didn't."

"So then why didn't he kill Malefor when he had the chance?"

"Well... Cynder was alive. Everyone was still alive so, maybe he thought he changed."

"Then did he ever talk to Malefor again after that?"

"After he told Malefor to leave or else he would kill him, he walked back to his room where he told Cynder he loved her. Scared for his life that she would decline his love, she kissed him, and all the anger in his body completely disappeared after that. He walked back out, apologized for what he said and helped him get back with Carith. Then, I guess you can say the rest is just a long story of whether or not Spyro does or doesn't trust him, but with Carith and Cynder's help, he tries."

"Which makes me think. He had the chance, he could've killed him. I mean, now as I look at him, I'm glad he wasn't killed so, what stopped him? Even if Terrador somehow said something about what's happened, why didn't he go through with it?"

"I... I actually couldn't tell you for a hundred percent of why he didn't. Then again a lot had happened and maybe he was just too weak to do so."

"But even I know that wouldn't stop Spyro from killing Malefor."

"Maybe he saw what we've all seen in him and decided not to kill him?"

"We could always just ask him."

"Even if you asked me, I couldn't give you a clear answer," A voice interrupted the two as they both looked over at him with wide eyes seeing it was Spyro, and he explained, "To be honest, I don't know what stopped me from killing him that day. I guess looking at it now, I felt like the monster at that point. Malefor didn't have anyone. He lost his lover, his friends, just about everything that keeps someone sane. I didn't think about it until after as I still thought he was the dark master, but looking at it now, I understood."

"Well Damn, if you know all this, why are you so Hell bent on killing me?" Malefor asked with a slight chuckle.

"I already said I trusted you, Alright."

"Yeah, like, ninety seven percent."

"Hey, that trip is still up for grabs."

"I already said I would go. But now that we are back on the subject of the past, I wanted to apologize again for what happened Cynder. I felt like i used you in getting to talk with the Guardians again. I know I told you this before but, it still gets to me."

"Malefor, it's okay. It's not like it was the first time you ever used me," Cynder giggled, earning wide eyes from everyone aside from Malefor as he hissed through his teeth from that burn.

"Damn... that hurts... that really hurts, Cynder, even for you."

"One of the many reasons I love her," Spyro chuckled.

"Dude, literally, when I first woke up, I thought it was going to be like, the greatest day of my life. But I get proven wrong so easily and so fast."

"That's you fault."

"How?! I haven't... oh yeah..."

"You woke up, and out a tail blade to my lovers throat as a joke after I decided to finally trust you."

"What?!" The Guardians all cried in unison, along with Claire and Sparks.

"Why would you do that?" Cyril asked.

"Look..."

"After everything we've taught you, what in the ever loving Ancestor made you think that was a good idea?!" Terrador asked.

"Would you..."

"Even for you Malefor. I have to agree with the two. Most unexpected," Volteer sighed

"Let me explain! Damn, like, one second is all I need."

"Second... well, what a terrible ass explanation," Spyro joked.

"I should've killed you when I had the chance."

"What happened to your promise, Malefor? Now I don't think I can trust what you said to me, about how the dark master wouldn't hurt Ignitus," Claire giggled, feeling bad that everyone was giving him a hard time about what he did, but she couldn't resist joining in on the fun.

"I think I'm giving up on life now..."

"Look on the bright side. Even after you joked around like that, Spyro didn't kill you," Ignitus chuckled.

"Yeah, but he was super bitchy after what happened and he wouldn't barely talk to me. And he interrupted a kiss I was having with Carith."

"Bitchy? Alright, I will remember that one," Spyro said with a raised brow.

"Will if you tried to kill my lover, I probably would've been the same," Terrador agreed with Spyro and his actions.

"Thank you, Terrador. And plus, if I would've done the same to Carith, you would've either cried about it, or you would've went full on dark master, turned yourself back into yourself after you are done growling at me, and then you'd cry and beg for me not to kill you."

"Alright alright, I won't joke anymore since you all will get butt hurt about what I do. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time you all have complained about what I've done. The Guardians all ways complain about something I didn't do in training, and Spyro is always complaining about something I did when I was the dark master. At least I have the girls on my side... aside from the time Cynder slapped me..."

"Sorry again for that... guess I did go a little overboard," Cynder giggled.

"Malefor, calm down, we are only joking. If you do make a prank like that, and as long as no one is hurt, I'm fine, Alright? Just give me some more time. Even after I trust you completely, I've already told you about my fears. Once we train some and I get to know you some more, then I will be fine with any prank aside from one's on my lover," Spyro explained, as he did trust him a lot more then he did before, but even still, he needed a little more time to get some of that trust back.

"Get to know me? Get to know me?! You read almost all of my past?! You probably already know my birthday and my favorite color, what else do you want?!"

"Please, we all know almost everyone's favorite color. Your favorite color is blue because of Carith, Ignitus's favorite color is blue because of Claire. And mine is..."

"Grey."

"What?"

"Well I mean, when you look at Cynder, she isn't like a, dark, or even a light kinda black. She's more of a, grey kinda color. She's like a, blackish grey. More grey though."

"So... my favourite color would be... blackish grey... but more grey though?"

"I guess... Just say grey."

Ignitus sighed as he was glad to see no one had heard the beginning of their conversation, but even now, he didn't know what to do. Looking at Claire for the answer, she looked back at him and knew exactly what he wanted to know. She nodded at him with a smile and looked back to see Malefor and Spyro talking to one another. Picking his head up, he looked at the two as well and decided it would be best if they went. But even after their conversation, he didn't know what to do about telling Volteer that Ersa was dead, _I have some time to tell him and figure out how I will tell him. Unless something major happens and he hurts himself, I will take my time in figuring out how I will tell him._ Tapping a claw on his shoulder, Sparks started to grow impatient as he asked, "So, are we going? I mean, if all you do is stand around and talk, that's fine by me, I have a life I don't want to waste."

"Keep your wings on Sparks, we are going to go. I guess we can continue the conversation later. Now, are we all for sure going?" Spyro asked, looking around, still seeing Malefor wasn't completely on board, "Don't worry, we will be fine. If anything happens, I got it. Kicking your ass is no where near as difficult as fighting some apes. And at least this time, I don't have to worry about breaking my arm while fighting one of them... Ignitus..."

"Hehe..." Ignitus chuckled.

"Alright..." Malefor murmured.

"And I know everyone is still in some pain so we will fly until someone gets tired and then we will walk, okay?" Spyro asked, seeing everyone nodded, "Alright, great. Well Sparks, lead the way."

"Finally," Sparks grumbled, flying out of the Guardians Chambers and down towards the main entrance.

Walking out of the room, the two girls were first, followed by Malefor, then the Guardians and Claire. Terrador stopped as Spyro walked past him, and walking up to catch up to him, he walked beside him and asked, "Hey, Spyro, I know this is, a wired thing for me to say but, that promise you made to Malefor, are you serious about keeping it?"

"Why do you ask?" Spyro wondered.

"Well I just, I don't know... I would feel a lot better knowing we won't have to worry about waking up one day and finding out he's dead."

"Oh, so you're on the side of keeping him alive?"

"Of course I am."

"Don't worry, I will keep my promise."

"Thank you, Spyro."

"I got you. So is there anything else you need to talk to me about?"

"Well... the dark creatures thing. Why would you kill Malefor if you saw them? What if maybe they all don't die off until after you've killed them all. And since Malefor is no longer the dark master, hence the reason the dark creatures will stop being made, wouldn't that mean he's still innocent?"

"Well... I can't say for sure on that. I'm scared to think if I did see a dark creature. But if I do... It's gonna take some serious convincing for me to not kill him."

"So... that means, even if you trust him, if you saw one dark creature, everything that you've done with him will all be for nothing?"

"Terrador... I'm trying, I swear. I'm just still scared. Helping him with his dark powers might help me a little more on my fear. But even after what Malefor pulled, it just showed how easily he could've hurt Cynder, but he didn't, even though he could've. Yeah, he had Carith somewhat near him but, what would he have done if Carith wasn't near him?"

"Even if she wasn't there, you two can't sleep without one another."

"True. If Cynder moves, about two seconds later I would jump up and look for her. I wonder if the same is for Malefor and his lover."

"Knowing him, I would definitely say yes."

Seeing as everyone walked out the doors, the two walked out with everyone else and blocked their eyes with their wing from the sudden sunlight. Pulling their wings back down, Spyro walked away from Terrador and over to his lover who sat down by the edge of the walkway. Sitting down next to her, Spyro looked to his side to see Malefor and Carith were sitting next to one another looking over Warfang. Malefor looked at him with a raised brow, and Spyro chuckled, "No. Absolutely not. We just did this yesterday, and I'm not doing it again. I'm not going to make you feel good about yourself."

"Come on, Spyro, admit it, I could've easily destroyed Warfang so many times by now, but because I'm not the dark master, I haven't. I think you're mad because I was right all along about being good. Come on, go ahead and admit it. I like it when I'm right and you're wrong," Malefor teased him, earning chuckles and giggles from everyone.

"Carith, I'm going to kill him."

"Cynder, Spyro is picking on Malefor again," Carith giggled.

"Why you always picking on that poor Dragon. He's been through enough," Cynder giggled.

Spyro sighed with a smile and agreed, "Alright, fine, you're right. But day isn't over."

"Oh yes, because I'm going to go out of my way to go all the way from the Dragon Temple, to come back and destroy Warfang, just to go all the way back so you wouldn't notice I was gone. You are one crazy little purple dragon if you think I have the ability to do something like that," Malefor joked, but even though he joked, it still made perfect sense, and Spyro couldn't complain about it, "Tell you what, when you develop super dragon like powers that make you break the sound barrier..."

"I can already do that," Spyro said.

"Hehe, yeah, I was about to say, Spyro can already do that," Ignitus chuckled.

"Yeah right. Alright, Volteer, how fast do you have to go to break the sound barrier?" Malefor asked.

"Well, it also depends on the temperature but, you can break the sound barrier if you go three hundred and forty three meters per second. Simple terms, it's more like seven hundred and sixty seven miles per hour," Volteer explained.

"Okay, before we go any further, at what point in your life did you think to yourself, man, it would be really convenient to know how fast you would need to go to break the sound barrier? Like, at what point did you think you would need to know something like that? No one would ever ask that kind of a question."

"You just did..."

"What ever. Any way, seeming how Spyro's full of himself breaking the sound barrier, what's after that like, mach one?"

"Well, technically, going mach one would be the same as breaking the sound barrier. But after that, you would keep going as mach two, the top speed is about One thousand five hundred and thirty four miles per hour."

"Can we talk about this while we are flying?!" Sparks grumbled, growing impatient.

"No, you know what. If Spyro can break the sound barrier, do it. If you go that fast then you should be able to reach the location in no time. So show us," Malefor demanded, feeling as if Spyro's speed was a lie, and even though he knew of his power, he didn't believe he could go that fast.

"I can just show you later. Gotta train some more before I show you. And plus, you think I would fly all the way over there and leave my lover?" Spyro declined, causing Malefor to grumble, but he still somewhat understand and decided to let it go for now, "Hehe. Alright Sparks, we are ready... again."

"Finally... again."

Flying up into the air, he flew a bit of ways away and waited for everyone else. Opening up their wings, the four took to the skies as they flew into the air, followed by the Guardians and Claire. Flying over towards Sparks along with everyone else, Spyro asked, "Well, you gonna lead the way or not?"

"What? You don't remember where we live?" Sparks asked, somewhat in a chuckle as if he forgot as well.

"Well... a lot has happened... And I kinda forgot."

"Great... me too."

"Don't worry, I got this," Ignitus said to everyone, transferring the location to Sparks and Spyro's brain, quickly making them remember.

"Oh yeah, right. Okay, I will lead the way I guess," Sparks said, flying off to find his parents house followed by everyone else.

As everyone flew together, they all engaged in their own conversations. With Cynder flying next to her lover, she asked him, somewhat to tease him, "So what's been going on, Spyro? I haven't felt the love at all as of lately."

"Haven't felt the love?" Spyro asked, looking at her and feeling like mentally slapping himself because he already knew the answer before she was able to say it.

"Well I mean, we only kissed like once or twice today. After that, you were hanging around with Malefor and that's it. After Carith and Malefor left our room, it seemed like they were having a lot more fun then we were. Is it the Chains, Spyro? Do I not interest you anymore?"

"Hehe, no. I thought you would want to talk to Carith while I talked to Malefor. Also because me and him did ruin some of your girl time together, and it was also a win because I was able to make sure Malefor stayed out of trouble."

"So you were only staying with him in case he tries to pull something again?"

"Maybe... yes..."

"But after today, we won't have to worry... right?"

"I will try. I did promise him so, lets just see how things go."

"Well, you better decide quick or else I will need to find someone else to kiss me."

"No! I'm sorry, I swear. Just before you had said anything, I realised that, always thinking Malefor is going to turn back to the dark master keeps taking time away from you, which is another reason why I'm trying to forget about the whole dark master thing. I just... One last time, are you sure, one hundred percent you forgive him? Even after everything that has happened?"

Looking away from Spyro and over to her left, she saw Malefor smiling and joking with his lover. The smiles on both their faces as they talked kept her believing that she was right. Looking back at Spyro, she was completely sure of her answer, "I wouldn't have taken my chains off if I didn't forgive him. The Guardians love that he's back, and I know especially that Carith loves having him back. I know you are scared of what might happen, and I understand, but Malefor is just like everyone else. He has a heart. And as long as he has Carith, we will always be fine."

"Alright... I did say I trusted him yesterday so, I guess I should trust him now. But my promise was that I would trust him a hundred percent tomorrow, so for today, I will still be ready to attack at any moment."

The raised brow on Cynder's face made him think differently as he quickly took back what he said before he was attacked, "What I meant to say was, I will just trust him a little now, trust him all tomorrow, but because I trust him, I will spend all of the time I have today with Cynder and only Cynder, I mean my lover. All the time with my lover."

"All the time?"

"I meant... forever?"

"Forever question mark or...?"

"Just forever."

"Good enough."

"Haha, yeah, I was surprised Spyro stayed with me as long as he did. He was probably ready to gut me like a damn fish. But at least I didn't die so, plus maybe?" Malefor laughed as he continued his conversation with his lover, talking about what's happened today, "But it's funny because when ever I tell myself, wow, I haven't died yet, but then I realise, today isn't over."

"You'll be fine, I promise you. I know Spyro's is scared but, he has Cynder to help him. But man, that slam she did on you when we were in the Chambers," Carith giggled, causing Malefor to laugh again with a big smile.

"I know right, she was like, it's not the first time you've ever used me. I was like, damn! I felt like crying at that point. Mainly because I wanted to gain Spyro's trust, not lose it all on one day. I messed up with the whole, waking up and pulling on prank on his lover. I feel like I've gone from a hundred to zero in like a day. But after today, hopefully hopefully hopefully, Spyro will keep the promise he made to me and train me to become stronger."

"Well, as long as the dark master, or even master Malefor, doesn't hurt Cynder or anyone else, I'm sure you're fine."

"Yeah, what a deal. He can hurt me and everyone else in his dumb fight that everyone had, but I can't hurt anyone else."

"Well, you did kick him to the ground and he didn't kill you after that."

"That's only because I couldn't go through with stabbing him. Hopefully, because I didn't go through with it, he was probably like, man, maybe I should trust the greatest purple dragon in the world."

"I would definitely agree if he said something like that."

"Hehe, thanks my love."

"Sweet mother of Ancestors! I'm in so much pain," Volteer growled as it felt like his wings were on fire as he flew.

"No... you want to know... what pisses me off! How the Hell... isn't Ignitus affected by this... when he took the most... amount of damage?!" Terrador growled, struggling to keep in the air as his wings started to feel as if they were locking up on themselves.

"Oh, that... I mean, ow! I'm in so, much pain," Ignitus tried to play it off, but he failed miserably.

"Just tell us so we won't have to worry about this kind of pain ever again," Volteer begged.

"Become I'm the Chronicler I guess. I heal faster then anyone else so a wound that takes mouths to heal for you all takes only a matter of seconds for me."

"Then why the Hell... why didn't you help with... Malefor back then again?!"

"I know it sounds wired, but trust me, me interfering with that fight no matter what I would have done would've killed almost everyone. It's best I didn't and we just smile knowing that everyone made it out. It wasn't easy trying to find out how to save everyone. I had to look and hear about the futures where almost everyone had died. It was usually only one of you three who survived and came to be the Chronicler. It wasn't the easiest time back then."

"Yeah, I remember that time. You had given up hope on... basically everything," Terrador chuckled, still struggling to stay in the air, "Damn. I know Malefor is scared to land because of what happened before but... I'm not feeling all up to flying all the way over there... What about you Cyril, how you feeling?"

"Oh I'm... I'm doing just... just fine," Cyril growled, trying to stay a float in the air.

"As much as I hate to say it... we have to land. We can't keep going like this. Well, actually, Ignitus, how much further are we?"

"Let me check... We are about more then halfway. We don't have much longer to go," Ignitus said.

"Alright, then I guess we should be okay to land. I'm going to fly up and tell Spyro," Terrador said, using the little energy he had left to fly over to Spyro.

Looking over to his right, Spyro saw Terrador struggling to stay next to him, and he asked, "Do we need to land?"

"Yes... please... Ignitus said that we are... more then half way there so... we should hopefully be fine..."

"Alright. I suppose the Guardians already know so I will fly over and tell Malefor and his lover. When ever we go to land just follow behind us. Just hold out for a little longer, okay?"

"I will, try."

Flying up higher into the air, Spyro had more energy then he thought and stopped. He watched as everyone continued to fly. Pulling his wings back, he launched himself forward with a big smile on his face. Flying next to Carith, her and Malefor looked at him, and he gave the bad news, "Alright, The Guardians are at the point of breaking their wings. We are going to have to land. Are you ready?"

Malefor sighed hugely and murmured, "Spyro..."

"Hey, it's going to be okay. And this time, you're right by Carith rather then at the Chronicler's place. Everything will be fine, okay? Trust me trust you, okay?"

"Okay... Alright I... I will try."

"Alright. When I fly down with Cynder, follow me, okay?"

"Okay..."

Flying ahead of the group, he moved over to the left and later slowed himself down and ended back right next to his lover's side from where he was before. Looking over at her, he said, "I know Malefor is scared but, I don't want the Guardians to cause too much pain on themselves. So, are you ready to head down?"

"Sure I guess, when ever you're ready," Cynder agreed.

"Alright. When I fly down with Sparks, follow me."

"Okay."

Flying ahead of the group once again, he flew next to Sparks and as his brother looked at him, he explained, "Hey Sparks, The Guardians are getting pretty tired so we are going to land. Malefor is still scared out his mind but, we should be fine. Apparently we are already more then half way there so we should be fine."

"Alright dude, what ever you say," Sparks agreed.

"Alright, just follow me down."

Flying down to the ground bellow, Sparks followed behind. Seeing that the two were flying down to the ground, everyone followed behind. Spyro landed first with Sparks flying beside him. Cynder then landed, followed by Malefor, Carith, Claire, and then the Guardians. As Cyril went to land, he was unsuccessful and tripped over himself, slamming his chin into the ground. Pulling himself up, he growled in pain, "Son of a... Bitch!"

Draping his wing over Carith and wrapping his tail around hers, he made sure she was safe with him at all times. Spyro did the same with his lover, along with Ignitus doing the same to Claire. Seeing that kinda got Malefor even more frightened as he thought to himself, _If Ignitus knows all, why does he need to protect her? I mean, it's understandable to always protect the one you love but... does he know that we will be attacked?! Damn it, I, I shouldn't have come, we... we shouldn't have done this!_ Feeling him shiver, Carith felt terrible as she wanted to say something, but even the Guardians weren't feeling well about going to adventure off to Warfang again. Spyro saw the fear in almost everyone's eyes, but he was able to keep cool as he said, "Alright, let the journey continue. But if you see anything, let me know. From the looks of it, I'm our only fighter right now."

No one could disagree as they were either too scared to say something, or they weren't allowed to fight. As Spyro continued to walk with his lover, Sparks followed to his right along with everyone following behind him. Cynder looked to see Malefor was shaken up and Carith was trying to help him calm himself down. Looking back to her lover, she asked, "Spyro, Malefor isn't taking it so lightly. And from the looks of it... The Guardians aren't either. It also doesn't help that Ignitus seems to know something is up."

"It will be fine. While we were flying, I was actually having some fun. I don't know why, I just have so much energy. So if we are attacked, I got it. And it's going to feel great to have to fight something again. The only problem is, I can't have as much fun with it as if say, I was in the training room. Mainly because it's an actual attack and not training. But for me, it feels like training," Spyro said, feeling up to fight anything that came near him, and he was confident enough to protect everyone if anything happened.

"Well, be careful. If we are attacked and you get hit by and arrow, our hero will from from hero to zero in a second," Sparks joked with him.

"Don't you dare start this again or I will end you."

"Kinda like how that arrow ended you."

"It hit my heart, Sparks."

"Your fault for getting in the way."

"Is this about Cynder?"

"Everything I say will almost always end with me talking bad about Cynder."

"Why are you picking on her... again?"

"Dude, stop! And because I can. You remember what our parents said: All because you see someone you like, keep your options open because there could be someone out there for you and your first choice won't necessarily be the best. That's kinda how I see Cynder. All because she was your first choice doesn't mean she is the right one."

"Well, my parents don't choose the one I love, I do. And Cynder is the perfect choice for me."

"I want to pick on you so badly right now you have no idea."

"Sparks. Every time we come out here, you are just begging for Cynder to kill you."

"No, but you are begging for me to embarrass the two of you."

"But why? What have I ever done to you?"

"Nothing. It's just funny watching you get embarrassed when ever I say something like..."

"Sparks..."

"Come on Spyro, Cynder's not saying anything."

"Because I'm saving my teeth for when I bite your head off," Cynder growled.

"You know what we should talk about?"

"Sparks!"

"Mates..."

"Spyro!" A voice cried just as Sparks said what he had said, so the two didn't hear what he had said.

Looking over, everyone was backed up into a circle facing every direction. The two quickly saw that they were being surrounded by an army off apes, quite the same as the number that attacked from the past. With everyone shaking, sacred to know what would happen to them, Spyro smiled hugely as he wanted to take this opportunity to show off his powers. Taking his wing and tail off his lover, he whispered, "Stay with everyone else and watch as the roast master does his job."

"Are you sure?" Cynder asked, somewhat wondering why he was feeling up to fighting, "Just promise me you'll be okay."

"Promise given and completed. I will be right back."

She nodded and ran over to the group as they still stood in a circle, ready to attack at any moment. Spyro ran over to Malefor and asked him a real quick question, "You want to help or not? More for me if you don't."

"Spyro, this isn't the time to be joking!" Malefor growled, but quickly apologized as he was just scared, "Sorry, I'm, I'm sorry I'm just... I knew this was going to happen from the start! Why did I think this was a good idea."

"Look, Malefor, simple question, simple answer. Will you help me or won't you? Everyone's Life is at stake right now."

"I... Yeah, yeah, I, I can try! What, what do you need me to... what do you need me to do?"

"Just like before. You watch after everyone while I fight, alright? I would say we both fight but, with everyone being here, it would be best if someone looked after the little guys and gals. Can you do that for me big guy?"

"Um, yeah, yeah, I can do that."

"Alright, now I'm going to go have some fun!"

Spyro exploded into his dark form before disappearing in the woods, ripping through and destroying the army of apes. Malefor was still in the moment, thinking they were going to be attacked so he tried to keep his cool. Taking his wing off his lover along with his tail, he whispered to her, "I... I will protect you this time, I promise."

She nodded at him as she was scared out of her mind as well. Running around in a circle, stopping from time to time, he made sure everyone was safe and secure from every side. As he looked around, he would sometimes see a dark black blur appear before disappearing and then reappearing once again. As he passed by Ignitus, he decided he would try to cheat, and talked to Malefor in his mind, _"Malefor... I'm not, technically supposed to do this, but I know you are going through a lot. Stay with Carith and I can protect everyone from the front."_ Malefor heard his words, and kept checking all sides as they talked, _"I thought you couldn't interfere?"_

 _"True, but if anything tries to attack me, I can. So if I put myself in front of a shot or a sword swing, I can retaliate out of self defense. I want to make this easier on you. Right now, everyone is scared aside from Cynder, Sparks, and Claire, but only because they haven't been through that day. If you need me to help, I'm not like the old Chronicler, Malefor, I can help you,"_ Ignitus suggested, feeling bad that Malefor was under so much stress, and it was understandable. _"No I... I got this. I don't want you to get into any trouble with the Ancestors, and, I want to show Spyro that he can trust me. I will, I will just keep trying."_ Malefor declined, desperate to show Spyro that he can trust him rather then seeing the dark master in him. _"Alright, but to ease your fears, the apes aren't exactly winning. Hehe, Spyro is having way to much, oh... never mind... Spyro just got stabbed."_

 _"What?!"_ Malefor cried. _"Don't worry, he already pulled it out, he healed up and bloods gone. As long as you keep everyone safe, you'll be fine, which shouldn't be too difficult as they are now all focusing on him now. And it's also a bonus that it's apes and not dark creatures. So just, breath, kiss your lover once or twice when you pass her by, and just, well, breath. If your heart beats any faster, you'll have a heart attack."_ Ignitus chuckled, somewhat glad that Spyro was this powerful as its made things a lot easier on almost everyone. _"Right... okay. I... I will try,"_ Malefor sighed hugely as he continued to make sure everyone was okay. Dashing out the woods, everyone looked over at Spyro as he asked, "Everyone okay?"

"Don't worry, Spyro, everyone is fine," Malefor assured him.

"Ha ha! My man! Alright, I will be right back."

Disappearing back into the woods, he continued to fight off all the apes.

"Did anyone else see that arrow sticking out his back?" Cyril asked.

"I thought you said he pulled that out?" Malefor asked Ignitus as he passed by him.

"Well, I guess he got stabbed again," Ignitus defended.

"Stabbed?! Is he okay at least?" Cynder asked.

"Well, he got stabbed again...Yeah, he's fine."

"Imagine if you had that kind of power, Malefor. Maybe then you wouldn't be scared to fight anything."

"I wish... Seeing it now, controlling your dark power looks like fun. He doesn't fear anything. He fights, makes sure everyone is okay and just keeps at it. And here I am, scared out of my mind that the past might repeat itself because even now, I still feel just as weak as ever."

"Well, since Spyro said he would trust you tomorrow, use that to your advantage and ask him to help you. I'm sure he would do it."

"I hope."

Coming out of the woods, Spyro huffed and puffed as he chuckled with energy, "Man! There were probably a good fifty I had to fight, maybe close to a hundred honestly, but we're all good now. Even now, they can't handle the good old fashion purple dragon beat down. So is everyone okay?"

"One two three four... Um, Spyro..." Malefor paused.

Coming out of his dark form, blood spilled down Spyro's back and he completely oblivious of it, he asked as he walked over to everyone, "What's up?"

"You uh... you got some arrows coming out your back."

"Again?! Damn man, I pulled like three of those out already. How many are there?"

"Um... More then three."

"Well... You want to help me pull them out?"

"What?! No way. You are already completely bloody all down your back! If I pull them out, you'll just bleed even more, along with the fact of the pain."

"Come on man, you're saving me, not hurting me. But now that I say that, I should make someone else do it, that way, you can't come back and be like, well I saved and helped you with those four arrows that were in your back that one day."

"No! Just... Alright, I will pull them out..."

"Alright," Spyro said, turning his back to Malefor and as he reached for the arrows, he continued, "Now you have to commit, alright? As soon as you are going for it, just pull the damn things out. The longer you leave them in the longer I will have to deal with them. So you ready?"

Grabbing a hold of all four with one paw as they were fairly, he nodded, "Alright... Alright, on three. One, two, three!"

Pulling the arrows from out of his back, Spyro growled in pain as he fell to the floor and rolled his back on the grass. Everyone hissed through their teeth as even they could just feel the pain themselves. Throwing the arrows to the ground, Spyro laid on his back and chuckled, confusing everyone. Rolling over on to his side, he jumped up and explained as he healed himself with the hour glass, "Please, you think a couple of arrows are gonna make cry? Haha, hey Sparks, now that I think about it, how many arrows have my blood on them at this point? That one from my heart, the hill one, probably a pile more."

Tapping his chest, he twisted the hourglass completely and pushed it inside of him, healing all his wounds. Looking at his back, he grumbled, "Oh yeah... my back and body is still all bloody."

"Well, I can help with that," Ignitus said, snapping his finger and causing all the blood to turn in to a white light before disappearing.

"Ah, thank Ignitus."

"You're in trouble Mister," Cynder growled playfully as she walked up to him, and he was just as scared as everyone else, "You promised me you'd be okay. Being okay doesn't involve you being stabbed in the back by arrows. Now you're going to make it up to me now or else I will have to force you to do so."

"Is it bad, if I want you to force me?" Spyro chuckled with a small blush.

Putting her paw on Spyro chest, she whispered, "I can force you to do a lot of things."

Gently pushing his chest, he fell over to his back as she stood above him. Just as she went in to kiss him, he put a claw in front of her lips, and she giggled at him, "No way are you going to tease me like this."

He chuckled, but looking away from her, he was actually trying to have some alone time, "Don't worry, we will catch up soon. If you need anything, I will hear Malefor squeal like a new born Hatchling."

"Alright. Even after what I did, you're going to be like this?" Malefor chuckled.

Everyone continued to walk and decided to give the two some time to themselves, and Sparks crossed his arms as he wanted to say something, but he couldn't because he knew he'd die for sure, so he just decided to tag along with everyone else. As he put his head on the ground and watched upside of everyone leaving, he sighed, glad he could have some alone time with his lover. Picking his head up, he had no time to respond as his lips were quickly silenced but his lover's lips. Closing their eyes and pushing into the kiss, she thought to herself, _I need more!_ Pulling away from the kiss and opening their eyes, Spyro chuckled, "Sorry my love. I just got into the moment. If it was a more serious threat, I would've been more careful, but a couple of apes? Please, even in my sleep."

"So you can fight apes in your sleep but not kiss me? Which one do you like more: Me, or fighting? Seems like making sure Malefor isn't the dark master and fighting is your priority over me. If you can't fulfil my needs to kiss you, then I will need to find someone else who will kiss me."

"Well... when you think about it, when ever I kiss you," He paused as he moved his mouth up to hers and whispered, "It always involves you and me, fighting for control over who gets more of the pleasure out of the kiss."

Pulling his head back and laying his head in the grass, he looked at her with a raised brow while she stood there with a big red blush on her face. Taking his paw up, he slowly and gently ran his a single claw up her neck, causing her to shiver with a smile. Pulling his claw away, he said to your with a gentle smile, "Without the chains, it makes me feel good knowing that I can now put my own chains on you. An invincible one where you'll always have to follow me, and you always have to love me. My own personal creation for you to love me."

She giggled at him, and looking away, she tried not to show her blush. Looking back at him, she laid down on top of him with her chest on his. Nuzzling her neck underneath his, the two smiled. Pulling her head back, she giggled about the whole chain idea, "Why would you go through the trouble of making me a chain when everything I want I do now?"

His eyes widened from what she had said. He smiled and before going back in for another kiss, he thanked, "Thank you, Cynder."

* * *

"See that's the kind of power I want. The power to, to take an arrow to the knee and keep on going!" Malefor continued on and on about how he wanted the power that Spyro had, and they all understood completely as having power like that seemed like fun, "I mean, could you image? Getting, stabbed, cut, and slashed just to be able to wipe it off like it's nothing? But even as I think about it, Spyro's scared for me to have that power. Do you think he really would train me to that kind of level? I believe he will train me but, that kind of power is, unimaginable! Maybe even unreachable."

"Unreliable, Unreal, Unrelated, Unrealistic! Oh man, I completely forgot how many vocabulary words start with, 'Un'," Volteer chuckled, having fun as he was able to talk about a bunch of words.

"Hey Volteer, I know you don't want me to, bring this up but, I really do wonder. Please don't take this the wrong way but, it's about... Ersa."

"What about her?"

"You're not... you know... upset?"

"No I... I am frightened to say the least but, I believe and trust Spyro's words. I know she is out there somewhere and I'm going to find her. So you have nothing to worry about. What do you want to know about her?

"Well, what was she like? Did you two get along well? Did you, act the same?"

"Dear Ancestors, yes," Terrador and Cyril agreed, but Ignitus couldn't say anything because of what Volteer had said about his hopes of finding Ersa.

"How?" Malefor asked.

"Imagine hearing a word like, Electrostatic, mainly because they worked with electricity a lot while we were there. Now imagine hearing Electrostatic, along with probably three other words, twice, like an echo yet, they were both entirely too much in sync. It was scary how much the two were similar to one another. We never really knew whether or not the two were related or not. We couldn't exactly talk to The Chronicler as we had never seen him, nor did we know where he lived. We did know those two weren't related because we met both Volteer and Ersa's parents. And now that I talk about The Chronicler, we believed you we lying where you were going because we thought he didn't even really exist," Terrador explained, now kinda feeling bad as he missed those memories, but because of what was happening, they were never able to experience what it was like to hang out with her.

"Yeah, the dude was really secretive about who knew and who didn't know who he was. Which, I was the only one so, he was very secretive. But going back to what you said, Sounds like Volteer had a blast."

"Hehe, I did... I really did... And I can tell you right now, like what Terrador said, we aren't related. I've met her parents once before, really nice too. But... If we find her... when, we find her, the first thing I'm going to do is ask her... to be my mate."

"What?!" Almost everyone cried.

"Look, I'm not going to miss my chances with her again. I went from liking her, to loving her, and I know for a fact I would live my life in eternity with her. And I don't think I can do that thing that other lovers do where they wonder if their lover's love them enough to become their mates, or if they would still find someone else to become their mate. So, as soon as I get the chance, I will ask her."

"Man, Volteer. If that happens, I don't think we can joke about you and other guys," Malefor chuckled.

"Look at that. Quadruple Bonus. I get to see my lover again, I get to ask her to love me and become my mate, I don't have to worry about being picked on, and most importantly, I don't have to worry about the dark master ever taking her from me ever again... right, Malefor?"

Malefor sighed as he chuckled, "Yes yes, of course. Great, now you sound like Claire."

"I asked for a very good reason," She defended herself.

"You did, you did. Still wondering when you will say what you did in that hallway."

"I'm trying... It's one of things where it is super easy but, at the same time, super difficult."

"Trust me, Spyro and I both know."

Ignitus didn't hear what the two were talking about. He was too busy in his thoughts, mentally slapping himself as he had hoped Volteer wouldn't get his hopes so high on finding Ersa. Even with all the brain power in the world, he couldn't find a clear answer, _I can't tell anyone about it either. I want to desperately tell Spyro because I know he would have the answer but... he is the main driving source for Volteer. If Spyro tells him the bad news... I don't even know if Volteer will even talk to anyone ever again... I... I have to tell him the bad news, I can't keep it a secret. It will break his heart either way._ Knowing how difficult this would be for not only him, but Volteer, he sighed, and apologized, "Volteer..."

"Hey guys! We are back," A voice came from behind them as they saw both Spyro and Cynder running beside one another with smiles on their faces.

Everyone was now back in their normal position with Spyro and Cynder in front along with Malefor, his lover, and Sparks. The Guardians were in the back with Claire walking next to Ignitus. Malefor was glad to see the two were okay and decided to tease them just a little, but he knew he couldn't go too far or else he would never gain Spyro's trust, "So Spyro, you enjoy your time back there?"

"Dude, don't get jealous because I know how to kiss my lover and you don't," Spyro chuckled.

"I know right, he never kisses me the way I want him to anymore. What do you think I should do, Spyro," Carith giggled as she wanted to mess with her lover, and it worked.

"Wait wait wait, we are not doing this again. If we weren't in this death forest, you know I would tackle you to the ground no matter who was watching. I even did it outside, right over all of Warfang, technically, and I didn't care, because I knew you needed a kiss just as much as I needed one. And I know you got dizzy just as much as I did because that kiss felt amazing," Malefor remembered back to that time, and as his lover remembered back, she couldn't agree with Spyro or go along with the joke as it really did feel amazing to her.

"Sorry Spyro, he's got me there."

"That's okay. Plus, if you did leave, Malefor would've been like, it's all your fault. Then he would cry and whine about the true purpose of the purple dragon again, and then he would've gone all dark master on me."

Everyone chuckled at the joke, and Spyro saw that Malefor still felt bad that he thought he was the dark master. It took every bit of power in his body to admit it, but Spyro was thankful to him for his help, "Oh and, thank you, for the help Malefor. I'm glad I was able to trust you with everyone while I fought. But next time, maybe you can help me fight while the Guardians watch everyone. That way we can get things done two times as fast."

"Thank you Spyro but... That power... what if it falls into the dark master's paws? Maybe you're right... maybe I shouldn't get more powerful..."

"So you are admitting the dark master will return?"

"No I'm..."

"Then quit whining. This power is to help protect you and your lover, along with anyone else that comes in your life, correct?"

"Yeah but, why trust me with that power?"

"I just told you why. And you told me why you wanted it so... I want to give it to you, and help you get to where I am."

"You trust me with that kind of power?"

"I trust Carith to make sure the dark master doesn't get that kind of power. But yes, I do trust, Malefor, and only Malefor, with that kind of power. Understand?"

"Of course! I promise, I won't let you down!"

"Great, I made Malefor feel good about himself... How much further Sparks? You know where the Guardians can rest, and we aren't much further from our parents house, so how much further are we from our other destination?" Spyro asked, watching as Sparks turned and stopped right in front of him, causing him, as well as everyone to stop.

"Well actually, we are about right near it. So I will take the whining Guardians and the other three, while you and Cynder go meet our parents. After I'm done showing them where they need to go, I will be right back and join up with you when we meet our parents. Sound like a plan?" Sparks explained, earning a nod from his brother and a glare from the other Guardians, "Alright then, let's get going... I'm getting tired again for some reason."

Everyone went their separate ways with Spyro and Cynder continuing their walk to his parents house and the Guardians along with Malefor, his lover, and Claire all following Sparks to his location. As Spyro neared his parents house, Cynder started to feel a little scared as she didn't know how they would react to seeing her. She had never met or seen his foster parents before, so she couldn't even tell if she should or shouldn't fear for her life. Unable to suppress her fears, she asked her lover, "Spyro, are you sure that, your parents will want to see me?"

"What? Of course. Why do you ask?" Spyro completely agreed as he looked at her, and even as comforting as his smile was when he looked at her, she still wanted to make sure.

"Well, I mean, my past? What if they don't like me like how Sparks doesn't like me? You know Sparks is going to tell them about what I've done, and what I've put you through. What if your parents don't like me for that reason?"

"I will make sure he keeps his mouth shut. And you have nothing to fear, I promise you. Lets just say that, other Cynder, didn't come around here at all so nothing really happened. My parents still live happily, and they only had Sparks so they haven't lost anyone. I'm sure everything will be okay."

"Alright... I will, try. And... Spyro... I know you didn't know, your... real parents... but do you think they would've understood about my past the same way you do? Or do you think they would've been like how Sparks was? I... I'm sorry to bring it up but, I wanted to know."

"It's okay Cynder, I swear. But honestly, I think my parents would've been just as nice to you as I am. I mean, I believe my mother and father were just like me. And now that you talk about it, I wish that, I could've seen my parents, at least once. Just to see who they were and how they were. Maybe I could convince Ignitus to give us just a glimpse of our parents. Maybe we could even read up on their past to see how they use to be."

"Really?"

"Of course. You've never had to chance to see your parents, so, I feel like it would be nice if I could convince Ignitus to let us read about a special day in our parents life. Like, when they first fell in love, when they first met, that kind of thing. Kinda like how it was with Malefor's past."

"If only I didn't do what I had done... you wouldn't have to read of their past... you could still be talking to them today."

"Cynder, if I hated you for what happened, I wouldn't have told you I loved you. And just remember about who really killed them. You didn't have control, the dark master is controlled you. But the good news is that, I still have my foster parents, my brother, you, and my friends. And I'm not saying I don't want to see my parents again but, if they were alive, what would've changed? Would Malefor be dead right now? Would Carith still be in a coma? Would I have never met you? Would we have never fallen in love? There is so much that could've happened that we don't know about. I know my foster parents are just like any other parent; They would do anything, even die, if it meant protecting their young one. And, even though my parents are dead, they succeed in what any parent would've done."

"Even though they died, you still live?"

"Which even means your parents succeeded as well. I'm not going to say that I don't want to see my parents again, and I'm not going to say that I wouldn't jump up on the first chance I could to save either of our parents because I would in a heart beat. All I'm saying is, in the end, more good came before us then harm, and, at least that means something... right?"

"Yeah... I guess I does. And if Ignitus let's us read of our parents past, I don't know... I would feel a little better knowing that they had a good life at least."

"Will it make you happy if you could read of your parents past?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing just... just wondering."

"What are you planning?"

"Well, you know me. When I can make my lover happy, I have to try everything in my power to make it happen."

"Hehe, thanks Spyro."

"Any time."

As the two approached the house, they saw a dragon fly rolling and pushing a small log towards the house that had a small size hole in the top of it. Walking over to the Dragon fly as he struggled to roll the wood over there, Spyro quickly realized it was his foster father: Flash. Pushing the wood one last time, he stopped and wiped off the sweat from his forehead. Taking his wing off Cynder, Flash watched as a purple dragon picked up the piece of wood for him. He smiled at Flash and asked, "Does someone need help repairing our house?"

Flash's face lit up as he quickly realized who it was, "Honey! Come out here! Spyro's returned!"

"What?!" A voice cried from inside the house.

The three looked over at the house to see another Dragon fly flying from out of the hole in the ceiling of the house. Quickly flying over to her son, Nina cried, "Spyro?! Oh my gosh you, you, you look so much older and handsome. You've even put on a lot of muscle! So how have things been? We haven't seen you in years. And it looks like in those years, you've even found someone I'm assuming? Oh she's a pretty one."

Cynder blushed and thanks for the compliment, "Thank you, ma'am."

"Even good manners, Oh. There is no way she's with you," Nina teased him.

"What do you mean? I have good manners... I hope," Spyro defended himself.

"All I'm saying is, it's surprising to see my little dragon has grown into such a man. You must tell me what has happened over the years, and not to embarrasse the two of you or anything but, are you two like, a thing or, is she just her with you. I'm only asking, not being rude. I just wanted to know if my little Spyro has found someone yet over the years."

"Well, it's actually funny you say that because, well, Mom, Dad, this beautiful dragoness is actually my lover, and her name is, Cynder."

"Cynder?!" The two parents gasped and Nina continued, "You mean the... The Cynder from the past?"

"Mom, it's okay. That's not actually who Cynder was. Long story made short, she was corrupted by darkness by a dark master. I saved her, and we fell in love along the way. And another story made short, the dark master who corrupted her was also corrupted himself because he thought he had lost his lover but his time ability put her in a coma when he tried to heal her. So, through the years, Malefor was saved, Cynder was saved, The Guardians are all saved, And one of them even found a lover, who we saved."

"Wow, sounds like you had your paws full on that one. Wait, then what happened to my Sparks?!"

"I'm here, mom, just had to go and help everyone else out real quick," Sparks said as he flew over to everyone else and next to his mother.

"Sparks?! Even you have grown. And it looks like that deep voice of yours has even come in. Maybe now you should try and get some ladies," Nina joked with her son, causing him to blush a little, but he was lucky his parents were here, as it was almost all the easier to embarrasses both Cynder and Spyro.

"Please, unlike my brother here, I don't need a girl to keep me sane. I'm one hundred percent man."

"You don't need a girl to keep you sane and yet you needed your mother to do so?"

"What? What are you talking about?"

"When ever you had that nightmare, you couldn't sleep at all so you came to us. My poor little Sparks was so scared at that time."

Everyone chuckled at Sparks's misery and Spyro was glad his brother's plan back fired on him. Sparks looked behind himself to see their was a hole in the top of the house, and looking back, he asked what had happened, "Why is their a hole in our house?"

"Lets just say it was pretty windy down here at one point and a tree branch decided it wanted to take our roof with it before it flew into the water. We are slowly making repairs to it but luckily nothing bad had happened. But enough about that, I want to hear what you all have been up to. Where have you been, where do you live now, that kind of stuff."

"Well, now we live in our own home, technically," Spyro explained, "The Guardians built us our own house in Warfang on top of the Guardians Building for us to live in. Funny enough, Malefor and his lover live in that house with us because he has nowhere else to stay, and it's also good because I can keep an eye on him in case he goes dark master again and tries to kill us."

"Wait, but I thought you said Malefor was saved? Does this mean he's still the dark master?"

"It's... confusing..."

"Spyro's butt hurt because Malefor hurt Cynder even though he had no control over it. Even though he has a lover now and he tries to make everything right, he still gives him Hell for everything he's done. Which, Mom, maybe you should teach him a lesson about that. He has been very rude to that dragon and I'm starting to think he needs some help with his anger," Sparks said, causing Spyro to sigh as he shuck his head slightly.

"So, the darkness that corrupted him is or isn't gone?" Nina asked, still confused by the whole situation.

"It's... still there, it just isn't at the point where he could use it," Spyro tried to explain again, as he tried to put it as simple as possible, "Okay, so, basically, the darkness is still in him, but because he has his lover back along with all his friends, its not able to come out and make him take the form of the dark master. So, as long as he has his lover and friends, the dark master won't come back."

"So the dark master and Malefor are two different dragons or are they the same?"

"They are different, but in the same body. Like I said, since Carith, Malefor's lover, is alive along with everyone else, he is Malefor right now. But if anything were to happen to them, then the dark master would take control over his body and attack everyone out of hate or guilt, but then again, he has no control over it so..."

"Well if it's like that, why do you hate him if he attacked Cynder? Of course, I would be upset as well but, if he had no control over it then, wouldn't you be able to forgive him easier? And it's not like he killed her so their is no harm done there. Or, is it one of those things where it's like, you wouldn't understand, kind of things? Because if I'm not understanding then help me do so please."

"No no, you're... you're right."

"So then why do you hate him?"

"I don't know... I'm trying not to hate him it's just... after what he's done to Cynder, I'm just scared to think what might happen again."

"But you said if he had his lover and friends then he would be fine, right? So that means you don't have to worry until something happens with them right? And, let me ask you something, after what he's done, has he tried to make up for it? Has he tried to become your friend?"

"Yeah. Why do you ask?"

"Well, maybe it would be best if you were his friend as well. I mean, the more friends he has along with his lover, the happier he will be. And since hate and loss is what makes this dark master fellow come from within, then maybe keeping him happy is the best way to go. Cynder, after what he did, did you forgive him? Or do you still hate him for what he has done?"

"Well... after a lot that had happened, and after he returned to his normal self, he tried everything to show me he was sorry and that he never wanted for him to have hurt me. I trusted him a little in the beginning, but as the days went on and I saw everything he was going through I, I just felt bad, and I knew it wasn't his fault so, I forgave him for what had happened. I use to have these chains around my neck because I was scared of becoming the dark master's servant again but, with the unknown help of Spyro, and the help of Carith and Malefor, I took them off because, I wasn't scared anymore," Cynder admitted, and unfortunately, the more and more they talked about it, the more Spyro felt bad as if he should've trusted him a long time ago.

"See, Spyro. Everyone has a heart even when you think they don't. For some it takes longer for it to show. Some hide it because they are scared, upset, or because something happened in their life. But in Malefor's case, his heart wasn't showing because he was corrupted. But now the he isn't, and you know he isn't a monster, why not trust him like everyone else? And if he does do something that scares you, or makes you think he is still the dark master, then talk to him. He would feel better if he knew what was up rather then being looked away from and ignored."

"Alright, alright," Spyro sighed, making up his mind on the situation, "I promised I would trust Malefor completely when ever I got back so that's what I'm going to do. Hopefully it won't come back to bite me but, I guess I always have my powers to rely on. But then again, I guess I don't need my powers... all I need is Carith in order to take down the dark master."

"There you go. Everything works out for everyone and no one gets hurt. So now what's up? Is there anything else on your mind?" Nina asked, seeing Spyro shake his head with a smile as he was glad he was able to talk to his mom about what was going on.

"Dude, Cynder's been saying the same thing for days now but it takes our mom for you to finally understand that?" Sparks asked, looking at his brother with a raised brow, "I feel like you just don't listen to her, and maybe it would be best if you two just broke up."

"Sparks, come on man, cut me some slack. If it wasn't for Cynder, Malefor would've already been dead. If it wasn't for her, I wouldn't have trusted him as much as I did. And even before we left, I said I would trust him completely and that was all because of Cynder. Hearing it from my mom just gives me an other huge boost and shows that I should trust him. Cynder's been the biggest help I could ever ask for," Spyro said, feeling bad about what Sparks had said, but it made him smile as his mother got on to Sparks about it.

"Don't tell those two to break up when you don't even know a single thing about being in a relationship," Nina scolded him about what he had said, "Now apologise to both of them right now."

"Okay okay... sorry... Spyro..."

"And?"

"Sorry... ugh... Sorry... Cynder."

"Thank you. But now, I have a question for you, Spyro," She stopped and flew over next to her son, and even as she tried to whisper it, Cynder could easily hear, "Now, when you mean you and Cynder are in love, do you mean like, tomorrow she is going to be your mate type deal, or, you're already mates, and soon I will see your Hatchlings running around our yard."

Both of their faces went as red as fire. Spyro tried to act as if what ever was said wasn't important, and all he had to do was hope his lover didn't hear, but unfortunately, she did, "No, me and Cynder are just lover's. We have been living a normal and happy life together and that's it, nothing more. I don't know why you would ask if we only cared for each other when I said I loved her, Hehehe, you're so funny, mom."

"But your still going to at least make her your mate, right?"

"Hehehe! Of course, I will make sure to give her a loving kiss when ever I can," Spyro chuckled through his teeth, feeling embarrassed as he dripped sweat.

"I'm only teasing."

As she flew away, Spyro ducked his head and close his eyes. He put both his paws over his eyes, completely embarrassed by what his mom had said to him. Sparks chuckled as he had enjoyed seeing his brother so embarrassed, and this time, because it wasn't him, neither of the two could yell at him because it wasn't his fault. Cynder didn't want to say anything because she thought if she did, she would give away the fact that she had heard what they were talking about. But even if she wanted to, she couldn't find the words to say anything as she was to busy trying to figure out whether or not he would've said yes to any of those questions. Sparks laughed as he said, "I think you broke the two."

"I don't know what you are talking about," Nina acted innocent.

* * *

"Aw, this is so much more relaxing then I thought," Malefor purred happily as he, along with everyone else, sat in question circle as they rested their bodies in the water with their heads and some of their neck sticking out of the water, "Thanks for the save Terrador. I was about to die while we were flying. I know I didn't want to same much about it but, Damn, was I in pain. It was nice of Spyro to do this for us."

"Please, I wasn't the one struggling as much as Cyril was. I thought his body was going to lock up on himself as he flew," Terrador chuckled as he felt relaxed now that he was able to sit down in the water without worry.

"Oh when we landed, I thought it about did. And Malefor, what do you mean? Spyro wasn't the one who brought up this little spot before we had left," Cyril said, but he wasn't really complaining either way, this water felt to good to him.

"Oh please, he would've brought it up at some point or another. And if it wasn't for him really, we might not have made it here all that easily, or at all for that matter. But even still, thinking back, how was he able to do such a thing with his powers? I mean, even when he fought you Ignitus, what was it like? You know, fighting Spyro and all? What was his reaction when you broke his arm?" Malefor asked, desperate to know if he would be able to get such power for himself to protect everyone the way Spyro does.

"Where to being on that. When Spyro is, in his dark mode, it's quite scary to be honest. While he fought, he was so desperate to win which is understandable. But every time I would punch him, slice at him, or burn him with fire, he would wipe it off, heal so quickly, and then come back for more. I thought he could take a little more of my power, and... I have to admit, I was having a little fun as well. But because of this, when he went to punch me, I took the chance and punched back... and then..."

"And then, snap," Claire hissed through her teeth with a slight chuckle.

"But that's what was wired, he didn't know."

"What?" Malefor asked, even more interested.

"Yeah. He took a step and fell. When he looked to his arm, he found out why. I told him he would win if he promised to call a quits. But, snapping his arm back into place, he... he smiled at me and laughed. He looked at me with the biggest smile on his face and said, 'This is a once and a life time opportunity to spar with my father. Being able to fight you makes me feel, makes me know, that I was successfully able to save everyone'. But, what he says next might surprise you Malefor."

"Spyro saying he will kill Malefor isn't surprising," Carith giggled.

"He thanked you."

"What?!" Malefor cried, "You're joking aren't you? You're just trying to make me feel better after what just happened...? Right..."

"Even I'm not that evil. But after he said about how happy he was because he saved everyone, he kept his smile as he spoke to me, and tears ran down his eyes from joy as he spoke, 'Ignitus, I did it! I was able to save everyone just as I wished I could've! And with Malefor's help, together, me and him can prevent ever having to worry about such a thing as loss ever again!'. And just for you, I asked why he said your name even though he didn't trust you. All I remember is a chuckle, and before he disappeared behind me and attacked me, he said, 'Maybe he isn't so bad after all'."

Malefor's smile grew wide, wide enough to show his teeth. He was so excited to hear that he really did have his trust, it was just Spyro never showed it to him. _I have his trust! I really do, but the only problem is, I can't ask about what happened without sounding suspicions. And I don't want to lose his trust when ever I did what I did in the morning, which was stupid of me! Which means, all I need to do is... just keep letting it play out. Hopefully he will trust me fully once again._ Feeling great that his friend had smiled from what he had said, Ignitus thought it was now time to pick on him more for old time sake, "I can't believe you, Malefor. You had your chance to set everything right, and yet, when Carith and all of us were in trouble, you just stood there."

He broke from his thoughts hearing these words, and he knew he was trying to pick on him about what happened, "Alright, listen. Last I recall, you four were the one's there from before, which by your standards, that means you should've done something rather then just stand there and doing nothing. I could've even won, I just... needed to watch after everyone while Spyro fought. His words too."

"Oh is that true? Or were you just scared that you wouldn't be able to win so you let Spyro fight? And as for me not fighting well, you already know I can't because I'm the Chronicler, and also because I could've easily obliterated all of those apes with the flick of my finger. So I guess it was better Spyro fought and not you. We wanted a warrior to defend us, not a disappointment."

Malefor growled as he stood up from the water, "Disappointment?! Says the one... where you... I..."

"Yeah, trust us, it's pretty hard to fight with Ignitus. When you think of disappointment, we think of what happened with Claire, but he succeeded so, we can't really think of anything after that," Terrador chuckled, causing the other Guardians to chuckle along with him, and even Malefor had to agree he was right.

"Claire, Ignitus really does have another lover and he's cheating on you!" Malefor cried as a last resort.

"Oh is he now?" Claire asked with a raised brow as she looked at Ignitus, "I don't know who I should trust more, Malefor of all dragons, or the Chronicler, I mean, Ignitus... I still don't even know who the Chronicler. If it's true you've been keeping secrets from me, I wonder, what other secrets do you have that I don't know about?"

"None. Just the fact that I'm the Chronicler. Maybe while everyone is walking around the Dragon Temple, I can explain what the Chronicler is," Ignitus defended himself calmly as he didn't want her to fear if he was or wasn't cheating on her, which he wasn't, "Nice try Malefor, but if you want to bring lover's into this, then why don't I tell Carith the thoughts of the past? Spyro knows, I know, maybe, she should know. And even I know these thoughts are true... because you talked about them with me back then."

"Thoughts? What kind of thoughts?" Carith asked, looking at her lover to see he had a blush.

"You're fighting with fire, Ignitus!" Malefor growled.

"Well, I am a fire dragon. It's what I do," Ignitus chuckled.

Everyone noticed that the water started to warm up a little more then it did before. Everyone looked at one another aside from Malefor and Ignitus as they continued to look at one another, waiting to see what one another would try. Feeling the water warm up even more, every quickly jumped out of the water, leaving Malefor and Ignitus in the water. The water started to boil and steam hissed from the water. Malefor bit his lip as the burning water started to get to him, but he knew he could easily win by trying something else. A small rock structure pushed him just up above the water, and just as his paws left the water, he froze over the water completely, trapping Ignitus inside the now frozen over water.

"Ha ha! What are you going to do now?!" Malefor laughed, feeling as if he won.

"Well, one of two things, I could either use my mouth and burn my way out..."

"Then I could always shut you up."

"Or... I could simply walk out?"

"Come on Ignitus, you think you're so good with your powers. Try getting out without using your fire."

"Oh, okay..."

"You mean like this?" Another voice said as everyone looked over to see Ignitus appear from behind a tree.

Almost everyone was confused as they looked at the clone, then Ignitus, and then the clone again. Walking over to himself, the clone placed a paw over the ice, causing it all to crack before completely breaking. Ignitus climbed out of where the water used to be and chuckled seeing Malefor roll his eyes at him with a smile. As Malefor jumped off his little platform and on to the ground next to his lover, the clone placed his paw on Ignitus's shoulder and disappeared in a white light. As the light faded, everyone looked to see Ignitus chuckling as he said, "You said no powers, so I used a clone instead. Or I could've just broken my way out with my paws which would've worked just fine but, hey, it worked didn't it?"

"Yes! Yes it did! But making a clone means you are using your power which means I win!"

"Alright alright, fair enough."

"Win... Win?! There are no winners! The water is gone?! It's all gone!" Cyril cried as he was enjoying the warm feeling of the water all too well.

"I got it, I got it."

Snapping his fingers, the ice melted quickly. Water quickly filled the hole once again with warm and steaming water, causing everyone to sigh with joy.

"Okay... all is forgiven."

"Not all. I want to know what thoughts you had of me? If Ignitus knows and Spyro knows, then that must mean it's from the past. What kind of secrets are you keeping from me my love?" Carith asked with a raised brow, seeing as the blush came back up from his face which made her know that something was up with what they had talked about, "Tell you what, you tell me, and I could make it worth your while."

As she spoke, she moved her claw up his chest, then his neck, and up to his chin. Taking her claw off, she placed her claw on his lips, and he shivered as he knew he had to say something, but he couldn't take about the Hatchlings thing so freely. As she took her claw off his lips, he was still at a loss for what to do. So instead, he knew of something else that would be embarrassing to say as well, but wouldn't give him away, "Well... It's just... I thought I should also put on some more muscle so that way, when ever I... control you, it would be cute to see you blush and smile as I stand above you."

"Wow... Some one is way to desperate to be loved right now," Terrador teased with a chuckle.

"Nice try, but you weren't the dark master back then so saying you would control me isn't going to work on me. Now, Tell me the truth this time," Carith said with a small smile, causing him to blush even more as he felt trapped, and everything he thought about was either about the Hatchlings or about how he wanted to control her to make her do his bidding.

"Okay okay... when ever you walked down to the Guardians Chambers a couple of days ago, I talked with Spyro... I... In order for him to trust I was me, I talked about how... For now on, the only evil thing I will do, is... suck the life from you every time I kissed you... I'm guessing Ignitus just had to listen in and after that Spyro told me to be quiet. I just thought it's... a little embarrassing to say it in front of everyone but... Do you at least trust me?" Malefor asked with a small chuckle, but as true as it sounded to everyone else, she still knew he was lying, but she didn't want to embarrass him further by asking for the truth.

"Hey Carith, I will vouch for Malefor. What he said wasn't bad or anything about another dragoness, Trust me. It was about how happy he was about your love, nothing else. And because he talked about it, he was able to convince Spyro to trust him so, you're fine. He can't really say it now, but I know for a fact, in the future, he will tell you one day," Ignitus decided to help him out as it was his fault for causing her to think something was up, and she sighed, deciding it would be best to just trust both their words.

"Fine... Just kiss me," Carith commanded, quickly being tackled and locking lips with Malefor, causing everyone to turn away with somewhat chuckles.

* * *

"So, Spyro, what brings you around here? I know Warfang is such a long ways away, and I know you didn't come all the way out here just to talk to your parents," Nina giggled, trying to get their minds off of what she had said in hopes they wouldn't be too embarrassed to talk.

He sighed as he tried his hardest to forget about what she had said, mainly because he didn't know whether or not Cynder did or didn't hear. Putting his paws back down to the ground, he opened his eyes and picked back up his head and tried to forget about what had happened, "Well, one of the Guardians lost someone. Her name was, Ersa, and, I promised him I would help find her. So we were going to head over to the Dragon Temple in hopes we could find some answers. And along the way, me and Sparks thought it would be a good idea to visit you both since, well, it's been a long while. I also wanted to introduce you both to Cynder."

"Ah, one of those kinds of deals. Well, I agree that Cynder is a keeper. And when ever you go up to that Dragon Temple of yours, I hope that you find answers for your friend."

"Thanks, mom."

"Anytime. Just when you do leave, I better see you again soon. Just do at least visit us no later then that year you took, okay? I also miss my little Sparks."

"Mom..." Sparks grumbled.

"Hehe, will do."

As Spyro stood up, Cynder looked over at him and followed along. As the three turned and started to walk away, Spyro turned his head around and said as they continued to walk away, "Thank you mom and dad! I will hopefully see you all soon!"

"A year isn't very soon now is it?!" Nina joked.

"I promise I will visit before that year!"

"I'm holding on to that promise!"

Walking into the woods to find the others, the three sighed, glad they weren't able to be embarrassed once again in front of one another. Seeing that Cynder was still blushing slightly from what had happened, he knew just the thing to help change her mind about everything that happened, "I'm glad you met my parents. It was nice to see that after so many years that they are still alive and well. Well, hehe, aside from what happened from their roof."

"Yeah... I was surprised to see they actually accepted who I was pretty easily. But, then again, they were never attacked or harmed by the dark master so, I don't think it really counts," Cynder some what agreed and disagreed, but even still, she was glad she didn't cause harm to someone else in Spyro's life, and she openly admitted it, "I'm just glad I didn't hurt your parents. It seems like everyone close to you was always hurt by me in the past."

"What? Cynder..."

"I know, I know, I didn't have control over it and all. I guess coming back around here doesn't really bring back happy memories for me either. The Dragon Temple attack, me capturing all the Guardians. And what happened to Malefor and Carith, along with all the other Guardians... Hehe, but you always seem to make everything better even when I have these thoughts. When you smiled, going into battle and coming back out from it... Even with the arrows in your back, you just kept a smile and laughed. And, I think you really changed how Malefor felt about coming out here, along with everyone else."

"Hehe, sorry. I was is just having so much fun. And because Malefor was watching after everyone, I was able to concentrate completely on fighting the apes. Little Bastards got some good hits off me as I was trying different things to see how well I know my power and what not. I don't know what was more satisfying: Kicking off of trees in a blink of an eye and killing apes, or knowing that killing all these apes will keep everyone safe."

"Let me guess, keeping everyone safe wasn't as satisfying because you protected Malefor?" Cynder giggled.

"Hehe, you know me too well. But, between the two, I was kicking off trees while Malefor was keeping everyone safe. So I guess it worked out for the both of us. But I still did most of the work so I feel like I deserve all the credit. Me and you can both agree that Malefor was just there while I did everything, okay?"

"I don't know, I feel like Malefor was doing more of the protecting then fighting. You killing an army of apes is nothing to you, which means Malefor protecting us was like nothing to him, so either way, I think you both did the same amount of work. And all the while Malefor was working under undesirable amounts of pressure. No doubt everyone was just as scared as those two."

"Yeah... alright, I will give it to him."

Walking from out of the woods and joining up with everyone else, Malefor saw the two, and was scared Spyro was going to say something as he was so into the kiss he was having with his lover right now, and he didn't want it to be ruined. He watched as Spyro looked at him, and everything told him to pull away from the kiss now. But he didn't have to at all. Spyro only smiled at him, and went to talking with the Guardians as they approached them. His eyes went wide, both confused and happy about what had happened. Pulling away from the kiss, Carith opened her eyes and looked at him with a teasing voice, "You weren't as, into the kiss, half way through. What happened? Was I taking too much of your life while I kissed you?"

"Spyro..." Malefor looked at her with confusion, "He saw me kissing you, he, he looked right at us, and yet, he didn't say anything. But... why? Spyro usually always says something, but, he didn't this time around!"

"Looks like he is starting to see you for you maybe. And speaking of maybe, maybe you should ask him."

"Yeah but, it's one of those, if I ask him, will he be cool about it? Or understanding? Or a little in between?! I don't know how I'm supposed to take that. I'm so use to him calling me out as the dark master, and then I would have to tell him I'm not, and then that would be like, the trust type thing we got going on. But, now that it's just like, a kissing thing, rather then a Dark Master thing, what do I say? What can I say correctly?!"

"You'll figure it out, I know you will. Who knows, say the right thing at the right time, you might have his friendship a lot sooner then you thought possible."

"Yeah... yeah, you're right! Alright, I will try!"

Helping his lover up, he heard what sounded like wings flapping into the air before getting quieter and quieter. With the two now standing side by side, Malefor looked over to see the Guardians and Claire were gone aside from Spyro, Cynder, and Sparks. Walking up to them, he asked what had happened, "Where did the Guardians go?"

"I told them to wait for us at the entrance of the temple. Ignitus doesn't want anyone going in until after you see it first so it took a little more convincing from both me and the others," Spyro explained, opening up his wings and continuing, "I decided to wait for you so you didn't feel lonely out here, but now that you're done, what do you say we catch up to the others?"

"Yeah, of course!"

Opening up his wings along with everyone else, they took to the skies with Malefor and Spyro right next to one other which is exactly what Malefor wanted as he was desperate to talk with him about some of the things he's said and done. Trying to figure out how he would word it was the hardest part as he didn't want to come on too strong and completely miss his chances of getting any answers. Instead, he tried a much easier approach to his conversation, "So, hey, Spyro. I wanted to thank you for letting me and Carith have our moment. I know you don't like when I kiss her but, I needed it after what's happened today."

"'Don't like it when you kiss her'? What are you talking about?" Spyro somewhat chuckled as he somewhat already saw through what Malefor was planning, "I don't care if you do or don't kiss your lover. I only care when you kiss and wipe your drool all over my floor. But when it comes to her kissing you, I feel safer when she does. She kisses you, you kiss her, and that means that their is no need for me to worry about whether or not that the dark master will come back or not. Not saying I need to fear, just saying I have the fear."

"So you do still have fears about who I really am?"

"I will always have fears about the dark master, and I will always have my fears on what can or will happen when he returns. My fears about you aren't permanent. I know I shouldn't fear you as I know you are trying. I know Cynder trusts you a lot because she has been through the same thing. But as you can imagine, Cynder is one of those exceptions who I forgave on the spot. And unlike you, she isn't some random dude."

"How did you know Cynder wasn't going to kill you when she woke up?

"Well, after I saved her, I saw who she really was, and that's also similar to you. "

"So then what makes my situation anymore different then Cynder's?"

"The fact that Cynder wasn't the cause of everything, and also because Cynder wasn't the dark master who controlled and tried to conquer everything in sight."

"Dude, the only thing I try to conquer now is..."

"Stop! Stop... I already now what you are going to say."

"Then come on. One good reason, one reason that involves me, and not the dark master. I want to know why you don't trust me."

"I do trust you, and it hasn't taken me all of yesterday for me to trust you... And the only reason I'm still scared is... maybe helping you with your dark powers would make me fill a little better. I know Carith is like an instant dark master off switch, but it will still be nice to have that extra help, you know?"

"Wait, so... You already trust me completely?"

Spyro only smiled at him before seeing that they had almost missed their landing. Flying down to the balcony with everyone else following, the Guardians all looked to the skies to see them coming down. As they landed, coming back here brought back some memories for everyone, and Ignitus picked on Spyro about those such memories, "Hehe, it's funny Spyro. I remember the first time we were here, you couldn't even fly. You never even knew such a thing was possible."

"Hehe, yeah. But it's funny how it took a ten year old, rather then a master of fire to save all the Guardians. What was that all about?" Spyro joked along with Ignitus, earning chuckles and giggles from everyone as the Guardians remembered that time very well.

"I wasn't at my greatest when we first met."

"Trust me, I know. But man, coming back here reminds me a lot of what has happened. It definitely looks a lot nicer then it did before... Wait, how is this... Oh yeah, you gave us all that memory. You know, it never really crossed my mind where we were. It's wired how much memory you gave us when we slept through."

"Well, Malefor was just asking question after question."

"I was curious that's all," Malefor said, "But now that we are all here, somehow, shall we?"

Everyone nodded at him. Malefor walked in front with Carith while everyone else followed behind. Everyone was excited to finally be back at their old home as they never even knew they would see the light of day. Approaching the doors, they worked just as they had done before. They opened slowly inwards, revealing the inside of the new and improved Temple. Walking into the Temple, everyone looked around with smiles and joy to see everything was just as they had hoped it would be. But looking in the middle, everyone stopped, and Malefor shed a tear of joy. Rather then the statue revealing the dark master, it showed Malefor in his original form, and beside him was his lover, Carith. The statue formation showed the two sitting side by side with smiles with his wing draped over her. Ignitus walked up to Malefor's side, and what he said almost made he smile too wide, "I said I was going to fix everything that happened. This was just one step closer to make that dream a reality."

Even though he didn't look at him as he was still amazed by the statue, his smile showed, along with his teeth. Spyro walked around the room with his lover following, and looking over at Malefor, the two looked at one another. He didn't want to ruin such a good time and moment for him, so instead, he made him feel even better which made Malefor shed tears of joy with wide eyes and a smile, "You know, I like it in here as well. Much more realistic then before. Much more... Peaceful."

Seeing how wide he was smiling, Spyro sighed with a smile, and Cynder kissed him gently on her lover's lips for being so supportive of him. Pulling away from the small kiss, the two smiled at one another, and she whispered to him, "What are you after? You keep being this nice to him, and I'm pretty sure the dark master will be completely destroyed from within Malefor from joy. Is that what you are trying to accomplish?"

"Hehe... Maybe... I guess I should've trusted him a long time ago. Maybe we would've had a lot more fun together, pranking the Guardians and what not... I guess I will give him all my trust, and, if he keeps it up, he might just have my friendship if he keeps acting the way he is now."

"Friendship? Spyro, what's gotten into you," She teased.

"You've taught me a lot when it comes to trusting Malefor. And, he didn't hurt you, and you forgave him for what happened in the morning so, I guess, I will trust him. I've always lived with fear and anger for the dark master, but, with Malefor's joy, you're happy, I'm happy, The Guardians are happy, and because of this... why not trust him? I know he was just excited and wanted to see if I did or didn't trust him so, I'm going to ask one more time, are you a hundred percent sure, we will never have to worry about the dark master ever again?"

"I've been sure since the day he became his old self. Everything he did to help you and protect me even though he could've easily killed me, it showed that we were wrong. I love the life we have right now and I don't want to lose it. And honestly, without Malefor, it wouldn't be the same. He really is a great guy, and I understand why Carith cares about him, and loves him so much. And with everyone having his back, along with you, I know for a fact we will never have to worry about the darkness ever again... And without having to worry, we have more time to ourselves."

"Hehe... always here to help aren't you?"

"Says the one who's been helping me ever since he saved me. What I'm doing now is nearly a super small portion of what you've done for me."

"Please, you've done way more for me."

"Who knows, maybe we can have some fun by asking Malefor and Carith who has done more for each other: Me or you?"

"Yeah, knowing him, he would be all for it... Hehe..."

"So... I, and I know everyone else will agree that they just want to keep Malefor safe, and that they all trust him. I want to know if you yourself trust him. You don't have to go off of what I've said to keep me happy. If you're happy, I'm happy as well, same as how you feel. So, tell me the truth. I won't be upset either way, I just what to know your opinion. Will you trust him, or will you think he's the dark master for some more time?"

Spyro looked over to see Malefor hugging Ignitus with a smile and thanking him, along with everyone smiling at them. After the two pulled away from the hug, the two made a joke with one another, causing Volteer to blush and roll his eyes. Seeing everyone laugh and smile, he sighed as he looked back at his lover. She smiled at him, and he couldn't tell himself that he hated him any longer, "Alright... I will trust him, even if he pulls what he did before."

"Yes!" Cynder cried happily.

"Hehe, how come you're excited about that."

"Because, now I can have girl time with Carith and Claire without having to worry about you two at each others throats. And I know Carith would be just as happy as I am, because then soon, Ersa could join in along with us, and we could all have fun! All of us, laughing and joking, me and you kiss and cuddling! Spyro...! It's... it's everything I could ever want...! It's..."

She couldn't hold in how grateful she was and hugged him. Putting her head over his shoulder and wrapping her wings around his back, she thanked, "Thank you Spyro... I remember when you walked out to the balcony... Hehe, you said you weren't scared of me... all you wanted to do was help me. And look where we are now... and it was all thanks to you... And here you were saying I did more for you..."

"You're welcome, Cynder. But now I'm scared. What would've happened if I said I didn't trust him?" Spyro chuckled

Pulling her head and wings back, she placed a claw on his chin and moving her face close to his lips, her breath made him desperate to kiss her, and that's exactly what she wanted to do as well. Before pushing into the kiss with him, she teased him, "If you would've said you didn't trust him, then you wouldn't have earned this."

While the two kissed one another on the other side of the room, the Guardians and everyone else continued their conversations with one another. The only difference was that Volteer had disappeared as he went in search for his book. As the doors to another room shut behind him, he was now in the main hall that had many other doors leading to the pool of visions, training rooms, or to the back of the temple. Running over to a training room, the door opened for him, and he quickly ran inside. Looking all around the ground, he found a brink that had writing on it. The two letters that were carved into the brick were: V and E, signifying for his name and Ersa's. Pulling up the brick from the ground, he frowned to see that the book really had disappeared. _She has to have the books their is... their is no other explanation... I told Ignitus to come here and find it but... Wait, if the Dragon Temple was still being reconstructed by Ignitus's powers, then how did he come here in search of the book?! Was he lying to me?_

"No, Volteer, I didn't lie to you," A voice came from behind, causing him to jump a little, but as he looked at him, it was only Ignitus, "Don't worry, I'm just a clone of him, not the real deal. But what happened was, when I came back to see if the book was their, I was already repairing the Temple at the time so I had believed the book would've been here. But even after I completely repaired it, the book wasn't here, which leads me to believe someone has it."

"Then it has to be Ersa!" Volteer cried, hoping that it would be his long lost lover.

"It's not Ersa, Volteer, I can tell you that right now."

"And how do you know...?! Wait... did... did you read... about her past? Is she really dead...?!"

"Volteer... I... I didn't read her past, not yet. And know you are desperate to find her but, just don't get yourself killed in the process."

"If you are the all knowing Chronicler, why won't you help me? You understand what it's like to have someone, you understand what it's like to love. I need that back in my life, I need her back. Please, Ignitus, you have to give me something that I can work off of. Just give me a clue, something that you are able to do to help me know where she is, something that will help me know how she's doing okay... please."

 _The only thing I could say... is how she's dead... And I still haven't figured out how I will tell him because I've been so busy,_ Ignitus sighed as he thought about what he should say to make him feel better, and he knew telling him what really happened would crush his heart. Now he was back to where he was before, wondering whether or not he should tell him the truth, or if he should continue to lie to him about what really happened. He wasn't able to say much as he saw Spyro walk right past him and ask Volteer, "There you are, Volteer. What happened? I thought you wanted me to help you find Ersa?""

 _What the?! How is Spyro... Where is Cynder? He wouldn't have left her... oh... okay, she is with me. I was going to be surprised if he trusted her with Malefor... Wait, she was just talking to me, and now... she's talking to Carith?! No way Spyro actually trusts him enough to leave her around Malefor with him not around her?!_ Ignitus thought with wide eyes, as he looked back to the conversation Spyro had with Cynder before he came here, and all that came up was him telling her to stay safe and to stay around the others. Breaking from his thoughts, he saw Spyro cheered Volteer up which gave him more time to think about what he should do. Turning back around, Volteer went to place the brick back, but there was a small tip of a sheet of paper in the side of another brick. Looking at it with wide eyes, he asked Spyro for some help, "Spyro, you see that little piece of paper? Do you think you can pick the bricks up from on top of it?"

"Pulling bricks that are cemented into the ground with my bare paws? Hehe, sure," Spyro chuckled, grabbing the brick with his paw and easily ripping it from the ground.

Volteer's eyes went wide as it was a sheet of paper from the book. Reaching down and picking up the sheet of paper, it was a project the two were working on with the title at the top being: 'The Darkness Controlled And Powered Ring'. Looking at the sheet of paper, Volteer held the paper to his chest as a couple of tears fell from his eyes. He chuckled slightly as he wiped away his tears and looked back at the paper to see all kinds of words and elements written all over it. The smile on his face made Spyro smile as well, but he asked as he wondered what it was, "What is that?"

"Hehe, it was a, very important project we were working on for quite some time. I wanted to bring Malefor back by using a special powered ring that would take away the dark powers and conceal them inside the ring. The ring had special property's to it. All we would have to do was put the ring on either Malefor's horn or finger, and it would've absorbed all the darkness into the ring itself as long as he wore it."

"What happened to it?"

"A lot of research we lost before the attack because Ersa blew it all up because she accidental mixed two chemicals together. I quickly ran over, threw it all our work, protected Ersa by blocking her with my wings, and bam, all of our work was gone. She blamed her self and apologised. She felt terrible for what happened but, I was actually quite happy that happened."

"Wow, Volteer, you wanted her to blow up that bad?"

"Hehe, no. Most of what we worked on was stuff like weather control, power control, and some time, we tried to work on darkness control, like with the ring. And even though we lost it all, I was glad she was okay. And I felt even better knowing that, even though we lost all of our progress, we were able to do it all over again, together. And I wasn't mad in the slightest. I comforted her, and we back to having fun and making work once again."

"So, the ring was destroyed as well?"

"No. Surprisingly, Ignitus was messing around with it as he trained in the training room. He kept fighting a fake Malefor in the training room so he could figure out how he would be able to fight him before putting the ring on. It was the only thing that survived the blast from the little chemical mix up."

"So you don't know where it is?"

"No... any one could have it. All I know is that I gave it to Ersa while I helped her escape."

"Well... then that means, if we find the ring, we can find Ersa. So you want to go and search for her?"

"Yeah. Let's... let's hurry before something else could happen."

Placing both of the bricks back, Spyro walked over towards the door with Volteer following behind. As Volteer walked past Ignitus, he stopped and looked at him. Reaching out his paw, he gave the paper to Ignitus. Grabbing the paper from his paw, Volteer apologised and asked just for one favor, "I know there are things you can or can't do, because of the rules and stuff and I'm sorry if I lashed out at you. But, could you please, please keep that paper safe. I don't know how but..."

"Hehe, don't worry Volteer, I will place it in a new Book that I will lay on your bed. Of course the couple thousand pages will be blank so you can work on something else, but the very first page, I will put this page in it, okay?" Ignitus smiled, and his words along with his smile made Volteer do the same as he was very thankful to his red friend.

"Thank Ignitus... And, once again, I'm... I'm sorry."

"Don't worry about it. Just go with Spyro, and I will promise to have the book ready on our return to Warfang."

He smiled and nodded at him before running over and joining up with Spyro as he was waiting at the door for him. As the two ran out the door and towards the back, Ignitus looked at the paper and sighed, missing the times with Ersa, _Ancestors why... Even when Terrador talked about her, with the two saying the same vocabulary words in unison was just... it's honestly what kept us pretty happy through those times... Oh no... if they go back there, they will see her body!_ The clone of Ignitus disappeared in the blink of an eye, quickly heading to the White Isle to make the book.

* * *

After the clone was done with what he said he would do, he came back and joined his body with Ignitus's. His eyes went wide as he gained all the information from his clone. Feeling his heart beat faster and faster, he didn't want the two to see her body, and he thought about everything that could happen, _Even if they find her body, it's probably bones right about now and that would destroy him to see! He could see all the blood or... or... oh no, Volteer... I'm so sorry... I don't want him to know about her death like that! And I don't know where her body is to move it before he sees, but even doing that, I would have to later tell him what I had done!_ A paw rested on his shoulder, causing him to shiver from the sudden feeling. Looking up, he saw it was Claire, and she looked scared for his health. He was sweating, his heart was beating so loudly he could hear it from his ears, and his eyes were wide with fear. Everyone looked at him with fear as well.

"Ignitus... what's wrong?" Claire whispered softly.

"Yeah, I know you're probably not supposed to tell us, but if the Chronicler flips out about something, does that mean we are all screwed or..." Malefor chuckled, somewhat scared for his life along with everyone else's as he started to feel as though coming here was turning out to be what he had feared.

It was even more stress on him as he couldn't tell them the truth either, and unfortunately, he had to live with the fact that the two would find out the truth either way. He sighed and calmed himself, and instead of telling them the truth, he lied, which he knew only dug himself into his lies, "Yeah, Yeah, everything is fine. I thought I didn't put a support up in one side of the building while I was remodelling it but, we are all safe now, I promise. I just checked."

"Don't do that to us man..." Malefor sighed.

"Okay, so if she came out from this back way, we have to check four different ways she could've gone. Either she went: Left, right, forward, or she flew over the Temple to escape. You knew her the best so, where did she go?" Spyro asked, looking over to see Volteer started slowly walking to the left back side of Warfang with out even saying anything, which led him to believe that she went this way.

* * *

Running up to his side, Spyro followed along with him at somewhat of a slow pace as they looked all around for any signs of the lost dragoness. Spyro didn't want to say anything as he knew Volteer was concentrating on trying to find any sign or clue of where she could've gone. Looking at the ground, trees, and surrounding area, he was able to piece together more and more of what could've happened. Walking up towards of the trees, Spyro stopped and watched as Volteer worked his magic in finding out what happened. Putting his paw over a slice in the tree, he thought, _The cut goes to the right and not the left, which means..._ Taking his paw off the tree, the two continued through the woods where he found another cut on the tree. Placing his paw on the cut, he went to his thoughts again, _This one goes to the right... So if the fighting started over at the first one which took us right, then this one takes us right again..._ Taking his paw off the tree, he continued his journey with Spyro. Seeing another cut on the tree, there wasn't just a cut, but blood a little bit of blood on the tree. Seeing this made his eyes go wide as he looked away from the tree and ran to the middle of the field. Looking closely and examining the ground very carefully, he made he way to a tree. Looking at the tree, he focused and saw very faint blood that seemed to have spilled downwards. Spyro couldn't see and of the blood at all, but to Volteer, he was able to see with a simple glance. _Apes don't bleed, and neither do dark creatures. Either Malefor was back here for some reason, or there was another Dragon, or... Ersa was back here!_ Seeing the blood, he was able to see what looked like a trail. Following the blood trail, Spyro followed close behind, even though he was confused on what he was doing. As he followed the blood trail, it stopped right next to a tree, but after that, nothing. _What...? Where is the blood?! Where..._ Running around in circles to find any sign of another trail, he didn't find anything that would help or even lead him towards advancement. As he stopped back at the blood trail, his breathing started to get heavy as even he knew it himself that no one else was over here at the time.

"Volteer, are you okay? Is there something you're seeing that I'm not?" Spyro asked taking a step forward before Volteer freaked out with his explanation.

"Spyro, no one else could've possible been back here! The cuts on the trees lead us more and more into where the right led. There was blood on one of the trees which must mean that a dragon was injured while they fought back here. The blood spilled on the ground for a little bit before they ran over here and... Spyro... Ersa she's... she was the only one back here. Even if there were others around here at that time, they would've ran away before the attack even came back here. There are no red gems around here so who ever was attacked, they would've never been able to heal! Which would result in their... demise," Volteer cried as his body clenched from sadness and anger as he knew their was no other explanation for what had happened or who was back here at the time, "She laid on the floor... before running back here... and ultimately... dying..."

Spyro frowned as he wished it weren't true, and he had wished he could've helped his yellow friend, but something struck him as odd. Walking over to the tree and then walked around the area himself, he didn't spot what he was looking for. Coming back around and standing in front of Volteer, he asked him, "Volteer, it's true that a body can decay, but... this ring you had worked on, to strip the dark master and bring back Malefor, you said you gave it to her, right?"

"It was the only thing we had left after the explosion..."

"Well, unless it was made of flesh, where is the ring?"

Picking up his head, he realized he didn't see the ring either, and Spyro continued, "I looked around as well and I didn't see any ring. But unless someone else somehow came all the way out here, picked it up and is now using it... where else could the ring have gone? So, if you gave the ring to her, she either dropped it, threw it, which isn't something that sounds right, or..."

"She still has it on her! But, where do we look?! The trail just goes cold here, I have nothing to go off of. What do we do?"

"We just have to make a safe assumption that she is out there. Anything could've happened to that ring, but if you were as close as you said you wanted to be to her, maybe she felt the same way to you. And if she did, she would've never wanted anything to happen to that ring. So now the bigger question is; if she is alive, where is the ring now, and how did she get out of here alive?"

"What if she was in Warfang?! What if she's waiting for me?!"

"As much as I wish that were true, it's been some time. How come she hasn't show herself now? She's had all this time, even after the dark master was supposedly defeated. Why didn't she go to you then? And why hasn't she shown herself even after the dark master came back? "

"Maybe... maybe she is just scared to see me, or... maybe she is just... just... with someone else."

"Hey, Volteer, it's okay. We will find her no matter what, alright? Until we have all the answers we need, we can't completely say what has happened to her, okay? Just trust me when I say not to give up hope on her. Don't you miss all those inventions, those creations that you two made, all the fun you shared with her while you two worked with one another?"

"I do... I really do."

"Then keep your chin up. Or else, next time your chin is down, Ersa will be lifting it up with her tail blade, so try not to look down anymore."

"Hehe, sounds easier said then done."

"I never knew I would save Malefor from the dark master, and that was easier said then done, and yet, it happened. So who knows, maybe this will be, easier done then said, especially if we see her walking around the streets of Warfang. But for now, lets be glad we found answers on her whereabouts. Until we find that ring, we won't know for sure if she is or isn't alive."

"Yeah... yeah, you're right!"

"Alright then. Let's get back to the others. It's getting late so we need to head back soon."

"Okay."

* * *

With everyone chilling out with one another in the main room, The Guardians all spoke with one another while Ignitus and Claire talked some as well. Malefor saw that his lover was talking to Cynder, and even as risky as he knew it would be to approach her while Spyro was away, he still had to try. Walking away from the Guardians, he joined the other two who sat near the middle of the room in front of the large statue. Sitting down next to his lover, the two looked at him as he said, "Hey, Cynder, can I ask you a question?"

"Of course," she replied happily, "What's on your mind?"

"Well, do you know where Spyro went?"

"Yeah, he went out back to help Volteer search for his lover. Why do you ask?"

"So... he isn't near here?"

"Oh no... The dark master has returned to take control over me hasn't he?"

"What? No, of course not."

"I'm only teasing."

"Oh right, sorry."

"So what did you want to talk to me about?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted help on your abilities?"

"Which one and how?"

"Well, I possess the power of wind, same as you. I wanted to see if I could help you find out something that you never knew how to do with your powers before."

"What for? What are you after?"

"I know that Spyro doesn't have the same powers as you so you probably haven't really learned all that much of your abilities. And since I could help you with one, I was wondering if you wanted me to help you. I'm also hoping that maybe Spyro will see that I don't just want to improve myself, but everyone else around me to keep us all safe."

"Then shouldn't you give Carith lessons on her ice powers?"

"Malefor doesn't want to admit it, but even with how powerful he is, I took some lessons from him and the Guardians so, I would say I'm pretty good when it comes to my power," Carith said, and Cynder quickly understood as it made more sense to her.

"Well, what do you say?" He asked.

"Alright, lets see what you can do that I can't," Cynder smiled, watching as Malefor pulled up a claw and formed a small tornado at his claw tip.

Pulling her claw up, she was able to do the same, and he raised a brow with a smile. Looking over at the wall, he pulled his paw back before throwing it forward. A huge gust of wind exploded from his paw before hitting the wall with a loud smack. She smiled, but just as before, she was able to do the same thing. Performing the same moves as him, the gust of wind hit the wall, but it wasn't as powerful as his. Using his powers once again, a small circle of air form around him which was nearly invincible. Slapping his tail blade to the ground, the circle of air exploded from around him. Even as impressive as it was for Carith to see, Cynder was able to do the same thing. As the air formed around her, she slapped her tail blade to the ground, causing the air around her to explode. But just like before, it was a little weaker then when he used his power. He smiled to see she had learned so much without having a teacher, but he knew there was one move that took him weeks to master and he knew she would never have found this one out. Placing a paw out, a small ball of air formed within his paw. Pulling her paw out, she tried to do the same, but every time she would try, the air would either disappear, or nothing would come to her paw. Placing his paw down, he chuckled, finally finding something she didn't know how to do yet, "I'm impressed to see you have learned so much on your abilities without having someone to teach you, Cynder. This little air ball trick took a while because, well, trying to hold in air on your paw takes a lot more concentration then just making wind swirl around the tip of your claw."

"No kidding. For some reason the air wouldn't stay. Why is that?"

"When ever you try and hold in the air, you have to center the air around your paw as well to make sure the air doesn't go anywhere else aside from your paw. But that's difficult because you have to keep constantly having air around the ball to keep its shape or else it will just disappear into the wind."

"I guess I do still need some training. Is their any other techniques you have with your wind power?"

"Not many others as they are difficult to either control or master. One technique that I wish I could work on some more is being able to use another one of my abilities while using my ball of air so it could turn into say, a ball of fire, a ball of electricity, and you know the others. But it's not the easiest thing in the world to master."

"Well, in a world of peace, we have all the time in the world."

"World of peace? Wonder what Spyro has to say to that, you know, since I'm alive."

"I'm sure you would be pretty surprised."

"Wait, Cynder, how many elements do you possess?" Carith asked, feeling as if she had come up with a theory.

"Fear, poison, wind, and shadow. Why do you ask?"

"Malefor... When ever I was in my coma, tell me the truth, did you ever try anything with a dragoness? And I want the truth."

"What?! No, of course not, I swear. When would I even have time to, you know, mate with another dragoness if I was all around the world killing dragons. Well, the dark master was, I wasn't," Malefor quickly cleared up and defended his name before continuing, "But now I'm with Cynder on this one; Why are you asking?"

"Well, my theory is that Cynder is really your hatchling, and that you've cheated on me with another."

"What?!" Malefor and Cynder cried in unison, looking at one another with blushes, and then looking back at Carith.

"Well, I don't know what Cynder's primary element was before, but if it was wind, and you possess wind as well, wouldn't that mean that her power came from someone else who had the power of wind? And another thing I don't understand, how does Cynder possess all these other elements?"

"When the dark master corrupted me, I gained the other elements," Cynder explained, "But as for Malefor being my father..."

"You would be correct to assume," Ignitus spoke as he startled the three, both with his sudden appearance as he sat down with the three, and with his words in general, "Well, not to scare anyone, but it is actually true that Cynder's first element she had before she was corrupted was wind. But before Carith dumps you because she thinks you cheated on her, which, Carith, I can vouch for him, he didn't."

"But then why does her primary element more look like her shadow ability, or fear? If her primary element was wind then, wouldn't she be white? Similar to how if you're red, you possess fire, along with all the other colors of the rainbow," Carith asked, earning a slight chuckle from Ignitus because of the way she phrased it.

"Well, Cynder was actually just as rare as a purple dragon. Even though being born as a, grayish black as Malefor said, she somehow possessed the power from her mother, but not her father."

"Wait! Ignitus! My mom and dad... who were they?" Cynder quickly cut in, as she remembered Spyro talking before how he could help her find out more on her parents.

"Well... Spyro and Volteer are coming back so, I can't tell you now, but I can still give you some what of a taste when ever you want to read of your parent's past. I heard you and Spyro talking about it and I would be more then happy to comply. But for now, I can tell you this; Your mother was a beautiful white wind dragoness, and your father was a very strong, and very caring for your mother. He was the same color as you, and possessed the power of shadow."

"And what about their names?!"

"Hehe, you'll learn more about them, I swear. And as for how they met well, that's a story in its own."

"I guess I understand, but what do you mean how they met is a story of its own?"

"Wink wink," He teased some more.

"Alright alright, I get it."

"I can't believe you think I cheated on you. Do you really think I'm that bad of a dragon?" Malefor asked his lover, thinking that maybe she does know something that not even he knew, and he wondered if maybe while he was in his dark form, he forgot something, but he knew he remembered everything, "You are my one and only. And how could Cynder be my hatchling if I stole her when I was the Dark Master?"

"Oh yeah... I forgot about the. Sorry, just, making sure," Carith apologized with a slight smile and a giggle.

The sounds of doors opening filled the room as everyone looked over to see Spyro and Volteer had returned from their journey. Ignitus knew they wouldn't be successful in their search, but he was glad that they didn't find her body as he thought they would. But now thinking back about what happened, he remembered how they talked about her body not being there, and how it could be in Warfang. _But this doesn't make any sense. Of course a body can be moved, or she could've moved more prior to her death, but how come I don't even know where her body is? It's like it... disappeared... Oh no... when the earth split apart, her body could've fallen into the core of the earth as it came back together! I never thought of that! But... if that were to happen, how would I explain it to Volteer...? Either way, she has dead but... I still have no idea how I will tell him,_ Ignitus thought more about it, coming to the conclusion that her body must've fallen into the center of the earth during the battle. After the two had talked with the Guardians and Claire, everyone joined back up together as they walked over to the other four. Sitting down with a smile on his face, Volteer said to Ignitus, "Well, we are ready to go when ever you are. Unless you want to stay and spend the night of course."

"Are you sure?" Ignitus tried to play it off as if he didn't know what the two had found, "I'm all for going back. I'm just making sure you are ready to go back as well."

"Yeah. I have about all the answers I'm going to need here. I love this place a lot, and I love what you've done with it but, there are somethings in Warfang that are still left for us to find and help out with. And even though you completely rebuilt the place, hehe, not having a bed would suck so, I would rather sleep back on our beds then on this rocky floor once again."

"We should also leave because last time we stayed here, Cynder went on her little adventure, and then we had to chase after her. And I don't know about you, but I am not about to go through that again," Sparks agreed to go back, earning a small glare from her as she knew why she left, but Sparks still didn't understand, and she knew he never would.

"Alright well, when ever you all want to go, I will teleport us there," Ignitus said.

"Wait a minute," Spyro and Malefor said in unison.

"I thought you couldn't teleport long distances?!" Malefor growled.

"And I'm pretty sure the Temple is the same distance away from Warfang no matter how you look at it," Spyro growled along with Malefor.

"Tell us the trust Ignitus."

"Why did we have to walk and fly when you could've just teleported us?!"

"Hehe... okay, okay, you got me. I can easily teleport when ever I want. That's usually how I can get to the White Isle and what not so quickly as that is pretty far away. The reason I couldn't teleport you all here was because... well... the Ancestors already told me of the attack that would happen and why I couldn't teleport you all."

"I knew it! I call it right out that gate!" Malefor said.

"They wanted to see how powerful Spyro had gotten, and they promised me no one would die so, I had to comply. Nothing would happen if we walked back but, you know, why bother wasting your energy when you could just teleport, am I right?"

"I both hate and respect you. But as long as you don't kill yourself or anyone else by losing your job, I guess we are fine."

"So, are we all set to go?"

Everyone nodded except for Sparks as he said, "Actually... I'm not going to go."

"Sparks? What do you mean you're not going?" Spyro asked, as he looked up at his brother.

"Well, I don't really have much to do when I'm around anymore. I loved the adventures and all but, now that things have settled down, I think I want to as well. I mean, since things have calmed down, the only thing I do is sleep and make fun of someone else about loving someone else when ever possible and that's really all I've done."

"Yeah but, you can still sleep in Warfang. And when ever you wake up and feel like talking you can still do that. You don't have to go Sparks. And where would you go?"

"To our parents house of course. And yeah, that is true and all but, I haven't really spent time with our parents in forever and I just feel a little homesick that's all. I'm not saying that I'm tired of being with you at all but, who knows, maybe in the future after you've dumped Cynder, I will come back, and then me and you can just have nothing but bro time, am I right?"

"We can have bro time any time you want. And as for dumping Cynder..."

"Yeah yeah. The power of sucking faces for one another is just too powerful. But look at it this way, when ever you want to see me, you can teleport over here with Ignitus and his, strangely only relevant when it needs to be teleporting ability. And I won't be gone for long, I hope. Okay, just going to hang out with my parents for a couple of weeks maybe and then I will be right back to the good old Spyro and Sparks duo combo."

"Hehe... The duo combo? But... I'm going to miss you... This is like the first time that we are splitting up."

"First time? You never even saw me for a full day. That was basically a split up right there."

"Oh yeah... I remember that day."

"And while I'm at my parents, I will help them repair their house so it doesn't get flooded when it rains. But just remember, you can always visit me when ever you like. And couldn't you just get here in a matter of seconds when ever you, break the sound barrier?"

"Such a Bitch of a lie," Malefor chuckled.

"I know, right," Sparks agreed.

Spyro sighed after he chuckled, but he knew that his brother wanted to spend some time with his parents and he understood that. He also knew that it wouldn't be forever so he would see him again. With Sparks helping out his parents he would be able to try and get a better understanding about the difference between Malefor and the dark master, which he already had his mind made up on, but at least he could focus on it more. All he could do was hope he would see his brother again, "Alright Sparks, but, before you do go, I want to walk back with you so we can have one more bro time before you go. I won't say last because, when you return, I promise we will talk more, okay?"

"And who are you going to leave Cynder with? The Guardians? Last I checked, she was more powerful then them. And then you got Malefor, which I mean, then again, he could always just control her to make her stay out of trouble so..."

"Even though I'm not the dark master, I wish I would've succeeded when I stabbed you," Malefor grumbled.

"We can only dream," Cynder sighed with a smile, agreeing with Malefor.

"Ignitus can literally tell me what is happening no matter where he is. Or she could walk back with me. But I know if that happens, you'll die before you even reach our parents home," Spyro chuckled.

"Cynder, quick, go with him," Malefor whispered through one side of his mouth to her.

"Don't worry, Spyro, I will watch after Cynder for you until you return," Ignitus said, earning a smile and a nod as Spyro looked at him.

Looking back at Cynder, Spyro asked, "Is it okay if I walk Sparks home?"

"Just be safe, okay? Last thing I want to see is some arrows in your back again," Cynder giggled, earning a smile and a nod from her lover.

Looking back at Sparks, he nudged his head towards the door and the two walked away from everyone. As the main doors opened, the two walked out, talking and joking about everything that has happened in life. As the door closed behind the two, Malefor sighed, somewhat sadly, as he wished that Spyro would've trusted Cynder with him instead of someone whom he already trusted. And in a way, he understood, but he was at least glad to see he trusted him enough to be around her. Ignitus saw this slight frown on his face and wanted to help him with that as the day had been pretty good to him so far, "Malefor, can I ask you a favor?"

"Oh no..." Malefor slightly chuckled, "What could you possibly need me to do?"

"Well, going back and forth uh, takes up a lot of my power, so I was hoping you could help me with something."

"But does it really?"

"Well, no...but let's just say for a moment that it does. Because I'm using up all this power, I don't think I'm going to have enough to protect everyone, so... I was wondering if you could do that for me?"

"What are you getting at?"

"Well, I will tell Spyro I couldn't protect everyone while he was away, and I entrusted Malefor with that job. With you on the job, no one suffered any kind of injury or anything. I'm sure Spyro will see you more and more as a friend to him after he hears what you did. He already trusts you a lot more then he did before, and putting everyone's life in your paws while he is away, you could get some mad points from him if you play this out right."

"You really think so?! But, why help me on this?"

"I'm not like the old Chronicler, Malefor. I want to help you as much as possible for what's happened back then. You could have Spyro's friendship, but you do have his trust. You and him fight along side each other with us at your side... well, the Guardians at your side, and I'm sure no matter what comes our way, you all can take it head on without a problem. This helps everyone, because it also keeps peace in the world as well. Win-win, am I'm right?"

"Sounds like a fantastic idea but... who else aside from Spyro doesn't trust me?"

Looking around, no one said a word. All they did was smile at him as no one really had fears for him anymore aside from Spyro. He smiled back at everyone and thanked, "Thank you all... for believing in me!

"Look, if Cynder can trust you and believes you aren't evil, I think that means your friends should have done the same a long time ago. Well, we already did, but you know what I mean," Cyril smiled.

Looking at Cynder, Malefor asked just to make sure it was okay with her as well, "Well, do you agree with his plan? I know you said you trusted me but... I just want to make sure."

"Hehe, Please, I was alone and I would've easily been killed by you in the past, but you didn't," Cynder giggled as seeing him still scared that she didn't trust him was understandable in a funny way to her, "Hopefully the past doesn't have to repeat itself again on this but, if you do a well enough job, protecting me, then I will put in a good word for you when Spyro gets back. And all I want in return is what I've already received; Reassurance that you won't become the dark master again, so everything works out fine."

"I know I've said it before but, thanks for trusting me so much, Cynder. I will never understand why though."

"It's one of those things where I never understand why Spyro loves me when he could literally have anyone he wanted, and even if he told me, I would be like, tell me again because I don't understand. I would tell you some more of why I trust you but, don't you think it would be better if Spyro was here so maybe he would understand why I see you as someone we all trust as well?"

"Well, I know one reason Spyro probably picked you is because you are a lot smarter then you look."

"Be careful, you keep complementing me, and Carith will keep thinking you're my father."

"What?!" The Guardians cried as they weren't there for that conversation.

"We can talk about this more in Warfang. Ignitus, when ever you are ready."

"I'm just waiting for you all to close your eyes," Ignitus said.

"Why do we have to close our eyes? Why can't we just go there?" Malefor asked.

"Because if you don't, you'll get knocked on your ass with a massive headache. The reason being is because, well, image seeing something going by at a blink of a speed. Your mind just would not be able to process it and you get knocked to the ground by the pain. And their are some other factors like the White light you all usually see when I use my powers."

"Please, I'm sure I can keep my eyes open."

"You know what, go for it. I'm going to enjoy going back and constantly reading how you fell on your ass from nausea."

"You're on. Ready when you are."

"Alright, let's do this. If you all don't want a headache, please just do what we normally do."

Everyone did as they were told, aside for Malefor as he wanted to take the challenge and see what he was fussing so much about. In the blink of an eye, his eyes went wide as he was thrown through the building, then a forest, then all the way into the The Guardians Chambers all in the matter of a millisecond. The pain quickly hit his head as everyone else appeared in the chambers. The Guardian all sat where they usually sat nearly the door in the back of the Chambers. On the left was Malefor and Carith, and on the right was Cynder. Malefor fell to the ground, grabbing his head with his paws and groaning in pain as he rolled to his left, then his right, and then his left again as he groaned in pain. Ignitus chuckled to see he was right, "I don't want to say I told you so, but I did, so, I told you so."

He could barely respond as he was to busy trying to stop himself from spinning. Constantly opening and closing his eyes, he felt like everything around him was spinning and he couldn't stop it. The spinning finally subsidized for the most part, and trying to stand to his paws, he kept one of his paws on his forehead the whole time. His lover was nice enough to help him up, and she couldn't say anything as seeing him in pain was something she most feared. Coming back from the dizziness, Malefor could only laugh it off as he joked, "Alright, I will admit... ugh, Damn, that hurt... How do you... get use to that?"

"I don't. Even for me, I have to blink every time I go somewhere or else I would slam my head into a wall trying something like that. I tried it once before and well... that's where the whole, me slamming my head into a wall thing happened."

"Why didn't you just like, teleport me like that when I was the dark master? I'm sure you would've taken me out for sure."

"Hehe, I find it funny how our protector while Spyro is gone is already down for the count. I guess we are just going to have to say Ignitus did his job well in protecting everyone," Cynder teased him as she giggled, feeling a little bad for him as it did look like it hurt a lot, but she wanted to see what he had to say.

"What?! I'm not down for the count. If I was down, then how am I still standing up?"

"I can help change that for you," Ignitus joked.

"Don't even start. Last I checked, I worked for my power. You simply took power from the other Chronicler which was never yours. How about you work for your power some time?"

"Technically..."

"'Technically, I think that I'm so smart because I stole the smarts from the Chronicler as well'," Malefor mimicked what Ignitus would say before he said it and now that he was having a little fun, the pain subsided, so he put his paw from his forehead back to the ground.

"You know I can control dreams right? You feel like having a nightmare tonight?"

"Oh, a threat! A threat from the red Guardian himself...! But, I'm curious... what kind of nightmare would it be? I'm sure I can endure almost anything."

"The dark master?"

"Old news."

"Spyro?"

"Cynder wouldn't let that happen."

"The Guardians killing you?"

"Hahahahaha, oh man, that's, that's a good one."

"Then I guess I have to pull out the big guns."

"Big guns? You mean the muscle you didn't work for as well?"

"Carith..."

"No. No! I already know what it's going to be."

"You wanted a nightmare didn't you?"

"Hell no. I just said I could endure most nightmares. But any that have to do with Carith? I will be on the floor crying faster then your little jump to hyperspace."

"I wonder if you will be crying faster then Spyro breaking the sound barrier," Carith giggled.

"What is with all you in that? He can't, break, the sound barrier. The only thing he can break is my bones because that's all he does."

"Why don't you believe he can?" Terrador asked.

"One, it's bull. Two, I'm a little upset that he can do that and I can't, even though you all trained me. I guess you all didn't train me very well. And three, the speed for that is way beyond what you all must think it is. I mean, what was the speed you had to go again?"

"Three hundred forty three meters per second," Volteer explained.

"You know, even if I asked, I wouldn't know how fast that was. I was never good with miles per hour and feet per second. Like I just, i couldn't tell you even if I wanted to."

"Well, with that speed, he could easily reach the Dragon Temple and Warfang in a matter of seconds," Cyril pointed out.

"I don't mean to bring up bad memories but, Spyro and his, dark form. If I was successful in killing one of you, which I am extremely glad I didn't! What kind of power would I have witnessed?" Claire asked, feeling kinda scared to ask that question, but no one told her other wise, in fact, they all started talking about it, even joking about it.

"Spyro probably would've made my little forehead tap that I did on him seem like a hatchling trick," Ignitus laughed, making Claire smile as she was glad he wasn't mad at her.

"Yeah, when ever the dark master attacked Cynder, sorry again, I thought I was going to die. Almost every attack I tried to use to hit him, bam, blocked, bam, blocked. I was like, Damn man, at least let me get a hit off. Which I mean, I'm glad I didn't, but even if I were to hit him to the ground, he probably would've just kicked himself off the ground and ended my life," Malefor chuckled, remembering the intense power and fight he had when ever Spyro was at him most powerful moment he had ever been, "I don't think we will ever see that side of him again, or at least, I hope not. If we do, someone's gonna die."

"For your sake, you better hope it's an ape or something that isn't you basically."

"Yeah."

"Oh yeah, since we are here again, what was the whole thing with Malefor being Cynder's Father?" Terrador asked as all the other Guardians were just as curious as he was, "But then again, if that were true, wouldn't Carith have already left you by now? And wouldn't Spyro have like, killed you or something?"

"Yeah, lets give him another reason to kill me because he already has so many... But Carith wanted to know whether or not I ever got, busy, with another dragoness. Ignitus helped me out on that and I can say for one hundred percent that Carith has only ever been my first love."

"And what a wired family and world I woke up to," Carith giggled.

"Wired family? The only other's who are new around here are Spyro and Cynder. And well, Claire, but she's gonna dump Ignitus at some point."

"And what makes you think that? I was the first one who made the move after all," Claire smiled, putting a paw on her chest as she felt good about what she had done, and putting her paw back down on the floor, she smiled and decided to tease him about getting dumped by his lover, "And you can't be talking. Last just checked, the one with the highest chance of getting dumped is you."

"Me?! What about Cynder?"

"Cynder? You are wondering if Spyro, or even Cynder, would ever break up because of one another?"

"Yeah, of course they... well I mean... Alright fine... maybe I should do something about that."

"Oh, and what might that be?" Cynder asked with a raised brow.

"Well, I would tell you, but if I tell ya, I might have to kill ya." Malefor chuckled.

"Well that's something I like hearing when I come back," A voice came from the entrance.

Seeing as it was Spyro, Malefor mentally slapped himself knowing that was just his luck. Sitting down next to his lover, Spyro saw the frown on his face and he already knew why. Draping his wing over his lover's back, she gently poked his tail with hers, and looking at her she looked at Malefor before looking back at him. He sighed, but he obeyed. Looking up at him, Spyro spoke, "Dude, I swear to the Ancestors, you keep moping around like that, and you'll make me think we live back in the old days. Your depression is literally killing me."

"Sorry... I just... I was only joking, Spyro, I swear... You... I know... I will never hurt her ever again," Malefor promised him, but looking at him, Spyro only looked back at him with a raised brow before chuckling.

"Weren't you the one who picked on me about crying too damn much? I knew you were a lot of things, but a hypocrite?"

"Hehe, alright, alright, I'm sorry. But, how did you get here so fast? I thought you would've talked to Sparks some more."

"Oh I did, the truth is, the only reason I got here so fast is because... Hehe, I broke, the sound barrier."

"Nope, I'm going to bed. You think you're funny with that, but now I know how you feel when I do something you want to kill me for, and that sound barrier thing you all keep doing is literally poisoning. Like, stage five poison. And the poison is coming from Cynder."

"Dude, don't be jealous because you don't have this power."

"It's not my fault the Guardians were useless back then."

"Hey," The Guardians all said in unison.

"Sorry, semi-useless."

"Well, you want to train tomorrow and change that?" Spyro asked.

"I really, really feel like I'm going to die tomorrow."

"Don't be like that. Come on, lets talk some more while we walk up to our rooms. I'm getting pretty... tired."

"Alright."

"Talk to you all in the morning, hopefully," Spyro said to all the Guardians, and yawning after he finished his sentence, he caused everyone in the room to yawn.

"Goodnight," The Guardians and Claire all said in their own way.

The five walked into the back room with Volteer opening up the door and entering first, and Terrador entering last as he closed the door behind them. Once they had all gone in their chambers, the four walked with one another back up to their house. As they walked, Spyro and Malefor stood side by side so they could talk, and the first to speak was Malefor as he still wasn't sure that Spyro trusted him enough to help him train with his powers, "Are you sure you want to help me with my powers? The fears and the doubts you must have for me having such powers like yours... why?"

"Look just... just know that I've had some help, and with that help came realisation. Another pretty big turning point for me was just, well, when I ask you to defend everyone while I fought. There were a lot, and I mean a lot, of apes. And, well, the reason I took damage when I shouldn't have taken any damage was because... I was scared you would take this opportunity to take out someone. That's also why I came over and checked on everyone because... I didn't know if I could trust you?"

"Then why bother trusting me now? I know I might never get your friendship, but, your trust is a big step forward for me. I want to know that you are for sure in trust with me. And I'm not saying that to take advantage of that, I'm saying that because I want us to have some more fun around here without you having to fear every day about what could happen while you are off doing something else."

"Well... that fight really was an eye opener for me. You really were scared and, I didn't want to put more pressure on you, not like how I did when you first came back to Warfang. You didn't deserve that, and I am sorry for that. On my way back, Ignitus told me how you were helping Cynder train with her wind powers. What was that all about?"

"Oh, well I was just... You don't have the power of wind so you aren't able to teach her anything about her powers so I wanted to help out. I know she would never get into a fight but, I wanted to see what she's learned and if I could help in any way."

"Ah. Ignitus even told me that while I was gone, you looked after everyone. What was that about?"

"Ignitus, uh, wasn't feeling good so, I took over and watched after everyone."

"Threatening my lover is watching after everyone?"

"Spyro... I'm truly sorry I was just..."

"I was just joking as well. If Cynder was upset, she would've told me. And even when I came back, before I walked in, I saw she was smiling at you even after you said that, so I knew you were both joking."

Approaching the doors, they opened for the four as they walked in. Walking into the hallway and sitting down next to in the middle of the hallway with his lover next to him, Spyro continued, "But we don't have to train tomorrow if you don't want to. Lets all just, sleep in tomorrow and have a good nights rest. I promise I trust you, I really do. I know you joke a lot, which is something I can agree on. Lets just all joke and have fun, alright? If there is anything that needs to be solved, lets get it over with so we can go back to our peaceful times."

"Hehe, alright. If you need my help with anything, wake me, alright?"

"Of course. With you by my side, we can handle any problem."

He nodded at him with a smile, completely filled with joy once again by everything he had said to him. Opening up the door to his room, Malefor walked in to his room, but he couldn't conceal his excitement. Getting halfway into the room, he ran and jumped up on his bed, constantly jumping up and down with excitement, which they all heard. Carith smiled and thanked Spyro for his help with him, "Thanks, Spyro. I know I've said it before but, you've been a big help. I will make sure he doesn't ruin your sleep like he did before."

"You're welcome. And if he does, I know you'll be right there to get on him so, I think we are all fine."

"There is no place I would rather be then by his side. Goodnight you two."

Turning around walking into her room, she closed the door behind herself with her tail. Taking her tail off the door, she walked over to the bed. Jumping up on the bed, Malefor stopped as he looked at her. She looked at him with a raised brow, wondering what he was planning, but before she could even think of what to say, she was attacked by his lips. Pushing into the surprise kiss, she giggled as Malefor rolled her over with his wings and stood over her. Gently pulling away as to tease her some more, he whispered with somewhat of an evil smile, "With Spyro's trust, I can now put my plan into action, but for right now, I have to make sure you don't say a word about it."

"Even your kiss can not silence these lips. I will tell him, and you can't stop me," Carith giggled, playing along with her lover's little game.

"Stop you? I don't have to stop you, I just need to control you."

"I will never fall to your control."

"You will learn soon enough... oh wait! I forgot!"

Carith had wide eyes from his sudden outburst. Quickly wrapping her tail around his, she didn't let go as she thought he was going to leave her to go do something else, so she prevented him just in case. A small white light shined in the room, and putting her head upside on the bed, she was able to make out a red dragon. She already knew who it was, and Malefor's words made it all the more obvious, "Ignitus! Hey, I have a favor to ask! The chains that Cynder had, can you put them up on my shelf for me next to the door knob?"

"Oh, yeah, sure..." Ignitus paused as he moved a couple inches, and as Malefor blinked, he looked over at the bookshelf to see the chains laid there, "Why did you need those?"

"Collection purposes. Next will be Spyro's head! Hahaha! Oh wait, actually, is everyone okay? Did the Guardians make it to bed okay?"

"Hehe, yeah. They all feel asleep relatively fast. Me and Claire talked a little before she and I had fallen asleep. But then you summoned me so I sent a clone."

"And Spyro?"

"He is laying in his bed right now talking to his lover."

"Of course he is."

"Isn't that what you're doing?"

"I'm not talking, I'm flirting, there is a difference."

"Hehe. Do you need anything else from me? I would be happy to help."

"You've helped more then enough. And thanks for telling Spyro about what I did, you know, me helping Cynder with her wind ability and stuff."

"Just trying to keep peace in this world. And helping out a friend is always something I'm happy to do."

"Thanks Ignitus."

"No problem. I will talk to you all some more tomorrow. I'm pretty sure Carith wants to get back to what ever you two were doing."

"Oh yeah, right, sorry."

A bright white shine of light caused the two to look away and close their eyes. As the light died down, the two opened their eyes and saw that Ignitus had disappeared. Looking back down at his lover, she looked up at him with a raised brow, and he was confused for a bit, but then he quickly realized what he was supposed to be doing and got right back to it with a teasing voice, "So you think you are strong enough to resist my control? Hehe, we will see about that."

Putting his mouth over her neck, he nibbled gently down her neck, sending shivers of pleasure all through her body. Putting her paw on his chest, she pushed gently as if she was trying to resist his control, but as he traveled up her neck, see couldn't take it any longer as her body went limp. Pulling back and looking at her as she smiled with a blush, he could tell he had won, and he teased her about it, "What's wrong? I thought you would've been strong enough to resist my control?"

"You're just... too powerful. Please, Master Malefor, I give up... no more... but if you want to keep going, you can."

"Hehe."

Pushing gently into another kiss, the two closed their eyes and enjoyed the loving feeling, but a cold drop of water fell down onto Carith's face. Opening her eyes, Malefor had pulled away and opened his eyes. She saw the tear had came from him, but he was smiling. Understanding why he was like this, she whispered gently to him, "Having Spyro's trust feels good doesn't it? Especially now that even Cynder trust you?"

"Do I... deserve their trust?"

"I always asked myself if I ever deserved you. You snuggle up with me and tell me, 'If you didn't deserve me, then why did we fall in love the first day we laid eyes on one another?' You've been through a lot, Malefor, every one has. We are all healing from what has happened, but I feel after today, the healing is complete. Lets enjoy this time, the time we have together, knowing that, when we wake up, we have nothing to worry about. No war, no fighting just, us, your friends, along with others who trust you."

Moving his body off of his lover, he laid down next to her as she rolled over onto her stomach. Nuzzling her head underneath his neck, she later laid her head down on his paws and whispered, "You remember when we had these times? The times when we had nothing to worry about. Hehe, aside from that one time you became the dark master, but things have changed."

Draping his wing over his lover and laying his head down over hers, he was somewhat scared of that fact.

"Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight... Carith," Malefor whispered, closing his eyes along with his lover.

 _This is just like the past, where there isn't any war. But then it all came to an end when Carith was attacked... When will that happen again? When will we be attacked or, when will something happen that will completely change everything that we know...? I'm... sorry, Spyro, I can't wait any longer. I can't let this fear of something happening eat away at me. Please... trust me enough to show me everything you know,_ Malefor thought as he slept, but even as he tried, the fear that anything could happen at any moment scared him to no end.

* * *

Pulling away from their kiss, Spyro looked down on Cynder's body as he stood above her while she laid on her back, and as he looked at her, she smiled at him. Putting their foreheads against one another's, they closed their eyes and enjoyed one another's company. Opening her eyes and looking at some of her lover's body as he stood over her, she blushed seeing how strong he looked and asked, causing him to chuckle midway through her sentence, "I still don't understand why you chose me."

"It's hard to stray away from my destiny with you," Spyro whispered.

"So you say we were destined to be together?"

"Destined? Yeah, I would say that."

"What if another dragoness was with you through your journey? Wouldn't that mean you would've loved her instead of me?"

"That's probably why you were with me through it all, because we were destined to be together."

Picking his head up and opening his eyes, she smiled at him as he smiled back. Getting off the top of her, he laid down beside her. Rolling over on her belly, Spyro laid down on his stomach as well. Snuggling up to him and laying her head down on his paws, he draped a wing over her back and he put his head over hers. Just as he laid his head down, he asked one last time to make sure he was doing everything right, "Now that I trust Malefor completely, what do you think will be the outcome in the future...? I only ask because, we lay here now but... one thing could change, and we could lose it all... I'm scared of that feeling. I guess I'm just scared of chance in general."

"I've been through the horrors of what the past has to offer us. At any moment, we could've lost someone dear to us. Maybe training Malefor is the best thing to do. With his power, combined with yours, there is nothing you all can't accomplish. Even you alone can take down an army. I know the fears you have, and I'm scared that one day, you could go into a fight and never return. But... with Carith around, I trust Malefor to keep everyone safe, just the same as how you do."

"I will do anything to keep you safe, I promise. When ever Malefor wants to train, I will help him. He could be what brings us to a safer future."

"I believe in you my love. You didn't get those muscles of yours out of pure luck, you did it because you wanted to protect me, and I know Malefor wants just the same."

"Hehe, you always ask why I chose you, when I still can't even figure out why you chose me."

"Calling you amazing is an understatement. All I can say is that... I love you, so much, Spyro. And there is nothing in this world that will change my mind."

"I love you too Cynder... I love you so much..." Spyro murmured, feeling as a tear was forming.

"Uh oh. Be careful. I just might tell Malefor about this and then he will pick on you all day about it."

"Hehe, classic Malefor."

"When ever you wake up in the morning, promise to give me a wake up kiss?"

"Even if you're still sleeping?"

"No matter what."

"The it's a promise... Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, Spyro."

Closing their eyes and falling asleep, one thought was on Spyro's mind, and it was similar to that of Malefor's thought, _Even with how powerful I am, I can't even fight the Chronicler. What if someone ever gained that power and used it for evil, I alone wouldn't be able to do anything to protect Cynder, or anyone for that matter. With Malefor at my side, with his training and mine, we just might stand a chance. I have to train with Malefor, for his sake and mine. And if I don't... we could lose someone, and there is no way I'm going to make any one go through that past again, especially not Cynder._ Drifting off to sleep, his body was eager to train which made it hard for him to sleep, but he knew he needed to rest up so he could train with Malefor tomorrow morning.


	6. Chapter 6: Every Hero's Weakness

Chapter 6: Every Hero's Weakness

Stirring in his sleep, Spyro couldn't get the thought off his mind about what the future could hold, what kind of threats that he could face that might be even more powerful then him, _It's so stupid to think of, but on the other paw, it isn't. When I fought the dark side of Cynder, it took all of my power, and I even lost that power. What would've stopped someone from attack us right then and there and killing us once we returned to the temple? Same with the fight with the dark master, same for both times we fought the dark master. Every time I either, lost my power, or came close to losing the battle. The last fight I had with the dark master, I passed out from the pain and yet, I promised I would protect Cynder. How am I supposed to do that if I keep failing every step of the way?_ Waking himself up from his thoughts, he sighed, wishing he could find a way to prevent such a thing from happening, but to him, he has tried everything, _Even before, when I started training, it wasn't even enough to take on Malefor. It took the dark power within me to save her. Which means, without my dark power, I would've lost... and that also means that... I'm weak._ Opening his eyes to the darkened room with the only light coming from the moonlight that shined in through his windows. The only sound he could hear was Cynder's soft breathing which was quite soothing for him to listen to. He wanted to train, and he wanted to get stronger, but he didn't see a point in doing so the more he thought about it. Unable to move, he sighed once again without having a clear answer and he closed his eyes once again.

 _"I can't believe my son is giving up so easily," A voice called from in Spyro's room, but opening his eyes, he wasn't in his room anymore, and nor was he with his lover. He realized Ignitus had pulled him into his dream world in order to talk to him, and standing in front of him was Ignitus himself. Spyro shuck his head as he stood up and tried to decline it, "No, I'm not giving up, I'm just, having trouble understanding the point of training right now." Ignitus had already heard his thoughts, but he still wondered what else he might've been thinking, "So you think you are weak because it required a power that you didn't have to save your lover? And because you couldn't save her with your power, that frustrates you?" A slight chuckle emerged from Spyro, "Hitting the hammer on the nail with that one."_

 _"Spyro, I understand where you are coming from but back then, Malefor had years of training from the four of us. We only trained you for a little bit while you were with us and that was it. It wasn't your fault. The dark master made Malefor's training seem double because of the boost the darkness can give to someone."_

 _"But what about when I trained all night?! I pushed my body past its limit after what happened with the whole, arrow incident and it still wasn't enough! The only thing it did was give me the power to defeat dark creatures and apes, but even with the power I thought I had, it took the time power, another source of power that isn't mine, to protect Cynder and the Hatchling which means my training was useless! And if you want to prove me wrong then do it."_

 _"Well, you were able to take on the Guardians that one day."_

 _"Only because I had trained after everything that had happened and they didn't so it was an easy to win fight. If they were trained, and they worked together, I would've lost. During the brawl we all had, I would've lost for sure if I didn't have my dark power so at this point, I can't even tell how powerful I really am right now."_

 _"But the dark power is apart of you. Think of it like fire or ice, it's just something you've learn to control. Like how you learned to create water from using two abilities at the same time, the darkness is no different."_

 _"The darkness can be apart of anyone. If Terrador knew how to control and use this dark mode that I have, he would easily be able to beat me in a fight."_

 _"But even though Terrador is in his normal form with no darkness, same with you, you could easily beat him in an arm wrestle for sure."_

 _"Ignitus, when was the last time any of you have trained? The only time the Guardians have ever fought something was during the raid from those dark creatures on Warfang. They are inexperienced. Like I've said, if they trained for a week or so, together, they could easily beat me, and I feel like I haven't gotten anywhere with my own power. What do I need to do? What am I missing?"_

 _"Why are you worried about it? You have the dark power either way to do a lot of things so why are you so worked up about your strength compared to the darkness?"_

 _"Unlike the Chronicler, I can lose my powers. It has happened before. I lose the dark power and then what? Warfang is attacked by every ape in existence and I wouldn't even be able to stay through half the fight without my dark form. We would lose the battle of something we're to happen like that. Since you are the Chronicler, you don't know what power is yours or not but it doesn't even matter because your power comes from the Ancestors themselves... and something like that scares me."_

 _"What? Hehe, Spyro, do you think someone else could get a holed of my powers?"_

 _"All it took was one dragoness to come into your life and you didn't even know she was an assassin and all because you wanted to be respectful and not read her thoughts. Tell me Ignitus, what if she turns on you now? What if she's taking your powers or even killing you right now."_

 _"Well since time is frozen while we are in here, I'm sure I'm fine."_

 _"Not the point, Ignitus. You know as well as I do, there is only two ways this could play out: The Chronicler's powers get into the paws of someone who wants nothing more then to destroy the world, or you give up on life because she has left and tricked you, easily making you vulnerable because she knows she had your heart, and she can easily manipulated you at any point."_

 _"Claire would never do such a thing."_

 _"I thought the Chronicler was supposed to know all? But that's the whole point isn't it? You know all, but you don't want to accept it. And I don't hate you at all for not wanting to accept it. Sparks always talked about how Cynder would turn back into her dark self and kill us all, and I never wanted to believe it, and luckily, I have been able to keep her safe. But... Ignitus that's... it's also about Malefor. The whole thing with the apes has gotten my scared, even if I try not to show it."_

 _"You think Malefor was commanding those apes to attack us? I thought you said you trusted him?"_

 _"I never said I believed it was, Malefor. In fact, I know it wasn't him. Why would he put him self through such a dramatic moment once again? No one wants to relive their fears, they always try to stay away from them, or even try and take them head on to face them. But if that were true, Malefor wouldn't have brought Carith along to do so. He would've told her to stay back while we all were ambushed. Malefor was scared, everything about how he moved and talked, I... I felt bad for him. I, I trust Malefor a lot, now more then ever seeing his fears, seeing him laugh... I was wrong since the very beginning with him."_

 _"But if it's not Malefor then, why are you so scared?"_

 _"The ape king is dead, the dark master no longer controls the apes. With those two, no one would've been able to lead them, and yet, when we were attack, they were coordinated, as if someone told them what to do. And if they didn't have someone controlling them, you would think we would've see one or more as we flew, or even before we landed, but we didn't. And with Malefor not being in control, it scares me even more because now the question is, who is controlling the ape army?"_

 _"Unfortunately, I don't want to believe there is another dark master out there but..."_

 _"Maybe not a dark master, we haven't seen any dark creatures yet which is also another reason I still trust Malefor."_

 _"But even still, you saw that one Dragon get a holed of some darkness and Malefor told you he had dark spots laying around in case of emergency, well, the dark master did but, you get it. So what would you seeing a dark creature mean? Does this mean you wouldn't trust him even after everything that you've been through with him? And how could you be so sure it was even him in the first place? Terrador asked you this when we were walking out of the Chambers yesterday but, you didn't give a clear answer."_

 _" Alright... I will clarify. It's because, say if, every time someone gets a hold of the dark spots, they would spawn dark creatures. If that were the case, me using my dark power would make dark creatures, but it doesn't. The only way I know of to make dark creature in theory is to have the power of the dark master completely, and I know for a fact, a simple little left over dark spot would not do such a thing. The only one who has this power, is the dark master, so it leads me to believe that Malefor would be the one controlling and making them."_

 _"But that is another thing, he said dark spots, meaning more then one. What if someone got a holed of more then one and was able to obtain the power similar to that of the original dark master?"_

 _"Ignitus... what do you know?"_

 _"Pardon?"_

 _"You are acting as if you are speaking in a way that there is some dark force out there and you aren't telling me. You've constantly tried to defend Malefor about this whole dark creature situation as if you know there is dark creatures out there. So tell me the truth, are you lying to me or not? Because even if you don't want to tell the truth, I can spend all day outside Warfang, killing as many apes as I need until I see some dark creature resistance."_

 _Ignitus was surprised by his knowledge of how he put everything together, which made it harder for him because he knew if he lied or slipped up and gave out some more information, he knew his son would find out there really was dark creatures still roaming the world, "I'm only saying that because I'm scared to know what might happen if there were dark creatures. Life has been pretty peaceful, aside from a little incident here and here, but we've moved passed them with ease, and I want to keep life that way without interfering in a way that could get me in trouble."_

 _"I've always wanted peace in this world... giving Cynder world peace wouldn't be such a bad gift, don't you think?"_

 _"Hehe, thinking big as always when it comes to doing something for your lover."_

 _"Well, I can't achieve a dream until I get stronger... Ignitus, if time truly does stand still in here, would it be okay if I stayed here and trained for as long as possible?"_

 _"Unfortunately, the Ancestors wouldn't allow it. Most I could give you is an hour or two to be in here before they tell me to kick you out."_

 _"Damn. Wait, if time is frozen, how do they know if it has been an hour or not?"_

 _"They are the Ancestors, they will know."_

 _"Alright. What else can this dream world do that can help me train?"_

 _"Well, since it is a dream world, anything. I can put you on Mars so you could fight the gravity, I could spawn a bunch of dark masters that you can fight that each have the real power of the original dark master. Anything you can think of, I can do it. But Spyro, about your dark powers, they are apart of you. Don't think you don't have to use them because you think it is cheap. Or like you said to Malefor before, about how you didn't want to use the power because what it took to get it. When you need to power up to save someone, don't think twice."_

 _"I know I know, I will try... But think about it, the dark power is nothing more than a multiplier. Depending on how strong I am is also how much more stronger the darkness can make me. But I have to know, you fought me when I went all out with my power. That forehead flick that you did to show off in front of Claire, how close am I to achieving such a power? How close am to even coming close to a small percent of how powerful the Chronicler is?"_

 _"Well, you're not wrong about the forehead flick thing. After Claire gave me that kiss, I kinda wanted to show off in hopes she would kiss me again. And about that forehead flick, I was very surprised how fast you got up from it. I was scared I would've actually hurt you during our fight."_

 _"You broke, my arm."_

 _"Hehe, oh yeah, sorry."_

 _"But going back, how close am I?"_

 _"You aren't very far to be honest. With the right amount of intense training, you could be able to get such a power in a couple of days, maybe. But that's if you train for the entire day for all twenty-four hours, and Cynder would kill you if you wasted time on such a thing. She understands you need training, but she has needs as well."_

 _"As much as I love training, I would never neglect my lover to do so... Disappointing her would... ugh, I would never be able to live down the hate I would have for myself. Hehe, but now that gets me thinking, how are things going with Claire? Has she seen how much of a disappointment you can be when you leave her and do your work?"_

 _"Nice try, but I can clone myself to do anything I need. Right now, in this dream world, it is really me, just my mind and yours. I'm laying with Claire while my clone works at the Dragon Temple for a little bit."_

 _"Lucky little dragon you are. So when you going to say you love her? You two seem to be getting along pretty well?"_

 _"Please, even you know it isn't that simple. Even for the all knowing Chronicler such as myself, I'm not a super hero."_

 _"Speaking of super hero, it's another thing that has been on my mind. My parents had small books that they use to read to me when I was little, understandably since the letters were too small. But one thing I've noticed in a lot of hero books is, the hero is never strong enough to take on what ever is thrown at them."_

 _"What do you mean?"_

 _"Well, I'm not going to say all the story hero's were like that, but very few had the hero be stronger then the villain. Most of the time, the hero would lose to the villain, get stronger, go on a quest or something, and come back stronger. And unfortunately, that's how I felt when I fought the dark master and gained control of my dark power. I don't want to feel weak, and I know I need to have this power before something like what happens in those stories happens to me."_

 _"Spyro, being weak is just part of being alive. No matter how strong you are, you'll always run into another obstacle, rather it be emotional or physical. Life is like a story; A constant up and down in your life, and when your time is ready to face that obstacle, all you can do is hope that you'll be better then before to face it."_

 _"You're wrong. Being the Chronicler and using what he knows is only clouding what you use to know. Having Malefor by my side, when ever a problem arises, what would we have to deal with? War? Hate? Sadness? It can all end with one single step, and life is nothing more then another obstacle that you have to push back just as hard as you have been since you started living! When ever you give up, it's all over, and it will take longer to heal then it would if you just keep trying. Think of life like arm wrestling; If you keep going, and trying to push through life, it's going to hurt at times, but when ever you win, you can feel the satisfaction of knowing, and feeling the relief that you've won!"_

 _"What if I turned evil right now, with all the power I have. How would you be able to push through life after that?"_

 _"There is no what if to that situation. You are just like me, you are just like Malefor, we are all the same when it comes to our lovers. Why would you ever turn evil when you already have everything that you could want? So what would be the point in ruining someone else's life...? That's why I'm backing off of Malefor, because I'm not making anyone's life easier by constantly trying to kill him. But, I can make everyone's life easier if I get stronger, if I can be stronger then what life has for me to face in the future. I need your help on this, Ignitus... Please."_

 _"Hehe, you know, you don't have to butter me up? You could've just asked nicely."_

 _"I asked when I first got in here!"_

 _"True, but you never said please when you asked me now did you? I guess me being your father, it should be good to say that I need to teach you better manners. Don't want Cynder to think you aren't really a perfect Dragon now do we?"_

 _"You know, I could easily get everyone to agree with me that you slept with another dragoness, and she will easily dump you."_

 _"She'll believe me... I hope. And how dare you try and threaten the one who you're begging for help from!"_

 _"Well, are you going to help or not, make up your mind."_

 _"I will, but on one condition."_

 _"Condition? You are the Chronicler! You can literally do anything just by blinking, what could you want from me?"_

 _"I... You talked to Claire before, while you were in the hallway, right?"_

 _"What else could we have been doing?"_

 _"Well I, I wanted to know what she said? I'm just, a little curious to know if she loves me or not. I mean, the kiss on the cheek was an accident and yeah we've kissed one another on the cheek back and forth here to here but, maybe she is only doing it because she would feel bad if she told me she didn't like me. I wanted to know if maybe you could make sense of if she does or doesn't really care or love me?"_

 _"And you will train me if I tell you?"_

 _"Yes."_

 _"Are you sure?"_

 _"Yes again."_

 _"Once more, are you hundred percent sure."_

 _"Yes!"_

 _"You like guys?"_

 _"Haha, nice try, I knew you were going to pull that trick. That and well, I read your mind before you even said it so..."_

 _"Of course you did."_

 _"Hehe, I can't help it. My mind is constantly getting information all over the world."_

 _"It must suck when you have a headache and you still have to go through your Chronicler business."_

 _"The Chronicler can't get sick nor can he or she get a headache. This is in order to keep the flow of work constant."_

 _"The more you talk about your powers, the more I just want to hit you. But I guess, in a way, I'm just jealous. I mean, could you imagine? Your lover has a headache, and with a simple tap to the head, you could cure all of her symptoms. Cynder already loves me so much as it is, but just imagine, one claw could take care of any problem in seconds! Like how you tapped my forehead. If you would've done that more then probably, three times in a row, I would've seriously been down for the count if I didn't have my dark powers."_

 _"Well, like I've said, you can get to where the Chronicler is in power. The Chronicler's power is limited to a certain degree just in case because they don't want us to snap and make the sun disappear. But with the purple dragon, it doesn't matter. You want the power to do such a thing, I don't really know if it would be possible, but I do know you could be far beyond that of the Chronicler's powers."_

 _"So then what is holding me back now? Is it my lover? Malefor...? I just, can't figure it out."_

 _"Nothing is holding you back, Spyro. You've just learned how to finally relax for once. Think about it; You just said how you trusted Malefor, and you really meant it. Seeing how happy he was, you knew you made the right decision. So now, with no real threat, and since you are within the walls of Warfang, what do you have to fear? The dark master and his creatures are gonem Malefor, you, and I are as happy as could be, so there is no need to worry about the future."_

 _"Malefor, you, and me...? What's wrong with the other three?"_

 _"Oh, they are fine as well, I just included us three because of us having lovers."_

 _"Ignitus, why do you keep missing important details? You don't have to hide anything from me."_

 _"What, what do you mean?"_

 _"Volteer, he isn't happy."_

 _"What? Of course he is, why would you say that?"_

 _"We just went through it. You know what I'm talking about."_

 _"Oh... is this about... Ersa?"_

 _"Yeah. Until we find her, he probably will never be happy. But that makes me think, and, even smile to be honest, thinking, and knowing, there is an even happier Volteer hidden behind his own scales. And I feel like finding her could bring out that side of him. I mean, there is so much good that can be done if we find her. You all know her so it will be very easy for her to fit in. The girls, along with my lover, will have a fantastic time talking to her, and I mean, Volteer even said he would make her his mate as soon as he saw her! Hehe, I mean like, how much better can it get if she was here?"_

 _"I... I wouldn't get my hopes up on that if I were you."_

 _"What?! Why? This sounds like an even better future to have? Why wouldn't you want to have it? Is it because you'll get jealous that Volteer had the guts to tell his lover he loved her even though you can't do that with, Claire?"_

 _"No... it's, it's nothing like that..."_

 _"Well then, you need to tell me the truth. What is wrong? I can't help what I don't understand."_

 _Ignitus sighed, unable to keep in the secret any longer. He knew he would have to tell his son at some point, but in a way, he always wish he didn't have to, "The reason you shouldn't get your hopes up is because... there won't be a Ersa out there for you to look for anymore because... where you were, at that tree, the blood... Ersa... died there, Spyro."_

 _"What?! Ignitus, you can't be serious! There's... there's no way... did you check?! Did you make sure it wasn't just, something else, someone else?!"_

 _"That's how I found out that she had died. After fighting for a bit, she was badly wounded. When she ran into that forest, that is, that is where she met her demise."_

 _"No... no, I don't believe you!"_

 _"Spyro, listen to me. She was badly wounded, there were no gems around when she died where she did, so there was nothing she could've done to heal herself with. She was smart, but smarts don't give you strength and that's what the dark creatures had. There was nothing she could've done. She was beaten in strength, and numbers... I... I needed to tell you this because... I don't want you two to be going around and looking for a ghost... I need your help because... I don't know how to tell Volteer. Either way, it's going to hurt him and, I don't want that to happen."_

 _Looking away from his father, Spyro sighed with disbelief and anger. He had hoped it was nothing but a lie, or even a joke, but coming from the Chronicler, and the fact that Ignitus read it from her book, it must've been true. Turning away from him and looking down on a planet as a small shooting star went over the planet, Spyro thought about it as well, wondering what he would say, even after how much he pushed Volteer to not let go of her, "I wouldn't be able to tell him... He already has a bad history with the purple dragons, and if I tell him that she died even after everything I said to him it... no... no!"_

 _Turning back to his father, Spyro walked up and stood where he was before, and spat, not trusting what he had read, "I don't believe it! All because there was blood doesn't mean anything! Go back behind Warfang when I fought the dark master, and what would you see? Blood! Lots and lots of blood. But I'm still alive, I'm still breathing, and you never found my body! So how can you be so sure that she is dead all because you saw some blood?"_

 _"It was written in her past, Spyro. There is no other way around it."_

 _"You said some of what I read from Malefor's past was nothing more then a lie! How do we know that what you've read wasn't a lie either?!"_

 _"Because what was lied about was the darkness. The thoughts and actions that happened were the lies when it came to his darkness. Ersa was never controlled by the darkness, and the only time she came into contact with the darkness, was when she fought it. Trust me, I want nothing more to believe you. I've looked, I've tried to find her, but she isn't alive any more, Spyro... I'm sorry... I know how you must feel, and I wish there was something I could do but... I can't... I can't bring someone back to life..."_

 _It was quiet for some time, both of them thinking back and forth about the supposed death. Neither of them wanted to accept what they heard, and even with all the evidence, it just made it that much more difficult to defend whether or not she was alive or dead. Seeing his son frown, he watched as Spyro's body tensed along with his claws, and small drips of tears hitting the invisible ground as he looked down at the ground. Ignitus wished he could've taken back what he had said and regretted that he ever brought it up. "I thought it would help, i thought maybe he would have an answer for it... but... even for something like this I... if I don't know what to do, and neither does Spyro then... I guess the only thing to do is tell him the truth. It won't be easy but, hopefully it will be for the best." Ignitus thought, finally coming to an agreement with himself, so he told his son what would be best for them to do, "Spyro, I think it would be best if we..."_

 _"Don't, say it..." Spyro growled, lifting his head up and looking at his father, already coming to a conclusion of his own, "Tell me, after the fight me and Cynder had with the dark master, did you know where we were? Did the, all powerful Chronicler know that we were even alive? Tell me the truth."_

 _"How did you... well, you, you aren't wrong. After the fight, the Chronicler said he couldn't find you. I took over and after a while, i was finally able to figure out you were in Avalar. Hehe, that's uh, I guess where you can say, I started to haunt you and Cynder's dreams. That's also where I gave you the power to go into Cynder's dreams as long as you were laying with her."_

 _"Did the book ever say how she died? Did it say exactly how she died?"_

 _"Well, no, it wasn't completely stated, but..."_

 _"And where the Hell is her body?"_

 _"Spyro, that battle happened more then thirteen years ago. Her body would've decomposed way before then."_

 _"Her skin would've decomposed, but her bones would've remained! So where are the bones of her body if she died?"_

 _"Anything could've happened. The world split apart and they fell in, an ape or a dark creature could've taken them all, the cheetahs might have them, I don't know. There is so much that could've happened. But because she died, there was no need to continue to write down what was happening in her life. And if she was alive, the Chronicler or I would have her thoughts, we would know if she is alive or not. I want her back just as much as you and Volteer, she was one of the greatest additions we ever had to our group... But we couldn't save everyone that day... And in the end, we only saved you..."_

 _"You trained Malefor to be the best, but you were his teachers, his masters! Why were you not strong enough to protect everyone?!"_

 _"We could've won against him if it hadn't been for the fact that we were fighting apes and dark creatures all at the same time. Even if we would've gotten close, we would've been taken out. But after fighting for some time, we were able to come up with a plan and seal him away in that dark realm, thanks to the help of some of Volteer and Ersa's work. We were lucky they were able to finish the seal just in time. Once the seal was done, I hid it, and then we all retreated back to the Hatchlings to try and keep them safe, and while they defended them, I helped make sure you were safe by grabbing your egg, running out, and pushing your egg down the river. We... we didn't save, all the eggs... only you... but if wasn't for you, many more would've surely perished, and in a way, you've saved all of us."_

 _"How...?"_

 _"You saved everyone in the world first off for defeating the destroyer and the dark master, and before you say anything, yes, I do know Cynder was there to help and I give her proper credit as well. But you saved me from thinking it was all over and gave me the courage to fight. You saved Volteer, Terrador, and Cyril. You saved Cynder, and brought one of our most beloved friends back, that being Malefor, and also also in doing so, you even brought Carith back to life without even knowing it... If you were there that day, if wouldn't know what you do now, things would've been so much more different... but we can't change the past... I'm scared, to wake up with, Claire gone, and even as I tell you now, how we can't change the past it's... it is the scariest feeling in the world... and not even I can get over it..."_

 _"I think about those same days, how I told you that I wanted to save everyone... how I didn't want anyone to die... if Ersa really is died, what would I do then? Volteer wouldn't believe it, he wouldn't want us to stop him when we told him so... how would I protect him from the truth? After a while, he will get suspicious. He isn't dumb, far from it... so now I just need to find an excuse to... to..."_

 _"To, what?"_

 _"No, never mind. It... it can't happen. Ignitus, don't tell him what has happened. I will deal with this. I was the one who gave him so much hope, and I plan to keep my promise to him. And if that day comes where he comes to find out I was wrong and she really did die well then... I guess I'm not the man I thought I was... and to show Volteer that I care, I might go through what he's going through."_

 _"What do you mean by that? Wait... no. No way in Hell. Cynder will kill us one by one and very slowly, blaming it on me that you dumped her."_

 _"Hehe, don't worry. It's just, going to be one of those things where I stay with him until he finds a lover, that way he knows he isn't alone. Of course he has you all, but when, and worse come to worse he goes outside of the Walls of Warfang, you all need to stay while I look after and guard him. The last thing we want is for him to off himself because he blames himself... But we shouldn't think like that. That is worse worse case scenario... it... it will never come to that..."_

 _"Hopefully... Volteer is strong, I know he can push through. And if he can't, we'll be there for him."_

 _"Be there for him... Ignitus, going back, what exactly happened with Malefor? The stories were very vague on what exactly happened to him."_

 _"Well, after we sealed him in the gem, like I said, we ran back and I grabbed your egg. When I pushed it down the river, I ran back to see if I could help, but... I was too late. So, I ran away as fast as I could, grabbed the gem that sealed Malefor, and I ran away, trying to hide the gem. I found the perfect place to hide it, which was in a mountain. Can you guess which one it is?"_

 _"Mountain Malefor!"_

 _"Yep. After I put the gem there, it turned out Malefor's soul was in the gem, but his essence was in the convexity realm. He spoke to me before I left him. He told me it wasn't over, and that he would have his revenge."_

 _"If you beat him before he got to the Hatchlings, how did the apes know to save Cynder's egg?"_

 _"We could always ask him. But from what the Chronicler was able to gather, he just said that he needed one egg to survive in case anything ever happened to him and he would want this dragon to do his bidding. Gaul and his ape army agreed and they took one of the eggs which happened to be Cynder's..."_

 _"Every time I think about the past I just keep wondering what life would've been like if I was there? If I would've been born before Malefor, to help and stop what he was planning... maybe I could've done something to help protect all of you, the Hatchlings, and even Ersa... I know I'm not the strongest, but with the power I have now, going back then, I would've been the strongest there ever was... I could've saved everyone."_

 _"Don't beat yourself up for it. It was my fault in the first place that we were so weak. Terrador told us that we should keep training to keep ourselves ready for battle, but I declined the idea. We were in an era of peace, Malefor was happy with his lover, and he trained a lot more then we ever could've because he wanted to protect Carith. We never knew what would happen... that's also why we lost to an army of apes, we weren't trained, we weren't prepared, only Malefor was. Even now, when we were attacked once again by those apes on the way to the Temple, you were there. You took them out with such ease. And what was once feared by all of us, what we once lost to, you and Malefor beat in matter of seconds."_

 _"Well, honestly, if it wasn't for Malefor's help, I might not have been as calm as I was when I fought. I was still scared, don't get me wrong. There were hundreds of apes out there and at any point Malefor could've attacked one of you. I would've had to deal with an army and Malefor at the same time. Because he pulled through, and didn't make a joke how he was going to hurt someone mid battle, I respected him a lot for that... Hehe, and even though everyone kept telling me to trust him, I wanted to find any and all reasons to kill him."_

 _"Hehe, well, what is the reasoning now?"_

 _"Well... I guess that third base thing he kept pulling on you made me want to kill him."_

 _"Oh you are not alone on that."_

 _The two shared a nice laugh, and they were glad they could share a nice smile with one another from it, especially with everything they have been talking about. Spyro feared for asking his father if there was any other bad news, but he wanted to make sure that everything was resolved, and to make sure nothing else with bothering him, "So, is there, any other bad news? And if there is, you better have something to back it up. Don't care what you said, I believe Ersa is out there, and when I find her, you owe me one, deal?"_

 _"That is an absolute deal. But I guess the only thing is just me wondering if Claire really did like that kiss, or if she thinks she is being forced to kiss me."_

 _"You'll learn very quickly, especially if you ever admit your love to her that, controlling your lover to kiss you is the most romantic thing to do, especially since you can tell her that you are controlling her into doing so. I do it with Cynder almost all the time. It brings back bad memories of when she was controlled, but she and me are happy with what we are doing, and we try and forget the past that way."_

 _"I'm not gonna lie, doing something like that with Claire does sound kinda fun."_

 _"Aw, poor Ignitus needs some love before he gets old?"_

 _"I'm not even close to being old so don't try that. I just, really want to know what it's like to kiss someone you love, that's all."_

 _"You know to be honest, you think the Guardians, the all powerful protectors would be getting tons of girls by now. What's up with that?"_

 _"Well, it's a number of different things actually. Before, we were always on the move, then after things had calmed down and Malefor and Carith were in love, we thought we should try, but we wanted to make sure everyone in Warfang was safe first by helping build and expand. And by the time we were ready, well, you know what happened. And now that we are up here, not many dragons come up here mainly because they are scared and don't know how to speak to the Guardians, or because lots of girls have already found other lovers."_

 _"Damn... that must mean the Terrador and Cyril are screwed, which means you also got very lucky."_

 _"No kidding... and man is she so beautiful."_

 _"Did you tell her that?"_

 _"Of course."_

 _"Did you tell her that in the last five minutes?"_

 _"What? How could I, I've been in here with you."_

 _"Shame on you. She will never fall in love with you if you don't tell her she beautiful."_

 _"You haven't told Cynder that!"_

 _"But I'm already in love. We are talking about you and you not being in love because of it. And when ever I do get out of here once we are done, I'm gonna make sure that I tell her all about how beautiful she is just to make you jealous. I can go almost as far as I want, and I can even tease her. All you can do is say how beautiful Claire is before you freeze up and blush so damn hard, and you do know, she can easily see it through your red scales."_

 _"Yeah yeah, what ever, I'll show you once I get out of here as well."_

 _"Then I guess we both have something to look forward to now don't we?"_

 _"Indeed."_

 _"Well, I guess since we are talking about our lover's, I, I hate to bring up the past but something confuses me. You trapped Malefor in his mountain, correct. If Malefor was trapped in the mountain, how could he have been there when she... when he forced her, to kill my parents. And you know I mean the Dark Master when I say it like that, I'm just wondering."_

 _"What? No, he was never there. After corrupting her with darkness, he used this darkness to give her the order to take out your parents to make sure there wouldn't be a purple dragon again, and for Cynder to take out her parents on the same day in order to make sure she didn't have any ties with anyone she knew or loved."_

 _"Oh... I can't believe she had to go through something like that."_

 _"Well, I did hear your conversation about wanting to read on their past. I think it would be a great idea. At one point, you and your parents actually met. Hehe, Zhen was always such a stubborn bastard when it came to protecting his family. He was always yelling at us, telling us to make sure nothing would happen to his Hatchling... if he were alive today, he surely would've kicked all of us out commission."_

 _"Zhen? Who is that? Is that, my father?! Or, is that Cynder's?!"_

 _"You can't say anything when I tell you, understand?"_

 _"What? Why not?"_

 _"Because, Cynder will learn about her parents in the future, and for now, neither of you should know your real parents names until you read some of their past. But for right now, I will tell you of Cynder's parents. But remember, you tell her, I won't let any of you read about their pasts."_

 _"Alright alright, don't have to be so harsh about it."_

 _"Alright. Well, I guess we can start with who we've already mentioned, that being, Zhen. He was a shadow dragon, and if you thought Terrador was tough, he took nothing from no one. He was like you, always protective of his family. But unlike you, if someone hurt his family, the only answered would've been death."_

 _"Why? Did something happen to make him that way?"_

 _"Well, this goes back to something that happened to his lover, or, rather his mate. Her name, was Ellen. She was a wind dragoness. And before Cynder was corrupted, wind was her primary element. Your lover definitely takes after her mother a lot. Her mother was always seeing the bright side of things, always trying to defuse the situation with a smile to get back to how things were. Say if, Malefor did something. Zhen would not have any of his jokes, but Ellen would laugh all day long."_

 _"They sound like such opposites. How did they become to love one another?"_

 _"Like I said, something happened in their past. But, say Zhen wanted to kill Malefor. If Ellen stepped in front and said no, he wouldn't fight it, he wouldn't growl, he would've just sat down, looked to the ground, and apologized. He knew her word was absolute, and he never fought her on anything she said, and they got along very, very, well. But, unfortunately, if Zhen was alive today, and he heard what has happened, to his daughter, to know that Malefor forced Cynder so many... I... I don't want to say this... but it might be for the best."_

 _"You mean the dark master?"_

 _"You try and tell him that. He wouldn't care what you said, and he might not even care what Ellen said. But, I could be wrong. I never really saw the happy side to him. I saw him almost smile once when his mate was nuzzling him and talking about him as she did, but, I don't even know what he was really like. It kinda makes me want to look back as well and see."_

 _"So... Zhen and Ellen are Cynder's parents... If say... I prevented their deaths from ever happening, Cynder was never, corrupted, nothing ever happened, and I had stopped Malefor from flying away from Carith when he thought he had failed... what do you think would've happened...? I mean, my parents died as well because of this... do you think... I would be able to see my parents as well?"_

 _"I... I couldn't give you a clear answer about that. There is so much we would have to think about. The Hatchlings that did die, what would've happened to them now? What other force would've found, or even gained the power of the darkness? What would've become of the apes and Gaul? There is just too much to put together. And, I don't want to give you a bad answer but... It might be for the worse. Your corruption gave you so much more power, it gave Malefor so much power as well that you can help him with. If you never had this power, and Malefor was never corrupted, the darkness would always find someone else... and we can't prevent that."_

 _Spyro sighed, wishing there was some way he could bring every one back without messing around too much with the past. He was glad to her of his lover's parents, and he wondered what his parents were like as well, but he knew his father wouldn't say anything unless his lover asked him. Talking about the past, talking about the strengths and weaknesses of the past, he knew he couldn't let such a thing happen again, and one thing got to his mind most of all, and even though he thought about it, his father still heard, "The darkness will always find someone else... Does that mean peace is just a dream... and even if the darkness found someone else, who would it be? Malefor? If it ever even left his body... ugh! What am I talking about?! I know Malefor isn't the dark master I... I know it... I know I do." As he thought about Malefor, his mind went back to his fear; The sadness in his eyes, his tensed body, it was too real to make up. Giving him power as strong as his seemed like the right thing to do, but without power strong enough to protect his lover, to protect his future hatchling, it seemed pointless to Spyro to help him, and give him the power that Malefor wanted. He wished he could talk more with his father about a lot of things, but he had to make sure he used this time wisely. "Ignitus... thank you for, talking with me so much. We haven't done something like this in a long time."_

 _"Hehe, anytime, my son. After all, we can talk when ever you want. Just say my name in your thoughts and say you want to talk and I can bring you back in here," Ignitus smiled, glad his son was having a good time talking with him._

 _"Of course. But, now more then ever, I'm scared. And for the first time in my life, Malefor isn't even a fear of mine. My fear now is that I, along with Malefor, won't be strong enough to defend against some kind of threat that comes our way. So, please, I'm asking and begging you to put me through the harshest training you can imagine. But, not emotional training where Cynder is involved, I just, I need your help to get stronger. I need power like yours."_

 _"Alright but, are you absolutely sure? This training will not be easy. Even if your bones break, I'm going to rely on you to put yourself back together and keep fighting. Are you sure this is the kind of pain and training you want to go through? You have so many years to get so powerful, and you are only sixteen. You still have your life ahead of you to get stronger then anyone in the world."_

 _"Someone else out there could only be thirteen and be strong enough to beat or kill everyone here, and I'm not going to let that happen. The more I wait, the more time someone else has to one up me, and I can't let that happen. Until I get stronger then you, I will never be satisfied. The fact that there is someone more powerful then me out there makes me know that I can be just as good, and even better, then you, and I have to be."_

 _"Then, please, before we start... don't tell Cynder. She will kill me if she finds out I put you through this."_

 _"Hehe, I won't tell her, don't worry. After all, if I did tell her about this, she would kill you, and then say how she was... disappointed in me. I can't have that."_

 _"Hehe, alright... Then I guess, we can begin..."_

 _"Oh, wait!"_

 _"What's wrong?"_

 _"Shouldn't we do this training in the training room? If this is just your dream world and I'm not actually training my real body then, wouldn't all this training not count for me?"_

 _"Don't worry about that. All training that is done in here will always be recorded by either me or the Ancestors. They know what kind of pain you are in and what kind of power you gained from this experience. So, when ever you leave this dream world, all the pain that you had at the end of the training is what you will wake up to. And say, you were able to gain some musle, when you fall asleep, then wake up the next morning, you'll get that muscle from the Ancestors. After all, how do you think I've gotten my powers? You all yell at me for my, borrowed powered that I never worked for."_

 _"Hehe, oh yeah. Just making sure. Alright, now I'm ready."_

 _"Alright, First, lets change the terrain."_

 _Raising his paw, the galaxy around them turned black along with everything else. For a second, Spyro couldn't see anything, but light came into view above him. Looking up, it was the blue sky, and the sun shining down from above them. Looking back down and in front of him, Ignitus was still in front of him, but behind him were trees, grass, and bushes. Looking behind himself, there were three big mountains with snow on top of them. Walking up next to his son, Ignitus stood next to him, and Spyro turned his body around and looked at the mountain with him. Pulling his paw up, he pointed it at the mountain, and flicked at it. Everything around them cracked from the wind, including the grassy floor underneath them. The gust of wind was so strong, Spyro had to block his eyes with his wings. With the wind slowly calming down, he pulled his wings back down. His body shuck from the sight. The entire forest in front of them was gone. Following the trail of destruction, his heart skipped a beat, and his eyes grew wide. The mountain had a massive hole in the middle of it that went straight through the back of it. Cracks could be heard from the mountain before it caved in on itself, completely destroying itself. His breathing grew slightly heavier as he never knew such a power existed, which only fueled his fears and need for power. As he blinked, everything had returned back to normal: The mountain was fixed, along with the surrounding area and the forest. He looked up at his father, trying to control his breathing, "Please... What... what do I... what do I have to do."_

 _His father could only smile, seeing the desperation in his eyes, he was glad he was able to help out his son so much, compared to how things were in the past where he felt helpless. Unfortunately, Ignitus knew this kind of power was still a little out of reach for him, so he decided to teach him something else that would satisfy his need for power. "Before we get to that kind of destructive power, lets start with the basics. You need to focus on your powers like: Fire, Earth, Lighting, And of course, Ice. Now tell me, have you mastered your elements yet?" Ignitus asked with a smile, as even for him, he didn't know there was more to his powers then he thought. "Of course. While me and Cynder were going on our journey to beat the dark master, I learned to master my elements. I have trouble with earth, but I got the hang of it after a while," Spyro explained. "Oh, so does that mean you can do this?" Pulling up his paw, Ignitus showed one claw and ignited a small light of fire. But it was no ordinary fire, it was blue, and it had more of a sense of warmth coming from it, almost as if it was being controlled better then normal fire. Spyro's eye's went wide with amazement as he never knew he could control and master fire different from his red kind. "If you can master this, there is one other fire that you can try and get to," Ignitus paused, twirling his claw, making the blue fire turn purple, "You can achieve such a thing as purple fire." The warmth coming from this fire was a lot more different then that of the blue fire. The warmth could be felt all over his body, and even his eyes, but it didn't hurt. His body felt so peaceful just even looking at the fire. The purple fire moved and waved very slowly compared to normal fire. A small growl came from Ignitus as he put his paw to the ground. "Ignitus! Are you okay?" Spyro asked. "Yeah, yeah, it's just, the higher you go in the power, the more stamina it uses. Blue fire is a little difficult to control and takes a medium amount of stamina. Purple fire is increasingly difficult to control and takes a large sum of stamina. That's why, when you tried out that move from my book, it drained your stamina completely. The way your body moved, it's like how the fire is: Smooth, Gentle, until finally being released into a destructive force."_

 _"Wait... so, even for you, you aren't able to maintain this, purple fire? If you can't then, how would I ever be able to get to such a kind of power?"_

 _"Remember, my power is limited to a certain degree. You on the other paw can have as much power as you want and no one can tell you otherwise. Even though it may take long, the pay off for this power is enormous. The blue fire could burn through just about almost anything. And the purple fire could put the temperature of the sun to shame. But here is also something you should know. Fire isn't the only element that has a color change when you master it."_

 _"What? Wait, so, if my ice is blue, would I have blue ice power?"_

 _"Your ice is already blue, so unfortunately, you won't know until you've mastered it. You'll know the feeling when you have. But just like the fire, soon your ice will turn purple. Which I know sounds wired and as you think of it, it seems wired, but purple ice is like a diamond: Both in power and beauty. And same goes for your lighting and Earth."_

 _"Purple lightning sounds pretty cool... But going back to this, purple fire, why did it feel so, calming. I've always liked when it was somewhat cold when I sleep, and having Cynder beside me, I have that right amount of heat and comfort, but the fire... it was like, no matter how hot or cold I was, it felt so, calming. It was hot but, it felt as if I were to put my paw on it, it wouldn't hurt... I can't explain this feeling... is there some way, I could hold the fire?"_

 _"Sorry, Spyro. If I were to let you hold the fire, you wouldn't have to control it with your own energy, and how you are now, the fire would drain your stamina in an instant. I would show you again, but even for me, I can't hold it for that long. Maybe after training and all, I will try and show you again, but for right now, my stamina has to come back to me."_

 _"Alright... But, you understand the feeling, right?"_

 _"I have experienced it before, yes. I've made it close to a hundred degrees in my temple one time, but the fire isn't affected by any other heat. It keeps the temperature you have it at. I've tried to freeze it, but it just moved within the ice, and melted it, but after it melted it, it still stayed its normal temperature somehow. Even the ice had the same temperature as it so it wasn't hot when I touched it."_

 _"What? How, how did you do this? You could barely hold the fire before but your saying you did all this?"_

 _"I had to get permission from the Ancestors to do this, for experiment purposes."_

 _"Oh... and what about lighting? Is it the same way?"_

 _"Purple lightning is... like you, I can't really explain it. It's just, so calming. I, now mind you, this was experiment purposes, so don't yell at me. I shocked myself with the purple lightning..."_

 _"Your are starting to make me thing of you as an older Malefor."_

 _"What?"_

 _"You remember how Malefor tried to fight fire, with fire?"_

 _"How do you... Oh yeah. What ever, look, I was experimenting. Come to find out, purple lightning is like a kind of, healing ability. At first, nothing really happened. I paralyzed my body and fell to the floor. I used the purple lightning again and it, it somehow shocked all my nerves back together without any side effects. I even later learned it can even restart your heart, give you more of a jolt of energy, and fix any nervous system damage that you could have. And there is probably so much more I don't know about."_

 _"All that... just from one ability... Wait a minute... 'I even later learned it can restart my heart'?"_

 _"You are killing me with the questions."_

 _"Just making sure that you won't say, 'I attacked Malefor in his sleep and restarted his heart'. So I guess as long as your doing this to yourself, sure man... But seriously, you accidentally kill or harm yourself permanently doing this, I'm going to tell Claire."_

 _"Alright alright, I won't. I will let you be the test dummy in the future."_

 _"Hehe, that's a deal. I promise, one day, when ever I master my fire, me and you are going to see who can hold the fire the longest?"_

 _"I look forward to it," Ignitus smiled, holding onto his promise for the future, "So does that mean you are ready to start your training?"_

 _"Yeah... yeah I think I'm ready. So what are we going to do first?"_

 _"First, you are going to fight only using fire. No fist, and no other ability. You can only kill with fire. We will keep going and going until you think you are ready to take a break, sound fair?"_

 _"Yeah. But just remember, don't care how much pain and wounds I take, until I say I quit, then you do not stop spawning those dark creatures, agreed?"_

 _"Spyro, you could go through even more pain when you fought me. Are you..."_

 _"Yes... Yes, I am sure..."_

 _He saw the determination in his son, and this burning determination had been in his eyes ever since he talked about him training him. Sighing from the thoughts and painful cries that he know he would hear, he agreed with him and decided it would be for the best. "Just, be safe, please. I know you are about to go all out on this but, you don't have to do all this you know. I can tell you right now, you are a lot more powerful then you think," Ignitus encouraged him, still not wanting to go through with this. "There are still dragons out there who would threaten my lover, and the peace I want to give her. You all are at risk as well and I will not be satisfied until I know I can keep everyone safe. And in the future, if Malefor keeps proving to me that he is who he says he is, then I will show him as well how to master this power," Spyro promised himself with determination. "So, when will you make Malefor your friend? Still scared he will kill one day." Spyro sighed, not really knowing the answer, but he had his hopes for the future, "I'm going to see how this week plays out. If he behaves, and doesn't say something stupid like you and Claire going to third base... then maybe, maybe! Really big maybe, I will make him my friend. I trust him, so you don't have to worry about me killing him as slowly as I would like to."_

 _"Hehe, sounds fair enough. So what, you trust him enough to kill him fast rather then slowly?"_

 _"Yeah... but, like I said, I need to see how things play out. If he didn't kill Ersa, it wouldn't take me a whole lot longer to consider him my friend, especially since I know Volteer would be happy, so it would be a win win for everyone. But... since you said she was died, I just have to wait and see. The future is a scary thing, but, of course, anything can be scary if it's unknown. But, as long as I have everyone, you, and Cynder... The future will always look bright."_

 _"Hehe, well I mean, as long as there is a Sun, of course it will."_

 _"Hehe, great, you are becoming like an older version of Malefor."_

 _"Sweet."_

 _The two shared a nice laugh, which Ignitus was glad, but he also knew it would make it that much harder for him to watch as his son fought even after all the blood that would be shed. Seeing as his son stretched out his body to prepare for the fight, he knew there was no other way to try and talk him out of it, now all he could do was wait and watch as the fight unfolded. Turning away and walking away from his father, Spyro walked to the other side of the open field. Standing in front of the tree at the end of the field, he turned around and looked at his father and called out, "Ready!" Ignitus could only sigh as he heard those words. A dark cloud of smoke formed in the middle of the field as Ignitus backed away. Dark creatures jumped out one by one from the cloud with weapons ready. "I guess I shouldn't make this easy on him, so lets make them a little more, powerful," Ignitus thought, giving the dark creatures a little more boost in power. Getting in a fighting stance, Spyro was ready to take them on as he said, "What's wrong? Scared or...?"_

 _A small gust of wind went by as his head. His eyes went wide and his mouth hanged opened. The dark creature were so fast, he didn't even notice that his check had been cut clean to the side. Small amounts of blood poured from the cut, which somewhat frustrated him. "I've already taken a cut and the battle has barely started?! How weak can I be?!" Spyro growled at himself, wiping the blood off his cheek before charging head first into battle. Sliding down on the ground, he used his wings to spin himself around, igniting fire around him as he went through the dark cloud. The dark creatures dodge his fire. Slashing his tail through the ground to stop himself, Spyro growled as he slid back, taking another couple of hits from a blink attack. The four dark creatures that he was fighting all got attacks off of him as he was staggering backwards. He now drew blood from his two arms, his other cheek, and right near the top of his horn. Thinking he could end it quickly, he charged up fire in his mouth. "They haven't even moved!" Spyro growled, in his thoughts while fueling the fire in his mouth. Using his mass amount of fire, it engulfed the forest in front of him in a blinding amounts of fire. But he had failed to kill them. As he used his fire, the dark creatures sliced at his body. Hissing from the attacks, he had had enough and built up the same amount of fire, but in his body this time. Flying up into the air, he pulled his wings in along with his arms. Feeling the fire build up inside, he stretched his arms and wings out, letting out a massive amount of fire that burned the surrounding area completely. As the fire reached the ground, Ignitus tapped the ground. A small protective barrier shielded him from the fire as it engulfed the area. Landing down on the ground, Spyro's breathing had grown heavy as he had already gone through so much power. Looking around the forest, it was almost completely burned to the ground from his fire usage, which he felt good to know he at least had this much power, but it proved to do little good as he fought. He felt slashes hit his legs and arms. The sudden pain caused him to growl. Looking over at the dark cloud in the middle, the dark creatures were still standing there. "That's... that's impossible! I've burned this whole damn forest down! How are they still alive?!" Spyro yelled with frustration. Going into his dark mode, he had enough. His scales turned dark along with his whole body. Disappearing in the blink of an eye, so did the dark creatures. Explosions could be heard and felt as the forest was being completely destroyed from a small fight with these dark creatures. Every punch made another small crater in the ground. Fire burned and incinerated trees, turning the land into nothing more then a burn pile of ash. Reappearing in front of his father, Spyro's breathing had grown severe. His body had sustained even more injuries as he bled from his wings, side, and tail. His dark scales were more purple now then they were dark as he was losing the power. Ignitus bit his lip as he wanted to just stop the training now, but he remembered what they had agreed on._

 _"Come on, Spyro. You don't have to keep doing this," Ignitus thought, wishing he could tell his son, "I've made it so these dark creatures are unbeatable, there is nothing you can do." The dark creatures had come back onto the field, standing side by side with one another. They decided to finish Spyro off. One took the opportunity to rush in, and since Spyro couldn't see nor read their attacks, the dark creature disappeared and reappeared right at his chest. Pushing his weapon right into his heart, Spyro's eyes went wide as he felt like he was going to faint. "Spyro!" His father cried. As his eyes and body grew heavy, he felt like falling to the ground, but he couldn't, he wouldn't allow himself to. Bitting his lip hard enough that he bled, he shot his eyes open and let out a monster growl. Grabbing the dark creature by his neck, he snapped his neck completely, killing the dark creature. "What?! But, but it was unbeatable!" Ignitus thought with wide eyes, seeing almost in slow motion as the dark creature fell to the ground with his neck twisted the other way. Falling down to the ground, Spyro tried to keep his balance, which proved to be more of a challenge then he was hoping for. His dark power had almost been completely drained, and because of this, he started to feel more and more of the pain then he had before. Along with the fact that his adrenaline was starting to fade. Grabbing the weapon, he slowly yanked it out from his body, successful in doing so. But in doing so, more blood spilled from the wound as well. "I... I can... use the remainder of... my dark power... to heal my... heart..." Spyro thought to himself in a struggle. His dark power slithered through his body and towards the hole in his chest, using the last bit of the dark power to seal and heal his heart. Taking one step to his right, the pain hit him hard enough to make him almost fall over. Seeing that he didn't have his dark power any more, the three remaining creatures did the same as the first one. Disappearing and reappearing, each dark creature took a stab right at his body. One hitting and pinning his tail to the ground, another slicing right through his back leg, and the last hit and went through his back. The weapon that stabbed the top of his back went through the top of his back and out his chest, touching the ground. Ignitus couldn't watch any longer, and everything screamed at him to do something. Seeing as Spyro's body started to go limp and he had closed his eyes, Ignitus ran forward to stop what he feared and knew would happen. But before he got half way, he stopped and watched as darkness from his body started to slowly emerge from where he was stabbed. The darkness circled around the holes in his body and broke the part of the weapons that were in his body. The weapon that stabbed out threw his chest fell to the ground while the dark creature held just a broken stick. The weapon that stabbed in his tail did the same. The dark creatures backed away wondering what was happening._

 _"Spyro...?" Ignitus whispered, watching as Spyro's body fell down onto the ground, almost as if he was knocked unconscious. The darkness hovered over where he was stabbed and slowly made it's way over blood that had spilled on his body. Walking up more towards his son, he stood in front of him. His body laid there on his right side while the darkness slowly moved around his body. Ignitus watched in awe as the darkness had moved away from where he was stabbed, and the wound was completely healed, along with the blood that surrounded it. The darkness continued to heal his body and clean him of blood, and the sight to him was amazing to see such a thing. "But... the parts of the weapons... wouldn't they still be in Spyro's body?" He thought to himself, placing a paw on Spyro's side, wondering what happen to those pieces. His eyes grew wide as he said out loud, "Incredible!" Taking his paw off his son's side and placing it back to the ground, he watched as the darkness returned into Spyro's body. Looking at his son's body now, it was completely cleaned of damage and blood. "But... why would the darkness do such a thing? Why would it..." He paused in his thoughts as he heard a small grunt of pain escape from Spyro's mouth as he shuck. "Spyro," Ignitus whispered, looking down to see him waking. As Spyro opened his eyes, he laid on the ground with slight anger as he said, "And... I failed... I thought we agreed that you wouldn't heal me no matter what happened."_

 _"But that's the crazy part, I didn't heal you," Ignitus said with excitement in his voice which made Spyro very curious as to what he meant. Taking a step back from his son as he stood back up to his paws, grunting in pain as he did so, Ignitus couldn't help but quickly explain, "While you were knocked out, your dark powers healed and protected you." Hearing the darkness did something aside from destroy sounded unbelievable to him, and Spyro called him on it as if he was bluffing, "Really? My dark powers? I'm not stupid, Ignitus. You can't heal by using something that can destroy."_

 _"No no no, trust me. When you were knocked out, the darkness hovered around where the weapons were stabbed into you. They broke off the weapons even though they were in your body!"_

 _"If they were in my body, wouldn't I have a piece of a weapon in me?"_

 _"Hehe, oh man, this is were it gets even crazier. The darkness inside your body broke down the weapon inside your body and basically disintegrated it! It even cleaned you off of your blood! I never knew the darkness could be used in such a way! I was a little scared at first because I thought, with you knocked out, it would take over your body, but it didn't! It healed it!"_

 _"The darkness... protected me?"_

 _"Crazy, right?!"_

 _Still not believing his father, he decided to try something. Reaching his paw up and stabbing his claws into his other arm hard enough to make him bleed, he cried out in pain and clenched his teeth to help hold back the pain. "Spyro! What are you doing?!" Ignitus cried, watching as his son pulled his claws from his arm. Blood dripped down the side of Spyro's right arm as he explained, "I'm going, ugh... I'm going to see if you are bluffing or not... I... I want to see for myself what you are talking about. I don't believe the darkness would rather heal me then to take me over."_

 _"Yeah but... you didn't have to go so far as to do something like that. You could've just made a small hole in your paw or something, not something this severe."_

 _"I'm... I'm sorry... If what your telling me is true, there is... there's just a lot on my mind."_

 _"Well, when the darkness heals you, do you want to talk about it?"_

 _"If the darkness heals me. But if..."_

 _"Spyro!" Ignitus cried in an outburst, scaring Spyro a little, "Look at your arm!" Looking down at his arm, his eyes went wide as he watched the darkness slither out of the hole in his arm and clean the blood and the wound. He also felt the darkness down at his other paw as well. Pulling his left paw up and looking at the one, he watched as the darkness circled around his claws. As the darkness slithered back up his arm and into his scales, the blood from his claws that he stabbed into his arm was now clean. "No... This..." Spyro stopped as he put his paw back to the ground and looked back over at his other arm to see it was cleaned and healed, "This... this doesn't make any sense... Why... But... Before, when I fought you, when we went to the Dragon Temple... why is the darkness doing this now?"_

 _"Well, if you think about it, after that fight I had with you, I healed you. From what I can recall, ever since you got the dark power, you always were either healed by me after training or what not, and when ever you bled and I wasn't around, you would wash it off with water like you did back then. But now, since their was nothing to help you this time, the darkness stepped in and helped."_

 _"But... It's the darkness! A tool used for evil! Something that was used to summon and command the destroyer...! Why... why would it heal me instead of infect me and try to use me... This doesn't make any sense..." Spyro wondered as he sat down on the ground and wondered with confusion, not understanding why the darkness would help him. Ignitus also tried to make sense of it as he thought about it, and he came up with a reason of what it could be, "Well... I have an idea. Maybe the darkness was already infected by something, that being your pure side, so... it now acts as a ally?"_

 _"It acts like an ally? This is the darkness we are talking about. It only has one means and that's it."_

 _"Then how come before, when you were knocked out way back when you were knocked out and almost killed by the Dark Master, why didn't the darkness take you over then? Didn't you find it wired that you were still able to survive even with such severe injuries?"_

 _"What are you getting at?"_

 _"Well, maybe... maybe the reason you were able to hold on for so long was thanks to your dark powers. Any normal dragon surely would've died with the amount of stamina drain and blood loss, and yet, you laid on the floor for a good hour or so before you were finally healed... why is that? How were you able to survive that?"_

 _"I'm not going to admit that the darkness saved me."_

 _"But because of the darkness, you were able to defend and protect Cynder. With this dark power, you've been able to fight with ease and a smile. Just like with those dragons, and with the apes, and when you fought me and everyone else. So what about the darkness is so bad? From where I'm standing, the darkness has helped out a lot for you." The idea that the darkness was something helpful made Spyro snarl, and he disagreed with that statement, "You're wrong. When ever I use my dark power, there is always a balance to it. Every time I use it, I feel the anger coming from it. Everything that's happened, things that the Dark Master did, what's happened in the past... I have to control all that hatred."_

 _"And how do you do that?"_

 _"It's not really, all that easy. I have to be pretty serious from times to keep myself from letting the darkness take over. Basically, what I do is, I have to think of anything sad, something heart breaking every time I use my power. With the right amount of anger and the right amount of sadness, I'm able to easily use the power... but... those two emotions aren't easy to deal with as they, just like my dark power, are the most powerful weapons in the world."_

 _"Then... why would the darkness heal you?"_

 _"Instinct? After all, when I use my dark power, it always has access to my memories in order to draw out that anger. The darkness to me seems more like a virus; It makes you sick when ever you have to experience it, and when it's all over, it's a nice sigh of relief. But, one thing the darkness does that a virus doesn't is... It actually does help me."_

 _"Is this thing about the darkness healing you really messing with you that bad?"_

 _"No... I just... I can't believe I lost to those dark creatures you made my fight."_

 _"Spyro. They were unbeatable. The fact that you even killed one puts the biggest smile on my face."_

 _"But what if Cynder was attacked by these unbeatable enemies."_

 _"Well, for one, Malefor would be here to help you along with the Guardians to make everything easier. And even if they couldn't help, knowing you, you'd explode with dark energy and_ _annihilate_ _everything that stood in your way. Hehe, I mean, after all, I haven't seen you pissed off in forever, which is definitely a good thing."_

 _"Hehe, why, because I'm already such a pain in the ass to deal with."_

 _"Of course not. It's just, last time something angered you, it was when the Dark Master attacked and nearly killed Cynder. I know that was a bad time for you and everyone else, especially for me since I couldn't do anything but... You were more then half as powerful as I was. That power of rage you had was almost... scary."_

 _"Why am I weaker now then compared to back then?"_

 _"Because compared to back then, you were only full of rage. You were intending to kill rather then to save. Seeing what he could do pushed you to do what you knew what would be for the best. Like how you said, you need sadness and anger to control your dark power. But at that very minute, those two emotions were going crazy from everything that happened which only made your powers stronger."_

 _"So then... I know my darkness can be so much more then what it is now. But... just like everything else, I should master it before I try and move on to something more advanced."_

 _"Precisely."_

 _"Then... we are going to put my dark power to the test and see what else it can or can't do. Tell me, Ignitus, how cold can you make it in this dream world?"_

 _"Well... I mean... I can make it cold enough to give us frost bite from frozen Hell if that's what you want. Why do you ask?"_

 _"We are going to see if I do or don't need to use my powers to protect me from severe conditions of weather. It seems my dark powers will only assist me when ever I know for a fact I can't do anything to help myself. So, I'm not going to do anything, and I'm only going to let my dark powers do everything."_

 _"Don't hate me, but I kinda hope when I make it negative fifty, your dark powers don't work, that way in can see you freezing in a cube of ice."_

 _"That's pretty..."_

 _""Cold," Ignitus and Spyro both joked at the same time with a laugh. "But, seriously, if that does happen, burn me free. Like I said, I'm not going to use any of my powers at all," Spyro said with a little more seriousness in his voice and even somewhat with a chill as he was now a little afraid of that happening. "Alright, guess I will start making it a little cold around here," Ignitus said as he stood there doing nothing, and Spyro looked at him with a raised brow, wondering why he wasn't doing anything. After a couple of second of silence, Spyro spoke, "So... uh... Getting chilly up in here or...?"_

 _"Wait... you don't feel that?!"_

 _"Feel what?" Ignitus was surprised that Spyro stood there with a confused look on his face which made him somewhat smile as he thought, "Incredible! His dark power really does have abilities protect him even from the cold. It's about negative a hundred and he doesn't even look like he understands what I've done... Hehe, how about I try and make it even colder... Negative two hundred should make his scales to icicles" As he made the temperature colder, Ignitus was sure this would freeze Spyro were he stood. The entire area around them started to freeze over in white ice. Now as the two breathed, they could see one another's breaths, and even Spyro had to admit it was cold, "Alright, I will agree, it is a little chilly now. But... you got anything... What the hell!" Looking over at the dark creatures, their bodies were completely frozen over with ice. Looking back at his father, he asked, "How cold is it?"_

 _"Should I lie to him? It could make him want to push himself further to be even more powerful... If things get out of paw from this, then I will tell him the truth," Ignitus thought to himself about what to say, and when he knew what to say, he spoke, "Oh... uh, you know... It's only about negative fifty degrees... I just froze those Bastards on purpose for what they did." His words worked as Spyro started to feel hate for how weak his dark powers were, "So... only negative fifty degrees... Well, I know for a fact my fire can handle something like this no problem. I guess I just need to work more with my dark power... Alright, let's turn up the heat now."_

 _"Alright." Now using his powers, Ignitus thought to himself, wondering how hot he should make it, "Well, Spyro's dark powers can protect him against negative temperatures pretty well. So, how hot should I make it...? What about... a normal amount of two hundred degrees and go up from there." Turning up the heat very quickly, the ice around them hissed as it melted around them. "Ouch," Spyro chuckled, feeling the heat from the boiling water as the heat from around them took over the cold. As the water dried up, he now waited to see how his son would react. To his surprise, he didn't seem fazed, and Spyro spoke with a sigh, "Let me guess... seventy degrees? And I'm also guessing you only heated everything up just to get rid of the ice, right?"_

 _"Seventy Degrees?" Ignitus thought once again before he spoke, "Well... not exactly... it's more like sixty degrees. And you are right about the ice though, didn't want to give you a handy cap," He lied once again, and he felt a little bad for lying as he saw the slight frown on his son's face once again. "A clean seventy? Screw it, let's make it a nice, hit, three hundred degrees. Let's see if he can take that," Ignitus thought, turning up the heat even more around them. As the heat started to get warmer and it reached it's peak, Spyro started to sweat a little as he chuckled, "Okay... now it's getting a little... hot."_

 _"A little? This dark power can surely protect him a lot better then I thought... I guess I should tell him the truth so he knows how far he has come." Turning down the heat back to a soothing temperature with a nice breeze, Spyro sighed as he was somewhat glad things had cooled off. "Spyro... I don't want you to feel like your training is for nothing, so, I'm going to tell you the truth," Ignitus spoke. "The truth? Let me guess, it was like, fifty degrees and I was sweating, right?"_

 _"It was about three hundred degrees just to get you to sweat even a little."_

 _"What...?! No... Ignitus, come on, be serious."_

 _"Spyro, when it was cold, it was more then what you thought it was. It was negative two hundred and yet you said it was, a little chilly."_

 _"Are... are you serious," Spyro somewhat smiled which made him smile as well, and Ignitus was glad he was telling his son the truth._

 _"The reason the ice burned away so quickly is because I made it a smooth hot two hundred degrees in almost an instant. Just look for your self," Ignitus gestured his paw over to the dark creatures. Spyro looked over to see they had melted away with nothing remaining. Looking back at his father, he continued to speak, "Even they couldn't stand the heat, or even the frosty ice hell that I made." Spyro's smile grew a little wider from his father words as it really did seem to him that he was making progress. But as he thought about the dark creatures, his smile slowly faded, but Ignitus knew what he was thinking about and assured him, "Don't worry about losing to them. I gave them basically my powers. They knew your attacks before you even made them. The fact that you killed one means... if I only did send one after you, you surely would've won."_

 _"But..." Spyro murmured, but Ignitus quickly interjected._

 _"You were fighting four of me, basically. Each if them were of course a little weaker but, your power isn't something to play around with. You put yourself in a position that would've angered you, I'm sure you would've won. When you are backed into a corner, it's scary to think what you'll do, especially with your dark power." Hearing his words made him feel a little better, but he wanted to know just how close he was to being better then the power that he possessed, "How close am I to you then?"_

 _"Tell you what, you tell me if me and Carith will ever fall in love with me, then I will tell you. So, tell me, what do you think?"_

 _"Oh, no no no, mister. Cynder and I have to wait to read our parents past, so you are going to wait to find out if she loves you or not. But, unfortunately, I can already see you crying and doing nothing but laying in bed because Claire left you... It's going to be a very tough time for you... Especially if I told you what she said in the hallway that one night."_

 _"Wait! What?! Spyro... you are joking... you're joking, right."_

 _"Yep."_

 _"Not funny! You actually sacred me. Both mentally and physically. Look, look at my body! I'm shaking because of you."_

 _"Hehe, sorry, I didn't mean to scare you that much. If you said me and Cynder weren't going to fall in love, I would've acted the same."_

 _"The only difference is you would burst out into tears like you always do."_

 _"Am I talking to Malefor right now or..."_

 _"Sorry, but, going back and reading what happened back then... he isn't wrong."_

 _"Yeah yeah, what ever, point is, stop getting so worked up about love. The time will come between the two of you, just don't be something that isn't you. Cynder fell in love with who I was, and Claire fell in love with who you are. So as long as you don't change that, you'll be fine, I promise you." Ignitus let out a sigh of relief, believing his words as his son had already been through this, so he trusted him on it. Raising a paw into the air and looking at the front of it, then turning it around and looking at the back of it, Spyro placed his paw back on the ground. Looking at his father, he smiled and thanked him for his help, "Thanks for doing this, Ignitus. I wanted to train, but I didn't want to get up and leave Cynder alone in her bed. I also didn't want to wake her."_

 _"When ever you need me, I will be there. But, now with that said, does that mean you are done training?"_

 _"Unfortunately. I am getting a little tired and I have learned a lot when it comes to what my powers hold. And... I think it would he more fun to learn more about my powers with... Malefor."_

 _"What?!"_

 _"Don't think that means I don't want to train and talk with you because of course i do, anytime, any day. But, Malefor wants me to help him train, and you don't need to train. So, me and Malefor can work together to grow stronger and learn more about our elements and dark powers."_

 _"I put myself into a dream, didn't I."_

 _"Hehe. Look, if you want me to go back to hating him, I have no..."_

 _"No reason to...!" Ignitus cried out in an outburst, somewhat scaring Spyro, "Ahem... What I meant was, yeah, you're right, you should train with him. I've been away from Claire for a while so, you know, I want to feel her cool body while I cuddle with her."_

 _"Then, till we talk again?"_

 _"Well, there is one thing I did promise, remember?" Raising a paw up as he paused, Spyro's eyes grew wide as he knew exactly what it was going to be. Looking at the middle of his paw, he watched as a small purple flame formed on Ignitus's paw. Feeling the warm feeling again, he couldn't resist as he had to feel it with his paw. Pulling his paw up, he rested it over the top of the flame. "Why... Why does this feel so... relaxing?" Spyro spoke to himself. Placing his paw down over the fire and on Ignitus's, he rested it there for a second. Pulling his paw back up, he saw the fire had disappeared. Looking up at his father, the two put their paws back to the ground and he opened his mouth to say something, but Ignitus spoke first, "You will get there one day, I know you will. You have the heart, you have the determination, and you have all the friends you could want to back you up." A tear formed in Spyro's eyes. Instead of saying something he jumped up and hugged his dad with his wings. Putting his head over his shoulder, he whispered while Ignitus hugged him back, "Thanks, Dad."_

 _"Hehe, I should be thanking you. It's all because of you that, Claire is here and, now knowing how it feels to love someone... Thank you for helping me so much that day." Spyro chuckled as well as he backed away from the hug and Ignitus let go as well. Now wanting to talk some more, Ignitus brought up something that could help him stay, "You know, I could always just make you feel awake with my powers. You wouldn't need to sleep."_

 _"What happened to wanting to feel Claire's cold body?"_

 _"I just..."_

 _"This isn't going to be the last time we talk. We all go down to the Chambers like everyday."_

 _"Yeah... you're right. I like when we all meet up like that every morning... it's something I don't want to change. But, don't worry about tomorrow. If you want to train Malefor, please do so. I don't want to stop you from becoming closer friends with Malefor."_

 _"Becoming friends with Malefor... I never thought I would say something like that, let alone think it... and yet, I do smile a little when I do."_

 _"Then I won't change your mind at all. We will leave off on the best note possible." White light slowly started to form around their bodies, and Spyro just had one more thing to say to him before he had to leave, "But just remember what I said, about Claire. And remember what you promised me, about, Ersa. I will prove you right both times." Ignitus chuckled, knowing exactly what he was talking about and whispered, "There isn't a day that goes by... where I regret calling you, my son..."_

* * *

Opening his eyes and listening to the light sounds of snoring from the other Guardians, his mind and self from the dream world returned to his body. He smiled wide, glad that he was able to talk with his son and help him for as long as he did. Chuckling somewhat as he remembered the promise he made to his son, he picked his head up and looked down on Claire. Seeing how happy she was as she slept made him feel proud. He was happy to see he was doing something right for her. As much as he wanted to wake her, everything seemed so peaceful. Everyone was sleeping well, and she was calm. He didn't want to disturb her sleep by waking her, and decided it would be best if he let her sleep, giving Spyro the win. _Hehe, alright, Spyro. Lets see if you can wake your lover... I would but... I can't help but enjoy this peace that we have. Oh, and before I forget, thank you, Ancestors, for giving me and Spyro more then a couple of hours to spend with one another, that meant a lot to me. But, going back, I will keep that promsie I made to you, Spyro. I will tell her one day, and... I know she will say yes... I know she will,_ Ignitus thought to himself, wondering if his son would fair any better then he did in his attempt to be more romantic with the one they cared about. Laying his head back down over Claire's, the cool feeling all around her scales made him feel so comfortable, which made it that much more easier to fall asleep. Thinking he would open his eyes for a second to try again, he failed. As soon as his eyes closed, he drifted right off to bed with a smile.

* * *

Waking up in his bed once again for the second time this night, Spyro's eyes slowly opened as he looked into his darkened room. Picking his head up, he smiled, remembering the hug he was able to give his father just before he left. _Thank you, Ignitus, for being the best father I could ever ask for,_ He thought to himself, glad he was able to talk for as long as they did. It helped clear his mind on a lot of things that he was going on, and looking down at his smiling lover as she slept, it helped him better understand what he needed to do in order to keep her safe. _If not even the Chronicler has power over this, purple fire, with Malefor's help, I can achieve it, and I can protect Cynder no matter the threat! Malefor, I'm putting a lot of trust into you by asking you to help me... please... please be the one everyone says you are._ As he thought about it, looking at how peacefully his lover was breathing, the smile on her face, how comfortable he was even now, he knew he couldn't wake her. Thinking about his training as well, he knew he needed a lot of sleep if he was going to train as hard as he wanted to. So, instead of waking her up, he could only sigh with a smile. Laying his head back down over Cynder's, he thought to himself, _Well, I guess you win this round, Ignitus. I can't wake her, even as cute as I know it would be to see her beautiful face... I need to make sure I can keep things the way they are. And until I know for sure I'm powerful enough to keep this peace, I have to keep trying... But, thank you again, for all your help back there._ Closing his eyes once again, he felt, calm. A lot calmer then he did before for some reason, and thinking back, it had to do with his words that his father said to him. _I guess I will have to test my strength against Malefor and see what happens..._ Spyro thought halfway through before falling asleep from the sound of his lover's breathing and the comfort of her body.


	7. Chapter 7: What To Give Up For Power

Chapter 7: What To Give Up For Power

 _"Malefor... hey Malefor," A voice called, waking the sleeping dragon. Grumbling as he woke, he already knew who the voice was, and opening up his eyes to say something to him, he stopped as he brought up his head. He wasn't in his bed anymore but rather in the training room with Spyro standing in front of him while he laid down on the floor. "You wanted me to teach you about your dark powers didn't you? If you need to go back to bed, it's fine. I would like to spend some time with my lover too." Shaking his head as he didn't remember ending up here, he decided to say yes out of fears that he wouldn't get another chance like this, "No no no, its... it's fine. But, going back, what were you talking about? With controlling my powers and all, are you able to help me?"_

 _"Isn't that why we are in here? Carith did say you were acting strange when you woke up. Something on your mind?" Spyro asked. "Yeah, I guess you could say that. I was up quite a lot last night. Luckily I didn't wake Carith but, I was scared about the future and all. She said something to me and, and made me think that at any point, the past could easily repeat itself. I've told you I need this power, and that still stays true, but now, I'm more desperate for it then ever."_

 _"Alright, well then, I can get back to what I was saying before," Spyro paused as he walked to the middle of the training room. Standing to his paws, Malefor then soon followed. Looking over at the door, their lover's had entered in, laughing and giggling about what ever they were talking about. He sighed, glad to see they were okay, but even to him, something didn't feel right. Looking back at Spyro, he looked at him and he listened to him continued, "Alright, so first things first. You need to look for the power within your body. Shut off all other elements and only focus on the darkness. When ever you feel it, you need to use it." Malefor was unsure if he would be ready to do such a task even with previous use of the dark power, "But what if I lose control?"_

 _"That's what I'm here for. You lose control and I can take enough dark power away from you to keep you stable," Spyro said, calming him down a bit and with Carith in the room, he felt a little better as he knew that he would need to impress her as well to earn both a kiss from his lover, and it could be a huge step to gaining Spyro's friendship. Taking a deep breath and closing his eyes, he tried to do what he was told. Shutting off all other elements, he concentrated on only his dark power. Feeling the evil force from within, he slowly started to use it. His purple body dimmed to darker purple scales and he could feel the power growing more and more inside of him. Opening his eyes, he looked at his paws and saw he had accomplished the power boost. But just as he went to celebrate, something froze his entire body, and it wasn't Spyro. He struggled to gain control over his paw as it started to raise over Spyro's head, and he struggled to stop it. Lashing his paw at him, he dogged and growled, "Malefor! What are you doing?!"_

 _He couldn't even speak. Seeing how defense Spyro was, and the fact he couldn't control his body made him scared out of his mind. No matter how hard he tried, his body worked on its own, as if there was someone else moving his body for him inside his own body. Malefor's mouth opened and fire burned within it. Just as before, no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't do anything about what was happening. Just as he was about to gain control, he black out. He heard the sounds of fighting for a split second and then, nothing. Seeing if he could move his paw, he succeeded very easily, but pain shot through his body just as easily as well. Opening his eyes once again, he laid on his side on the floor. Picking himself up with a small growl from the pain, he staggered a little, feeling a little light headed. Looking over at Spyro, blood dripped down the side of his cheek as if he were attacked by someone. "I should've killed you! And to think I trusted you with this kind of power!" Spyro spat, but Malefor barely knew what was happening as he was still coming back from losing control. "Spyro... what... what are you... talking about?" Malefor asked, looking at his arms to see he had returned to normal, but he was still being hostile towards him. "Don't try and act dumb. You want this power so damn bad, work for it yourself. I'm not about to help you if it means putting others in danger!" Spyro spat at him once again. "No, wait! Spyro...! Please...! I don't understand, what happened?!" Malefor cried, watching as Spyro walked over to the girls who sat at the door. "How can you blame me for this!" He growled once again, wanting a clear answer of what happened, "You said if anything happened, you would help with that! Why are you turning away from this now when I need your help the most! Why are you acting like I'm supposed to be a pro at this?!"_

 _"Enough, Malefor! Sorry, I meant to say, Dark Master. We've all already seen what you really are, and he proved me right. I already know everything I need to and there isn't anything you can say to change my mind," Spyro growled, sitting down next to his lover and fighting back and forth with him. "Does that mean that yesterday was nothing more then I lie?! Is anything I'm doing even matter to you?! Are you just trying to keep my happy because you are scared of the, Dark Master?!"_

 _"I've always hated you. Nothing you've done has changed that. You gain the power of the darkness and then what? The dark master already told me everything he could do with that kind of power and I believe him, but since you are both the same dragon, I believe both of you."_

 _"Name one thing I've done after I came back that still makes you think I'm the dark master?!"_

 _"How about when your tried to kill Ignitus?"_

 _"I thought he was the Chronicler! You even helped me!"_

 _"And yet it still shows that you're nothing more then a monster."_

 _Malefor clenched his fist with rage, feeling as if all the time he has spent trying to get Spyro's trust was nothing more then a waste. He sighed as he felt like he had finally just given up, but even when he told himself he shouldn't, he kept coming back to what his lover had said last night, and it burned at him ever single second. Trying to calm the situation down, he went to speak, but Spyro stopped him from doing so, "We are done, Malefor. You don't need power if you have nothing to fight for. Your dream is just that."_

 _"Nothing to fight for, what do you... mean? Carith?"_

 _He hadn't seen it, but she was scared of him. Her eyes, her body, the constant shivers. He was in horror to see he had caused that to her, but he barely remembers ever even doing something that could've caused her to become so scared even after she was so joyful. Reaching at a paw to her, she shuck from that as well, causing him to freeze in place and feel the same fear she had. Spyro shuck his head and said, "Training or not, you still posses the dark master, which means you are nothing more then a threat. Try and gain some of your power by yourself because I'm not going to put everyone else at risk for something you should've done yourself. Stay away from us until you can learn to control... him." The three turned and walked out of the room, leaving Malefor alone and frozen with all kinds of emotions from what had just happened. But after his confrontation with Spyro, all he felt was anger, but it wasn't his anger. To him, all he wanted to feel was sadness, but something else was completely consumed by anger. Because their was more anger in his body, the dark aura slowly came around his body and all kinds of emotions started to get to him. He was scared, sad, and angry, and he had nothing to really do about it. Placing his paw back to the ground, he blink, and everything went black for him._

Inhaling deeply and opening his eyes wide open, Carith cried with joy as she was standing on top of him, "Malefor!"

Coughing over on the side of the bed, his breathing slowly started to come back to normal as he laid on his back on the bed. He looked up at his lover for a couple of seconds as his breathing was still pretty severe, but he needed to know if it was her. Making sure she was real, he reached up and slowly put a paw on the side of her face. The feeling of her scales as she rested her head on his paw caused him to sigh hugely. Taking his paw down from her cheek, she laid down on his chest and nuzzled her head underneath his. He smiled wide and as she subsided from the nuzzle by pulling her head up and looking down on him, he asked, "What happened..."

"You... you started to... to glow with darkness again."

"I didn't hurt you did I!"

"Hehe, no no, don't worry about that."

"So... it was just a dream...? Alright... next time I see Ignitus, I'm going to kill him for real this time for being such an ass."

"Why, what did he make you dream about?"

"I... I woke up in the training room and Spyro said he would help me with my powers. You came into the training room with Cynder, laughing about something. After Spyro said that if anything went wrong with me controlling my dark powers, he would help me... I remember trying, then... everything went black. I woke up on the floor and... I had realised that, I wasn't able to control my dark powers. Spyro yelled at me, saying how he never really cared at all about me, and how he has only been saying that he trusted me to keep me sane... You were scared of me... you left with him and his lover. Before he left, he said that, I should stay away from you all until I learn to control my powers... is there truth behind the dream Ignitus gave me? Does he know something I don't?"

"Don't let him get to you, just keep being you. Even if you were to turn, you would never hurt me and I know that for a fact. And I also know that you are strong enough to prevent any one from being hurt when you turn into the dark master. Ignitus was probably just being a big old jerk about it because you were joking with him from before. Tell you what, next time when we see him, maybe you could convince Spyro to help us all team up and make him pay."

"Sounds like a lovely idea. Getting Claire in on the joke would be fantastic, since he loves her, it would be really easy to break his spirit."

"So, do you want to do such a thing today, or wait till another day? We've already visited the Dragon Temple which was an amazing sight to behold, but with that out of the way, what could we possibly do now?"

"Well... I was... I wanted to spend the day training with Spyro to help me control my dark powers."

"Is there anyway I can convince you to stay in bed with me."

"I'm sorry... The sooner I get my dark powers under control then I swear I will spend even more time with you. You said that I started to glow with... darkness, again, and I'm not going to risk anything. And, I need to talk with Spyro again, I... I want to know if he's telling the truth. I mean, what if it was like before where he said he trusted me, then I pulled a prank on him, and then I lose his trust all over again so easily? I know his fears of what I might do if I have his trust but, wouldn't that mean he will never trust me no matter what I do? Does that mean there really is truth behind that dream Ignitus gave me?"

"I have trust that Spyro speaks the truth. And if he doesn't, me and Cynder are very good friends. I can always see if I can ask her if her lover is telling the truth or not. And remember, Spyro doesn't trust the dark master, that doesn't mean he doesn't trust you. Everyone is just scared of the dark master, not you. It's not your fault. He seemed really sincere about what he had said to you. So, as much as I hate to agree, you talking to Spyro some more today might be the best thing for you to do."

"Thank you for your support, my love. And, sorry if I scared you."

"Malefor, it's fine. I will just make sure to tell Spyro about what happened."

"Hehe, great, I'm sure to die in my sleep tomorrow if you do that."

"It might push him more into helping you control your dark powers."

"Might. But you're also sure I didn't hurt you? You aren't hiding it?"

"You would've know if that happened. Trust me, I would've snitched you out to Spyro so fast."

"Damn... You and Cynder are relentless when it comes to making me feel bad."

"Well, before you go talk to Spyro, I could make you feel a lot better."

"Oh? And how's that?"

"Well, since you are already trapped, and I haven't been kissed yet today..."

Leaning her head down to kiss him, she gave him a small kiss. Pecking his lips as of a tease, she pulled back and joked with him, "I'm only giving you a small little taste. Only because I'm still recovering from you slashing my side with your tail blade."

"What?!"

"Hehe, this is going to be so easy."

"Ugh... No kidding."

Getting off of her lover, he rolled over on to his stomach and looked at that ground for a second, scared that he actually did hurt her. Looking at her blue body, he checked to make sure if he did. Looking at her as she laid on her stomach, he looked up to her head, down her body, and finally checked her tail. Carith giggled slightly with a blush, not really knowing what he was doing aside from what she was seeing. He sighed softly as he didn't see anything, and she didn't seem scared of him, so he had hoped that nothing bad happened. Standing up to his paws, he jumped up off the bed and onto the floor. Turning around and looking back at his lover, he asked, "Are you going to join me?"

"Well, since I know you are going to visit Spyro, why not. Me and Cynder can talk some while you speak with her lover," Carith agreed, scaring Malefor as he thought back to the dream.

 _Maybe... maybe Carith shouldn't join me. What if Ignitus was trying to warn me? Should I say something? I already told her about my nightmare but, what do I know is a nightmare and what is Ignitus trying to tell me something?!_ Malefor thought, thinking back and forth on what to do which started to make his head hurt. Opening the door, Carith looked back to see her lover struggling, and she asked him, "Malefor, are you okay? If it's about the dream, we can talk about it."

Turning around and looking at his lover as she stood at the door, he shuck it off for now. Walking over to the door, he tried to play off that nothing was bothering him, "What? Of course I'm okay. I'm not about to let that dream get to me. If Ignitus wants to act that way, I'm not going to let that stop me from doing what I do best."

"What do you do best?"

"Annoy Spyro of course. He's such a heavy sleeper so I know I have to wake him up again."

"Maybe he is finally trusting you enough to just sleep in and not have to worry."

"Hopefully."

Walking out into the hallway with his lover, she shut the door while Malefor walked over to Spyro and Cynder's room. Reaching the door with Carith following behind, he reached up to grab the door knob, and froze for a second as his paw trembled, scared to ask for training as it would only make his nightmare come true for him. But he had already told his lover he was fine, so he couldn't back down. Grabbing the door knob with his paw, he twisted it, and pushed the door open very slowly. Looking into the room, the two were laying peacefully with the only sound coming from their breathing. Seeing the two curled together and sleeping with slight smiles, he once again found himself wanting to back away, but he couldn't. _If my nightmares can cause my darkness to emerge, then I have to get my powers under control before I hurt someone, before I hurt Carith,_ He thought to himself, continuing to fight forward and forget about the nightmare. Thinking he would have some fun with it, he just barely raised his tail blade from the ground, but he remembered what happened last time and quickly put it back on the ground. Instead, he woke him up the old fashion way. Putting a paw on his shoulder, he whispered, "Spyro, Spyro, can you wake up for me."

Grumbling as he was so completely cuddling up with his lover, Spyro growled, "What do you want, Malefor?"

Taking his paw off his shoulder, he apologized, "Sorry to wake you I just, I was wondering if you would help me, with my dark powers today? If you want to. I don't want you to be mad at me when you wake up so if you need more sleep, I can train some before you wake up, if that's okay with you."

"So you just got my trust and now you want to learn how to use your dark powers?"

"Well... only if you trust me. I remember what you've said, and I know it looks bad but... I just need to talk to you about what... happened."

Opening one eye to look at him, he asked, somewhat scared to know, "What, did, happen?"

He swallowed hard, scared to say now. Spyro sighed, knowing he was going to have to get up either way. Taking his head off of his lover's, he nuzzled her gently with his nose against her cheeks to wake her. She smiled from the feeling, and after a little, he stopped and put his head down on his paws sideways so he could look at her with a smile. Cynder didn't know Malefor was in the room and she giggled from the awakening, "Alright alright, I will wake up... but I'm so comfortable... your scales are just so, I don't know, smooth today... If it's about Malefor, don't worry about it, we can trust him. And look on the bright side, if he does something bad, guarantee it's going to be because he only pecked his lover on the lips."

Malefor smiled, glad that she thought so highly of him, and no one else said a word as Spyro wanted to say something, but she had already spoken once again before he could tell her, "Don't worry about him and just go back to bed with me. If he does anything bad, you can blame me, but I know for a fact we will be fine."

 _It's good to see Cynder really does trust me,_ Malefor thought with a smile.

"Well, it's actually funny, Malefor is uh, well, ruining our sleep once again."

"What?"

Opening up her eyes and looking over to see Malefor standing close to the front of the bed, she blushed a little, knowing that he heard what she said. Trying to play it off like nothing happened, she changed the subject to get everyone's mind off of it, "What is with you, Malefor? You steal time away from me and Spyro yesterday, and now you are trying again? I'm sorry, but he is trapped here until I say otherwise."

He didn't want to interrupt her moment and the sleep the two could have, but it was urgent, and he needed to find a way to get Cynder on his side. The only thing he could really think about was talking about how the girls could all spend time together, but instead of avoiding the truth, he was honest with her, "Sorry, Cynder, I truly am. It's just, something happened when I woke up and I need Spyro's help from it. I need him to help me train with my dark power."

"Wait a minute," Spyro said, trying to holed back his growl as he stood up on the bed, "You said something bad happened, and now you are more desperate then ever for me to help you control your dark powers. What did you do? What happened and what aren't you telling me. I can't help you if you keep secrets from me."

Shaking his head with a sigh, knowing he would've had to say something sooner or later, he admitted what had happened, "I had a nightmare, about you helping me control my dark powers. In the end, I failed. You said no matter what happened, you'd be there for me, to save me, if anything went wrong. I remember trying, then everything went black. When I came back, i was on the floor. I had attacked you. You, Cynder, Carith... you were all scared of me. You told me, you told me that I should, stay away from everyone until I learned how to control my powers... Was my dream right?"

"That's what you are worried about? A little nightmare? Malefor, come on, nightmares get to me all the time. We will just have to beat Ignitus to the ground and make him apologize for what he did to you."

"Spyro, Ignitus knows everything. What if he was trying to warn me about something... what you really are doing to me?"

"Malefor... You better not be trying to turn against me. You better tell me now so I can know if I should just go back to bed."

"No I'm... I have my fears, same as anyone else. I'm scared that you are just saying you trust me, so that way, I would never turn because it would help keep him away. I feel like at any point, I could lose any bit of trust I have for you, even after I've tried so hard to gain that trust from you. So I want you to look me in the eyes and tell me you still trust me, even after the fact that the darkness started to... take over my body... during my nightmare."

"What?!"

Malefor opened his mouth to continue, but he already saw the look on Spyro's face. The fear, the anger, him moving his tail blade to the other side of his body as if he was ready to use it. Letting his body go a little limp, he knew his fears were true, even after everything Spyro had said, he knew he would never truly trust him, "While in the nightmare I was scared, and alone. Those feelings came back to me in the real world and I... well... I woke up with Carith crying over me as she protected me from going any further into darkness then I had... I thought I had hurt her but... I don't know if I did or not."

Walking into the room and sitting next to her lover, Spyro looked at her and she assured him, "He didn't hurt me, Spyro. I was frightened, that's all. His paw came close to slashing at me but, when his paw touched my chest, he eased up a lot. I'm not saying that to cover for him. Hehe, he's already checked out one side of my body and I would be glad if he checked out my other side as well."

Tapping his claw on the edge of the bed on what to do, Spyro looked back at Malefor and asked, "You've had experience knowing what it feels like to be controlled by the darkness. Why didn't you stop yourself when you knew it was taking over? I know it's a dream, but when Ignitus gives a dream, you can still control it anyway you choose, so why did you choose to follow it?"

"Well because, I was excited. I was hoping that this, dream, was finally something nice for me to enjoy. So, I went along with it and, I had fun up until I was controlled. But, I, I didn't feel anything. One moment I was fine and then the next it, it was like I was being taken control over and I wasn't even able to see it. I know that sounds wired but... I don't really know how else to say that," Malefor explained, not knowing that he had gone through the same thing before.

"Actually, I have."

"What? What happened?"

"We were coming back from a mission the Guardians sent us on to see if there were any survivors. We ended up finding a Hatchling and I gained my time powers back as well at that point to protect them. When night came, I thought it would've been a good idea to train using my abilities. One of which, was the dark power. Cynder saw the dark power consuming me, and I didn't even know it was taking over my body until she helped me. My mind, and body came back to me and, it was wired because it felt like I wasn't ever even in trouble in the first place."

"When else did you train with your dark powers?"

"I didn't remember much after that point of training my dark powers."

"So, does that mean, since I've gone through the same thing, I should be able to control my dark powers after all?"

"No."

"What? Why not?"

"Because the only way I actually gained my powers was because the dark master sliced at my lover and left her for dead! If it wasn't for that explosion of power, I might have not been able to do much to keep you away from her while I healed her. But if you are so hell bent on getting these powers of yours, lets change rolls real quick so you can understand what I had to go through!"

The way he spoke about what happened, Malefor heard him say that it wasn't the dark master's doing, but instead, it was him, and he knew it more then anyone. He knew it was too good to be true on the trust Spyro had promised him, but what was strange was the look on Cynder's face, almost as if she was surprised by the way he was acting as well. They all didn't understand why he was mad about what he had said, but they didn't understand why he was pinning the blame on Malefor once again. Sitting down on the bed with a sigh, Spyro spoke, "Sorry. It's just... going after dark power will never be as easy as it sounds. I don't want something bad to happen to you because if it does, then we will just mess with the peace in the world we have right now. And even for me, I know, something will happen, and we will have to fight off what ever threat it may be."

"That's why I will be there for you, so we don't need to worry about the threat for more then a second."

"I want that too. Malefor I... I do still keep my promise to you, and I do still trust you, even after hearing you had a little accident with your dark powers. But if at any point in your life that dark power hurts the one you love, I don't know if I will ever forgive you. But since Carith told me you went to claw at her in your sleep, only to find out it was her and your paw rested on her, well... then I guess you are the Malefor we know."

"Then why did it look like you were going to attack me?"

"If I was going to attack you, I would've done it in my dark form to make it easier on me. And even if I would've tried to jump at you, Cynder would've wrapped her tail around mine, or even on my leg and kept me from trying."

"So then, even after what I said... about my fears... tell me the truth Spyro... am I right?"

"No, Malefor, you aren't right. The thought never even crossed my mind to be honest. I was, actually up for quite a bit thinking about the future and all because, that's just what I do... And, while I was thinking, I was also thinking I should train you to become stronger in case something does come our way. I was thinking of doing it today anyway so, since you want to train as well, it works out for the both of us."

"Really?! You'll, you'll really train me?!"

"I don't know. Happy, Malefor gives me the jitters."

"The jitters of, you were wrong about me being evil and you just don't want to admit it?"

"Yeah... I guess you could say something like that."

"But wait, Spyro... my nightmare, what if...?"

"Don't worry about the nightmare. If anything bad happens, I will help you."

"Sounds like what that dream Spyro told me as well."

"Then if you don't want to train today, you can get out of my room."

"No no no I'm just, I want to make sure everyone is safe."

"From who? Are you calling yourself evil?"

"I'm not evil... Okay sometimes... in my room..."

"Oh Ancestors. Look, just, go to the training room and I will be there shortly. Try warming up a little as I'm not going to go easy on you in your training session, understand?"

"Right!"

Turning around with his lover and walking out the door and towards the training room, Spyro shuck his head at the way he always talked about what he does with his lover. Watching as the two walked out, he wanted nothing more then to just lay back down as he was so comfortable, "Now that I've started trusting Malefor, I've become more and more relaxed. It sucks that he wants me to train him today but, what do you say we sleep in tomorrow?"

"I have no problem with that. And who knows, maybe this training will help with us being able to just lay in bed. If anything happens, make Malefor take care of it. But knowing you, you'll jump up to protect anyone even if Malefor was going to fight someone," Cynder giggled as even she knew that a threat Malefor could handle, her lover would rather handle it then him.

"You have to be sure, that's all I'm saying. So are you going to join us in the training room?"

"Of course. I'm not going to let my girl sit by herself. Me and her will talk bad about you two behind your backs."

"What? What did I do?"

"You stood up when you should've been cuddling with me, mister, 'I trust Malefor completely but I'm still going to get defensive when I hear about the darkness'."

"Oh yeah... sorry."

"Spyro, it's okay, I'm only teasing. Just remember this moment; Malefor could've easily done something or another. But instead, he came to you as soon as something happened to him when it came to the darkness. It just goes to show that he really is scared to turn. I'm not going to blame you, hearing that Malefor had a run in with the darkness, I thought he really was turning, but he had Carith, and now he needs you."

"Alright... Is there anyway that kind could apologize? I feel like you are disappointed in me and well, that's one of my worst nightmares. Is there anything I can do?"

"Hehe, I'm not disappoint at all. But, if you do want to do something for me, I guarantee you, after Carith helped Malefor, those two were sharing a loving kiss with one another in the morning, so now I want mine."

He smiled at her. Rolling her over with his wings, which took little effort as she let it happen, she laid on her back with Spyro standing above her. She bit her lip seeing his body once again as he stood over her. It made her feel as if she had nowhere to go aside from being forced to kiss him. Pushing their lips together with one another, her head laid softly on the bed. The feeling of the comfort from both the bed and the kiss made her want to yell at Malefor for ruining such a good time. She wasn't mad at him at all, she just wish she could spend more time with her lover. Taking his lips back, the two smiled, and Cynder asked for a favor, "I know Malefor just had a little nightmare and all, but he's ruined so much time me and you could've had. You think you could, get him back for me?"

"Hehe. I don't know, you slapping him would probably do more damage then me punching him," Spyro chuckled, causing Cynder to giggle as they remembered back to that moment, "But, if you let it slide this one time, I will as well. I would feel bad beating him up after he came to me for help. The darkness is a scary thing and, it... I know it's going to sound bad to say, but I'm glad he was scared. Because he was, it's just another thing that shows and tells me, 'Why should I even worry?'."

"There's the Spyro I know and love. And I agree with you. But if he does start glowing like the dark master again, what will you do?"

"You've saved me once before, and I know what it's like. I will do everything I can to keep him safe. But only because your friendship with Carith is very important to me, and because I know it keeps you happy. And not because I'm developing a small hint of allowing Malefor to be my friend... that's not a reason why I'm doing this at all..."

"As long as you trust him, I'm am absolutely fine. I can tell you weren't as scared from before because your body had eased up a lot since the other times we have slept. And since I almost always sleep with my head against your chest, your heart was slow and easy, like you were a lot calmer now that you trusted him. And I want to know, how good did you sleep because you now trust him?"

"Well I... I actually slept a lot better, to be honest."

"And nothing happened when you trusted him. Well, aside from that darkness from the nightmare but come on, we have all had nightmares that mess with our heads when we first wake up. Remember that one nightmare that scared you so bad you fell out of bed? I can't tell who was more scared, me or you."

"And it just shows that he really is just like everyone else... Well, lets get this over with. The sooner we do, maybe the sooner we can lay in bed together and talk till night comes. Then, hopefully we can get a full, uninterrupted amount of sleep."

"Sleep? Cuddled up to you? With us kissing till the sun goes down? Now you are just teasing me."

"Hehe, I will make it happen one day, I promise."

"Oh, a promise my lover just gave me. Then I guess I shall be looking forward to this day."

"Hehe."

"How come you aren't training? It would've been fun seeing you flex while you fought," Carith somewhat hinted to him as she sat near the entrance door and her lover sat near the middle of the training room.

"You remember how I talked about how lightning would strike me if we were to do what ever we doing? It was like, lighting in a bottle or something. Anyway, what I'm trying to say is that, knowing my luck, I would train like, a little bit, then get instantly shot down like, in the heart or something, and then get finished off by Spyro because, well, it's, Spyro," Malefor laid out the whole plan of what would happen if he tried, and even though she opened her mouth to say something, she closed it, somewhat knowing he wasn't wrong to assume the future.

"I don't know. Why would he waste so much time helping you train when he could've killed you a long time ago and spent more time with his lover? Sounds to me someone is become more buddy buddy with you."

"Buddy buddy? Please, the dude lied last time about trusting me. Yeah yeah, I know what I did was still probably scary because of his fears and what not but like, what about me? I don't want to die. To him I'm like a, a piece of grass that he just steps on without thinking twice. Maybe I should train some more and put him in his place if he ever tried anything?"

"So now you are trying to train to become more powerful then Spyro so you can beat him? Sounds like you are wanting Spyro to kill you. But then again, you were able to overcome his power when ever you had that brawl with all the Guardians and those others. All you would've had to do was attack and stab him and you probably would've won. What happened with that?"

"I... I couldn't do it. Part of me wanted to do it because it would've been funny to see Cynder going on a date with another Dragon while Spyro watched with jealousy. Hehe, but then another part of me knew that he would've kicked my ass if I did something like that. And then there is this other part of me that just, couldn't do it. To me, if I would've done it, what would've made me any more different then the dark master?"

"One: The dark master was a pretty ugly guy, so, that's also kinda another like, one percent reason why I didn't want to become your lover again..."

"Because of my looks?!"

"No no no... Okay, yeah, that is a reason, but it was mainly because I had like no where to kiss you on your mouth that wasn't like your lips. You had horns growing out your horns. But now with all of them gone, your face is smooth, the only horns you have that need to be there are on your head and now when ever I look at you it's... it's good to know that I can wake up and say to myself, 'Damn he is handsome, and he is all mine'."

"So you never cared for me... only my looks... Carith..."

"Don't you dare try and guilt trip me on this one. I still loved you and I said one percent."

"Loved me? You laid away from me in a corner."

"Because I would only cuddle with my lover, not the dark master, which is why afterwards, I always cuddle with you now. And don't place the blame on me, you could've easily laid down next to me and cuddle up with me. I wasn't going anywhere anytime soon."

"You so would've dumped me if I did that."

"Can't dump the dark master if I was never with him."

"Okay... yeah, very true."

"And why do you think I was so up and loving on you after you had turned back? I knew it was you and I only ever loved you. And even if you didn't turn back I... I still would've wanted you back either way. I'm glad you did though. Keeping things the way they should be after so many years... But I wonder, what stopped you from leaving when ever Spyro yelled at you? Almost everyone was your enemy at that point so... why didn't you..."

"Well..."

"And I'm not saying I'm upset or anything, it's just that you didn't leave and all I wanted back was you and I hope that you weren't thinking that way because I know how bad it may sound, but I'm not trying to sound rude and I hoping I'm making sense..." Carith said in almost one breath as she made it sound bad and wanted to correct herself before she made him feel bad.

"Carith, it's fine. If you didn't love me, you wouldn't have stayed and helped me through the beginnings when I came back."

"Oh... thank the Ancestors."

"But the truth is, I probably wouldn't have left even if I wanted to. Hehe, for one, you were blocking the door, and two... if I would've gotten to the door I... I would've seen you as I did... I knew I made a mistake the first time by leaving you and I know for a fact I wouldn't have made the same mistake again... Hehe, also also, Spyro surely would've killed me if he saw I had broken your heart and left you all by yourself."

"Well I'm... I'm glad he was there to help you, even when all seemed lost."

"Yeah but, it's all because of Cynder, and, well... I wonder how much trust is from him."

"I said you had all of my trust, Malefor," Spyro spoke from the door as him and his lover walked in, "Cynder trusts you all the way and so do I. Plus, worrying about what you do in life takes time away from my lover, and I know for a fact you feel the same way. Plus, remember back, the whole thing with the leash? Yeah, that leash will forever be on me for as long as I live and love."

"I'm just making sure, alright. Last thing I want is to die."

"If I wanted you dead, you'd be dead already."

"Wait? What? Didn't you want me dead like, all the time?"

"True, but I found it would be more fun to hurt you day after day, then I would just simply kill you."

"Great. So is today going to be another one of those days where you want to kill me but your just going to hurt me really, really badly?"

"Unfortunately, no. Carith is watching and so is my lover so, you're getting out easy this time."

"Well, that makes about half the bones in my body feel safe today. But either way I know we are going to train so, what are we doing."

Pecking his lover on the cheek, she smiled at Spyro as he walked away and up towards Malefor. Sitting down next to Carith, the two girls watched as the other two went back and forth, picking on one another, "No way are you that dumb. I just told you in my room."

"You said what we are doing, you didn't say how we are doing it, smart ass."

"Alright well we can do one of two things: You use your own dark powers and try to control them or, I can infect you with my own dark powers to reactivate yours and we can see if you are able to fight off the darkness. But doing that would show you can prevent darkness from in outside force, but you will need to learn how to control the darkness from within. So I guess first we start easy before we try anything else."

"Okay... What's the first step?"

"Well, the first thing we could do is you can try and draw all the darkness out from within, or even at the very least a little, but either way, all the darkness is going to want to come out at once. At that point, you have to know how to control it before it takes over. So from the years that you've tried to fight the dark master's control, you should have some idea on how to fight it. Am I correct in assuming?"

"I mean... It's kinda one of those things were you know how to do it, but then you don't do it for a while and then you forget so... no... I don't really remember much of how to control my dark powers. I remember how to control my powers just not, the dark kind."

"You are hopeless."

"Hey, hope is still in the word hopeless so, I have something going for me."

"Well, here, I want to get you motivated some more to use this kind of power. But first, I want to see if you can hit me with your powers."

"Hit you?"

Standing in front of Malefor with his back to the gem room, he took a couple more steps back and explained, "I also want to see if you can anticipate my movements. It will help me better understand how far you are in training. You were able to anticipate my movements when I was using my time power, so now lets see if you can now."

"Okay... I guess."

"Okay, start off with your ice. Hit where ever you want. And if you are the dark master then I only want you to hit my head or heart, understand?"

"Alright."

Looking at where he would use his ice powers, Malefor was confused as Spyro didn't even look like he was preparing for an attack. His body stood there and Malefor knew even with his stance he would have no time to react to his attack which gave him the perfect idea, _I know he is going to dodge so I guess the best place for me to aim for is his arm. That way he can't move if I was to get a hit off him._ Looking at his head, he watched as Spyro followed his eyes, anticipating his movements, and he relied on that fact. Looking at his head, their eyes connected as they looked at one another and he quickly took his chance to shoot his ice shard at his arm. Quickly looking over and spitting out a shard of ice, it hit him. Spyro didn't even dodge. The shard dug into his arm as blood spilled out the front and back of his now open wound, forcing him to growl in pain as he fell to the ground.

"Spyro! I'm sorry I, I, I thought you would avoid it!" Malefor cried, running up and reaching down with his paw to help him, "Please, forgive me."

Spyro slapped his paw and went back to putting pressure on his wound as he growled at him, "I knew you would go for the attack! You're just like the dark master! And you always have been! I can't believe I've ever trusted you to even live up to this point!"

The words he spat at him were almost the same words from his dream which made him freeze, scared to even move thinking that his next move would cause something else to happen that he wouldn't have control over. His body started to shiver and sweat, his heart started to race so quickly as he wanted to apologize but he remembered what happened in his dream, and it scared him. Neither Carith nor Cynder knew if Spyro really meant what he said. The blood was real, his voice and anger sounded real, but what stood out the most, was his smile. The girls looked at him with wide eyes, wondering why he was smiling. A small chuckle emerged from his mouth and quickly became a laugh. Even from how loud his heart was pounding in his ears, Malefor heard the laugh and saw Spyro losing it for some reason.

"Wha...what?"

Spyro couldn't stop laughing as he tried to explain what had happened, even though he wished he hadn't as he wanted to play it off a little longer, but didn't want to hurt him too bad, "Malefor, I'm sorry, I'm sorry I had to man. Come on, don't blame me. You were like, walking into that so easily and I knew for a fact I could get you... Hahaha... Aw, man."

"You... You were joking?!"

"Hehehe, look, Malefor, I'm sorry I just, oh man, oh, I couldn't. I just could not make fun of you."

"You son of a, Bitch. I woke up in tears and fear after that dream and you're over here making fun of me."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I swear... Hehe... I just wanted to make a little light of that situation. I'm only picking on you now because I know here soon, we are going to have to get serious anyway. And your little ice shard," Spyro paused as he pulled out the ice shard from his arm, spilling blood onto the floor and causing everyone to shiver, but as he tapped on his arm and healed the hole completely, he washed off the blood with water from his mouth and it was all gone, "You think that little thing will hurt me."

"But... How? Even in your normal form you would've felt it?"

"Oh yeah, I still felt it, but only barely. I saw your eyes last second. Just as the shard neared my arm, I directed some of my dark power to protect my arm from harm. So by the time the shard hit me, I didn't feel a single thing. Well, aside from the small little pinch when it hit me but, you know, I was fine."

"How... how does it feel to have power like that?"

"It's pretty overwhelming to say the least. When I first starting training, I never knew I would be able to get this strong in the first place. I always wanted to be strong enough to take any hit no matter what it was and get back up without a problem, even if that hit was from the heart, and, some how, I was able to achieve that power."

"And, the power, where you can control earth from the ground without touching it, how did you manage that?"

"That came after I gained my dark power. I just learned it after that and it just came to me on how to do it. But since you brought it up, we can start off small, get you warmed up a little on your powers before we jump on the darkness controlling."

"Sounds like fun. So, what do I do first."

"Alright, you are going to want to control all of your energy from one ability into a single claw. Think of this energy channeling like lining up your shot. When ever you are locked onto a target," Spyro paused as he demonstrated, turning to the opposite side of the door and pointing at claw at the floor, he lifted his claw up and a small circle of the floor came up from the ground, "Then you simply pull up your target. You can do something similar with any ability with lightning or fire, but there is a range as to how far this can go so no, you can't look up at the moon and split it in half with this ability."

"Hehe, okay, I think I understand what to do."

As Spyro put his paw to the ground, he told him what his task would be, "Alright, so to understand the control and to not destroy some more of the training room, I'm going to give you your first training lesson. Use what I've taught you to now try and push the little circle back into the ground. You do that, and we can move on to some other things I can teach you."

"Alright, I will try."

Looking at the circle, he thought about everything Spyro was teaching him and did exactly as he was told, going step by step even in his mind, _Control all your energy into a single claw._ Raising his right paw up, he pointed one claw at it and tried to channel all of the power to it. _Think of this energy like lining up a shot, and when ever you lock onto your target... you simply pull your target, down._ Slowly moving his paw down to the ground, the circle of the floor slowly followed as well. Trying not to get to excited and mess everything up, he maintained his concentration. Performing perfectly, the circle of the floor fit right back into the ground, and Malefor looked at Spyro with joy, "I did it! I actually did it!"

"Hehe, Alright alright, calm down. You did good, and I will admit that. Now, we are going to try and destroy objects using the same technique," Pausing, Spyro used his paw and lifted it up past his neck and the small circle of the floor came back up in the same spot, and he continued, "Alright, so now this one is a little more difficult, and to be honest, I haven't really trained all that much on it. While I was awake some of the night, wondering what to do with my powers, Ignitus talked to me a lot in my thoughts. I did still have some questions and I asked him as I woke up in the middle of the night a couple more times. And, Fortunately for us, you have to have more then one ability to do this."

"Why? I mean, aside from earth of course but, does that mean that earth isn't needed?"

"Earth is only needed for what we are doing, but what we are going to do is make a necessary reaction to our powers. Basically what I'm trying to say is that, while trying to think of one element, you need to think of another while in possession of the other to cause a reaction, which in return, the reaction will explode, depending on what element you are using."

"Dude, you sound like Volteer right now and I'm... I'm not following."

"No worries, I will just try and demonstrate," Looking at the circle, he raised his paw and pointed a claw at it and continued to explain as he did it himself, "So, grab the concentration of your earth ability. Then, try and grab the concentration of another ability, which I will be using fire. If you compile the two together, the fire has nowhere to form so..."

"So the fire from in the middle will continue to circle and form a ball of fire and gas until it expands and explodes!"

"Wow... nice job."

The circle of the floor started to glow red and burn from the heat. With the gas of the fire from the inside expanding, it exploded from the inside, completely destroying the circle of the floor. The fire bubbled like lava as it laid on the floor. Putting his paw down on the ground and using his water ability, Spyro quickly put the fire out as he knew they were going to need as much of the training room as possible. As the water hit the burning hot lava, it hissed and steamed into the air, and while that was happening, Malefor was already ready to try it himself but wanted to wait to make sure he did everything right. With the fire extinguished, he looked at Malefor and told him, "Alright well, now it is your turn. Give it your best shot."

"Yes! I mean... yes sir."

Doing the same thing as Spyro, he raised his paw and pointed a claw a little more left to where they had originally done it before. A small circle of the floor came up from the ground which Malefor once again screamed with joy in his mind for doing so easily now. Now with the circle above the ground, he had to remember everything Spyro had told him just like before to make sure he didn't screw up, _Grab the concentration of the earth that I now have... then I need to think of another element... which, since he used fire... what about lighting?_ Using the two abilities together, nothing had happened, and he had wondered if he was doing something wrong. Just as he thought he had failed, a bolt of lightning shot out from almost every angle of the circle, hitting the walls floors, and ceiling. Another bolt came right at Malefor and hit him right in his chest, sending a jolt of electricity all around his body. His body shivered all the way up his spine, making him stand stiff after the lightning was gone. Easing up his body, he sighed and murmured, "Ouch..."

The girls both giggled at his little shock, and so did Spyro. Putting his paw back to the ground, he looked at Spyro, wondering how he did, and he was very happy with his words "Hehe, shocking, isn't it? I never would've thought lighting would've worked but now there is just a bunch of holes in the little circle. You've been doing a very good job so far, so now I think we can get into something a little more, dark."

"Are... are you sure? I... I don't think, well, I know i should be, and I even asked you but, maybe we should just keep training some more before we try messing with the dark power."

"I wouldn't have suggested it if I didn't think you weren't ready. You can do this. And if you ever feel scared, Carith is right near the door. She will come over if you need her, and that's what she's here for."

"Alright... but..."

"Don't worry about the nightmare. Right now, we are just going to focus on what we have been doing now; Controlling your ability at a certain point in your body."

"Okay... if, if you think I'm ready then I... I have faith."

"Alright, good. So first, we are just going to start with something as simple as your shoulder, okay? So what I'm going to do is I'm going to control the darkness for you first and get it into position. After that, you have to control it to protect you. If you control it well enough, you'll be fine, but if you can't, it is really going to hurt when my claw goes through your shoulder."

"Okay... wait, what?!"

"Trust me, if you have the darkness controlled at your shoulder, you'll be fine. Now, when ever you are ready."

Taking a big deep sigh, he nodded at him. The two girls watched and had listed to what Spyro had said, and with every second that passed by, seeing as his claw touched Malefor's shoulder, Carith shivered more and more, thinking about how close the darkness was to his brain. Cynder looked away for a second and looked to see that Carith was just as worried as she was, but she trusted her lover and tried to calm her friend down, "Carith, it's okay, I promise. Spyro would never do something that would put us in danger so he must have a plan in case something goes wrong. And then again, seeing how well Malefor has been doing, I'm sure we will be fine. I trust Malefor can do it."

Cynder's words helped her a lot more then she thought it would've, and Carith took almost the same sigh that Malefor had took just before. Trusting in her friend's words, she thanked, "Thanks, Cynder. Spyro and Malefor have been doing very good so far with one another, and the fact that he is teaching him something that could destroy just shows that he does trust him. I told Malefor, after we had woken up, that I trusted Spyro and... I still do."

"He's never disappointed me before in my life. I have faith in him, just like how I have the same faith in Malefor that he can do it."

"Yeah, you're right... Come on my love, you can do it."

Feeling his claw touch his shoulder, Malefor swallowed hard, but he put his trust that Spyro wouldn't lie to him about helping him if anything happens. The darkness traveled from Spyro's claw and right into Malefor's shoulder. The sudden feeling scared him, but what scared him most was the fact that he could feel his darkness from inside him coming towards that side of his shoulder. Even as scary as it was, it felt, strange to him, and it was a feeling he never knew he could feel from the darkness, "That's... That's wired. The darkness it, it feels, warm. It's as if I'm putting my shoulder in front of a fire."

"You wouldn't be wrong about that. Fire and darkness are almost exactly alike. They both have the power to devastate and destroy, but at the same time, they have just the same amount of power to create. And when you control the darkness, it has a warm feeling to it which I believe is to keep you safe no matter the temperature. When Ignitus helped me in his dream world, the darkness can protect from a mass temperature gain and drop," Spyro explained, not even knowing the darkness could do such a thing, and he never even thought it to be possible.

"What else can it protect you against?"

"I didn't know this but, the darkness can protect you."

"What?"

"If say, you have a wound that you couldn't heal because you either couldn't make it to a gem or something to help, the darkness would slither out of your scales and clean you of blood and seal your wounds as if nothing had happened. I didn't believe it at first so, I had to make sure. And sure enough, after I put a wound in my arm, the darkness healed it and the blood."

"The darkness can... heal? The darkness protects you from temperatures? What else did you learn?"

"Well, even as strong as I thought I was, I didn't know how wrong I was. Ignitus showed me this new form of fire simply put: Purple fire. You have your base red fire, which can evolve into blue fire, and finally evolving into purple fire. Same goes for other elements changing in color as well."

"Blue fire?! Purple fire?! Is it even possible to reach such a thing? Even as powerful as you are now, how strong you are when you use your dark power, is gaining such a power even possible? And, for me, does that mean such a thing is out of my reach? And, did he tell you how powerful this, purple fire, was?"

"Lets just say, it could put the temperature of the sun to shame."

"What?! That hot?!"

"I was surprised myself when he said that as well. And the feeling of the purple fire was almost, indescribable. He told me no matter where the fire was: Water, inside ice, it would always stay the same temperature. And don't ask me how Ignitus learned of this but, for every ability, they also have their own blue and purple to them. Ignitus used the purple lightning on himself to restart the nerves and his own heart without any side effects what so ever."

"Restart his own heart? Aw man, if only it didn't work..."

"Malefor."

"Dude, I'm sorry, I'm just joking. But one thing I have to question, how exactly do you have ice which is already blue, and make it, well... blue?"

"I asked him the same question, and long story made short, you will know. I'm curious to know what purple ice can do. If purple fire and purple lightning have such a strong presence to them, along with the fact that they each have their own unique ability, some of which not even Ignitus knows, it really makes me wonder what else this ability could help us do in the long run. How easy it would be to end any threat with a single ability?"

"First, when you mean end, you mean like, I turn bad and you disintegrated me kinda end?"

"Well... no, maybe not that kind of end. I just mean like, making sure that who ever we fight that is a dragon knows that they should never do what they were doing. But if it was you, and you did turn bad, then oh Hell yeah, I would go full purple fire mode all day until I knew the job was done."

"Ass."

"Joking, I'm joking."

"I know you are because this brings me to me second question. You said, 'what else this ability could help, us, do'. Now when you mean, us, do you mean someone else? Because I know for a fact you'd never take Cynder into battle, and you would never say that to my lover, so, the only one left in here is me."

"Don't bring that up. I said us because I meant it, and if you keep bringing it up and smiling about it, I won't ever say, us, ever again."

"Oh, come on, don't ruin the fun, Spyro. You know I'm me, and I know you're you. You said you trusted me, and you being here right now helping me learn so much about my powers, it's a dream come true. And by you being here, I know you trust me. What else could I possibly do to show you that I am who I say I am? If its about that... incident, that's Ignitus's fault. He pushed me into that, and I couldn't do anything about it."

"No, it's not that. If anything, what happened actually made me trust you even more, and it also made me want to train you."

"So... all I have to do is keep almost turning and you'll trust me...?"

"No... It's about what Carith said. How you touched her and it calmed you down. Like I said, I trust you, I really do. It's just, going to take me a little bit of time to process the fact that you are living in our home. From the very beginning my mission was to stop you, and now, I'm over here training and helping you get stronger. It's just, wired to me. But the creepiest thing of all, is when I make you... Ugh, smile."

"What's wrong with my smile?"

"When I used to think, Malefor, I always thought of tall dark and ugly. By now, since you look tall purple and slightly better, it's wired seeing you smile. I'm not use to saying the words smile and Malefor in the same sentence. But I guess I better get use to it because you smile a lot, as well as joke a lot."

"So, you still hate me because I smile and joke?"

"No... I... Look... I want to know who you killed on the day of the raid on the Dragon Temple. Sorry, I meant the dark master. I just need you to remember back and tell me if you recall anything that happened where a, a dark creature or, someone killing someone before you were captured by the Guardians. I know you don't want to look back but, I need to know."

"I mean... I... I can try... What exactly are you looking for?"

"A yellow dragoness."

"Oh... you're talking about Ersa?"

"I need to know if she died on that day. Ignitus said he looked back and that she did die, but I'm not convinced. Please, I need to know if she died or not that day."

"Alright... I will... try."

Taking his claw off his shoulder to let him concentrate, all Spyro could do was hope that he would finally be able to have a sure answer once and for all. Watching as Malefor closed his eyes, his heart could only beat faster, wondering what he could've been seeing from his visions. Malefor's eyes clenched slightly as if he saw something bloody, or even deadly. Seeing that only demoralizing what he was hoping to hear or see. Opening his eyes and taking a small sigh, he frowned having to remember what he did, what he did to the Guardians. Looking at one another, Spyro's heart skipped a beat, wondering what had happened. The joy and hope he had was completely diminished as Malefor spoke of what happened, "I'm... I'm sorry, Spyro. She was attacked by quite a lot of dark creatures. As she ran, the dark creatures followed, and as she got to this, tree, so did the dark army. After that, nothing but darkness... Once she got to that tree, all I saw was darkness, nothing else."

"Damn it!" Spyro cursed.

The sudden out burst scared the three others in the room, and mainly the girls as they didn't really know what was happening as they were having their own conversation. All that Malefor could do was sigh sadly and apologize for what had happened, "I'm... sorry. I never intended to go after her. The dark master's main goal was to go after the eggs and that was it. But, sometimes, the darkness gets blood thirsty and finds anything they can kill. I wouldn't have been powerful enough to stop it... I couldn't even stop myself from hurting the Guardians."

"I know... I know what happened. They were able to seal you as they fought. After they sealed you away, they all retreated back to protect the eggs. Ignitus saved me, but when he came back, he couldn't save the others, so he flew away and towards that mountain where he sealed you away... All you thought about at that time was trying to prevent me from ever living. You didn't really have control over the darkness... But now, I have to figure out a way to tell Volteer that I got him excited to see his lover again but it was all just a lie... He will never trust the purple dragons after this, especially not me..."

"Well, maybe he will thank you for being there for him at the very least?"

"Not, Volteer. Think of it as if he was you, and I tricked you by saying how Carith was alive but she really wasn't. How do you think you would've reacted from something like that? You would've given up completely knowing it would never be true, and that's exactly what will happen to him. He will give up, thinking he will never see her again... and unfortunately, it's true... Ignitus had even looked back himself, Volteer saw it, and even you saw it... it's just... I can't believe she's died."

"Maybe... maybe there is someone else out there for him?"

"What if Carith left you and I said that? Your room would've been lit to Hell from fire if I tried to convince you to find someone else."

"Hehe, well I mean, better fire then darkness, am I right?"

"Yeah... But even I know it wouldn't really be fire."

"Well, that's why I wanted you here, to make sure that something like that never happens again. But, going back real quick, does that mean, because she's... died, do you blame me for it? It's, understandable if you do, and, I'm sorry, I truly am. But does that also mean, because she's died, you'll still have some hate towards me..."

Spyro sighed, somewhat frowning as he told him the truth, "I'm, sorry too. But, because she is died; yes. I do still have hate towards you. Now, before you go moping around and crying to your lover, I still do trust you. I do still, somewhat, care, about your well being. But, to tell you the truth, if Ersa never died... I might've been a lot quicker to make you my friend. But because she's died, I have to focus all my time on trying to keep Volteer from going insane when I tell him, which I just, I can't do it, I just can't..."

"I... I understand... But, if you need help, I will be there too. Volteer might've lost someone, but he still has all of us, right? Hehe, and look on the bright side, maybe if you train me some, he will get out all his frustration on me, and I can just use the dark power to cover the spots he hits so I won't feel them. Then maybe he will calm down and we can talk to him. But that's hopefully worst case won't happen scenario."

"What else do you think could happen? There is nothing good that will come of us telling him his lover is dead, no one would ever take news like that well. Ignitus has shown me his power, and if he ever lost his lover to someone... I couldn't imagine what kind of crises we would have to deal with. There would be no recovering from that one. And, we can't keep going through one crises after another thinking everyone will make it out. Unless we are powerful enough, there is no telling what could happen."

"But aren't I just died weight to you? What could you possibly need me for?"

"Backup, cover, protection, something I heal or do something else, almost anything that can help insure that everything turns out okay. This would never happen, but say I was with Ignitus on the other side of the earth. I would in trust you to keep everyone safe until I got back, which means if you were ever attacked, you'd need the strength, power, and intelligence to keep everyone alive. Volteer would be with you so you don't need to worry about Intelligence, but now we need to work on strength and power."

"Hey, when ever you are ready to get back to the darkness training, I'm ready when you are."

"Alright, but I need to show you what kind of power you could have, and then I want you to show me how powerful you can be, okay?"

"Um, okay. How are we going to do that."

"Look at the wall opposite of the door, away from our lover's. You are going to try and destroy that wall with any means that isn't your abilities."

"Please, that's a..."

"Without moving from your spot."

"Totally ass kind of training, is what I was going to say. How do you expect me to do that?"

"If your fist travels fast enough with enough force, anything can be possible. But like I said, I will show you first so you can understand what I'm talking about. Now don't be upset if you can't do it as I have to use my dark form in order to do this. This is kinda like how you have to focus on using one ability to try and master it. But now, for this, you need to try and concentrate on not using an ability at all. I learned this when I watched Ignitus destroy... sorry, I meant to say, obliterate, a mountain just by flicking his claws at it."

"What? Dude, no way he did that."

"His power is the only thing that makes me want to train more, to prevent him from being able to over power me in any fight. I have to make sure I'm stronger then him. But going back, as I watched him, it was wired to me that he wasn't using an ability at all, he was just using the shear power of his claws. So, for this, me and you are both going to learn a thing or two today. Both are going to be on how to use power without using your abilities, and how to control the dark power. Now I should be asking, which I've asked before so I already know the answer, but... are you ready?"

"I'm sure I've answered before but to make sure I get some training out of this, yes."

"Alright, step back. I'm going to see if I can't use this power."

"Wait wait wait!"

"What?!"

"Well uh, you know, I think I should go first."

"What? Why?"

"Because if I'm lucky enough, I can show off my power in front of Carith and then start flexing afterwards."

"And what could you hope to gain from doing this?"

"Hehe, lets just say, my hatchling dream will hopefully be just all the closer."

"Ancestors no."

"Bam, goes the training room. Bam goes to very sweet kiss with her. And then..."

"Crack!"

"Crack?"

"Crack as in the sound I will do to your neck if you don't shut up!"

"Jealous?"

"Disgusted... But please, I will definitely get there with Cynder before you do."

Malefor's laugh filled the room, making the other two girls look at him with wide eyes, wondering what he was laughing at.

"Your lover has officially gone crazy," Cynder giggled, poking fun at her.

"Hehe, great. Something else I can be excited about when I go to bed," Carith said with a smile, and not with sarcasm which confused Cynder.

"Wait, are you... are you being serious?"

"Crazy Malefor means for some crazy love."

"Oh... didn't think about that."

"Are you done?" Spyro asked with a raised brow, and surprisingly to Malefor, he was smiling from his laugh.

"Sorry, um, it's just funny because, hehe, how old are you? You're like, sixteen years old, I'm in my thirties. I have, and should have, a way better chance to have, a hatchling with my lover. And you're smaller then me, so, yeah, I think the little ones of this age need to learn a little more disciple... and maybe even some hormone control," Malefor teased him, causing Spyro to blush from embarrassment as well as make him grumble a little when he brought in how young he was.

"One, I'm only like an inch smaller then you. Two, why are you telling me how to control my hormones when you can't control your dark power?! And third... You're in your thirties? So sad. Good thing for me. And all because I'm sixteen doesn't mean anything. I'm mature enough and I know how to treat my lover. If I wanted to make her my mate or anything further, I can. But I guess since I'm sixteen, and I don't have my hormones under control, why don't you learn this by yourself then?"

"Oh so it's like that?"

"Hey, I have things to control as well so, I guess I should focus on myself first before helping you."

"Fine, fine, I'm sorry. You're lucky you hold all this power or else I wouldn't need to agree with you."

"So you are admitting you are using me?"

"No. I said i didn't want to agree with you, never said I didn't want to work with you."

"Well, lets see how your words fair in the future. But if you are done acting like yourself, can we get back to what we were doing?"

"Yeah, sorry."

"Okay, now where was I?"

"You were going to use your powers to destroy the wall opposite of our lover's. But now the more I think about it, the more I really wonder how Ignitus was able to do such a thing. I mean, if it was like a tree or, knocking over another dragon, I would've believed you, but... a whole mountain? Are you sure he wasn't just playing you for a foul?"

"Positive. Remember when we had that all out brawl? He used the same flick against me but with less power... And he also only tapped my head, I'm guessing so he wouldn't kill me. I'm sure if he used the same amount of power he used against me that he used against that mountain, well, splat pretty much. There is no way I would've been able to face something like that."

"Jeez... Well, if you think you can do something even as close to how he can do, go for it."

"What happened to you wanting to try first?"

"I don't know how to do it. Yeah you explained it but, now that I'm thinking about it, what if you flick your claws, and then your body, or even your paws blow up or something from doing it wrong? I'm definitely not going to be the one to go through that sort of pain. I'm just going to watch you and cheer you on from the side lines."

"Great. Moral support is definitely what I want when my paws are gone."

Malefor could only give an open mouth wide smile, giving him two claw up, causing Spyro to roll his eyes. Turning his body away from Malefor, Spyro looked and focused on the wall in front of him. Taking a couple of steps back away from him, Malefor watched and studied what he was doing, wondering if he would be able to copy what he was doing. Taking a deep breath in and then out, Spyro's scales turned dark along with a dark aura following up his body. _Use shear power... Hehe, easier said then done,_ He thought to himself as he raised his paw up. Everyone watched with the girls wondering what he was doing, and Malefor wondered how he would pull it off. Moving his claw into position, some of his dark power started to surround more near his claws. _Here goes nothing..._ He thought, pushing his claw at the wall in front of him. To his surprise, it worked. But even for him, it worked too well. The entire ground of the training room cracked along with the walls. The gust of wind that erupted from his claw hit the wall with enough force to completely destroy the wall in front of him. His breathing grew heavy from what had just happened, along with the sudden amount of power that exploded from his claw. Powering down and returning back to his normal form, he tried to catch his breath as he looked at his paws. Malefor's heart skipped a beat from the power as well, scared to even joke about being the dark master anymore. _His... power... plus my skull equals..._ He stopped and swallowed hard just thinking about it. Even the girls were surprised by that kind of power, but for Carith, she shared the same thoughts that her lover had. _Spyro's gotten pretty powerful since he first fought with my lover... I hope nothing will anger him into trying to kill my love, but then again... I know he never would... he wouldn't,_ Carith thought, swallowing hard as well, but she still did trust his words that he said to her before, so she wasn't too scared. Giving some time for him to cool down before he approached, Malefor took a couple of steps and asked, "You uh... feeling okay?"

Putting his paw to the ground, Spyro could only sigh from his display of power, and he told him the trust, "No... no, not really."

"What? Why? Spyro, that show of power was incredibly. You were even able to use a move that you saw Ignitus do from pure memory."

"It still isn't enough. I used almost all the power I had while still trying to withstand in my dark form. This. This, display, is nothing compared to what he can do. If I would've gone all out and used all my power and the dark power, and with some training, most I could do is destroy some of this building and crack the rest. I only destroyed the front of the training room and cracked everything else around us, that's it."

"Spyro, what's wrong? No one else in the world can do this. Why are you so scared and worked up with power that is compared to the Chronicler? Or is this because you still think that I'm the dark master and you're scared you won't be powerful enough to beat me? If this is about me being the dark master again, you have to tell me. That is something I know we can move past, I know we can."

"It's not about the dark master... I told you, I trusted you, and I didn't lie about that. It's because... I told Ignitus I was scared that he could one day become evil if something happened to Claire or if she left him. That's one reason. But, another reason is... what if something comes out of nowhere? With Carith, the random ape attack started this. Your surprise attack against the Dragon Temple got thousands killed, even supposedly Ersa. You even surprised attacked me and Cynder, in, Warfang. We are never prepared for anything, and I have to make sure that I am. Peace or not, something will happen and if we just sit here, if I go out with this power now, I won't be able to keep this peace."

"You aren't doing this alone though."

"You still don't know how to control your dark powers. The dark master was probably the most powerful Dragon to ever live, so until you get your dark powers, you won't be as strong as him. I have no issue with you controlling your dark powers anymore, I just have a problem of what it might do to you. This power that you are so impressed by, wasn't given to me. I've had to give up my mind, my soul, and even almost my life for this power, and that's why I don't want to train you. I don't want you to go through more when you and everyone else all have already gone through enough. That's why I don't want you to help me. I don't want to put you at risk and something happens to you that happened to Carith and the Guardians..."

A frown formed on Malefor's face, but even somewhat of a smile as he was glad to hear that he wanted to do what Spyro always does. But he didn't want him to keep doing things by himself. Putting a paw on Spyro's shoulder, he tried to convince him to change his mind, "Classic Spyro move to put someone else before himself... But you don't need to worry about me. Trust me, in a fight, even the dark master needed companies to help him in a fight, even now, I need someone else to be there for me to help me through life. Having someone by your side during battle is just like that. And think of it like this, two hundred apes. You could fight them of course, but what would you rather do; Fight two hundred apes and get to your lover in an hour or so, or have me fight one hundred, you fight another hundred, then we get back to our lover's in minutes?"

Looking at him, Malefor new he started to get his attention and he just needed to push it a little more, "With your speed, me training to be that fast along with the dark power, who would rival us? Even for Ignitus, he might have power and all, but two of us, fighting in dark forms against him? If you had fifty percent of his power, and I had the other fifty, us working together would equal his power. There are so many benefits for us working together... Another benefit is, well, if the darkness ever does return, I could learn to control it, and we would never have to worry about such a thing again since, well, I am in control after all. Think of me as like the dark master but I still have everything about me, just the power of him."

"Hehe, well, you are right about many things, but maybe not the dark master thing. Mainly because if you return back to how the dark master looked before, ugh. I don't think we would ever be friends in the future."

Pulling his paw down and off his shoulder, Malefor asked, "I didn't look that bad."

"What? Not being rude, but it looked like someone smeared their paw on the front of your face. You looked terrible. Now that you look like a normal Dragon, it's near impossible to tell you really are the dark master, but back then, I can't believe Carith let you kiss her. And your voice was so bad, I honestly needed like some subtitles or something to figure out what you were saying."

"It was not that bad."

Looking over at Carith, Spyro called out and asked her, "Carith! Be honest, wasn't the dark master side of Malefor like, super ugly?!"

"Hehe, yeah, it kind was! When he kissed me, I was a little disgusted, but when he was back to normal, dear Ancestors I can't describe how much better it was!" Carith giggled back as she answered his question, "I even threw up in my mouth a little."

Looking back at Malefor, Spyro looked at him with a raised brow, wondering what he would have to say to that. He could only roll his eyes and smile, "What ever man. Luckily, now I like super handsome. I could walk out on the streets of Warfang and pick up a girl right now if I wanted to. All I would have to do is flex, tell her I'm a purple dragon, and bam. I would be such a magnet for women. I mean, I did have a lot of girls hit on me before everything happened."

"Hehe, yeah, I remember. When Carith came by, the Guardians tried to turn her away by saying you were doing something," Spyro chuckled from the memory, which made him somewhat smile even more as he remembered the talk he had with Ignitus after reading on his past, and he never knew he would actually be able to talk with Malefor himself.

"Telling you man, if I wasn't such a man, I could've had like, fifty girls in my room. Apparently, one of the girls I brought back trying to find love, well, she was so hot, Cyril froze up so bad with a blush, the Guardians all wondered if he really had frozen the inside of his body. It took Ignitus lighting fire to his butt for him to finally snap out of it."

"Hehe, poor Cyril. But it's wired, I didn't know Cynder was alive back then."

"Cynder wasn't... oh, haha, Cynder was the one who Cyril saw?"

"Knew it."

"What ever... But... hey, Spyro, we've been talking about the past a lot and well, you are right about things that I could prevent. But with you here, I'm sure we can make this peace last, along with this power me and you both have. So... I... I am ready to start learning about my dark power. Hehe, yeah, i know I keep saying I'm ready but, I was scared to be honest so I tried to stall but... I need to fight this fear... just... just promise me, if... if anything goes wrong..."

"It's okay... you'll be fine. I will be right here with you to help you. Carith is right here as well so you'll fine."

"Okay... okay... I'm ready... what is the first thing I need to do?"

"Alright, first, it takes a lot of concentration. I'm going to let you attempt this a little at first. If you feel even a slight tingle in your body, try and calm yourself down to prevent the tingle in your body from going any further. The tingly feeling in your body is the darkness trying to form, but the problem is, the darkness will start forming around your heart before it forms anywhere else. If I see you having even a little of trouble, I will tell you to calm down just in case, and if you don't hear me, I will take over."

"Okay... what is it exactly I need to concentrate on?"

"This is where the hard part comes in. For me, I was easily able to take control over the darkness from my emotions. The emotion that must take priority when you go into your dark mode... is sadness."

"Sadness?"

"Sadness is the opposite of anger. The darkness tries to feed on any negative types of emotions. I have been able to keep back my darkness from consuming me when ever I've gotten frustrated before. This is just one of many reasons why it is so difficult to control the dark power, this is why it is so difficult to achieve. When in the dark mode, you have to remain concentrated on the saddest memories you can think of to keep yourself from being consumed."

"Is... is there no other way?"

"Well, I've been able to use my dark power without having to think of a sad thoughts to a degree. In the middle of a fight, if I get close to losing control, or I think I might, I think of the scariest, and saddest thing I can think of. That's why using this power isn't just something I like throwing around. But luckily, I can help you to where you might not have to think of sad thoughts when you use it. Well, for the beginning at the very least."

"So, I have to think of the saddest memories possible to keep myself from turning. When I have the memories in my mind, what do I do next?"

"Next, is the power up. Remember the tingle? You need to find that. You'll know when you have it when you feel the need to hurt or kill something. That's just what the darkness wants, but you can control it as long as you keep those thoughts in your mind. But the problem is, the darkness can mess with your emotions, making your sadness feel like pure and painful depression. And if you don't want that to happen, then the darkness can easily take over with the lust to harm or kill."

"Wait wait wait... how... then... how... how were you able to master this then? There's... this sounds impossible."

"Cynder was a big help. For me, when I first got this power, my sadness and anger was just enough to balance each other out so I didn't have to worry."

"Balance?"

"Yes. This is something I almost have the hang of which is why I can easily access it. The reason it was balanced before was because the sight of what happened to Cynder and seeing that from my fear from the White Isle, combined with the fact that I wanted nothing more then to kill the dark master, both my sadness and my anger were both getting attention as to say. And because they were so evenly balanced, I was able to control it so well that day."

"Don't tell me, in order for me to master this power, I have to... go through the same."

"Absolutely not. No one deserves to go through that, especially not you."

"Oh thank the Ancestors."

"But with that being said, you have a thirty-three percent chance to get it wrong, with the other being you are consumed by your sadness, and the other being your are consumed by the anger from the darkness. This Dark power is nothing to play with when you first get it, and it takes time to understand, but when you have it, it can give you power beyond what was thought possible."

"Spyro... now I'm not so sure. I've just got back and, I... I don't want to lose everything again... maybe... maybe we should just wait for another day."

"Malefor, it's fine. I'm here for you, just as how Cynder was there for me that day as she is every day. Trust me. After all, I do trust you. The least you could do is return the favor."

Malefor sighed hugely as he started to shake, scared to know if he would mess it up, and there were pretty high odds he would. _Thirty-three percent chance split three ways. Which means, I have a sixty-six percent chance of failing... and from what Spyro had said, either way could end in a disaster..._ He thought to himself, only causing him to sweat and shiver more then he was before. Knowing he was scared of the power, Spyro decided it would be best if he delayed it just a little bit longer by showing him how to do it step by step once again in front of him, "Hey, Malefor, it's okay. I will give you some more time to calm down, and in the meantime, I will show you how to do it, okay?"

"Yeah... yeah, okay, yeah... sounds nice."

"Alright. So first, for me, I find that tingly feeling in my body, which isn't the hardest thing to find since it's always in the same spot in my body, and it will be in the same spot in your body as well. The tingle is located right at my chest. So, I'm going to grab that tingly feeling," He paused as his chest started to turn black along with his head, then his body, and after a bit, everything around him was consumed in a black aura with his scales turning black as well, "Right now, I don't need to think of sad or angry things as I have control over it, but this would be the point for you to do so. And if you wanted to, you could make your eyes pure white for intimidation I guess."

"But, before, your dark power didn't start in your chest or your head, so, why did it now?"

"I can control the dark power, remember. I can have the darkness start at any point of my body in order to protect it. The tingly feeling in my chest is just what activates my dark form compared to just using a small portion of it. But I also can control where the darkness goes when I start to power up. I chose to make it go to my head first so I could concentrate on well, concentrating first. And like I said, practice makes perfect. Everything has something more to it, just like how you can upgrade your abilities to blue, and then purple, and maybe even further, who knows... which makes me think... what if there was another form to the darkness?"

"Why would you want to know that? If this form is already difficult enough to control and you haven't completely mastered it, why would you want to push yourself even further?"

"Because, this dark form can already give me such a big power boost. If I was able to kick off these training wheels, being my simple dark form, and evolve into a darker form that has an even bigger multiplier, then I could be unstoppable, maybe even unbeatable!"

"You want to evolve into a darker form? Spyro, that sounds like the dark master kind of thing. I don't think evolving the darkness is such a good idea."

"I'm not going to be evolving the darkness, just find a way to make the darkness more powerful with me still being able to control it. Think of how fast I can move and fight when I'm in this form. A stronger, more powerful form, me and you, it wouldn't be a fifty fifty against Ignitus, it would be like a, seventy seventy against him, and with even more training, we could reach the unstoppable point in a matter of only weeks! It would only take weeks to get to where we need to be!"

"That is a good idea and all but, wouldn't it be better to work with your normal powers now? If you get strong with those powers and then work on a new dark form, then you'd be a whole lot stronger, and you'd know the difference. Along the way you could also learn about the blue and purple elements. Plus, it's even safer that way as well. You don't have to tamper with the darkness so much in order to get easy and fast results. And I have also mentioned, it is very dangerous."

"Malefor, what are we going to do if say, the destroyer came out the ground right now with a dark army of thousands and the apes attacked Warfang from behind? It took all of what Warfang had, along with me and Cynder's help to defend against that army and the destroyer, along with the Guardians and the moles. We wouldn't be able to make it out of something like that... and even if we did, who would be the one to die? There would be a death, and I wouldn't be able to handle the fact that I could've done something about it."

"You are suggesting an all out war when there isn't even a dark master any more. The destroyer was destroyed when it fell into the volcano. Without a dark master, there is no dark creatures. And if there was an attack by an army of apes, we are all well enough off to take care of an army of apes. There is no need to take risk if we don't need to take them, that's all I'm saying. And if this is about Ignitus again, we all heard what she said, there's no way that would happen, so why are you so worried?"

"I just told you why I'm worried! I'm not going to sit on an opportunity to get stronger! We've all been able to make it out with a single scale, but I'm not going to lose someone else because I couldn't do something about it. And what if there is a darkness threat out there I don't know about? You remember, the dark spots? Anyone could've gotten to them by now, just like that dragon. My hope, with this power, is to take the darkness away from a dragon, to save them from what could happen. What if you were infected by the darkness? You would turn if you didn't know how to control it, but I could take that power, and we wouldn't have to worry about it ever being a problem."

"Spyro..."

"I don't care what happens to me, I will bounce back from it. Simple exposure to darkness won't kill me. I can use what I've learned to try and improve without it being a problem. So what is the problem here? There is just too many benefits then set backs for such a thing to be explored! This is my chance to hit gold with this power."

"I don't trust the darkness, Spyro. And messing around with it is just... it's crazy to think of. I understand where you are coming from but... just... promise me... as soon as you feel something wrong, anything out of place with your emotions or heath or, anything! You stop right then and there. No questions, no answers just... I want to make sure you don't get consumed like how I did... the darkness always finds a way to mess with your mind."

"Alright, I will promise to make a deal on that."

"Please... and if you don't, I'm going straight to Cynder, understand? You don't want her to be disappointed in you, right?"

"Hehe, hell no."

"Alright... please be safe."

"Are you, feeling okay? You're starting to scare me... oh no, don't tell me you're turning into a Volteer?!"

"Spyro, it's the darkness. You are about to try and push its limits and if something happens... I'm just scared."

"Don't worry, I will be fine, I promised."

"Alright... When ever you are ready, I will, stand back and watch. Maybe I can gain some information out of this from watching, but that's if all hopefully goes well."

Malefor did just that. Taking a couple of steps away from him but still ready to his side to help Spyro out in case anything happened, and unfortunately, he couldn't shake the feeling that something would happen. Spyro smiled at him, and he gave some what of a weak smile back as he was too concentrated on preparing himself for the worst. Taking a deep breath in, Spyro closed his eyes, and took a breath out. _As long as the sadness I feel is stronger then my darkness, then I will be fine,_ He thought to himself, as his body started to glow with darkness. Swallowing hard and watching as he went for it, Malefor started to shake up even more. Feeling the darkness start to get a little out of control, Spyro quickly thought of a sad thought, _Remember what happened last time you lost control... don't let that happen again._ The darkness around him started to glow a little darker then before, and without knowing it, he smiled. His scales started to turn pitch black, and everything to him was going smoothly. The power he felt in his body was nothing he's ever felt before. His body slightly grew, as he was now just as tall as Malefor. His wings and tail grew in size as well. Sighing as the power started to feel too much, blue flames burned out from his nose. _I... just... need control..._ He thought, but just as he started to try and control the power, his body locked up on him. _What, the, hell?!_ Trying to open his mouth, or even trying to move any part of his body, he completely locked up. After trying for a little bit, he was able to open his eyes, and soon after he was able to open his mouth. But when he spoke, his voice was deep, menacing, and the sound of his growl was enough to send paralyzing fear to anyone, " **What is wrong... with my body!** "

His growl scared everyone. The voice was unlike anything they've heard, and even for Malefor, that voice was scarier for him then listening to the dark master himself. Taking his time to approach him, every step Malefor took, his fear only grew, as that voice, it was burned into his brain even though he only heard it once. Standing next to his side, Spyro turned and looked at him. Looking into his pure white eyes, his pitch black body and dark aura that surrounded it, Malefor froze up, and to him, his heart felt as though it had stopped. As the girls watched what was happening, they tried not to make any sudden movements, hoping that Malefor knew what to do as they didn't know how to help. The growl that escaped from his mouth was just as scary as if he was speaking. Spyro turned away from him and looked back at the ground, continuing to growl as he was starting to lose control, _Damn... it... I... can't hold... this form at all... I... I can't... lose control!_ Seeing his body flex from the pain only made his fears grow. But he couldn't give up on him. Malefor reached up his trembling paw and gently rested it on his shoulder. Feeling what he did, and seeing it at the corner of his eye, Spyro growled, " **Malefor, don't!** "

The darkness slid off his body and up and on Malefor's arm. Most of the darkness quickly went from Spyro's body to his. Malefor cried with fear, quickly taking his paw off of him. His breathing grew heavy as he looked at his paw, seeing the darkness growing. His arm was now completely turned into a dark purple version similar to the dark master.

"Malefor!" Carith cried, running up with Cynder a couple of steps.

Seeing as her lover's body teased up, Carith's heart almost dropped. Turning his head, Malefor looked at the two girls, and the right half of his body had been consumed by the darkness. Even with one half of his body turned into his dark purple scales, tears still ran down both his eyes, only fueling the tears in his lover's eyes as well.

"No no no, no, not again!"

* * *

"Why are we playing this... game?" Terrador grumbled, sitting next to Cyril in the Chambers.

"Oh come on, it's not that bad of a game. And plus, Ignitus is too busy explaining what the Chronicler is to Claire, Volteer is stuck in all of those books he is reading, and me and you need to be out here in case anyone needs us. And maybe at some point in time, those other four will come down and say hey. Now come on, let's play," Cyril explained in detail, raising up one paw as his body faced his friend.

Terrador could only grumble again but it was the only thing to do to pass the time. Turning his body over and facing him, he raised his paw and asked, "Tell me how to play this game again? I know Malefor made it up but still, it confuses me every time we play."

"Okay well, at first he called it rock paper scissors. But then he decided to mix things up to make it more fun... also because you yelled at him for the name and how it worked. So, he then called it Ignitus Carith Malefor."

"Such a stupid ass name."

"Hey man, he came up with it, not me. But basically how you play is, Malefor beats Ignitus, Ignitus beats Carith, and Carith beats Malefor."

"I find it funny how he came up with a game where his lover is beat by his own friend."

"Hehe, well, maybe he will change things up. And you remember when you told him that, Malefor looked at Ignitus and told him to that if he ever would really try..."

"Yeah yeah, I know. Broken back, snapped spine, something along those lines. I think he got that out of a book... I remember something about a, bat, guy, or a, bat... Something with a bat. He said that he would be Bane and Ignitus would be Batguy if he tried to hurt her... What ever, lets just get this over with."

"You meant to say, Ignitus would be Batman, and Malefor would be Bane who broke Batman's back but, what ever. Ready?"

"Ready."

"Malefor, Carith, Ignitus, and..."

"Wait!"

"What?"

"What are you doing?"

"Playing the... game... you said you were ready."

"Last time I checked, I can make a rock in my paw, but another Dragon? How do you expect me to do that?"

"Oh yeah, right. Malefor is rock, Carith is paper, and Ignitus is scissors."

"Why don't we say rock paper scissors then? Why do we have to call out their names and make it sound dull?"

"You're a mean one, mister Terrador... Alright, we can do it your way, okay?"

"Lets just go."

"Alright... rock paper scissors, shoot!"

Cyril threw paper and Terrador threw rock.

"Yes!" Cyril cried with joy for winning.

"This is stupid," Terrador grumbled from losing.

"Don't be a sore loser."

"It shouldn't matter what you throw, rock should always win! You put rock on a sheet of paper, it's not gonna go anywhere. You hit rock with scissors and it would break it! Nothing in this game should be more powerful then rock, it just doesnt make any sense why he would come up with a stupid game!"

"Well I mean... you already told him that... remember... and I uh... just said that a couple seconds ago? That's why he changed it to uh... Malefor Carith Ignitus..."

"I'm not playing anymore."

"Oh come on. Anytime you play something, it always has to be best two out of three. So come on, just one more."

A small smirk went across Terrador's face and he changed his mind, agreeing with him, "Sure, why not, lets go again."

"Oh... okay. Alright, here we go. Rock paper scissors..."

"Spyro!"

"Malefor!"

"Ha! I win."

"What? No the Hell you don't."

"I used Spyro, Spyro beats Carith, Malefor, and Ignitus."

"Spyro isn't even in the game, you can't use him. And plus, Ignitus would win no matter what since he is the Chronicler."

"Ah yes, two things wrong with those two things. One, we are talking about Ignitus, not the Chronicler form or side of him. And two, if it is a game then it can have rules changed in it. How else do you think the game was made? Lots of games change their rules from time to time so I just changed things up myself. And plus, come on, we all know for a fact rock beats anything... in this case, Spyro."

"What? How?"

"Think about it, rock would obviously destroy scissors, and if you put paper on rock, it would just sit there and later get blown away by the wind. But if you put rock on paper, the paper would be stuck under a rock with no way and nowhere to escape. The rock also isn't a real object so saying you are suffocating it doesn't really make sense. So, by definition, and smarts, rock would always beat paper... and scissors."

"Hey, like I said, that's something you'll have to talk with Malefor about, he made the game. Which still is also why he changed rock paper scissors to, well, you know."

"I'm going to yell at him when I see him for making such a stupid game."

"Just wait until we bring up the whole, hide and don't get your tail lit on fire game."

"Yeah, if I remember, I'm going to slap him for that one. Why did I agree to play that game?"

"He tricked all of us. But we said he could choose what kind of game we should play and well... he chose."

* * *

"So... basically, the Chronicler is, well, all knowing. I can read thoughts, make dreams, record dreams, actions, one's past, abilities, anything that has to do with dragon history, I will know it all," Ignitus explained to Claire as they laid in bed together, snuggled up with one another in the Sleeping Chambers, "I've also gained extraordinary power for being the Chronicler. I'm able to duplicate myself, run faster then the speed of light, have enough power to punch a nice hole in the earth, and even have a time power that can heal any and all injury. Which I gave the time power to my son as well."

Claire blushed slightly, but the more and more he spoke, the more and more she feared about what he could've heard or seen, "Wait so, that would mean that, everything I'm thinking about, everything I've said, everything I've... done. You'd know about it. That also means you watch over other lovers while they... kiss and later... have... a hatchling?!"

"What?! No no no, nothing like that at all. The Chronicler doesn't handle stuff that has to do with love as it is none of the Chronicler's business and it would make them feel... well... uncomfortable to say the lease. The Ancestors handle that kind of thing. The only real time I would see if someone was kissing... or worse, is if I focus on them mainly. That's why I accidentally see Malefor kissing his lover, or, Spyro kissing his because before I walk in or do anything to help, I see if they need any help. Luckily, I don't have to worry too much when looking towards those two but as time goes on, I know that i will need to be more careful..."

"And what about... you... knowing about my... thoughts and actions?"

"Oh, don't worry about that. I don't and can't see, hear, or read any of your thoughts, actions, or conversations in order to keep our relationship fresh. And not to spoil anything in case you said something. I actually put this into place when ever I rescued you from those dark creatures. After I went to bed, I had a clone of mine get help and the Ancestors said they would take care of it."

Claire sighed hugely, glad he wasn't able to know what she had said in that hallway. While the two continued to talk, Volteer was reading almost four books at the same time, learning and researching anything and any possibility that he could find that would help him find his long lost lover, Ersa. _Even an outside source, that ring with the darkness, the help of the apes, Ignitus's help, no one would understand, comprehend, fathom, or even acknowledge the fact that she could even be alive! But no, I...! None of it will help me and every time I think about it, I always come back to my only source, helper... friend... Spyro... Spyro is... the only way I can think of finding her... He... he knows... he... He wouldn't let me down..._ Volteer finally tried to calm himself down with the issue he was having and decided it would be best if he had help from Spyro himself on his investigation to find, Ersa. _Right now, I need to be planning on what I'm going to do or say to her when she gets back... yes, of course. What will we do, what will we invent, what will we... Will we... could we, I should be asking... could we... be lovers if I find her?_ As Claire talked to Ignitus, he both listened to her speak, and he listened to Volteer fight back and forth with him on the whole thing with his dead lover. _Volteer I'm... I'm so sorry,_ Ignitus thought to himself, as listening to everything Volteer wanted to do with Ersa when she came back only made it more difficult for him, knowing that the day would come when he would have to tell him the truth.

* * *

Malefor tried to fight back against the darkness, but it only delayed the inevitable. The darkness slowly crept around his body, trying to infect the other half of him. _No... no, ancestors please!_ Malefor cried in his thoughts as he felt himself losing control over his body. But his eyes went wide as he remembered what Spyro had taught him. _I have to think of the saddest thing possible! I... I can't keep it from going any further! If it reaches my heart, or if it consumes my chest where my dark power is stored... Carith..._ Malefor cried, shaking his head and remembering back to everything that happened when he was the dark master. And one thought that helped the most, was when he raised his paw to his lover.

 _Malefor raised his tail blade up, ready to stab Carith. Ducking her head, she cried in a whisper, "Malefor... what... what are you doing?"_

 _"Getting rid of the past for good! You've ruined my life, now, it's time for me to ruin yours!" He growled, slashing his tail blade down at his lover._

 _"Malefor!" Carith cried._

"No!" Malefor cried out loud as he remembered every detail and fear on his lover's face.

The darkness was pushed backed by a lot from just one thought, but it continued to try and fight back as it infected him as it was a lot stronger then the normal darkness. Spyro could move his body again, and seeing Malefor struggle to keep control, he yelled at him for it, "You dumb... Son of a Bitch!"

 _I have to get this darkness out of me...! But... how!_ Spyro growled, pulling his paw up and remembering back to what Ignitus had said to him.

 _"But the dark power is apart of you. Think of it like fire or ice, it's just something you've learn to control. Like how you learned to create water from using two abilities at the same time, the darkness is no different." Ignitus said._

 _Like how I learned to control two elements at the same time... the darkness is no different...! Ignitus... you really are... a genius!_ A small ball of fire spun around in his paw. The fire grew as big as his paw before blue fire spun around and ate the red fire. Soon following, the darkness from his paw went up the ball of blue fire, and spun around it, eating away at the blue fire. The darkness around his body slowly went away as it was all being channeled into the ball. Almost all the darkness from his body now circled around the ball, making it pitch black with small blue flames and red fire spinning out of it as it spun. Spyro growled even more as he had to remain concentrated on controlling both of his powers while at the same time, still being under attack from his darkness. _I can't hold this... for long. Using the blue fire... and the darkness...! I... just need... to get... rid of it!_ Looking at the hole he had made in the training room, he used all his force to move his body to his side and throw the ball as hard as he can out the hole in the room. Hitting the ground as he did, he coughed up some blood. Cynder saw his condition and couldn't stand it any longer, so quickly ran over to him. Standing over his body, she draped a wing over his back and cried, "Are you okay?!"

"Malefor..." Spyro growled, trying to stand up and regain control over his body.

Looking over at Malefor, she saw his condition was getting worse as the darkness was starting to grow a little further then before. Looking back down at him, she gave the bad news, "He isn't doing well. The darkness is about to cover the other half of his body... You.. You don't think..."

"The dark master."

Standing up to his paws with the help of his lover, he was quickly knocked back down to the ground from an explosion that lit up the sky in white for a second. Everyone fell to the floor from the explosion, and Spyro covered his lover with his wing from the wind that whipped in from outside. Covering his face with his wing, he tried to sneak a peak at what had happened. Taking his wing down, he froze up, scared to know what caused it. A cloud of red and blue fire with black covering most of it flew into the air. Even from where he was, he could feel the heat coming from it. He shuck it off and looked down at Cynder. Picking his wing up and looking down at her, he asked, "Are you okay?"

She groaned slightly, "Yeah... what was that?"

"I don't know. But for the time being, we have something else to worry about."

Standing up on his paws, he helped his lover up, and the two watched in dismay as Carith stood in front of her lover, trying to get him to fight it. The two walked up, and looking over at Spyro, Carith cried, "Spyro, please... please help him... I'm begging you."

Anger went across Spyro's face as he approached Malefor. He looked at Spyro with tears running down his eyes and the darkness slowly moving more over his chest. Putting his paw over his right shoulder, the darkness crawled from off of Malefor's body and on to his. The darkness slowly disappeared off Malefor's body, giving him back his natural purple color. With the darkness off his body, Spyro now had to fight with it himself as he took his paw off his shoulder and tried to concentrate and fight back, not letting it get control. He was successful in doing so, but not completely. The anger he felt was very much there from what he had done. As his body returned back to it's normal purple color, Spyro showed his teeth and he yelled at him out of anger, "I could've had it! All the power, I felt it, and I could've achieved it! But you had to get in the way, almost like you knew I would achieve the dark power! And you know who knows about the dark power! The dark master! And it's all because of you!"

Malefor's heart dropped as he could see the anger in his eyes, how serious he was when he spoke that name. Raising his tail blade to his side, Spyro yelled at him again from the after effects of the darkness, "The dark master always gets in the way every step of the way! I keep holding myself back from killing you, thinking your a good guy! You should've been the one to die that day! If only the Guardians and Carith didn't intervene! No one is intervening this time."

Heading his words, seeing how desperate he was to kill him, Malefor cried as he back up, "No! Spyro, you're wrong! I just... I just wanted to help! All I've ever wanted to do since I got back was to help. I've tried and tried to help you. I've searched for any moment to where I can help you. I even wanted to train Cynder with her wind ability because I just wanted to help... please understand that."

"There is only one thing I've ever understood, and that is, you are the Dark Master! And you will never change! But I can fix that!"

Taking another couple of steps forward, Malefor's back hit the wall. He started to hyperventilate as this was almost like his dream. He was shunned and yelled at even though he just wanted to help. His body shivered, sweat of fear dripped down his entire body. All he could do, with his back to the wall, was put his wings around the front of him and let tears run down his eyes as he shivered. Seeing the condition her lover was in and what he just went through, Carith felt terrible seeing him how he was. Sniffles and mumbled pleas were all she could hear from her lover as she watched him shiver and sweat from fear. As Spyro walked up to him with tail blade by his side, Cynder stepped in front with a scared look on her face. He opened his mouth to say something, but then he closed it and growled at himself, as if he was fighting himself. Moving her paw to the side of his cheek, she took the opportunity to try and calm him down as well as herself. Putting her lips on her lover's, she was gently with it at first, but what had happened made her push more into the kiss, which only made it feel better for the two. The kiss felt even better over time as she could tell that even her lover was getting into it. Pulling back away from the kiss, she prayed that would've helped, and it did. His anger was completely gone, but now the memory of what he had done.

"Malefor's never going to trust me after today, is he?" Spyro mumured, feeling terrible that he wasn't able to stop himself from saying those things, "There was so much for me to deal with and... the darkness got to my head... And now look what I've done. He was just trying to help."

"He's just scared, my love, we all were. He doesn't want to die, and you, the anger, the darkness in you, wanted to kill him... he's just scared. Go talk to him. He needs to know how you really feel," Cynder suggested, and he nodded at her and agreed to do so.

Carith walked a couple of steps towards him and it only made it worse for her as she could hear his cries and pleas more clearly. His body never gave up when it came to his shivers, nor to his nervous sweats. Looking over to see the other two were walking up towards him as well, she quickly ran over towards the two. Stopping Spyro before he could go any further, she begged, "Spyro, please... he isn't the Dark Master... I swear... He... He's just scared."

"I know... and... I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking straight when I said what I said. I was focusing on the darkness and him and... it was too much, and I spoke at the wrong time. But don't worry, I will make it up, I swear. I don't want to let two dragons down today... Ancestors only knows that Malefor probably hates me for what I've done," Spyro murmured a response, knowing and feeling responsible for what had happened.

"You... you still trust him?"

"I never didn't trust him... What was said was just my darkness combined with my anger, and even some fear as I didn't know what to do... When I'm done talking with him, I will... I will understand if he hates me afterwards. And I'm sorry to you as well. Putting him in this situation takes time away from you two and, I shouldn't be doing that."

"Hehe, Spyro, it's okay. Just... please... help him go back to his normal self. Seeing him afraid again makes me think... makes me think of when he came back... I'm just scared that, this time, he might really leave out of fear of hurting one of us."

"I won't let that happen. Just, be ready to give him a kiss, okay? He's earned one for sure."

"Hehe, ready on that one."

The three slowly approached Malefor as to not alert him of their presence. As they did, he continued to weep against the wall, and it had seemed that his body had somewhat subsided from the shivers that he had. He had seemed to be calming himself down a little which would hopefully make it easier to help him. With Cynder to his right and Carith to his left, Spyro and the other two stopped right in front of him, still able to hear his tears and murmurs. Wondering what he should do to keep him calm, he went to raise his paw, but stopped it midair. Placing it back down on the ground, he couldn't think of a way to help him without scaring him, so he just did what came naturally to him. Trying to keep his voice as soothing and as calming as possible, he spoke, "Malefor... everything's okay."

The voice was soothing enough to even make his lover feel calm, and almost the same for Carith. His voice seemed to have helped slightly, but Malefor still cried and pleaded for mercy, "Spyro, I'm sorry, I swear... I never... I never wanted this to happen... After... after everything I've, I've gained back, after everything that I've been through... I never wanted this to happen... I never wanted to encounter the darkness ever again."

"Malefor... I'm not blaming you for what has happened. If you don't trust me then, just open your wings and let me show you."

"No...! I'm... I'm sorry I... I can't. This day alone has been nothing but a bad day for me. The nightmare, the darkness, you wanting to kill me... then, the darkness again, and even now, you still want to nothing more then my death... Please just... don't kill me... I'm trying... I keep trying but, nothing ever works... why...? Is it because... I'm meant to be the dark master...?"

"Malefor... Don't bring up those kinds of thoughts."

"What else could it be?! Even though I was brought back from the darkness, it has always found a way back to me... it has even found its way to other dragons who later found their way to me. Why shouldn't I bring up the truth... I can't get away from the darkness... I can't get away from the darkness... and I guess... you just saw it before I ever did."

"What I saw was nothing more then a selfish desire to kill you out of hate because of what happened to my lover. I've read your past, I know who you are. And right now, the only thing that I know right now, is your attitude. Bringing up the fact that you should be the dark master? After everything he put you through, your friends, your lover... And you want to go back to that?!"

"No...! I just... what else am I supposed to do... the darkness will find its way back to me someday... and I won't be able to do anything about it..."

Taking this opportunity to try and help, Spyro moved forward a little bit more until he was right in front of his wings. Sitting down right in front of him, he sat there, raising his tail blade to his side, he spoke, "What do you think I'm training you to do? The darkness is a beast that can be tamed. I wasn't successful, and because of that, I hurt you... and I'm sorry. You've never done anything to hurt me after you've came back, and you've tried everything you could to show me your aren't the Dark Master... I should've taken everyone's word for it sooner."

Malefor's wings slightly opened, and Spyro was now able to see his purple eyes and somewhat of his frown. Even though he had opened his wings slightly, his eyes looked over at the tail blade that was raised to Spyro's side, as if he was going to hurt him or worse. A sigh of sadness escaped his mouth as he closed his eyes and murmured, "I don't know who you truly are... But actions speak louder then words... But... I would rather leave then be killed... please... that's all I'm asking."

His eyes slowly opened after his sentence ended. As Malefor looked at Spyro with the sadness and the fear in his eyes, something inside him clicked. The way his body shivered, the faint but easy to see tears that he had shed that fell from his eyes and to the ground, and his eyes all completely demolished of life showed something that he had never thought Malefor ever even had. His eyes went slightly wide as he couldn't believe this was the first time seeing this, and he drifted off just thinking about it, _I knew Malefor was a good guy from the books but... just like when we were attacked by those apes on our way to the Dragon Temple, just like when he slipped up and yelled at Ignitus, and even now... He isn't just a one sided joker... and... and it took me this long to realise it... even after how long he has been trying to show that to me... and I just ignored it... The look in his eyes now, the fears... I've been as scared as he is... I know... what it feels like._ Making up his mind on the whole situation, he moved his tail blade in between his wings, and as Malefor closed his eyes, he murmured, "I love you... Carith."

Carith took a step forward, scared to think Spyro was actually going through with killing her lover, but thinking about it, she didn't want to think he would, especially after everything he just went through. Taking the step back, she bit her lip, wanting this all to be over so she could have her lover back; having him hug and kiss her like they use to. Her body shivered for those desires to once again be fulfilled by her lover, and all she could do was hope, and put trust into him, hoping he would make the right decision. Feeling the tail blade touch his chest, Malefor thought more and more about it as if life was flashing before his eyes, and as he thought about it, he knew he didn't want to die, but it was to late to react as Spyro's tail blade had already rested on his chest. He waited for him to stab him through the heart, but nothing. He felt the warmth from the tail blade, but other then that; no pain, no threats, nothing. The only thing he really heard was how hard he was breathing along with how hard his heart was hitting against his chest. Opening one eye, and then the other, his eyes went wide, and his wings went numb as they laid on the floor. What Spyro had done really made he believe that he trusted him, but, he didn't understand any of it, "But... You... I... The... The darkness."

"You were right, Malefor... I should've gotten over myself a long time ago. Part of me just wanted to be right so I could kill you and move on but, it seems that wasn't the case. The Guardians weren't going to have it, my lover wasn't going to have it, and I damn well know your lover wasn't going to have it, and for that... I'm sorry... I'm sorry for putting you and your lover through more hell even though you have all already suffered enough... I know sorry won't fix what I did but... we still have the rest of our lives to make it up... right?"

Malefor was at a lost for words, wondering if he was still in the dream and he was just getting a better ending to what he had witnessed before. A slight chuckle escaped from Spyro as he joked, trying to cheer him up from what had happened, "If your heart beats any faster, I won't be the only one breaking the sound barrier around here."

"But..."

Pulling his tail blade back to the ground, he apologized once again, still feeling terrible for what had happened, "When you first came back, I never really saw you as anything else but a single shell. You were either the Dark Master, or just a single minded joker with a lover. But... looking past that, you've shown me time and time again that... you are just as much of a dragon as me or anyone else... The only difference between us and the Guardians is that, unlike those other dragons, we respect our lover's, hehe, am I right?"

Once again, Malefor was at a lost for words. To him, it was like Spyro had completely changed his view on him, but he didn't understand why he did or even when. He didn't believe it, he couldn't believe it, which made him believe this was just another dream that he was being tricked into. _But... even if this is, a dream... and Ignitus has control over it... there is nothing I could do to prevent what he has planned... But... there's... there's no way this is a dream... it can't be... not after what just happened. The feeling, the darkness, the reaction and help from Spyro it's... it's all too real,_ He thought to himself, making up his mind that this wasn't a dream. Knowing that Spyro wasn't the only one he probably scarred, he looked over to Cynder, and somewhat murmured as he spoke, "Cynder... I'm... I'm sorry..."

She could only giggle, knowing what he was probably thinking, "Malefor, I took off my chains for a reason, and I have no intention of ever putting them back on... and I never will. I don't fear the dark master any more. Hehe, to be honest, the only fear I have, is when ever you joke sometimes. I was for sure Ignitus was going to kill you with that third base joke you kept pulling on him."

"Even after what happened... you trust me?"

"Why shouldn't I? You were infected with the darkness, it's not like you were trying to use the darkness to harm someone. Instead, you fought against it, and for me, that just shows me even more that, taking off the chains is just another step towards how right I really am; About how you really are a good guy. And I'm not the only one who knows this. Even the Guardians would've done everything they could've to help you... And so would we."

The more everyone talks about what had happened and how they don't hold what happened against him, the better and better he felt. His breathing had started to slow, he slowly started to regain his smile, and even his heart was slowing back down to a normal pace. Almost all the fear he had left in him that held him back from being truly comfortable was what his lover thought of him. Looking at her, she could only smile while he tried to do the same. Opening his mouth to apologise, he wasn't able to speak a single word as his lover had already spoken, "Don't say your sorry. You didn't do anything wrong. But... after what happened... I'm going to need a lot of love from you. And I'm talking like, once we are done, we are going to have some dry lips, understand."

"Hehe, I promise... Thank you, Carith."

Focusing his attention back on Spyro, he had finally completely calmed down and his smile had returned along with everyone else's. Giving out a slight chuckle, Spyro opened his mouth to try and make a joke to lighten up what had happened. But surprisingly to him and the other two, Malefor had draped his wings over Spyro's back, putting his head over his shoulder. Spyro's eyes went wide from the sudden hug, but after what had happened, he could understand why, but he didn't understand why he wasn't hugging Carith. It didn't take long for him to find the answer as Malefor murmured it over his shoulder, "Thank you... for trusting me. I... I didn't want to die... I can't... I still have that dream I need to fulfil... remember?"

Pulling away from the hug and putting his wings back to his side, he received a smile from Spyro. Looking over at Carith and back at Malefor, Spyro apologized for getting in the way of his dream, "Sorry about that. I know I, said it before, about me trusting you but... Give me this last chance to show you that I'm sorry... And I hope that one day, I can be there for the special day when your dream becomes a reality... And I hope you can be there for me too. So what do you say we make our dreams a reality one day?"

"Hehe, sounds like a Hell of a good thing to agree to... But I also want to make sure that, if I do make a joke, bringing up the darkness or anything like that... I will always joke about something like that."

"I know I know. You'd never put your love in danger. And I know you don't have good control over your dark power so, if you ever need help, training, or just want to sit down and talk, I'm here for you. I might not be able to be as much help when it comes to talking compared to your lover but, I can still be there if you need help with a problem that could threaten you, my lover, your lover, our friends, or even this peace that we have."

"I will be ready to help and fight by your side when ever you need me, I promise. I mean, hehe, after all, you do live right down the hall from me."

"Hehe... yeah... But, once again I'm... I'm sorry for putting you through the same nightmare you just had. I'm sorry I put you through more fear and sadness even after you had returned. Can you forgive me for that?"

"Spyro, I don't even know if the Guardians have forgiven me for the years of trouble I've put them through. Even what Ignitus pulled with that nightmare, I don't blame him, and I don't blame you for getting defensive. It was my fault any of this ever happened. And thinking about it now I... I miss every second when I'm not with my lover, or the Guardians, or even you and your lover. That's why I like waking up every morning and heading down to the Chambers because... I never knew I would have my life back... I never knew I would be able to talk to my friends again... my family."

"And behind all of that darkness, I never knew you were really just a dragon. I believed that you were just born a monster, and reading your past, I didn't know what to believe since the story about what had happened wasn't true. But I see now what the truth really is. So from now on, when we visit the Guardians... You don't have to worry about anyone hating you. And if you still have doubts, I'm sure they will always be willing to talk to you."

"Hehe, I don't know man, being in a room with Volteer?"

"Why are you picking on him?"

"Because, I can't tell which way he swings if you know what I mean."

"He had a girlfriend."

"Yeah well, him and Cyril use to fight like an old married couple."

"Great, so what does that make us?"

"What are you... oh Hell no. Never mind, you ruined it. Since you brought that up, I will give Volteer a pass for now. But until he gets a girl, I will always hold true to what I believe."

"Fair enough... I just find it wired that you're standing here talking to me and not your lover who was probably more effected by this then me."

"I just... I wanted to make sure we were cool with one another... I... I didn't want to die... unlike the dark master who wanted to destroy the world, I have too much to lose. I've almost been able to heal my bond with everyone after what's happened and I was afraid I was going to lose yours, your lover, and my lovers trust for who I was... I just want to know, one last time, of the truth, that we are not enemies anymore."

"No, we aren't enemies."

"Does that mean!"

"No, we aren't friends either, not yet. You have to earn that. So for right now, I would say I'm more then neutral towards you. So, basically, trusted."

"Hey, trusted sounds way better then death bed."

"What?"

"Spyro, please. You can't look me in the eyes and tell me with a straight face that you didn't want to kill me in my sleep when I first came back."

"Ahem... uh... Got me there. Thank Carith and Cynder. If it weren't for those two, I probably would've killed you in my hallway."

"Well... I think I need to go and thank them personally... Thank you for all your help once again, Spyro."

"Any time. Just uh, get ready for me to embarrass you every second tomorrow in front of the Guardians. I'm going to tell them ever little bit about how you cried with your back to the wall."

"Mother... fine, what ever. But knowing you and Cynder, drama is always around the corner for you two, and I will be ready for it."

Walking past Spyro and patting him on the shoulder as he walked by, Malefor walked over to his lover and sat down in front of her with a smile. His lover giggled slightly with a smile seeing him smile in a happy manner. To her, he didn't seem afraid anymore. Feeling the warmth of his paw as he placed it over hers, she shuck her head slightly, and his head tiled slightly, wondering what he did wrong. Opening his mouth to ask, his lips were covered by his lover's in almost in instant. Cynder giggled seeing the two, and looking away from them, she saw her lover looking over at her. Raising a claw, she waved it towards her, wanting a kiss as well. Chuckling with a smile, he walked over to his lover. At the same time, the other two had pulled away from their kiss with slightly faster breaths. Putting their forehead on one another, Carith joked, "After all that... you only put your paw on mine... and you think that will cut it...? You don't know what I desire... do you?"

"Hehe, we aren't in our room yet are we? I promised you when ever we got to our room, I would give you the kiss you desire," Malefor said, reminding her what he had promised her, and thinking about it, she knew it would be really embarrassing getting into such a kiss while the other two were still right next to them.

Looking over at the other two and seeing Spyro stand in front of his lover with a smile, she knew exactly what they were planning on doing as well. Looking out to the massive sized hole in the training room, she saw the sunlight slowly start to disappear as the sky went dark with the only light being from the moon and the stars. She knew it was time to get to bed, and hinted towards Cynder as she said, "Hey, Cynder. I know you'd like to kiss Spyro now but, it's late already so, would you rather kiss on the ground, or on a comfortable bed?"

Cynder giggled as she looked at her, "Oh, I see, you get to kiss your lover, but I can't kiss mine? What, the kiss was so bad that you think I'm going to have the same experience with my lover?"

"Hehe, Hey, it's your lover, not mine. I just wanted you to know that me and Malefor are going to head to bed. It's been an, eventful day to say the least. And last thing I want now is for something else to happen."

"It's not even that late, and I'm barely tired. How come you two are going to bed so early?"

"Well... we won't go straight to bed. I want to talk with Malefor about all that's happened."

"Oh no..." Malefor murmured with a frown.

"Hehe, don't worry, it's nothing bad I... I just want to hear your voice again, that's all."

"Oh... thank the Ancestors."

Giggling slightly at her lover's reaction, she focused her attention back towards Cynder and continued, "And with today out of the way, hopefully tomorrow will be a lot better. Things have been a little crazy over this last week with Spyro wanting to kill Malefor, those dragons, the apes attack on our way to The Dragon Temple, and even what happened now. I'm hoping that things will calm down after all of this... and I'm... more scared then ever of losing him."

"Carith, I promise, I'm not going to ever try and kill him ever again. You don't need to worry," Spyro promised.

"I know, and I hope Cynder gives you a nice kiss for that. But... it wasn't really you who almost took my lover away from me today. So, just for a little bit, I don't want Malefor to train to use his dark powers for a couple of days, please. I don't want to keep him away for too long as I know how much it means to the both of you... just, be careful when you do. And, Malefor. If you go behind my back on this..."

"I won't I won't, I promise. If it weren't for Cynder and your help, things would've gone way differently anyway," Malefor promised as well.

"Yeah, you would've cried for a whole lot longer," Spyro joked, messing with him about what had happened.

"That power was pretty strong, and I'm pretty sure if I let it take over, I would've been able to kick your ass. Then we would've seen who was the real cry hatchling here."

"You choose power over love, and I will choose another man over you, understand?" Carith threatened with a smile.

"Yes my love! Sorry my love..."

The three shared a small laugh with one another from Malefor's reaction, and a couple seconds later, he joined in on the laugh too. As the laughing died down, Malefor took the opportunity to put his body against the side of his lover's. Draping his wing over her back, he went to wrap his tail around Carith's, but she beat him to it by wrapping her tail around his. Spyro wasn't about to be beat, so he did the same to his lover. Putting his body against her side, he draped his wing over her and went to wrap his tail around hers. But just like Carith, Cynder beat him to it as she wrapped her tail around his. Feeling the warmth and the embrace of their lover's bodies, Cynder and Carith yawned, feeling tired now compared to before. The two girls smiled at one another and Carith thanked her for talking with her, "Thank you for talking with me, Cynder. It's nice being able to talk to another girl around here, and it doesn't have to do with man stuff."

"Hehe, you're welcome. I had a fun time too. But, it felt kinda lonely without, Claire. We need to find time to take her off of Ignitus's paws and talk some more," Cynder suggested, trying to holed back the smile she had as her smile was already big enough.

"I'm sure we can. Maybe tomorrow, depending on what's going on. But, any time, I'm down to hang out with you and Claire."

"Agreed... And, I guess that kinda gets me a little excited now. Since Spyro trust Malefor, me, you, and Claire, we could all just walk around and talk..."

Spyro and Malefor opened their mouths at the same time, remembering what happened when they did that the last time. But the two girls cut them off by saying in unison, "Inside the Guardians Building."

The girls giggled at one another while the other two sighed with comfort.

"So, tomorrow then?" Carith asked.

"Absolutely," Cynder agreed.

"Then I will see you in the morning... oh and... give Spyro a well deserved kiss for not killing my lover, okay?"

"Hehe, I think I can make sure it will happen. And reward your lover with a kiss for being so strong and fighting back the darkness."

"You already heard what I wanted from him, so I'm sure I can make that happen all night."

"Hehe, then I won't keep you. Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight, Cynder, Spyro. See you both in the morning."

The two nodded with smiles, but before she was able to turn, Malefor said something to Spyro, "Hey, Spyro... I don't want to be wired in saying this but, seeing how easy I could lose my life, not from you of course I... I wanted to know if maybe one day, me, you, and the other Guardians all have a guy's day out. What do you say to that? It could be in the Guardians Building or even out in Warfang. Ignitus can keep watch over using his powers so the girls can have a girls day all to themselves."

"Hehe, I don't know when we will be able to but, why not. When ever we have the time, we can all go out and do that. And it does sound kinda fun. And to make sure it does happen, I promise that, one day, we will have a guy's night out," Spyro promised, seeing Malefor's face light up with a bright smile.

"Thank you, Spyro... And I guess for the time being, we will see you tomorrow?"

"Hehe, I'm always right down the hall."

"Hehe."

Turning away and walking with his lover towards the door, Spyro watched as Malefor talked to his lover with a big smile, almost as if he was talking about how he didn't kill him. As he opened the door for his lover, the two walked out and went towards their room, keeping the door to the training room open so the other two could easily walk out. Looking around the room and away from the door, Spyro sighed as he said to himself, "How am I ever going to fix this?"

"Is fixing and fighting the only thing you think about," Cynder whispered, hoping she could tease him some to make it more of a romantic night, and rubbing her side up against his only helped what she hoped she could accomplish.

"Well, with a voice like yours and a body like yours, sometimes the only thing I can think about is how long we could kiss for."

"You want to find out?"

"Absolutely."

Walking with his lover out if the training room, she nuzzled her head on the side of his cheek and went back towards their room. On their way out, he closed the door behind himself with his tail blade and stopped in the middle of the hallway. At this point, Cynder rested her head on the side of his neck so she didn't really know what he was doing as she had closed her eyes as well just thinking about him. Spyro looked over at Malefor and Carith's room, and he thought about what had happened and that promise he made to him, _I can't believe I ever doubted him. Even after everything he tried to prove... even after that promise he kept to me to keep Cynder safe while I was knocked out... Makes me feel even more terrible for what I put him through over the week he's been here._ Opening her eyes and noticing they still hadn't moved, she picked her head up off his neck and looked at him. Seeing the confusion and somewhat sadness on his face, she asked, "Are you okay, my love?"

He broke from his thoughts and said, "Yeah I just... let's talk about it in our room."

"Okay..."

* * *

"So... The Chronicler has all these amazing powers, has his own personal island, knows everything thing in existence, and could've done or chosen any one he could've in the world, but he chose me... I know for a fact I'm not the prettiest girl out there no matter how many times you or anyone else tries to tell me that. You could've gone with someone with a simple past, someone who wasn't already so lost from what happened back then... So why choose me?" Claire asked, begging to know the answer now that she knew what he really was and what he was capable of doing.

"Well... I never really look at myself as someone who could have what ever he wanted. It's true, I could look into someone else's past and find out who would be the easiest for me to have but... that just doesn't sound right, it doesn't sound like I actually care for them. It just sounds like I'm looking for an easy girl and an easy relationship, but that's just not who I am."

"Hehe, I don't know, when you found me, I was pretty easy for you to get to me."

"You were afraid, and I couldn't leave you there. Even though I didn't know who you were, I still trusted you enough to use my powers to bring you back and help you. And I'm glad I did everything to help you. If I had chosen someone else, where would you be? Who would you be with? Would you really be happy where you were rather then being with us?"

"It's funny you say that cause, when I was here, and I saw Malefor, all I wanted to do was kill him and leave. I never really ever wanted to hurt any of you. But now, even after what's happened, him explaining himself, the way he acts, the love he has towards his lover I... I forgive him for what happened, and I feel terrible that anyone would have to go through what he went through. And to be honest, I'm scared that one day, we will go back to the way the past was... The darkness, the death and then... I could even lose someone else I care about... I could lose... another..."

"Another? Are you, talking about me?"

She sadly nodded, thinking back to the dark past that she had endured, but luckily, Ignitus's words were more then enough to cheer her up, "On my word, I promise, we will never have to go through such a thing again. Even as powerful as I am, Spyro still gave me some cuts and scrapes while we were fighting which means he is a lot stronger then he thinks. No one in this world is close to his power, aside from Malefor if he keeps training, and even still, he is on our side, he's our friend. With those two fighting together, along with the Guardians, what could stop them?"

"Well, when you put it like that, doesn't sound as scary anymore... But, I still want to go back to what I said before. Why choose me? What do I have that all the other females out there don't?"

"Hehe... well, you can call me cheesy on this as, this is probably something Spyro would say but... I guess the reason is because, you are the only dragoness in the world that has stolen my heart. No other dragoness out there has and, I don't plan to keep looking. No other female out in this world can steal me away so easily except for you. And, after the night, that we shard in that room I... I knew I had found where part of my heart went... and all I had to do was get it... And with you by my side, I succeeded."

"That was pretty Cheesy. After all, how could you say part of your heart was with her if she already had a lover, signifying that your heart never really was with her and that implies you are trying to be romantic," Volteer quickly interrupted as he quickly mouthed off a sentence without stopping, but before Ignitus could even respond, he quickly apologized for his actions, "Sorry, I've been reading a lot of books, and to be honest, my butt is pretty numb, and I haven't been able to sit right at all making me think that I'm not going to sleep well tonight, and it's going to keep me up all night. But don't mind me... I was just... jealous... that's all."

"Jealous...? Jealous about what?" Ignitus asked as he looked over at his yellow friend.

"Oh uh, nothing. I was just, mouthing off words without even thinking... forgive me."

Seeing Volteer frown as he looked back down at his book, Ignitus knew what and who this was really about, and he couldn't blame him. _The only thing I could hope to do is help him find someone else. When Volteer lost Malefor, Ersa came along and cheered us all up. And now that she's gone, he is going to need someone else to cheer him up, the same way she did,_ Ignitus thought with a frown, hating the fact that he has to keep her death a secret. Sighing sadly as he thought about it, he looked back over at Claire and froze. He couldn't understand what he had done. She was blushing, but at the same time, a couple of tears ran down her eyes, and she looked dumbstruck. Swallowing hard and thinking he had done something wrong, he opened his mouth, but was quickly made quiet as she raised a claw up and put it on his lips. Taking the courage to say something, she took a deep breath in, and then out. Putting her paw back on the bed, she spoke, "Now that you say it, I think I found a part of me that has been missing as well. A part of my heart that was once broken, and the only one who could fix it, was you..."

Giving him a nice nuzzle on his cheek, she still smiled with a couple of tears as she screamed at her self in her thoughts, _Kiss him kiss him kiss him! Why won't you suck up and do it!_ Pulling away from the nuzzle, she sighed once again, angry at herself for not going through with it. _I'm going to need some help from the girls on this one, that's for sure... After he said that I... I want nothing more for us to do right now then to kiss! Ugh...! Maybe... maybe next time... hopefully._ Going back to what the Chronicler could do, she changed the topic as to not fuel her anger for not saying what she could've, "Sorry to, go back to the whole, Chronicler power thing but... what else can the Chronicler do? You mentioned he was blue and that you changed your scales from blue and then back to your red ones. So does that mean you can, change your body or something?"

"Oh of course. If I wanted to, I could even make myself look muscular if I needed to. I just keep myself looking this way because I like being old fashion."

"You can... make yourself look more muscular? Could you uh... show me? If you don't mind."

"I don't see why not."

Flexing out his muscles and using his powers to help, his body and muscles were just as flexed and ripped as Spyro's if he were to flex. Claire's mouth opened as she almost practically drooled seeing his body. Looking at him, she saw everything she could've wanted in a man, and she thought about how he looked for a while, _His muscles... his body... his... handsome face... I... Did I... die? Am I dead and just dreaming of this... perfect man?_ Seeing his body, he stopped flexing and returned his body back to normal. But even though he did so, she was still almost drooling as she looked at him. Blushing slightly as she looked at him the way she did, he chuckled, "Oh come on, I'm not the best looking dragon in the world."

Without even thinking twice, she closed her mouth to swallow before slipping up and saying, "Take me..."

"Wh... what?" Ignitus stuttered with a big red blush that showed even through his scales.

Hearing what she said and seeing his reaction, she blushed just as hard and quickly tried to cover it up, "Oh, no no no, I meant, could you, take me, to the White Isle someday for a tour or something? Not the uh... hehe, other thing..."

 _Which I still totally would've agreed to,_ She agreed with herself, blushing still and somewhat having a smile as she hoped that one day, she could use those words again. _No doubt in my mind. If this peace continues, and we have nothing to worry about, then one day, I will tell him, and I know... I know for a fact, I can have the greatest life one could have... even after... what happened with my previous lover... I can't let that happen again... never again._ Shivering from the thoughts, Ignitus ignored his embarrassment in order to help her out. Putting a paw over her shoulder, she looked up at him to see he was concerned. Smiling from his help, she snuggled her body up against his again and laid her head underneath his as she whispered, "I'm fine... thanks to you."

The silence that filled the room with the enjoyment she had being curled up in the warmth of Ignitus was short lived. The door to the Chambers opened with Terrador and Cyril walking in, both yelling over at Volteer about the game they were playing.

"Hey, Volteer! Isn't it true that rock will always beat paper no matter what since I'm sure rock is heavier than paper!" Terrador called out, adding onto the noise as he also shut the door behind himself after the two had walked in.

"And can you tell, Terrador, that paper will always beat rock because paper can cover rock completely!" Cyril called out as well to his yellow friend.

"Well technically speaking, this was a game formed by Malefor, there for, it has its flaws. It's unbelievable you two are fighting over something so understandably stupid. Of course, by what I go off of, rock will always beat paper. But if you really want to understand the game, ask Malefor himself. And he did change the rules to Malefor Carith Ignitus so, the game was specifically meant to fail the minute he made it," Volteer explained his idea on the matter, almost none stop talking about it back and forth with the guys as the two walked over to him while he sat near the pile of books.

Claire started to growl from the amount of noise everyone was making as she was just having one of the greatest day's of her life, which was now being ruined by those three. Ignitus swallowed hard, somewhat hearing the growling over the yelling, and feeling it from the bottom of his mouth. Pulling his head down and moving it beside hers, he looked at her and she did the same to him. She then frowned and sighed, not wanting to show her anger. He could only chuckle with a smile as he gave her permission to shut them up as he had the exact same reasons for anger as she did, "You know, you don't have to go easy on them. I was enjoying myself quite well and they just charged in here, yelling and screaming, ruining my time with you."

He said exactly what she was thinking, which made her question whether or not he really was reading her mind, "Wait a minute... I thought you couldn't read my mind and yet, you were able to figure out exactly what I was thinking. Is there something you want to tell me?"

"I've just been seeing and observing your actions and feelings. Similar to how my son does with his lover, he sees what she likes and doesn't like to make her as comfortable as possible, and to avoid anything that might make her feel worse about herself. So I've been doing the same."

"Oh, someone is putting a lot of thought into me... You sound like a man to me."

"Hehe, thank you. So, what are you going to do about the noise?"

"Well, I was hoping my red guardian could help me with that."

"At your request."

As the two talked it over, the three were still going on about the game which lead to them then talking about another game that Malefor had came up with that almost destroyed the Dragon Temple. Ignitus chuckled while Claire giggled, having their plan made up, they found a perfect way to shut the three of them up. Ignitus was the first to start the plan. Looking at the three, Ignitus called over to the three with a demanding voice, and his chest puffed out, making him seem more threatening, "Terrador! Volteer! Cyril!"

His voice made the three close their mouths very quickly. They all looked over at him in unison, scared to think about what they had done wrong. Surprisingly, with his chest puffed out the way it was, it made them even more scared, and the intimidation worked on the three. They swallowed hard as they then all focused their attention to Claire who laid her head down straight on the bed with a frown. Her frown then turned into a small smile, but seeing that frown, they all shivered, scared to know what she told him. As Ignitus continued to speak, they all focused their attention back on Ignitus, "How dare you act like this over a game! Interrupting my time with Claire is not something that can be punishable be banishment, Oh no, I would never do that. But it is punishable but having endless nightmares, paralysis for the rest of your life, constant pain that you will feel all throughout your body...!"

The three all almost cried with fear running down their faces and bodies, knowing that he could actually do this to them if he wanted to. He continued with one last thing that could happen, but he also gave them a way to make up for what they did, "But even worse then that... I will make sure to have Malefor... and Spyro, give you a twenty-four hour, seven days a week, one full month, of training...! But there is a way out of this... It's late. So, come over her, apologize to Claire, or I will for sure get Spyro down here right now and tell him what you did to my lov... To Claire...! He would understand...!"

They all almost heard the slip up, but they couldn't tell if it was from their fear, or it's just what they thought they heard. Even for Claire, she wasn't afraid at all so she heard him loud and clear with her head laying underneath his. She shuck it off though as she believed it was just her imagination, _Ignitus... really has acted like, he really loves me. And, I guess with the thing with my old lover, and now with Ignitus... I... could I just be imagining what he said?_ She tried to look up at him with her head still laying down on the bed, but she couldn't see if he was blushing or not. And even if she could see from almost underneath his head, all she would see are his red scales. The three Guardians all got up and walked over to the front of Ignitus's bed, all ready to apologise for being so loud and disruptive. As they stood in front of his bed, Claire picked up her head and joked with them, "You know, because you three just ruined that moment for me and Ignitus, now I'm kinda wishing I did kill one of you back when I was an assassin."

She was scared to death to joke like that as death was always so serious to her and everyone she's ever known. But from her memory, she remembered what Malefor and Spyro had talked and joked about, so she wanted to try and loosen up a bit and see what they would've said. Taking a quick peek at Ignitus, she heard him chuckle with a smile, and even the Guardians all pleaded for life, apologising for their actions.

"What?! I was reading my books and these two came in screaming. Kill one of them, not me," Volteer pleaded.

"Well I uh... I'm sorry, I didn't know you were having a special moment and I promise it will never happen again," Cyril apologized, and taking a quick look over at Volteer, he growled through his teeth, "Thanks, Friend."

"This was on all of us," Terrador sighed, feeling bad for interrupting the two, "We are, very sorry for our intrusion, Claire. It was a silly game that we took too far and we wish for you to spar our lives... If that is what you wish."

Claire could only giggle before laughing at the their reaction to her words, making them all sigh, hoping that meant she did forgive them all. She felt bad for putting them in this situation and apologized, "I'm sorry to scare you all like that. And don't worry, I won't let anything happen. All though, then again, maybe something should happen to Volteer. Maybe a, month of training with, Spyro?"

"What?!" Volteer cried.

"Throwing your friend under like that was pretty selfish if I do say. I can't believe you would do such a thing to your friend like that."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I swear, I just... I haven't, i wasn't thinking straight when I said it."

"I'm not the one you should be apologizing to."

As Volteer looked over at him, Cyril had a small frown on his face. Standing next to him, he whispered to him, "Turn around real quick."

Volteer did as he was told and the two turned away from everyone else. They ducked their heads slightly, and Cyril asked, somewhat already knowing what could be on his mind, "What's going on? Hehe, I mean, you throwing me under like that sounds like something you would've done in the past so... Is there something about the past that is making you want to relive it? We are all joking here, and if it's a joke, I'm fine. I just want to know if you're okay."

He sighed, knowing that someone would've noticed he wasn't doing so well, and he explained the reasoning behind it, "I've read so many books over my life time, I've done so much research on the body of a dragon and, it just doesn't make any sense. I'm... I'm not going to go into detail about everything as to bore you. Spyro and, some what, Ignitus, have been helping me a lot. But, I don't know if I can keep going knowing that Ersa could be dead... I'm... I'm scared I'm getting my hopes up only for them to be crushed all at once."

"So Ersa is on your mind again?"

"Like I... I just want to know. From you. What do you believe. Is she died, yes or no?"

"Volteer I..."

"Cyril... You've seen how she is. You've seen the time I've spent with her. I want just one answer. Is she alive, yes or no?"

"Volteer, I'm your friend. And telling you no to her being alive is something I can't do. You know I will always say yes."

"Even if you are just trying to be helpful, I want to know from you."

"Then... I will say yes. I've seen who she is, how smart she can be. I... I will say, yes."

"Alright..."

Pulling their heads up and turning back around, the three were watching as if they were waiting for something to happen.

"Well, looks like I'm never going to find someone," Terrador sighed, completely confusing the two.

"What?" Cyril and Volteer asked in unison.

"Me and Terrador had a bet going on. He said that if you two kissed, Terrador would find a lover, and I won," Ignitus chuckled, seeing the two look at one another with blushes before looking over at Terrador and growling.

"You're such a bitch," Cyril cursed.

"I didn't know what was about to go down. Plus, we were bored while you two were whispering about running away together," Terrador laughed.

"I'm not that kind of guy, alright. When ever I find a lover, I'm make sure it's known that I'm not like that."

"You don't have to search far, she's, I mean, he's, right beside you."

"Terrador!" Volteer growled.

"Alright alright, settle down. Terrador, you don't know what the two were talking about and I can assure you, it isn't something that should be joked about. Trust me, it's... it's just... Look, just forget about. I've already talked with Claire a little while you two were talking and she says you all get a pass. So you can all sleep easily," He paused as he looked over to see Volteer looking away somewhat with a frown, "Especially those who need it."

The three all nodded and went to their respective beds. Watching as Volteer laid down, Ignitus thought more about his situation, knowing exactly how he must be feeling, _Even with the war being over, some wounds can't heal. I know how you feel, Volteer. You never brought it up until now because you believed she was alive. You never brought it up because you know, deep down, that you didn't want to find her dead. And now that you are faced with such a problem, all your emotions are coming back to haunt you over your love for her. And if the day comes where you find out the truth... I will hopefully have the power to help you, to erase the memories of your time with Ersa's._ As everyone had laid down in different positions, all with their eyes closed ready to sleep. Claire did the same as she nuzzled her head underneath his neck before laying her head down on his paws, and eyes closed, she whispered, "Hehe, at least now I can have my moment, can't I...? Goodnight, Ignitus."

"Goodnight... Claire," Ignitus whispered, still eyes wide open, thinking about such a thing.

 _Would I really erase his memory of her, and have everyone act as if they don't know her either...? Even after the war is over, there is always a problem to deal with. Always having to do with love. And what if I ever lost, Claire. Would I really want my memories to be erased so I wouldn't remember such a time where I kissed and laughed and joked with my... lover? No... no that wouldn't work. I just have to keep thinking of something else, anything else to help him,_ Ignitus thought, laying his head down over Claire's and closing his eyes. _You know what you need to search for, but where... I was able to find Spyro and Cynder, and I can find Ersa if she's out there... You haven't given up Volteer, and I will try my hardest not to give up as well... even if with what I've seen and read._ Falling to sleep with everyone else, he relied on his clones to take care of everything while he slept, hoping there would be a sure answer to the truth of what happened to Ersa.

* * *

With the two laying curled up in their bed, Malefor smiled with an evil grin as a spoke out loud, almost as if he wanted he lover to hear him, "Good, this is, very good. With everyone's trust within my grasp, I can finally resurrect my dark forces without worry, and with the training of the darkness undergoing, soon, the world will rightfully be under the rightful control of the true master, Malefor!"

His eyes adjusted over to his lover's to see she was surprised, but it didn't take her long to realise what game he was playing. All she knew was, she wanted to play along. Gasping and putting a paw on your chest, "No... it's not true. I have to go and tell Spyro right away!"

Standing up and moving one paw forward, a wing blocked her path. She turned her body and looked right into his eyes, still seeing that smile even as she did. Blinded by his purple eyes, she didn't realize his wings had blocked her from both sides. She didn't realize it until last second when is wings rested down onto her back. Looking over to her left, and then right side, she looked back at him with fake fear on her face, and he growled softly with a smile, "You're not going anywhere."

Putting his paw on her chest, he didn't have to apply any force for her to fall back. Falling to her back on the bed with his wings slowly laying her down on her back, she looked up to see her lover was above her with a grin. Putting his paws over her two paws, he laid them down against the bed so she couldn't use them. Pretending to struggle, she playfully growled at him, "You have to let me go sometime, and when you do, it's over. Lover or not, you have to be stopped."

"The only thing that needs to be stopped are those lips from blabbing about my plan."

"Hehe..." Pausing, she raised her head slightly up to his mouth and whispered, "Do, your, worst... and also your very best... make sure to do your best."

"Fine. But you asked for this."

Locking lips with his lover, her head went back against the bed with his going forward to push into the kiss. Even though she tried to pretend to struggle to make it more romantic, the kiss drained a lot more energy out of her then she thought. Feeling the comfort of her lover, both in embrace and lips, she felt like falling asleep right there while he kissed her, and she dozed off during the kiss. As his lips pulled away, she was able to wake herself back up and apologize, "Malefor... Sorry, I... I was enjoying that a little too much..."

"Hehe, it's okay... I understand. I'm pretty tired too, and, to be honest, I would've fallen asleep on top of you but, our little nosey neighbor down the hall would totally come in and joke all about it and embarrass us for days."

"No he wouldn't . And if he did, I could always get Cynder to help me with that."

"Cynder knows how to make him do what she wants with a simple word."

"Breakup."

"Oh yeah. It's even a scary word for me to hear."

"Well, can my, Malefor, hold off on his dark army creation for another life time?"

"Hehe, of course. Plus, I have another things that I need to, create, with my lover."

Her face lit up red with embarrassment from what he said, and he didn't realize it until he saw her face. His face went red, if not, more red then her face and quickly explained what he was trying to say, "No, wait, I'm sorry! That's not what I meant! I meant, creating my relationship with you, creating my life with you! Not the uh, other thing, not, uh, you know... It's just..."

 _Getting my hopes up like that,_ Carith grumbled in her thoughts with a small blush. She giggled seeing how nervous she was and felt bad that he was stressing again after what happened, "Malefor, my love, it's okay. You shouldn't keep stressing like this. Today wasn't good to you at all, but luckily, I was there, and so was Cynder. And most of all, I'm pretty sure, your friend, was there too. Spyro doesn't want to admit it but, give him some more time, and you could be on your way to his complete trust and friendship. Well, you already have his trust but, you just got that last obstacle."

"Yeah... just one more. I wonder how he will treat me tomorrow, how he will see me... When I was afraid, it was like he treated me completely differently, as if he saw something that I wasn't seeing. What do you suppose made him change his mind so much about me? A lover's kiss is very powerful, powerful enough to take away the darkness from me completely and to bring me back. But for Spyro, Cynder kissing him would not have done all that... So, what do you think did it?"

"I thought he had talked to you about it?"

"I remember him saying how he saw me as nothing more then a single shell. I was either the Dark Master, or I was just nothing more then a joker, but he saw past that. I hate to put Spyro's trust of me to the test but, the jokes we just had, about me making a dark army, I want to see how he reacts to it, I need to know if he's telling the truth or not. But, I believe he is. When he approached me, when he apologized, he was scared, and not of me... but, what I was going through. It looked like he felt bad for... me."

"I trust him, I really do. He did poke fun at you for what happened, but he didn't rub it in your face, and he didn't make you feel worse about yourself. He was there to support you, and, unlike the old Chronicler, I feel like the past has changed, and Spyro is your new Chronicler. He's the friend you deserved; the one who watches your back while you watch his. I'm sure it took time for you and the Chronicler to become... enemies, but with Spyro, it's just going to take time for you two to become friends."

"I can only hope."

"Well, since you aren't, doing anything else to me," Carith slightly murmured her last words with a slight blush, but she quickly changed the subject, "Sorry, what I meant was, since we aren't doing anything else, you just want to go to bed? I would feel bad if I fell asleep once you kissed me because I feel like it would make you feel as if I weren't enjoying it, and trust me... I most certainly was."

"Hehe, alright."

Taking his wings back and pulling his paws up, she rolled over onto her side and watched as her lover laid down a paw away from her. He pulled his wing up and didn't have to wait long for her as she was quick to snuggle up against his side. Snuggling her body down his side, she laid on her side with her head next to his paws. Draping his wing over her back, she laid her tail over his. Laying his head down over his paws, she gently nuzzled the top of her head against her lover's cheek and whispered as she closed her eyes, "Goodnight, my love."

"Goodnight, my love," Malefor whispered, closing his eyes with a smile, feeling her head on the side of his cheek.

 _Please, Spyro, tell me, show me, that you really mean it this time... It would really help, and change the way I view, and hope to see the future with my lover... And since that little race is on, I should start thinking of her as my... my... I... I need to really prove myself if I ever what to call the most beautiful dragoness in the world, my mate... But, I can do it... it's my dream... just like with my, hopeful, future, Hatchling dream,,_ Malefor thought with a warm and hopefully smile. Hoping tomorrow would bring something good and new to the world, he, along with his lover, slept both happily.

* * *

"So, what's going on?" Cynder asked, spinning her body around and facing the front of the room as she laid down on the bed, talking to her lover as he approached the bed, "You were pretty happy one second, giving Malefor so much praise for what he did, and now it seems like you're regretting it. I sure hope that's not what you are thinking though."

"No, I just, didn't want to talk good about Malefor anymore then I had today," Spyro chuckled, jumping up to the left of his lover before walking around to her back and then her right side, he laid down beside her and with the two facing one another, he continued, "I definitely trust him now, and, I didn't want him to possibly over hear while we were in the hallway. And, I also wanted to see what you'd say when I said, you were right about him all along."

"Fears blind the mind better then any other emotion some days. I should know, so I'm not going to pick on you about it... Well, maybe not too much."

"Hehe."

"So, what did he do that changed your mind about him so drastically?"

"Well, from the time we were ambushed by those apes, and even now, I saw something that I never thought I would see in Malefor before. He has this, side, to him, that I didn't know he had. Like me, when someone he cares about is in danger, he goes into this, mood, that I usually go into. With the apes, he didn't think twice when it came to protecting everyone, knowing he would have to run, jump, and possibly fight at any point, but he didn't care, he did it."

"And if say, an ape attacked from the front, and Malefor was on the back of the group, he would've had to run all the way around or jump over everyone as quick as possible to save them?"

"Exactly. And there were so many apes there, and he might've had to do that. And he probably thought about it as well. He knew it wouldn't be an easy task, but he did it any way. He put everyone else's life first, and his second. And even in the training room, he knew the darkness was infecting him, and even after he was darkness free, he stayed away from everyone out of two thing: One, was because he didn't want me to kill him, and the second... can you guess?"

"Um... Because... he didn't want you to kill him a second time?"

"Hehe, I guess that would mean there are three reasons. So, that would mean, the third reason he stayed away from everyone is because he was afraid the darkness would come back and he would hurt us. His back was always against the wall, with his wings covering his entire body. And, instead of letting his tail blade hang outside of his body, he kept it close to him. Even when I tried to help him, he never moved his tail blade. I thought he was just trying to show me he wasn't the Dark Master, like, as if it was an act but... even I knew it wasn't."

"He definitely went through a lot today. Carith played a big part today in helping him, but you, you really surprised me with how helpful you were. If it wasn't for you, things could've gone completely different. Malefor might've even left out of fear, and I'm pretty sure you saved him from doing such a thing."

"I could only hope I did. Even though it was my fault for trying to push myself to get stronger. If I hadn't went for that boost in power, he wouldn't have had to go through that."

"But if he didn't, you wouldn't have trusted him as much as you do. He wouldn't have shown you that he was listening, he was trying to control it to help you and everyone around him. And that little, ball, that you made in your paw, that I'm pretty sure destroyed half the world, you would've never known how to make it."

"You saw that?"

"How couldn't I have. Even I saw it at the corner of my eye. But, going back, I was taught that, sometimes, things happen for a reason, and it's best to let those things happen. It is terrible to hear what happened to Claire's lover, and I can't say what would've been best for her. But, with where she is now, this family, having Ignitus as a lover, I would say that, she deserves this life for what she's been through."

"So I'm spilt with the decision of: Should I tell Malefor he is my friend now, and try my hardest to believe him even if I see the darkness? Or do I continue down the path of him working his way up to my friendship?"

"Spyro, you remember the day when I thought I had cut you? But it turned out to be that Damn arrow."

"How could I forget the fear on your face from that day. It wasn't an easy day for me either."

"Well, Ignitus told me that, if you would've told me you loved me, everything would've actually been a whole lot worse. Going back and revisiting the past, you also remember when we tricked Sparks with that poison and he flipped out and told the Guardians?"

"Hehe, Yeah."

"Well, if we were in love, I never would've ran away when I heard what you said in your room, or, things would've been different entirely, and we would've never experienced that, and neither would have the Guardians. Cyril didn't trust me, remember, and after that day, he really felt bad and apologized. If that day would've never happened, Cyril probably would have a way different view on me then he does now, and I wouldn't have even known."

"Ignitus told you...?"

"He told me about how, no matter how or when I wanted to tell you I loved you, it would end in a disaster, because I would miss something or, something else would happen from a different past or future. I was scared, and, I felt like that meant that I was never meant to be with you... and... when I came to that realisation... I wanted to give up... Then, the day came where you told me you loved me and I... Hehe... I couldn't say no to you."

"I'm... sorry."

"It's not your fault. Blame your father, he was the one who wanted to demolish my hopes of being with you."

"Hehe, I will remember. Me and Malefor should get some revenge on him tomorrow for what he did to Malefor and you."

"But, this goes to what I feel like is with Malefor. You tell him he is your friend now, and miss out on the growth, the opportunities you could've had to show that, he really isn't evil. Everyday we weren't in love was another growth for me wanting to love you. Every night you didn't leave, you training to keep me happy, choosing me over all those other females that blocked the streets when we came back from helping the parents Hatchling... It was just... I was entirely too lucky to find you."

"Those were the days, weren't they... As much as I loved the time we shared, I feel like, after saving Malefor, times have been more memorable."

"How so?"

"Well, back then, there wasn't much, light, even after what we had been through. The Guardians were sad, the future that we thought we were going to have was shattered, and... it was a dark time. Every time you were in pain, every time you thought you weren't loved, the times you thought I would leave you I just... I wanted to kiss you... and tell you, everything was okay... but I was just as scared as ever. But now, I can kiss you when ever without worry. The Guardians are happier then before, Malefor's been a big help, and Carith, you and Claire are having the times of your life and I... I... I'm glad things are moving in the right direction... and I hope I can keep this right..."

Putting a paw to the side of his cheek, the two smiled at one another, and a single tear went down her eyes as she smiled. Finally having the time she wanted, this special moment, she didn't waste the opportunity to have it. Moving in and putting her lips over her lover's, she closed her eyes as he did the same. Slowly pulling her lips off his, she went back in for another kiss, and then another, before finally pulling her head back. She opened her eyes at the same time as her lover's, and she giggled, seeing a tear go down his eye as well.

"I love you," Spyro whispered.

"I love you too, my, Purple Guardian," Cynder giggled, causing Spyro to chuckle.

Moving her paw and putting it back on the bed, she nuzzled her head underneath his neck before laying her head down on his paws. Snuggling up together, he put his wing over her back, and he rested his head over hers. Resting her tail over his, she purred happily from the feeling that his body gave off from his scales, and she whispered to him again, "I have to agree with you. Times now are way better then they were back then... and, I would call the past trash but... you were always there so... I guess the past wasn't bad for me at all."

"Hehe, we both think the same then. Without you, I would've given up a long time ago."

"Hehe, and we both act the same too... I would've done the same."

"And... as I talk to you I... I feel terrible for putting Carith through that fear. She trust me, and I know she tries to but... I would've been the only monster on this planet if I took him away from her... I need to apologize for making her feel that way. I know how it feels to be scared of the death of your lover, and no one should go through it... Me and Malefor will make sure of it... I know we will."

"Sounds to me that tomorrow is going to be another step forward."

"Hehe, yeah, I would say so. The only fear I have no is, the whole Ersa situation... That will be a step backwards if she's dead."

"Well... I believe we will think of something, but for now, lets enjoy this night."

"Yeah, that kiss you gave me almost made me cry from how good it felt."

"When you kiss someone you love, you just get that sensation... Promise to do it again in the morning? And I don't mean a regular promise, I mean a Spyro Promise."

"Hehehe, so now I have my own promise now? Well then, I, Spyro Promise to do it again in the morning... there's definitely no way I'd miss out on my time with you."

"Never again... Spyro... You don't have to make Malefor your friend right away because taking your time won't be such a bad thing. Just, please, trust him. You two can accomplish anything together, and with your training, you helping to train him, those dark times... I'm just... scared that we will have to go back to a time of war, corruption, and lies... I'm scared of who we might lose in the future..."

"I... I know. But, I do, Spyro Promise, I will do everything I can to keep such a thing from happening... Making Malefor my friend and, trusting him, bonding with him about the world and thoughts could seal the peace we need in this world... Hehe, I mean, he is a joker so, this shouldn't be too hard to do. Just, sleep easy my love. No matter what happens tomorrow, just know, me and Malefor will be there to protect our peace in this world."

"Thank you... Spyro... And, I think I'm also going to sleep pretty easy knowing I can wake up to a kiss from my lover in the morning."

"Anything for you, my love."

"Anything? Be careful when you give a girl like me power."

The two laughed slightly, trying to forget about what the future could hold. With the laughing died down, the two closed their eyes, and Cynder whispered as she nuzzled her head for a second against her lover's chest, "I love you, Spyro... I will, kiss you, in the morning?"

"Anytime for that matter... I love you too, my love," Spyro whispered, moving his head up slightly a pecking Cynder on her forehead before laying his head back down over hers.

"Such a tease..."

As Cynder dozed off, falling into a peaceful sleep, Spyro had a thought on his mind before he had fallen to sleep, _It's you and me Malefor, against the future. I need that side of you again. If we trained some more, maybe I wouldn't even need my dark power. We wouldn't have to worry about corruption or, darkness or, anything for that matter. Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer could all find lover's, who are loving and caring like Cynder, Carith, or Claire... If we keep this peace, it can happen... we can do it... I believe we can... But, what do you think... Malefor?_


	8. Chapter 8: Over Preparing For The Future

Chapter 8: Over Preparing For The Future

With a slight shiver, Spyro woke as he needed to warm his body. Feeling the shivering from her lover as she snuggled up to him, it also woke her as he warmed himself up to warm her up. But with the light coming in from the window, he knew it was time to wake up anyway. A small sigh escaped from his mouth as he tried to open his eyes. Succeeding in doing so, he opened his mouth wide and yawned. Stretching out his body, Cynder stirred in her sleep a little and he knew she had to be awake at this point. Moving his head down and nuzzling the side of her cheek with his nose, he whispered, "Morning my love... Good, cold morning."

She smiled and knew she couldn't fake her sleep any longer. Pulling her head a little back, she grumbled as she looked over at him with her head still laid down on his paws. Opening one eye with a smile, he smiled back and to her surprise, he moved in for a kiss. She didn't move or resist it which made the morning kiss so much better. The two closed their eyes again as they kissed, getting the full feeling of one other's lips. Pulling his lips back off of hers slowly as to tease her, she giggled, "Tease."

The two opened their eyes back up, and Spyro chuckled at her, "I'm not teasing, just getting some more of that feeling as I pull away, that's all."

"Well, you remembered that promise you made to me last night so, teasing or not, I'm happy. Very happy in fact. Even though I had to snuggle up to you a couple of time for you to wake up and warm me up on this cold morning."

"Hehe, sorry. I slept a lot better then I thought."

"Not having to worry about the Dark Master helps you sleep doesn't it? Why do you think I sleep so well at night after I took my chains off."

"Aw... I thought it was because I was helping."

"You were and still are. I just don't have to fear of seeing you dead in the morning because of the dark master anymore. So, ever since, I've been able to sleep pretty well."

"Speaking of sleeping, you want to go back to bed? I will keep us warm this time, I swear. I was keeping you warm last night but, I didn't know the morning was going to be like, forty degrees."

"Well... I kinda want to talk with Carith some, which should also give you some time to spend with Malefor. What do you say to that?"

"You are trying to get me to be his friend sooner by spending more time with him, aren't you?"

"What? How dare you. I would never do such a thing... maybe today I would."

"Hehe, alright, fine, I will go spend some time with him. I'm going to tell Claire that you only wanted to hang out with Carith though."

"I didn't forget about her. I know that if I spend time with Carith, we would talk in the Guardians Chambers were she will already be. So, come on, hopefully we woke up before everyone else."

Standing up with energy and excitement, she jumped off the bed with a big smile on her face, and as Spyro stood up, he asked, "Hehe, what's with all the energy?"

As he jumped off the bed and stood next to her, she apologized, "Hehe, Sorry, I've just never knew what it's like to not have to worry or fear. I don't have to worry about you or Malefor killing one another, don't have to worry about a fight or, death or, anything like that. I hope that today will just be me, you, and the Girls. And of course the Guardians but, they will be talking with each other so, I'm not worried."

"You don't need to apologize for feeling joy, Cynder. This is what I want for you, a life without fear. If you're happy, then I am happy."

"Happy? I'm excited! Which means, if I'm jumping around and excited that mean...?"

"I should be the same, Hehe."

"Exactly. So come on, let's go have some fun!"

Seeing her run towards the door, she grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and pushed the door open to the point where it almost hit the wall in the hallway. He chuckled seeing her excitement and followed her out to the hallway. Pushing the door shut with his tail blade as he entered the hallway, the door swung close and shut behind him. As he approached the other room, Cynder had already opened it and ran inside. Walking in behind her, she sat near the front of the bed and awaited for Spyro to sit next to her. Turning her head and looking at Spyro as he sat next to her, she looked at the two as they slept with smiles and now wondered if it would be best to let the two sleep, "On second thought, maybe I should just get some of this energy out by playing around in the training room... I don't want to wake the two."

"Knowing Malefor, he was probably up all night doing something he shouldn't have been doing. And by, doing something he shouldn't be doing, I done mean his lover... Actually, what am I talking about, He doesn't have the guts."

His words caused his lover to blush a little harder then he thought his words would make her blush, but he planned for this. Because of his words, Malefor and Carith blushed pretty red as well. Seeing the red blushes on their faces, he knew the two were awake, so he didn't feel bad for trying to get the two out of bed. Taking his paw off the ground, he tapped Malefor on his forehead with his claw and said, "Hey, Malefor, wake up. If you hurry, the Guardians might still be sleeping. We could prank them and have a little fun?"

Malefor grumbled as he stirred in his sleep and let slip something that meant certain death for him, "Spyro, please... I was up all night trying to make my dark army since you trust me. Let me sleep in..."

Cynder eyes widened, and so did Malefor as he realised what he said. Pulling his head up, he bit his lip not knowing what to say now. Carith sighed with a frown as well. Hearing how silent it was in the room made her believe something was about to happen between the two. Pulling her head up and opening her eyes, she looked at her lover and then back at Spyro. She wondered what his reaction would be, but she was surprised to see he just sat there and smiled. Her eyes went just as wide as everyone else's from what he had said, "You are making those weak ass little creatures again? Least it gives me something to fight for real. Just keep them away from Cynder and we will be fine."

"Wh...But... I'm the Dark Master, Spyro! I could kill you right now, remember?!" Malefor cried, standing up and putting his tail balde to his side as to threaten Spyro.

"So, let me get this straight, you've always been the Dark Master? You've just been waiting to get my trust?"

"Yes!"

"Ha... hahaha, hahahahahah!" Spyro stared to bust out into laughter which confused everyone as they wondered if he did or didn't trust him, "You have to be one, haha, whiny ass Dark Master, hahaha. You were up against the wall crying and, Hehe, thinking about the Dark Master being a whiny little bitch is hilarious! Hahahah, I'm, I'm sorry, i just, Hehe, If that was the Dark Master back there, then I really have nothing to worry about."

Malefor blushed hard as even the Girls started to giggle at him. He could only sigh with a small smile, still keeping that blush from the memory. Wiping away a tear from his eye, Spyro was able to stop himself from laughing which was a little more difficult for him, but once he did, he apologised, "Sorry, Sorry... Ahem. So, be real with me. You saying you're the Dark Master, we all know that's a lie, so tell me the truth, are you really tired or not."

"You... you really trust me... don't you?" Malefor whispered as his tail balde laid down on the bed and he felt like smiling, but he knew if he did, he would shed a tear of joy, so he didn't know how to respond.

"Do you not remember anything what happened yesterday? If you want me to go back and treat you like the Dark Master, I can, I have..."

"No no no!" Malefor quickly interjected with a cry, "I'm just... I... Yes, I am awake and ready. I actually wasn't all that tired as I slept... really, really well. The only reason I woke up is because Carith was cold."

"Same here!" Cynder cried as she was having the same problem.

"Guess I slept a lot better then I thought. When we closed our eyes to go back to bed, you two came in so we tried to get a little more sleep in. Carith wanted to talk with you, Cynder, but I trapped her with my tail, and a kiss later, she couldn't even move anymore."

"Sorry, Cynder. It was a, really, good, kiss," Carith apologized, seeing Cynder wave a paw.

"Don't worry, I would've stayed in bed as well, but I was so excited for today that I jumped out of bed. I wanted us, and Claire, to have some girl talk once again. I hope, and don't believe anything else is going to happen today so, I wanted to make today fun, since yesterday was a disaster. Well, maybe not a complete disaster but... lets hope today doesn't throw a curve ball like it almost always does."

"Oh, don't worry, there is going to be some serious drama today. That little bitch of a Red Dragon gave me a nightmare, so he's going to pay," Malefor cursed.

"Don't call my father a Bitch, especially after your little cry and tears you had yesterday, you have not right to call any one that but yourself," Spyro defended his father.

"So, you're telling me, he never gave you a nightmare, or even Cynder to a point you wanted to hit him?"

"Well... Wait, you're right! That nightmare he gave my lover when me and her were out in separate rooms!"

"There shall be blood shed today... Well, maybe not that far but... maybe a slap or punch or... something."

"We could always set his bed on fire."

"Naw. I set fire to Ignitus's tail before when he was sleeping and called him a charizard. I told him if he put the fire out, it would kill him... But he still put the fire out by slamming my head on his tail and over the fire."

"Wow... I mean, you did set his tail on fire while he was sleeping."

"Yeah... But think, he did that when I set his tail on fire. Imagine what would happen if we set his bed on fire with Claire laying there trying to sleep."

"Oh Ancestors... So, what do you suppose we do?"

"We could always embarrass him in front of his lover."

"But they aren't lover's."

"Which we can pick on him about all Damn day about."

"Oh... I like it."

"And we should probably pick on Volteer as well."

"Why are you going to pick on that poor dragon?"

"Because, it's Volteer, he's just so easy to pick on."

"Maybe later, but right now, fire power needs to be directed to Ignitus."

"Alright, fine."

Jumping off the bed and landing next to Spyro's left, he looked over at his lover and asked, "Will you two be joining us or, are you two going to just chill out up here?"

"Chill out? Nice play on words. I'm going to stay with you of course but, following behind while I talk with Cynder. If it's cold up here, it's probably cold all around the building which means I need someone warm to cuddle up to if need be," Carith said, standing up and taking a quick stretch before jumping off the bed and landing next to Cynder's right side.

"Sweet. You ready for some revenge now?" Spyro asked as he turned around with Malefor and walked towards the main door.

"I came up with the plan, of course," Malefor said.

With the two approaching the door, it opened for them, and the Girls walked behind and followed. As the four walked out of the house, the door behind them shut. Walking down to the Guardians Chambers, Spyro and Malefor spoke about their plan while the Girls talked about how happy they were the two were getting along, they just had to keep it down a little so the two wouldn't hear. The first one to say anything about it was Carith as she was very happy to both see and hear it was true, "I think I might need to pinch myself on this day. They are actually getting along. Even when Malefor joked about him staying up all night to make his dark army, Spyro didn't seem to care at all."

"Your lover isn't the greatest when it comes to lying so, I wouldn't be surprised if my lover saw through his little lie," Cynder giggled as she picked on Carith's lover, "But you are right about needing a pinch. Spyro was surprisingly calm when he first woke up. He didn't seem so tense and just like him, I slept so well... so, so well. I can't explain the feeling..."

"Oh trust me, I know what you're talking about. I slept just as well. Feeling your lover as he curls up to you and his body is smooth, his breathing is smooth, and the wing that he drapes over your back to keep you protected while you sleep is so, so enjoyable... Last night was the first night in a long time. This was the first time ever since we got back from everything that has happened... And I enjoyed every second."

"I can't believe those two forgot to warm us up though like, how dare they."

"Hehe, well, I mean, when the sleep is good, it's hard to even think about anything else aside from comfort. I was comfortable so, even though I was cold, his body still provided the warmth I needed."

"Same here with, Spyro. But it was just for one night, and even still, I would rather wake up in a cold morning then having those two fight."

"Agreed. And, with us waking up to a cold morning, we get to wake up our lover's. Oh... I can still feel it now. Even though I was cold, when he apologized and gave me that kiss, instant warmth throughout my whole body... Ancestors it was enjoyable. Hehe, he was so cute when he apologized to me. He felt terrible that he didn't warm me up while I slept."

"Yeah... Spyro was the same... And when I think about it... I wish everyday could be like that... Now we just have to hope those two stay as friendly to each other as they are now."

"I have hope that Malefor won't screw anything up. And if he does something, I will put him back in place."

"Hehe, and I will do the same with my lover."

Seeing their lover's turn into the Guardians Chambers, they turned into the room as well. They stood at the front of the door as they watched Malefor and Spyro split and walk over to different walls. Malefor enter the Chambers and sat against the wall to the right while Spyro sat against the wall on the left. Seeing the two separate, the girls had already feared for the worst as they thought something had already happened when they weren't looking. Spyro looked over at the two who still stood at the door and he asked, "Are you two going to join us?"

"Well... of course but, if something happened, we don't want to interrupt," Carith said, making both her lover and Spyro confused as she said this.

"Something happened? What happened?"

"You two aren't talking. We thought you would want to sit next to each other and talk some more. And I thought you two were going to get back at Ignitus for what he did," Cynder said, a little scared that the two were already off to the wrong start again.

"Oh, that. Of course we are still going to get back at him, we already have it planned out. As for why we aren't sitting with one another, well, two thing; I would much rather, and he would much rather, have someone next to us that we can love, kiss, and protect. And the other thing is because Malefor prefers it this way. When he came back, he sat at that wall and I sat at this wall and it's been that way ever since, so he doesn't want things to change."

The girls sighed hugely, glad to hear they didn't get into any sort of disagreement. The two guys looked at one another, wondering what they were sighing for. With everything sorted out, the two girls walked over to their respective lover's and sat down next to them. With them cuddled, the guy's draped a wing over their lover's and continued to talk to one another while the girls watched and listened as the two talked back in forth, which turned out to be quite fun to watch for them. Malefor was the first one to start the conversation as he was confused about something, "Spyro, tell me the truth. If you were able to do what Ignitus did to you back when we all fought; where he tapped his claw on your forehead and sent you flying, would you do that all the time and spam that, or use like, just your fire?"

"Hell yeah. I won't even need to use my fire or any other element for that matter if I had power like that," Spyro answered.

"Alright, so, back in the day, there was this book I read..."

"You read a book? Congrats, Malefor. Did you know you learn when you do that."

He grumbled at him for that, "Shut up... Anyway, going back, when I read this book, something or another happened and this guy he was helping train turned into a monster when he was a kid. Kinda like the apes we fight, but bigger. So, the guy found a way to stop this, transformation, by destroying the moon. He destroys the moon, and the other guy turns back to normal. But here is the crazy part, if you can destroy the damn moon, why is there even a threat?"

"A threat for a guy who destroys the moon? That's wired..."

"I know right! Maybe there was an explanation for it but, I don't remember. But this is what I'm confused about; If you have a power that can destroy the moon, why the Hell won't you use it on someone and just spam that power? I'm pretty sure the moon is not as powerful as a simple dude. But apparently, the ability was like, never used again. And, even though the moon was destroyed, another guy was like, 'Burst open and mix!', Like, what?!"

"I mean, any normal Dragon who gets thrown against a tree would have their spine snapped in half compared to how I hit them and the trees themselves snap in half so, maybe the power was like, weak or something later on."

"Moon, Busting, Power! Don't give a Damn if you are invincible, you should still feel that."

"Don't know what to tell you aside from maybe plot armor, but that's about it."

"Oh, since we are on the topic about the moon, there was this other book I read where these guys were fighting on the moon and a girl made some dude a scarf but, near the end, the antagonist, cuts the moon in half with a beam of light! The protagonist, survives it! And then he goes on to beat the enemy's ass! Like... why? If you can survive that, there is nothing you can't survive."

"What books were you reading?"

"What ever was available to keep me from getting bored... I know one was like, had a Z at the end, or, they changed it to... Kia, at the end? I don't know. This one I'm talking about has a weird name to it. Just know that the guy is named after something you could eat."

"O...Kay... Going back, maybe there's is a reason behind it and you just don't know about it."

"Point of all of this is, if you have a power that can one shot anything, use the damn thing rather then letting the fight drag on."

"Well, I might let the enemy beat your ass first, then step in and wipe everyone out."

"Please, the only thing I have to worry about is you and Ignitus... Then again, you both have someone to love... which means if they leave you..."

"Are you afraid of the dark, Malefor?"

"What? Why?"

"Nothing... just practicing for the future."

"Okay... I would be lying if I said I wasn't a little scared. Cynder, you have no plans of leaving him, do you."

She looked at her lover up and down for a second, and looking back at his face, he smiled at her which made her smile. Looking back at Malefor, she assured him, "Don't worry, he's been doing pretty well in making a women feel nice. But it isn't me you should be worried about. Last I recall, you were the one who got left by your lover and you turned into the Dark Master so..."

Everyone looked at her with wide eyes from what she had said. Even for someone like Malefor, he was at a lost for words, "Wh... Ho... Yo..."

Spyro decided to pick on him as well since he was so vulnerable right now, "Man, I don't even think a volcano can beat the burn that you just got. It's okay, Malefor, we've all been there... Well, not all of us, maybe just you. Are you sure Carith was really in a coma, or was she just faking it so she could get some time away from you?"

"Chill out, holy Hell. What did I do to you two?"

"Hehe, sorry... I want to keep this day as positive as possible as everyone has been so happy lately so, I apologize for my words."

"You... apologize...?"

"And I apologize as well. No hard feeling," Cynder also apologised, causing Malefor to point a claw at one, then the other, and then back again, completely dumbfounded that the two were apologising, "Don't worry, you aren't dreaming. Like Spyro said, want to keep this day positive so, why not keep it that way?"

"Ye... Yeah, of course. Thank you, you two," Malefor thanked with a kind and warm smile.

It surprised him to see that only did Cynder apologized, but so did Spyro. _Usually we would fight it out with one another, but now he... he apologized...? My head Is spinning and I might be going crazy,_ He thought to himself, wanting to make more conversation, but he didn't know what to say anymore. Luckily, the sound of a door opening broke him from those thoughts. Everyone looked over to see one by one, the Guardians walked out of the Chambers and sat down a little bit away from the door where they usually sit. Terrador and Volteer had slight shivers to them which made Spyro ask, "Let me guess, you all woke up cause of the cold, right?"

"Oh... yeah..." Terrador nodded, shivering from in between words.

"But I'm guessing the reason Cyril isn't shivering is because he is use to this, right?"

"One of the many perks of being an ice dragon," Cyril chuckled, as to him, this was a nice day to go outside, "Hey, Spyro, maybe if you aren't busy, we could maybe go to the back of Warfang and fight again. Maybe not all out fight because of course I would lose but, why waste this beautiful day staying inside?"

"Oh... tempting... very tempting. I will say maybe."

"Maybe? Thought you'd be all for it."

"I know I'm always up to train or fight but, you should also know that, since it is a cold day, I would feel bad if I just left Cynder in here all alone while she shivers... I would never feel good about myself."

"Ah, Spyro being Spyro, I understand."

"But now, as for the other, ice dragon, or, ice dragoness, tell me, do you like it when it is cold or warm?"

"I mean, for today, I do like it cold but, I would much rather be warm and cuddled up with, Ignitus," Claire answered honestly, but she was confused as she saw Malefor and Spyro look at one another with grins as if they were up to something, and even though she didn't understand, Ignitus did.

"How do you cuddle with, Ignitus?"

"Um... Well, how anyone would cuddle with someone they like; I put my body against his, I snuggle up to him, and sometimes, I nuzzle him underneath his neck... Wait, why are you asking? Did something happen between you and Cynder?"

"Oh no, it's just weird you say that. That's something me and Cynder did. But when we did it, it was a way to show not that we liked each other, oh no. We had much, stronger feelings when ever we snuggled up to each other. And I have to say, it must be hard for you, Claire."

"Spyro..." Ignitus whispered, waving a paw near his neck and then quickly putting his paw back down and smiling as Claire looked at him, then back at Spyro, wondering what he was saying.

"When ever me and Cynder snuggled up, it was hard for me to, only give her that, peck on the cheek. I felt bad knowing, I wasn't giving her what she deserved, what she desired. So, tell me, Claire, when you snuggle up to, Ignitus, do you ever feel like maybe you could be giving him more then a kiss on the cheek? You can't really have a good night without a... goodnight kiss, on the lip..."

"Okay, okay, okay... Okay... Fine... I'm sorry," Ignitus cried out, seeing the blush slowly grow more and more on Claire's face as Spyro talked, so he had to do something.

Spyro and Malefor looked at each other with a raised brow, wondering what he had to say to them. Ignitus let out a small sigh, and the two focused their attention back on him, ready to hear his apology, "I'm sorry, Malefor. I didn't give you that nightmare cause I wanted to, I did it because, I was afraid. I wanted you and Spyro to train to use the darkness, and I knew asking you to do something you didn't want to do wouldn't have worked."

"Ah, so you forced me?" Malefor asked.

"I wanted to push you to train, to use the darkness, and I also hoped that Spyro would see that, you really are trying to be who you are, and not what you were. I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't want to scare you, but since Carith was there, I knew you'd be fine. And I was right; all it took was your paw touching your lover's chest and you were calmed, because you knew she was there... The nightmare wasn't true, it was nothing more then a boost to help you train, and in a way, it worked. But for the part that, didn't work out too well for you, I apologize."

Malefor sighed as now he kinda felt bad, and since he was having a good day, he let him off with a warning, "Alright, fine. Your depression makes me depressed. And I did get some pretty good training and knowledge out of it so... I accept your apology. Just, next time, use your words rather then giving me a nightmare that nearly makes me turn back from fear, okay?"

"Agreed."

"Okay, you gave him an apology, now what about my lover? That nightmare you gave her," Spyro asked with a raised brow, waiting for the apology.

"And sorry to your lover as well. It was just to show the Guardians that you two should never be separated. I didn't mean for things, and doors, to hit the wall from what happened."

"Wall? Wait, what all happened on that day? You were in Warfang so, I couldn't really spy on you two," Malefor asked.

"Creep," Spyro chuckled.

"Dude, Dark Master, not me."

"Oh really! It's almost like I already knew that."

"Just making sure! Holy Hell. Just wanted to know what happened."

"Who you talking to with that language."

"Language?! Last I checked, you told me to, 'Stay the Hell away from her', that being Cynder when I invaded Warfang. It's because of you this bad language has been flying around."

"At least I keep things alive and let them fly around."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"More things would be flying around if it weren't for you, if you know what I mean."

"Wha..."

Everyone hissed through their teeth from that as they looked over at Malefor to see his reaction, and the wrinkles as he showed his teeth and clenching his eyes from anger gave everyone the information to know how he felt about that. Pulling up and balling his fist, he wanted nothing more to strangle him right about now, "What happened to, oh this is a good day, lets keep it like that! You're a Bitch dude, I was having a good day up until you did that."

"Alright, chill out, I'm sorry. When did you get so butt hurt?"

"I'm, not, butt hurt."

"Are you, chest hurt?"

"What does that even mean?"

"Oh, yeah, you wouldn't know. It's when your lover lays down on top of you, and her chest lays on yours, guess it's never happened to you."

"I've laid on Carith's chest before, don't act like I haven't. I'm older then you and I've been with Carith longer then you've been with Cynder, so I know how to make my lover feel good, Alright."

"Funny, you've been with Carith longer then I've been with Cynder yet, you are at the same stage I am? How does that make you feel?"

Malefor blushed along with his lover as he knew what he was implying. He didn't really have a way to respond to that conversation without revealing something embarrassing, or something his lover would catch on to. So instead of saying anything to fight back against it, he stayed silent and ignored what the conversation was about. But as he tried to ignore it, the more he thought about it, and same went for Carith. _Spyro right! What if, I don't make my move and become her mate sooner, and she dumps me for someone else?! And if I'm having these thoughts, what if she is as well!_ Malefor cried to himself, picking his head up a little from this realisation. Carith was having thoughts about whether or not Malefor did care to be her mate, but she couldn't think for long as her lover started a conversation just to break the two from their thoughts, "So, Spyro, when do you think we could ever train again? I know Cynder probably doesn't want you to go through something like that again, and I don't want to scare Carith so, what do you feel like doing?"

Spyro already saw through what he was trying to do and had thoughts about not saying anything just for his plan to fail, but he did feel bad for bringing up what he did and joined in on the conversation, "Well, for today, I just feeling like chilling out. Every time we have times to just, do nothing, we always do something. But then again, I'm afraid if I do nothing, Ignitus over here will give me a nightmare because he wants me to do something else."

"Hehe..." Ignitus chuckled and apologized again, "Once again, I'm truly sorry. But don't worry, I shouldn't need to cause anymore nightmares for today, or hopefully in the future."

"Wait, you are the one that causes nightmares?" A voice emerged from the entrance, and as everyone looked over, they saw it was the three Guardian looking teens, and the one who spoke was Blitz, "I had a nightmare a year ago that made me think I woke up as a female and that a bunch of dragons were hitting on me, and no matter what I said, they didn't leave me alone me... Ancestors that was a scary dream... Oh! My apologies! I shouldn't have spoken first without being respectful. Good morning Guardians, purple dragons, and friends."

"Hehe, Blitz, that isn't necessary. Don't worry, we are all pretty chill around here. I promise, you have nothing to fear. And as for your nightmare, a year ago, I wasn't the one controlling those dreams, but, I've seen and read of your past, and I know why you had that nightmare."

"Wait, what?! You know my past? You... You read my past?! But more importantly, you know why I had that nightmare?!"

"Indeed. The nightmare was supposed to show you that you shouldn't be so strong when trying to find a girlfriend. Those dragons that were trying to get to you was basically you, and the female role you were in was how they felt when you keep pushing a conversation constantly. You need to take things a little slower rather then rushing things."

"Oh! That makes sense. That would explain why those girls left after we had a little talk with them."

"Wait. So, those females, you invited them in the Guardians Building? There were a couple of Girls who walked past us days ago and I wondered why they were up here. This was back when Volteer was teaching us a, shocking, technique. Were they going over to you three?" Spyro asked as it now made sense to him as he was confused about why those females were in the building.

"Hehe, yeah, sorry. We were chilling out down there and told the girls were we would be. I am very sorry, Guardians, I said that I was cool with you four, and the legendary purple dragon, to try and get them to talk to me... it didn't work out unfortunately... But I guess I now know that I need to keep my mouth from running to much to get a girl."

"That makes so much more sense now," Malefor also agreed with Spyro, but it also brought up some more questions, "Wait a minute, you guys have been spending nights here? In the Guardians Building?"

Blitz and the other two felt a little bad as they have been doing it for a while without even asking, and he apologized for doing so, "We are terribly sorry. We didn't really think much of it, and after helping save Warfang, I guess it kinda got to me. I've always looked up to you all, the Guardians. You were able to take on armies, and you protected everyone in Warfang so many times now. Once should've been enough, but you four were always there to protect everyone... well, aside from Ignitus... where were you?"

"I was off doing something else that was very important," Ignitus chuckled, but he was quickly single out.

"He sat in his own building and watched as I and Cynder fought the Dark Master, and the Guardians struggled to survive. Even after the Dark Master stabbed his way into both me, and Volteer's chest, Ignitus didn't even bother to help either of us," Spyro chuckled, and the way he put it made Ignitus feel a little bad about himself, and in order to defend his honor, he explained what had happened.

"No, that's not what happened... kinda. Basically, I wanted nothing more then to help, but here is the thing. Being the Chronicler, I can't fight the darkness, that being the Dark Creatures as I can't attack them unless they attack me, and even if they do, and I kill back, it would still cause problems. I know it is strange to here and it is complicated. And if I wanted to help Spyro with his battle... I would've caused an event that would've killed nearly everyone..."

"Wow... You all have been through a lot, haven't you," Blitz interrupted him, now understanding the pressure they all had to go under.

"Well, Malefor didn't have the best of friend back then. His betrayal led to what he believed was his lover's death, so, by showing myself, it would've made the Dark Master take full control over him. Longer story made short, I couldn't do anything but watch. Carith was safe, and because of you three, The Guardians were able to go back there and help."

"That's why we've been fine with you three staying up here when ever you have. Me and Cyril were out here and we saw you two walk by. We didn't say anything because we feel like you three deserve the best for your help," Terrador thanked which made the three friends faces light up with smiles, "Don't be afraid to come up here anytime. Just uh, maybe to avoid starting any drama, don't tell everyone you know the purple dragon. They will only go after him and not you for reasons."

"Oh, yes, of course! We promise sir, Terrador... I mean, just, Terrador," Blitz thanked happily, trying not to jump up and down and embarrass himself.

"Hehe... You know, you three have put on a little muscle since we last saw you three. Have you all been working out?"

"Yeah, Sesal's dad is an Earth dragon so we ask him if we can train and he is always down for some training. We train outside the walls of Warfang, but don't worry, we stay very close to the walls so the moles can warn us, or, if we get attacked, Sesal's dad can throw up a wall and we can fly back into the walls."

"As long as you three are safe. But I have to ask, what are you all training for?"

"Never know when there will be another attack on Warfang. We have to be ready to fight by your side. I say we are pretty ready but, I'm also hoping we don't get attacked again, hehe. The time with the Destroyer was a scary experience, and the whole thing with all those Dark Creatures was fun and all but, there was still many building destroyed after that battle, so it was a pain helping rebuild."

"You... You three helped rebuild some of the buildings?"

"Well, of course. We knew you all couldn't because of what you all went through, so we decided to pitch in and help. We got some work done but, man, those moles really love to work. It's amazing how much work they can do with just a hammer. It's kinda like watching an upgrade; They hit away at the building, but there is no timer above it to show how much longer you have to wait."

The Guardians were all very surprised to see how much of a help those three were during and after the battle, and as Ignitus and Terrador looked at one another, they both knew exactly what one another was thinking. _Bring Spyro to the back room so we can discuss something with him. Let's just say, I've checked, and these three would be perfect for the future,_ Ignitus said through his thoughts to Terrador's, and he nodded at his red friend. Pecking Claire on her cheek, she smiled at him and asked, "What was that for?"

"I'm going to be right back. Me and Terrador need to discuss something with Spyro in private," Ignitus explained.

"Alright, hurry back though... I want another one of those soon."

Pecking him on his cheek, he smiled as she pulled back and smiled back at him. Walking to the back room, Terrador looked over at Spyro and asked, "Hey, Spyro, me and Ignitus want to talk to you real quick. Can you come to the back room with us real quick."

"What? Why just me?" Spyro asked.

"We will let everyone else know later of your decision."

He sighed, "Alright."

Pecking his lover on the lips, he pulled back and whispered, "Be right back."

"You better," Cynder giggled.

Walking away from her, Spyro stopped, looked at Blitz, and threatened him, "You do anything or say anything to her, I will snap you like a twig. Malefor, tell me if he does anything."

Blitz swallowed hard from that, and as Spyro walked away to the back room, Malefor looked at Blitz with an evil smile and said, "Sure, do, Spyro."

* * *

Entering the room, Ignitus and Terrador were sitting next to one another.

"Shut the door behind you, please," Terrador said, and Spyro obeyed.

Shutting the door behind himself with his tail blade, it clicked shut. With the door shut, Spyro asked, "So what did you need me for?"

"Spyro, we wanted to, talk to you. Me and Ignitus have both seen it and, well, we wanted to know your input on our idea. In case anything ever happened to us, we would like for those three to take up the mantle of Guardians." Terrador said with a smile as he thought it was a fantastic idea, but the shiver he saw from Spyro made him instantly regret asking.

"Sorry, I... I don't think I heard you right," Spyro slightly growled.

"Ignitus checked and those three would be perfect to be Guardians. And, we were hoping that you would train the three in case something ever happened to us. What do you think?"

"This conversation is over. Don't ever bring this up ever again."

"Spyro, wait. We just... we know things aren't as easy as they seem, and it's, just in case, that's all."

"Just in case?! What would make them becoming Guardians any better?! Why should I train them when I should be training the ones who are already Guardians!"

"We aren't saying that we are giving up being Guardians, we just... It's just in case, Spyro."

"Terrador... when we walk out there, you, me, and Ignitus, we all forget this was ever a conversation, understand?!"

"Spyro, you aren't understanding."

"No! You aren't understanding! You never put forth the effort to keep yourself safe! You're throwing someone else's life into the life of a Guardian because you know you are all weak, and you won't do a damn thing about it! If you were looking for a lover, Terrador, would you want her to know you are a dead beat who put his job to another, younger, dragon?!"

"Spyro..."

"Oh that's right, I'm not Ignitus, so you won't listen to me when I say something. And there is no point in threatening you, I wouldn't get any fun out of beating such a worthless excuse of a Guardian!"

"This isn't something you can avoid Spyro! One day, we will all be dead! You think the world is at peace?! We took one step out of Warfang and got attacked! Others are still dying out there while we sit her, blinded by this, fake peace!"

"Well it's a good thing I was born then. The Guardians have never done anything to show they were worthy of that title. Couldn't save their own friend, couldn't save their parents, and couldn't save Hatchlings."

"Spyro..." Ignitus murmured seeing the tears run down his son's eyes.

"Fine. Since you've already given up on life, I will train them. Just don't show your face until you clean that pathetic off your face," Spyro spat.

Turning away from the two, he threw the door open and Terrador tried to get him to stay, "Spyro, wait...!"

He ignored them and walked out of the room. Ignitus and Terrador looked at one another with concerned looks, and knowing he left in anger, they knew they had to catch up to him quick and try to talk him out of it. Walking towards the door and out of the room, they stood next to one another and watched as their words had gotten to him. Spyro stood in front of them with slight tears and anger, and before they could ask what happened, he commanded them, "The three of you are going to follow me, understand!"

"Uh... yes, sir," Blitz shivered, not understanding what was happening, but he obeyed as if his life depended on it.

Walking out of the room, the three of them followed. Cynder tired to call out, but he was already too far for him to hear her, "Spyro..."

With the four of them gone, everyone focused their attention over to the other two, wondering what they had said to make him so mad. Terrador sat down with a frown and a sigh as he explained, "We thought it would've been a good idea at the time."

"What happened?"

Ignitus sat down as well as he knew it was too late. He didn't want Terrador to take all the blame, so he spoke for what happened as well, "We... I've seen and read their past, and with everything they done, I thought it would be a good idea to tell Spyro that those three would make great Guardians one day..."

"What?" Malefor growled as he interrupted Ignitus, "There can't be more then one element from a Guardian, so what are you implying?"

"The world out there isn't all as peaceful as we all think. In case anything ever happened, we would've wanted those three to take over our place as Guardian."

"Why?! Why are you so worried about death?! After everything Spyro did to make the world peaceful, how joyful he was, and you're just going to crush and destroy everything he did by bringing up the fact that nothing mattered; Because you all will still die and the world will never be peaceful, are you joking right now?"

"It... It was only a precaution, it doesn't mean it will happen."

"And yet, you sound so sure it will happen! Tell me the truth, Ignitus, who is going to die? Who are you preparing us to die?!"

"No, no one is going to die... But, Malefor, remember what is out there. There will always be some form of darkness, and at some point, we will not be strong enough to defend everyone, and if it comes to protecting everyone at the cost of our lives, we will give up our lives to protect everyone. That is the whole point of being a Guardian."

"Oh, it's the point?! Then why didn't you push yourself to come and save me when I flew away after I thought Carith had died?! Where were you four then? Spyro's been getting as strong as possible to protect everyone and you just told him to his face that everything he has done is pointless, and no matter what he does, you'll die anyway?! I can't even believe you two. Come one, Carith, Spyro needs us right now."

Turning and walking out of the Guardians Chambers, Carith followed behind, and quickly followed Cynder. Putting his paws over his face, Terrador sighed hugely as he didn't know saying something like this would cause such a big fuss, but Ignitus did see it was a possibility. While Terrador put his paws back down to the ground, Volteer didn't want to make the situation worse, but he did agree with everyone else about the whole situation, "I'm not surprised by Spyro's reaction. When it came down to how much power he had, he used his time ability to save me instead of helping himself. He tries and tries to make everyone safe and happy, and to throw it out that at some point it wouldn't matter... I'm sorry if I aggravate you two any more then you already are but... it's true."

"I know... We all know the darkness is out there, and I'm just guessing that one day, we will have to fight it again. While we are sitting here, laughing it up and having a good time, this new dark master could be making an army of apes and Dark Forces. If Spyro sees the dark creatures, we don't know what he will do to, Malefor. And if those two are fighting, we will have to deal with that, another Dark Master, apes, and Dark Creatures... it's just... I... I don't know... we aren't strong enough to handle all of that."

"Then, isn't that the whole point of us sitting around and joking?" Cyril asked, seeing a confused look on Terrador's face.

"What do mean?" Terrador asked.

"Well, I mean, Malefor and Spyro were getting along pretty well. And you even heard him, Spyro knows he isn't the Dark Master anymore, and he trust him. So, if they just sit around, talk and joke, wouldn't that help them become closer and closer to being friends? And if they do become friends, things could be a whole lot easier then you are making out this future war to be."

"He's right. Spyro is strong enough, so he deals with the new Dark Master, Malefor supports the other three so they can fight off either the Dark Creatures while we all fight the Apes. Malefor is pretty strong so they could clean up the Dark Creatures before we kill all of our enemies and he and his team can fly over and support us. Problem solved. We all go to bed, exhausted, but alive," Volteer already had a plan laid out for the four of them if they were to ever be attacked in such a way.

"But that is such a big if. Spyro needs to trust Malefor enough, Spyro needs to be powerful enough to take on the new Dark Master himself, and we all have to be strong enough to take on an army that could be the size of the one we fought when all those Dark Creatures invaded Warfang. Everything has to be in place for such a thing to work. Just like with what happened back then; One thing wrong, Ignitus interfering, just one thing wrong, someone would've died. And if we are put in that situation again... There is no telling if one of us will make it out alive," Terrador murmured, making the other three frown as well as he did seem right.

"If you guys were going to be like this, I should've just killed you three then and spared Ignitus's life as I did," Claire spoke, making the Guardians look at her, wondering what she meant by that, "If you aren't going to put forth the effort, then why bother doing anything at all? If you all are going to think like that, why do you bother breathing to save your life? How about you do something about it and train like every one else to keep something from happening rather then giving up? After all... I could've given up and let myself... kill, Ignitus. But I fought it, I pushed through and told myself I could be happy, and with Ignitus's help, I'm as happy as I want to be. So, are you all going to fight and do something about it, or give up?"

The Guardians all looked at one another as her words were a lot more helpful then she thought they would be, and it didn't take long for her to convince everyone, "Volteer, why are you going to give up when Ersa could be out there? If she is still alive, that means she hasn't given up, and neither should you. You think she would like someone who gave up on her and life?"

"Hehe, I was never for the idea of giving up. That was Terrador and Ignitus," Volteer chuckled, and puffing out his chest, he said, "And you are right about one thing, I do need to work out more if I want to keep this chest out with muscles to look strong for my mate... I mean lover...! Okay... both."

"What about you, Terrador? Surely one day you'd like to find love. Giving up won't get you the sweet feeling of your lover kissing you."

Terrador sighed and everyone's words and reactions had finally gotten to him, "Alright, Alright, fine. I do owe everyone an apology, especially Spyro. I know he has been through a lot, and he has tried everything he can to keep us safe. I guess if we keep pushing him to get stronger, he might be as strong as you, Ignitus. And, if we all train with him, maybe it will help ease all of our minds."

"That's the spirit," Cyril said happily, "Maybe you should put some more muscle on too. I remember when Spyro was young and your muscles were bigger than his head."

"Hehe, yeah."

Looking over at Ignitus, she raised a brow and said, "I know you better not be giving up. There was this really cute guy I met. If you really are giving up, I can tell him I'm on for that date."

"No! No no no, of course not. I wasn't giving up. All Terrador's idea... He forced me..." Ignitus chuckled nervously, quickly denying all allegations against him.

"Smooth dude," Terrador chuckled along with the other Guardians.

"Good," Pecking him on the check, he blush slightly with a slight smile, and as she pulled away, she whispered, "I want more."

"Hopefully everything will go well, and when we come back, I will give you as many as you like."

"Looking forward to it."

Now with everyone agreeing about what they should do, the five walked out of the Guardians Chambers and to the training room where Ignitus knew they would be. As they were walking, Ignitus even explained where everyone was, and he shivered as he saw what kind of training he was putting them through, "They are up in the training room along with the other four... And Spyro is not going easy on them... When we get up there, Terrador, me and you will try and talk him down, okay?"

"Agreed," Terrador nodded as he felt bad for everything he said and thought about how he could make the apology the best he could.

* * *

With Sesal on the ground, Bolt shivering from the pain he was in, and Blitz barley able to stay in the air, the three dragons were all out of breath as they fought their own dark dragon. They knew they were beaten in both strength and stamina as the dark dragons didn't even seem to have lost a breath. Even with some slashes and cuts they got on the dragons, they knew it wasn't enough to take out the dark dragon. Not giving them more time to regain their stamina, Spyro made the dark dragon attack the remaining two, and they weren't ready. The first dark dragon attacked Blitz by elbowing him in the back of the head, knocking him out of the air and sending his body onto the training room floor. Bolt took a stab to the chest and fell to the ground when the dark dragon took his tail balde out of him. The three laid on the ground, groaning in pain and begging for a break.

"Alright... Spyro... I'm... I'm tapping out," Bolt grumbled, barley able to stand nor breath.

Malefor, his lover and Cynder made it to the training room and walked into it. Standing by the door, they looked to see Spyro walking to the middle of the training room, lecturing them about what they did, "You can't take out some simple dark dragons?! If this was a real fight, you'd all be dead! So, get up like your life depends on it! You say your the saver of Warfang because you killed some dark creatures?! I've killed thousands on my journey! Now, get up and fight!"

The three dragons struggled to stand, and with all his might, Blitz was able to stand, but was quickly knocked back down by the dark dragon as he slashed the right of his cheek. As his side hit the ground, he begged for a break, "Spyro... please... it's becoming... hard to... breath."

He snarled at the way the three fought. The dark dragons all looked at Spyro and rushed him. Everyone watched as the dark dragons rushed him, and he did nothing. As they stabbed their tail blades into him one by one from different angles, everyone gasped. Pulling up his own tail blade, he slit the throat of one with his tail blade. Swinging his tail blade around, he stabbed it into the other dark dragon's neck, and at the same time, he used his claws to dig his paw right through the last dark dragon's chest. The three dark dragons cried out in pain before exploding into a cloud of dark smoke and disappearing. Blood dripped down his body from where he was stabbed, but he ignored the pain and continued to lecture the three, "All you had to do was take the attack! When one stabs you, he thinks he has the upper paw, but with him close to you, you have the freedom to use your tail blade any way you like. None of you have even mastered your abilities yet!"

Sitting himself up, Blitz looked down at the ground with a frown as he still felt just as weak as when he first met Spyro. Walking over to Blitz, Spyro tapped a claw on his shoulder causing an hour glass to appear. Turning the hourglass all the way around, he then pushed it back into his body, completely healing him of all his wounds and blood stains. He walked around and did the same to his other two friends. Cynder shivered seeing such an angered side of him, and even though she knew why, she still wanted to know if she was right by asking the other two, "This isn't anger. He's sad, and confused. What do you two think?"

"From what the Guardians said to him, I'm not surprised. I don't think he is angry to say. If he was, he wouldn't heal them. Instead, he would just make those three keep fighting," Malefor agreed with her feeling towards the situation, and watching as Spyro healed the last friend, his sigh only confirm it, "He's stressed to say the least. You know, if you go out there and give him a really good lock lips kiss, you might be able to help him out a lot, and probably save the lives of those three."

"Yeah... I'm going to go and talk with, Spyro. He will talk to me."

The three stood in front of Spyro in a line with their backs facing the wall, wondering what he was going to have him fight next, and he gave him the run down of what he was going to do, "Alright, we will start off a little simple and work our way up. You three will fight one dark dragon, then we will move on to two, then three again in one continuous cycle without a break. If you lose and can't win the three fights in a row, you'll restart, and restart, and restart, until you three get it right, understand?"

The all wanted to say something as they wanted a break, and even with the heal he gave the three, they still didn't feel up to it. Luckily, backup was on the way as Cynder walked up right next to her lover. She nuzzled him gently on the side of his neck, and pulling away, she looked at him with a nervous look, scared he might be doing a little much for the three. Spyro sighed and said in a little softer tone, "Take five you three. I will give you this break, but we will be back to it in a couple of minutes, understand."

The three all let out a huge sigh of relief as they fell to the floor, but they all thanked Spyro in unison, "Thank you, Spyro."

The three were able to slowly get up and walk over to the other two who stood near the door, but it did take some time as all they wanted to do was sit down and rest. Looking at her, he felt bad for the way he treated those three and he apologized in advance for that, "I'm sorry you had to see that. I'm just... I don't understand, Cynder. Does this mean that everything I do will be for nothing. What if all my training can't even protect you, and I lose everyone I love and care for... what do I do?"

"Spyro, if there is one thing you've taught me out of everything, it's that, even when things seem impossible, as long as you don't give up, you can do it," Cynder assured her lover with a smile, and as she sat, he sat as well, "Like with our love, after our fight with the dark master, twice, and your near death experiences. We never gave up, and we were able to over come any obstacle. I know you won't give up because you have someone to protect, remember? Or... do I need to make you remember what you are fighting for."

"Hehe... I remember, but... can you make sure I remember?"

"Oh, I think I can make sure."

Moving her head, closing his eyes, and locking lips with her lover's, she could feel the stress slowly wash away from him as the kiss slowly became better and better the longer they kissed one another. As Cynder went to pull away, Spyro pushed back into the kiss to her surprise, and she even had a slight shiver of pleasure go down her spine as it was an enjoyable surprise to her. This time, he pulled away from the kiss and smiled at her. Opening her eyes, he did the same, and she smiled back at him and asked, "Feel better?"

"Much, much better... But, I need to know, from you... do you think I will fail? Do you think that a day will come when I won't be strong enough, and one of the Guardians will pay with their lives?"

She shuck her head and answered honestly, "With how powerful you are, I'm not afraid. You were able to take everyone out. And even though you didn't take out Malefor, he gave up, remember, so he might be a lot stronger then we think. You and Malefor make a fantastic team. I know there is nothing you two can't face. But when you need to face something, Malefor will be there with you to face it head on."

"Hehe, don't worry, Cynder, I trust Malefor enough not to kill him... maybe even more then that. You are right; I don't know what he is fully capable of. He might not be as far off from me in power which could help ensure everyone is safe, but I won't know for sure until we one day have a little brawl against one another, but... I will let it slide for today. I don't want to hurt him, and I've already used three of my time powers which... I'm kinda feeling the pain."

"I hope you have another one to heal yourself."

"Unfortunately, I don't think I do. If I use another one, it will be pretty painful on me."

A white circle appeared underneath him and made it's way up his body. As it moved past his wounds and blood, it healed him, and made all the blood disappear. As the ring reached the top of his horns, it disappeared. Spyro snarled slightly as he knew exactly who did it, but he didn't want to look back to see who it was. Ignitus and Terrador stood behind the two, and as Cynder looked back at the two, she asked, "What do you two want?"

"We want to... apologize," Terrador spoke, and seeing Spyro lift his head slightly, he knew he was interested to hear what he had to say, "We, and the other Guardians talked about it. We weren't easy when it came to telling you what we had thought. Now that I think back about what I had said, it made it sound like nothing you did would matter but... I realised how wrong I was in saying that."

His words made Spyro warm up to him a little more. He turned and looked at Terrador while he continued to apologize, "If it wasn't for your training and trust, Malefor would've died, and you saved him that day. Even after what the Dark Master did. You saved all of us when we were captured because of your training, and you saved the whole world because of your training. Also, with many thanks to your lover for keeping you safe."

"Tell me the truth," Spyro spoke to the two, and they were surprised, but they didn't say anything as they wanted to let him speak, "Ignitus... are you saying this because someone is about to die? You wanted to help me prepare for the future before with everything that happened before. What are you trying to tell me? What ever it is, I need to know. Even if it has to do with the darkness, I will... I can hold back my anger towards, Malefor... I... I trust him."

"I can promise you, no one is going to die, from what I know of. I'm not certain of the future, but as of right now, I can say for certain we are not in any danger. The only real threat we have is the apes of course, and those dark spots that those dragons got a hold of that one time, but that was it. And even still, you showed you could handle everything, so I'm sure we aren't in any danger," Ignitus answered honestly, and he is glad he did as he saw his son put a paw on his chest and sigh hugely, "Hehe, don't worry, nothing is going to happen today from what I can see. We only wanted to tell you of what we thought."

Putting his paw back to the ground, Spyro shuck his head and disagreed with them, "It's funny. If you can see everything, Ignitus, then why can't you see that I will never let anything happen to you all?"

They gave warm smiles to hear him say that, and to see that he had calmed down which was good for everyone as well. Looking past the Guardians and over at the three friends, he saw they chuckling with the others and Blitz trying to size up Malefor. Looking back at the Guardians, he did agree with them about one thing, "I will agree with you on one thing, those three do have potential. And when I mean by that, that doesn't mean they will become the Guardians but... They aren't as weak as they appear. Guessing that all out brawl we gave them helped a lot as well."

"It didn't seem like they were training for all that long. I know it took us a little to get up here but, did they really do that well?" Terrador asked.

"Well, I didn't make it easy on them. I made them basically fight the Dark Master worth of strength. They were able to hold off pretty well for a little bit of time; Getting a few scrapes and slashes at the dark dragons, and even though they had failed, I'm surprised they tried to stand. I didn't even tell them about your plan. I just said I wanted to train them, that's all... And it will stay that way, understand?"

"Of course. We are sorry for the trouble we have caused. You are right though, we do need to train. So, I owe you one. When ever you need us to train, all of us Guardians, we will. Hehe, well, maybe not like, first thing in the morning but, we will be up and ready. Sound fair enough?"

"Sounds fantastic. And... I'm sorry as well, for what I said back there. That was... uncalled for. I know it wasn't your fault. You tried all you could. I don't even know if I could've been able to take on the Dark Master, apes, and dark creatures, all in an effort to protect all the eggs..."

"How do you...?"

"Ignitus told me what had happened. It also gave me some information on what could've happened to Ersa but, nothing super helpful. But, going back to what happened, I need those Guardians back, the ones who could take on an army and still be able to fight with their lives. I mean, I can't really ask Ignitus this because he doesn't need to train but, Terrador... If one of those eggs belong to you because you had one with your loved, what would you have done?"

"I... I can't say... I don't want to think about it."

"That's the point, you can't think about it. You would do everything you could to make sure you are strong enough to protect that Hatchling of yours. To me, all of you are my family. I have to keep my family safe like how someone would keep their hatchling safe. If you, Cyril, or Volteer find love one day, you will understand why I push myself every single day. It is tough, but nothing comes close to the permanent pain of losing someone."

Terrador understood where he was coming from with what he was saying, and even though Ignitus didn't need training, he wish he could just in case something ever happened. When Spyro thought about his words, he wonder what Volteer would've done, and since Ignitus could hear his thoughts, he explained to him what happened, "You know you are right about what you are thinking about, Spyro."

"What? About Ersa and Volteer?"

"Even though those two were working constantly on trying to work to bring Malefor back and, other projects, Volteer would always find spare time to train. He thought the same way you did. He trained and trained because he was afraid that something would happen one day... Even though he wasn't successful, he was a very, very valuable in the help of defending what we could of the Dragon Temple. He was strong, smart, a quick thinking; He was everything you'd want in a fight. To be honest, me and him were pretty close in strength. Terrador of course being the strongest. Cyril was kinda a lazy little dragon."

"Hehe, poor Cyril... But this proves my point. Does that mean I need to help you get a dragoness in order for you to train, Terrador? Or... What is it that will make you become the strong dragon that didn't take anything from anyone?"

"I guess I can't really hide it but... it does feel pretty lonely. Malefor, you, and Ignitus all have someone to care for and I guess I'm just, a little jealous. I wish I had someone to protect the way you all do, but I've already had a bad experience with relationships in the past, and after that one bad experience I just, never really wanted to go through something like that again. Already had my heart broken once, don't really feel like going through that again."

"Terrador, there is someone out there for you," Cynder stepped in as she hoped she could provide some help to him, "I mean, look at Spyro. It took us saving the world, him saving me a couple hundred times and a journey from Hell and back for us to be lovers. Hehe, obviously, you could also take the easy route and just fall in love naturally like Malefor and Carith did. Ignitus helped Claire with her past and they've become lovers..."

"We... we aren't..."

"Oh shut up, even a girl like me sees the desperation in your eyes. Not wanting to kiss her and comfort her in a loving way is difficult, isn't it?" Cynder shut Ignitus up, and all he could do was blush as she was right by saying.

"How did you two do it back then? The thing with the arrow when Spyro was hit, when ever you thought you hurt him, but it was just an arrow... how did you two not kiss one another out of comfort. Even when I was comforting Claire out in the rain I... it took everything in me to hold back a gentle, ever so loving kiss for her... What if that was the right thing for me to do and I messed everything up?!"

"Um... Ignitus... Claire is right... behind you," Spyro snickered slightly, but his words caused Ignitus to jumped slightly as he looked behind himself to see she was all the way over near the entrance talking with Carith.

Looking back at his son, he yelled at him, "Don't scare me like that!"

"Sorry, Ignitus, Spyro did get you there. But going back, all it takes is that special moment. Hopefully you don't have to wait as long as we did because... that was... tough, not being able to kiss Spyro with the love I wanted to show him. But, when you do have the moment, things line up perfectly, and it is the most, amazing, heartwarming, body shivering with pleasure inducing kiss you will feel. And it gets better and better the more you kiss your lover."

"Ugh..." Ignitus whimpered, slightly blushing and making a sad looking face as now he wanted to kiss Claire even more, but he held it back with everything in his power.

"You know, Spyro, Malefor acted the same way you did to our... uncalled for plan. When we told him about it, he was just as upset and didn't even want to talk to us. Sounds like you two would get along pretty well, not wanting anyone to die and all," Terrador hinted at it a little, and seeing a big sigh escaped Spyro's mouth as he grinned, he wondered if he already had his mind made up.

"Oh for the love of Ancestors, im not going to kill that poor Dragon, alright? I'm sure I already said I trusted him as well. Don't make me keep saying it. It gives me chills just thinking about his smile... But it also kinda makes me smile to see him happy. But don't tell him that, that stays here, and when we make another conversation, we forget what I said," Spyro slipped up and said, but as he did, he regretted saying that.

"Sorry, Spyro. Everything you've said has already been written in your book so, if Malefor one day goes back to that place, he will know everything you've said about him, even this conversation," Ignitus chuckled seeing the fear on Spyro's face.

"Then before I slip up and say something else, lets just go back and talk with those others. I still need to apologize to the three for what I did."

"Well, don't feel too bad. You did get some training in them so, maybe it will help them out in the long run?"

"Hopefully."

Just before the two could turn back, Spyro asked, "Ignitus, wait!"

"What?"

"The training room... How is it all fixed again?"

"My clone fixed it up over night. Pretty simple fix to be honest."

"Oh, okay."

Walking back over to the others with his lover next to him and the other two following behind, everyone stopped their conversations and looked to see the two were walking over to them. Blitz stood in front of everyone, causing the other four to stop in front of him. They didn't have to ask or wonder for long as he had already spoken before they could, "Spyro, don't be mad at the Guardians. Even if they wanted us to be Guardians, we would've declined."

"Wha... Who told you this?" Spyro asked, and looking at Volteer, he very scarily raised his paw.

"We are very glad you trained us and all but, the Guardians were just looking at things as a worse case. But I know you, you'd never lose a fight; Not to the Dark Master, not to the dark army, not even to the apes. To be honest, I want to be more like you. You're strong, protective, and... You have a smoken hot girl to go with you."

Cynder giggled while Spyro raised his paw ready to slap him, but he quickly apologized, which made Spyro bring his paw back down, "Sorry, Sorry, please don't hurt me. The point is, no one can replace the Guardians. It wouldn't feel right being a Guardian. I like the Guardians we have now. Which one would sound better; Bolt, the yellow Guardian, or, Volteer, the yellow Guardian? It's one of those things where, no matter who you put in their place, Volteer will always be the yellow Guardian for us, along with the others."

Sighing from hearing his words, Spyro chuckled a little as he talked about the Guardians, "You know, it's funny. There was never a purple Guardian and yet, I was still one... But, Blitz, in order to be, me, it takes a lot of training. I saved the Guardians when I was ten, I saved Cynder when I was ten, and I stopped the Dark Master when I was thirteen. I went through a lot to get where I am."

"Well, we still technically have the Dark Master so, I can always fight him when ever. Beating up dark creatures and killing apes aren't a problem, I've been there done that. As for saving someone I love... I'm pretty screwed on that. I mean, of course I have my parents but uh... that would be one weird ass relationship."

"Gross."

"No kidding. But now the problem is, even if I saved her, how would I save her, what if I do something wrong... why does she need saving? How did it go for you all?

"Well, lets see. I saved Cynder from her dark self. Ignitus saved Claire by helping her have a life again, and Malefor... Well, we still don't know how Carith came back so it's still a mystery about that. But, he did use the time power on her so, maybe it has something to do with that that saved her."

"Yeah, speaking of," Malefor interrupted, looking over at Ignitus with a raised brow as he was confused about something, "Ignitus, when I was at the Dragon Temple, you showed me Carith was alive and well, but then she disappeared... Carith, before I continue, know I love you, and I know it isn't true, but... How do I know you aren't using the same trick on me now, only permanently?"

"You think I'm a... clone?" Carith asked, shocked her lover would think such a thing.

"No no no. My Love, I know you aren't a clone. I just wanted to ask."

"Well, Malefor, there are multiple reasons why. One; No way anyone in this world could have that much power. Using that ability takes a lot of power. Two; I can make clones, but not realistic clones. If you were to kiss her, you wouldn't feel anything. The only thing you could feel is her scales, that's it. And Lastly... I can't believe you would call your lover a clone like... Malefor, why?" Ignitus teased him more, and seeing Malefor look at his lover as she frowned and looked away from him made it even better.

He knew an easy way to make her feel better. Looking down at his lover, he whispered to her, hoping this would get her spirits back, "Where and for how long do you want to kiss?"

She looked at him, just barely with her lips in front of his as the only thing that touched were their noses. Smiling with almost an evil grin, she already had the perfect idea for what she wanted, "For calling me a clone, I'm going to make you know I'm not. You can only feel my scales if I was. So, how about you feel those lips of yours on mine for a good thirty minutes, and when you finally escape, tell me if I'm a clone or not."

Seeing those two smile as they had everything planned out made Cynder jealous as she now started to pick on her lover, "You know, now that we talk about the whole clone, thing, I kinda wonder if my lover is a clone. I only ever feel his scales and that's about it."

Turning his head over to her, he smiled at her and asked, "Oh, and what of that kiss I gave you this morning."

"Oh... Oh... Okay... never mind. When can I have another though?"

"You two are terrible. Forgetting to kiss your lover and all," Ignitus joked, but as he said it, the look on Spyro and Malefor's face as they looked at one another instantly sent regret through his body.

"Like you would know, Ignitus," Spyro spoke first.

"It's not like you ever kiss your lover in the lips," Malefor finished the sentence.

 _Payback for what you did,_ Malefor laughed in his thoughts, knowing he could hear him. But how red his face was with a scared look on his face made Malefor wonder if he even did hear him. Claire was the same, and since she wasn't a fire dragon, it showed right through her scales for every one to see, even Ignitus. Spyro chuckled as he used his thoughts to communicate with Ignitus as well to embarrass him, _It's embarrassing, isn't it. Especially since you both have thoughts of kissing one another._ Trying to get his mind a little away from it, Ignitus yelled at him in his thoughts, _I'm going to break your arm like I did before! And plus... You don't even know if she has thoughts about kissing me, so you can't even say that._

 _Oh please, it is so obvious, it's sad._ Claire shuck her head and tried just to forget about it, but in a way, she still held on with hope that she would be able to kiss him and love him like how the other do with their lovers. Trying not to make the situation all that embarrassing, she looked at Ignitus and asked him, "Hey, Ignitus, since everyone else is just going to stand here and not really do anything, do you want to go down to the sleeping Chambers and talk like we did before? I found it pretty relaxing."

Ignitus was surprised, but also happy that she wasn't embarrassed enough to not talk to him. He smiled and nodded, "That would be lovely."

Walking over to her, he stopped before he passed Spyro and asked, "Even though I want to hurt you, is there anything else you need from me? I know to never bring up such a thing again and I apologize once again just in case. Just making sure everything is going to be okay."

"Everything is all good here. Me and Malefor got our little revenge in for what happened so, we even?" Spyro asked.

"Alright, fine, we are even."

Walking towards the door with Claire following beside him, the two walked out of the room and to the Sleeping Chambers. As the two approached the door, Ignitus looked at Claire and asked, "Which one do you want me to give a nightmare for what they did? Spyro? Malefor?"

She giggled at him as it was embarrassing for her after what those two had said, but she let them go with a warning, "Well, I will let that one slide. After all, you did already give Malefor a nightmare so, I would feel bad if he couldn't sleep well because you keep giving him constant nightmares. When we go to the Sleeping Chambers and talk, we will forget all about it, I'm sure."

* * *

Feeling a little better now that the Guardians agreed it was stupid for them to say, it still got Spyro thinking of what could happen if he wasn't strong enough. Volteer was a little afraid himself as he thought about his death. Seeing his friends alive now, he was scared to see them go too. With these thoughts, he started to think about Ersa, which made him more afraid of the future. Feeling a paw rest on his shoulder, he looked at the paw and then looked up to who it belonged to. It was Cyril's paw, and he looked a little concerned for his friend. Making sure he was okay, he asked him, "You feeling okay? Is there something bothering you?"

He had to be honest with him as he wanted to know what his thoughts were about it, and as Cyril took his paw off his friend's shoulder, Volteer spoke, "I'm still not feeling my best... What those two were talking about got me thinking; We are weak. We are not as strong as we use to be. And because of this, I've been thinking that, they are right. We aren't safe, and we both know that, the other two knew that, and that's why they brought it up... And when it comes to safety... I then think of, Ersa."

"Why?"

"Because... Which one is worse; Dying by yourself... or watching tears from the one you love cry for you as you died?"

"Oh... Yeah, second one sounds way worse."

"What if I'm that dragon and I don't have the strength to do anything? You never know what could happen. I'm going to train with Spyro some. I can't shake the fear and I know the only way I will feel better is by training."

"I'm going to probably feel this tomorrow but... If it makes you feel any better, I will train with you as well so you aren't alone."

Volteer smiled at his help, "Thank you, Cyril."

Walking with Cyril over to where Spyro sat, he over heard the conversation he was having with his Cynder and didn't want to intrude. The two sat down near Cynder and waited for the two to finish their conversation. But just as they sat, it seemed their conversation had just finished as Spyro looked over at the two a little confused and asked, "What are you two up to?"

"Well... I was hoping you could help me and Cyril train if that's okay with you," Volteer spoke, and the words that came out of his mouth made Spyro even more confused then he thinks he has ever been in his life.

"Wha... wait wait wait. You two, intentionally, want me, to train you two...?"

"Um... yes..."

"Hold on... my head is spinning. Cynder, we are in an alternate reality where everything is inside out and the exact opposite."

"Well, technically, if your body was inside out, you wouldn't really last long as your heart would fall from where you chest..."

"Just joking, Volteer, hehe, you crazy little dragon. Point is, I don't think I've ever heard someone intentionally put there life on the line to train with me. Even Malefor isn't that dump."

"So... Is that a no?"

"Don't worry. I will be putting you two through harsh training, but not today. Maybe tomorrow or the next day. I want everyone to be as healthy and healed up as possible. I'm not going to go easy on any of you for putting off your training. And, I might be a little more aggressive with you, Volteer... possibly."

"What? Why?"

"A man needs to be stronger then his opponents if he wants to keep her safe."

"Did... did you hear what I was talking about?"

"I'm assuming you were talking about, Ersa. That's what me and Cynder were talking about as I was wondering how I could help you especially."

"I was also talking about, you know, what those two were discussing. With the whole, we could die, thing."

"Oh yeah, that. I'm not going to let that happen. You two should know that."

"We trust you, Spyro, we truly do. But when it comes to thinking about Ersa, I can't let you be her protector. If I could get stronger with your help, it would help me feel better knowing that I can protect her without difficulty. And, maybe along the way, if Terrador isn't doing anything like usually, I could pass him in strength."

"Whoa whoa whoa, hold on," Terrador finally intervened as he was listening to the two talk for a good while, "Hehe, that's not going to happen my friend. Spyro, how about you train me some more? After all, it's easier to lose muscle then to get some so, if I keep up this laziness, it will take me forever compared to Volteer here so, how about you help me out?"

"Not to be a Hatchling or anything with my words but, I asked first."

"Want to arm wrestle for it?"

"What? No."

"I win by your forfeit. So when can we start, Spyro?"

"Ladies ladies, please, I already have a lover," Spyro joked which caused the two to stop bickering, which gave him time to talk, "Look, me and Cynder want some time to ourselves. And like I said, either tomorrow or the day after, I will be training you all with as much power as I can think of using. It might not be me fighting you as, with the training room, I can make your opponent as strong as I want. But it would still be fun to fight you all so, we will see how things play out. For now, lets just enjoy this day. We don't get many."

"But..." Volteer said, still wanting to train before he went in search for his lost lover.

"Volteer, calm down. You don't need me to train. The training room is all yours. It may be a house you all made for me, but as long as you aren't charging into my room or do anything that will disturb me or Cynder, then you are free to come up here. And like I said, you can make any enemy you fight as strong or as weak as you want. Although if you almost kill yourself, Yeah, maybe having Cyril here to run and get me might be a good thing."

He sighed as he knew Spyro was right. And since he couldn't get his mind straight, he decided to train by himself for now. Looking over at Terrador, he asked, "Well, you going to train with me then? Me, you, and Cyril?"

"I guess it doesn't hurt to have us all training," Terrador agreed with a smile.

Seeing they were going to train, Spyro looked over at Blitz as he was talking with his friends and apologized as he interrupted them, "Hey, Blitz. Sorry to interrupt but, The Guardians are going to train. Would you like to join them?"

Waving a paw near his neck as Blitz looked at him, he declined, "We would be getting in the way of the more powerful. And with the training you've already given us... we are kinda burned out. We were going to head out and probably take a nap after that. Also need to try and get some ladies now that I know what I need to work on."

"Hehe, as long as you stay away from Cynder, I'm fine."

"Oh, of course man, respect. But if things go south, I'm always available, Cynder."

She giggled at him which made Spyro growl a little bit, causing Blitz to cry, "Well, gotta go!"

Quickly running out of the room with his friends following behind him, Spyro watched as they ran out of the room, and he asked his lover, "Can I hurt him?"

"Oh don't worry. He is all bark and no bite. And like he said, he will stay away as long as we don't break up so, we shouldn't have anything to worry about, right?" Cynder asked as she looked at her lover with a raised brow, and as he looked at her smile, he chuckled, already knowing the answer.

"You're right my love... And I will make sure of that when we go to our room."

"Oh... better be a really good kiss you have for me coming up."

"You know me."

Nuzzling his lover on the side of her neck with his cheek, she smiled. Pulling his neck away, he looked at the other three and said, "Me and Cynder are going to go lay down and enjoy this day. You all can use the training room as much as you like. And if you do need me, just knock. Or I will probably hear a loud crash or cry but... hopefully you three won't be too reckless."

"Don't worry. We will try not to disturb the happy couple," Cyril said, hoping that it wouldn't come to that.

"Alright. Good luck you three. And also, thank you, all of you. I was a little upset... Okay, more then upset when ever you all dying was brought up but, talking to you all again, and with help from others, I know we can all do it. Just like with the Dark Master. If we can make it through that, we can make it through anything."

They all smiled with nods which made Spyro smile back. Walking away from the three with his lover right by his side, Volteer sighed as he knew he wouldn't be able to make a promise he couldn't keep, "Terrador, I'm not going to try and fight something stronger then you but, if it looks like I'm trying to do more then you, it isn't because I'm trying to beat you or impress you. I just... I need this strength. Just like with Spyro, unless I'm as strong and I push myself as much as I can, I will not be satisfied."

"Gem room is always open. Just make sure you don't almost kill yourself, okay?" Terrador said as he had no problem with his way of thinking, just as long as he didn't kill himself doing it.

"I will try."

Standing next to Malefor, Spyro decided to talk to him a little bit before he and his lover went to their room, "Hey, Malefor. Me and Cynder were going to go to our room and cuddle up together as it still is a pretty cold day even in the training room. Are you going to do the same with Carith or are you going to train with the other Guardians?"

"Well, Carith would kill me if I put training over her so, you already know what I'm going to be doing," Malefor chuckled with a smile, and surprisingly, it also made Spyro smile with what he said, "I'm surprised myself that you aren't going to train with them. I know it's because you have a day off and all but, it's training, and your, Spyro."

"And my lover is, Cynder. I've put myself through a lot and most of the time, Cynder knows what I need. And right now, I just need to rest. I've always been on edge, constantly at the ready to attack or defend someone. But for today, I'm going to put my trust in Ignitus to tell me if something is going to happen."

"Good. Good... You rest easy knowing no one will get hurt... Hush little dragon... nothing will happen when you sleep."

"Carith, if he does anything, I know a guy who would love to meet you."

"Stop man! Not funny... But what is funny is, I knew something would cause drama today. And what are the odds. Cry Hatchling Spyro was the one to cause the drama. Tell me, was it because of something you saw? Was it because, the big bad Dark Master is living right down your door?"

"Shut up. You knew what it was."

"Funny thing about that," Carith cut in, wanting to embarrass her lover, "Malefor acted the same way you did when he found out what the Guardians were planning. He was so mad, he stormed out with me and Cynder following behind him. I asked him on our way there why he was so angry, even though I already understood it... But..."

"Carith... Don't do it," Malefor whimpered as he blushed and put a paw over his face.

"I love you, Malefor, and I will make it up to you when we lay down. But, going back, when I asked him why, he was really open about it. He felt terrible for you. He was going on about how it was his fault you ever had these fears. He felt terrible and he blamed these thoughts and actions the Guardians had all on himself. He said he was willing to help you and hoped he could calm you down."

"Aw. Malefor, you'd do that, for me? I really was wrong about you," Spyro teased him as he put a paw on his chest while Malefor put his paw back on the ground, still blushing from embarrassment.

Putting his paw back to the ground, Spyro wondered why he didn't talk to him then and asked, "Wait, if that's the case then, why did Cynder step forward before you did?"

"I was a little scared that you'd attack me or something from anger, so, when Cynder stepped forward, I decided it would be best to let her handle it. And being mushy is kinda your thing," Malefor explained as he thought about Spyro's dark form and what it could do to him if he said or did something wrong.

"At least you put some thought into it. Shame too. If you would've calmed me down, I probably would've talked with Cynder a lot about you becoming my friend."

"Don't... Don't do that... Don't you dare say, I would've, but you really wouldn't have. But if you really were... I'm going to hate my existence."

"Well, Carith did give you a good word about what you did, and maybe Cynder will give you a good word as well so, maybe I might put it into a little more consideration."

"Little more is better then none, that's for sure."

"Well, we will see. We will talk to you either later in the night or tomorrow."

"Alright. But just remember! I was going to help you so, who knows, I could help a lot more in the future."

"Uh huh... Like I said, Me and Cynder will talk about it."

Malefor sighed seeing Spyro smile as if he was teasing him or getting his hopes up, and there wasn't much for him to do so he could only hope that he would come to some kind of agreement with his lover that would help him. The two turned away from the other two and walked out of the training room and over to their room. With them gone, the Guardians were still talking amongst one other, wondering what they were going to do. While they talked back and forth, Carith already had an idea of what her and her lover should do, "Hey, Malefor. I guess since everyone else is doing other things, that means we could have time all to ourselves to do what ever we wanted. We could kiss, or snuggle, or whisper to one another... or... we could... do something more?"

Malefor wasn't even listening as her voice was a little low when she spoke and he was thinking if whether or not they would be discussing if Spyro should or shouldn't befriend him. Slightly frowning as she wish he would've caught on even a little to her last sentence, she even let out a soft and sad sigh. Poking him in his back side with her tail blade, he looked at her seeing her slightly sad and frowning face and cried, "Oh no! What did I do?! I'm so sorry! I was thinking and I didn't hear what you were saying... please forgive me... I'm swear I'm listening now. No distractions."

She wish she could have the power to say what she said before, but couldn't as now that he said that, she knew there was no way she could. Instead, she just had to stick with what they usually did, "I said that, since everyone is doing something else, we can lay in bed together, snuggle up and kiss without a distraction. I don't know what else we could do but, maybe... if you have a suggestion... we could do that."

"A... suggestion? Um... I don't really know anything else beyond snuggling and kissing. Well, of course nuzzling but... If I think of something, I will let you know."

"I love you, Malefor, I want you to know that."

"Carith, I'm scared. What did I do?"

"Nothing. You are just my cute little dragon, that's all."

"I did something. Which means I need to give you a good enough kiss to make you forget about what ever you are thinking."

"Depends how good of a kiss it is."

"Challenge Accepted."

Knowing and feeling confident in himself, Malefor knew he would have to make the kiss good for not listening to his lover when she spoke to him. Even as they walked out of the training room with one another, he was on high alert, ready to listen if she was to say something. With the two heading to their room to lay down, The Guardians still stood their, talking with one another about what kind of training would be the best for them to undergo. With the first to speak in the conversation was Volteer as he was the one who was most into the conversation, "Stronger enemies, tougher challenge, more muscle gain. Or we can do weaker enemies, only there will be four times as many. Strong enemies, A little easier challenge, maybe a more helpful muscle gain."

"We've been sitting here talking for so long about this, everyone else had time to talk and leave. So it's either we are going to fight, or we are going to sit here and talk about how we are never going to fight. How about, you two both come at me and we will see who the winner will be. You both already know, and so do I so, it will be way more fun for me when I win," Terrador suggested as he knew it would be faster and easier to go up against the two then anything else.

"I would rather fight, Spyro. At least he can heal me with the time power," Cyril declined the idea.

 _Sorry you three, but none of you are going to be training today,_ A voice spoke through their minds, and they all already knew who it was. _What do you mean?_ Terrador asked through his mind. _I need you all down here so we can talk some more about the future. Even if you all train, that doesn't mean we will be ready for what is to come. We need to discuss topics such as the Dark Master's return, Spyro and Malefor's friendship, and, What If, case, scenario._ Volteer was against the idea as he knew training would help a lot more, _Ignitus, I already know everything I need to know. And if something happens, I can think fast enough. I need to get stronger, I have to get stronger if I want to be prepared for the future, we all have to be._ Since the others could also hear the conversation they were all having with Ignitus, Cyril did agree with his friend on his idea, but Ignitus still wanted them to come down to the Chambers, _Volteer, don't worry, you will be able to train. We should just get this out of the way now so we all can be prepared rather then being caught off guard. I know how much Ersa means to you, and you will get the chance to train. But you know how important planning is._ Volteer sighed as he decided it would be best to agree as Ignitus would be persistent and make them come to the Chambers sooner or later. _Alright, fine. We will be down there as soon as we can._ The joy he had for training now disappeared as he had to abandon the training room for planning.

"We better not keep him waiting I guess. He will probably keep using his little mind powers to force us more and more so, I guess we can train some other time of day," Cyril said even though he wished he could've trained with the other two, but plans had changed, "I know you aren't really happy with going down there when you could've trained but, look on the bright side, maybe he knows something we don't. Maybe this, something, could help us in the long run."

"I guess... It would probably also be better if we train while Spyro watches so he can help us see what we aren't. He has mastered his abilities, and maybe he can help me find other ways of defense using my powers. Like how he can use his abilities as armor depending on what condition he is in or what he is fighting," Volteer agreed which helped him a little bit more so he didn't feel all bad for leaving the training room.

"It would help. And maybe even Ignitus knows something that can help you. He knows everything after all."

"Not... everything..." Volteer murmured as he walked away from the two.

"What was that about?" Terrador asked as he looked over at Cyril.

"It's about, Ersa. But he will be fine. He is just scared and Ignitus won't give him the truth of what happened to her or where she is so, I'm guessing he believes that Ignitus already knows what happened, but is keeping it a secret... Come on, we should walk with him so he doesn't feel alone in this," Cyril ended his words by walking with Terrador over to Volteer's side as they headed to the Guardians Chambers.

* * *

Ignitus sighed, glad that he was able to convince the Guardians not to train. With that sigh, and him looking down at the bed and not at her, Claire wondered what he was up to. He seemed to be stressed, or even bothered by something which made her worried as well. Since no one was around for the time being, she wanted to ask him and hope that he was as open and honest with her as he should, "Ignitus, what's wrong? When I asked you before about why we couldn't just lay here with each other, you only apologized and said this had to happen. I need you to tell me the truth so I know how to help you. I can keep a secret, I promise."

Looking at her, the cool feeling coming from her body as they had been snuggling up with one another when laying down on their bed made it comfortable for him. Even though he couldn't read her mind and figure out what her true intentions were, he believed he could trust her. _How will we ever be lovers if I keep secrets from her?_ He thought to himself, only making him feel more guilty if he didn't say. Since he had the time to explain, he did, "I will... I will be honest with you. But promise me, this will stay between us."

"You trust me with this information, so I won't say anything... Which, in advance... thank you for trusting me."

"I don't want to lie to you, and I don't want you to be worried. The reason I called them down here is, Well... I can only stall for so long but, I can't have the Guardians training, especially not, Volteer. If they get the taste of training again, and with the way Volteer wants to train to protect Ersa... It will be a lot more difficult if we have to calm him down by force. If Volteer is a lot stronger then he is now, it will pose a problem for everyone."

"So, without him training, since he is a lot weaker, it will be easier to subdue him in case he attacks out of rage."

"And I'm afraid he will attack one of us, maybe because he blames us for not being strong enough. He could attack Spyro for the promise he made to him but, she was already died and he knew that. Or, he attacks Malefor out of sadness and anger because he believes it is his fault. Either way, no matter what happens, when he finds out, it's not going to be good for anyone. So, I need more time to prepare, but... I don't know what to do."

"Maybe you should... tell him the truth."

"What?"

"Look at how my old lover turned out. You remember what you told me, and what he was going to do to me with his friend. It would've tough, especially since I believed he loved me, but, it's the truth, and sooner or later, I would've found out. And since he died, and now I was with you, I wasn't as upset. All I'm saying is, you could either wait, or maybe talk Spyro down from giving him too much hope. I like Spyro, I do. He is a very helpful dragon. But, I don't think he likes the idea of anyone he or his friends know being died."

"But I tried to talk to him about not getting his hopes up and he wouldn't believe me. He didn't want to believe she was died but... The only time from my memory when I couldn't find someone was either those who wondered off into the dark parts of the outside world that are swarming with darkness, or when Spyro and his lover beat the Dark Master in the volcano. I've looked and I can't find her. The old Chronicler is right, she died that day, and there isn't anything I or us in the past could've done."

"Ignitus, you know, Volteer. You've been with him and the other Guardians for a very long time, and since you are the Chronicler, you know everything about him. What do you think deep down he will react when you tell him the truth? And how long did Volteer know her before everything had happen?"

"They knew one another for about a month... But... Volteer said that, he wanted to be her lover, to be her mate. And he is so sure of himself which only makes it a lot more difficult to walk up to him, or even sit down with him and tell him, 'Look, She's died, it's time to move on, but we are here for you'. I just... I... I don't know. If only like before we're we could use the vision of another past to prepare but, we can't... I can't."

"Then you don't have to."

"What do you mean?"

"Like I said, Spyro is very helpful to everyone around here. Volteer will feel crushed and probably hate Spyro for getting his hopes up, but... He won't let anything happen to Volteer. Even if he were to attack him, he would do everything to calm him down. With me, he used a scare tactic to get me to leave. He wanted to see if I would and, I didn't, so he trusted me. Maybe he has some way of calming others down. Who else has he been able to calm down aside from his lover of course."

"Um... Well... he was able to calm down Malefor when ever the darkness attacked him. He's been able to severely calmed down Carith without even realizing it because he trust her lover. And he honestly has been able to calm us all down with his training and strength, which makes us all feel a little better... Maybe Spyro could be the key that could help Volteer out. He knows the truth, and he can tell him why he covered up the truth... I could tell him why I covered the truth..."

As he was catching on to something, the door opened with the first one walking in was Volteer. Behind him was Terrador as he was the next one to enter, and Cyril was the last one in. He closed the door behind himself and the three walked in and over to the front of his bed. Volteer stood at the front of Ignitus's bed looking down at him while the other two stood off to one side of him with Terrador on his right and Cyril on his opposite. Tapping his claws in a wave on the ground, he waited for Ignitus to say something, and to him, he was taking too long, so he asked, "You said we need to be planning and yet you aren't even bringing forward what kind of plan we need to be preparing for. If you are done wasting my time, I'd like to go back to training."

"Whoa, Volteer, calm down. What's wrong?"

"Some of us have to train around here. I don't need books, or plans, or, anything else right about now aside from training. Just tell me what we need to be planning and I will come up with a plan that can counter a counter, a worse case scenario, best case scenario, middle case, and even a, what if scenario to plan for that. Now what is it so I can go?"

"Is that so. Well, let's test that little theory. Malefor turns into the Dark Master again and attacks Cynder. Tell me your plan."

"Fine. Worse Case; Spyro could kill him. Best Case; Spyro saves him and forgives Malefor for what happened depending on the circumstances. Middle case; Spyro is able to help save him but doesn't trust him for what happened. What if scenario; What if we just use the time power to put him to sleep while we work out a way to take his powers away? Okay, we are done, can I go now?"

"Volteer, please call down, we are all your friends here. There is no need to be snappy."

"If you were my friend, then you would know that I want to train, but you won't let me do that. It's a little suspicious though that you bring up Malefor and the Dark Master though. What, do you not want us to be trained when he attacks so you can get some more amusement out of watching my chest get dug into by a monster?! I don't see a reason I shouldn't train as all it will do is help me, so why are you taking that away from me?"

"I want Spyro to be there to watch during your training in case you get injured or worse. It will also be better if you all train with Spyro instead so him, and you all can find what you all can really do. And, like you said, Spyro has already mastered his abilities so he could help you with more ways to use these powers as a defense. Maybe he can even show you a way to use your powers in an offensive way as well."

Volteer sighed with a small grumble in his breath. Seeing his anger already made it seem to Ignitus that it would be nearly impossible to calm him down if he was to learn of what happened. _I'm not use to seeing Volteer this frustrated before. It's a little scary to see and yet... I remember he gained his happy go lucky attitude because of, Ersa,_ Ignitus thought to himself. Instead of bringing up training or anything that would make him frustrated, he instead tried to calm him down rather then putting fire to the flame, "Volteer... I've never seen you so mad before. I know you want to train but, what happened to being joyful? The times where you would shake your body from side to side while putting one paw up and the other one down constantly from one side to another while saying words that meant the same thing?"

"There is no point for me to be happy right now. I'm weak, I have knowledge that I can't do anything with, and unlike you and those other two, there is no reason to use my wings unless I have someone I love underneath them to comfort... I know I shouldn't complain. We have everything and so much more compared to other out there, but... My mind, everything I learned, everything I studied, prepared for, designed, and theorized about... nothing could've prepared me for the future... nothing could've prepared me for her death..."

"Volteer..."

"I know she's died, Ignitus. I know you looked in her past to see. A mind like yours is similar to mine. We are desperate to know the equation to a problem. When a new element comes up, we are quick to dig it clean of everything for the first neutron to its last atom... And when it comes to her death, you were just as curious as I was to know. And if she was died, you'd hide it from me, and if she's alive, you would've already told me as soon as possible... So, look me in the eyes and tell me the truth... What happened to her?"

Ignitus felt terrible seeing and hearing the desperation from his voice as all he wanted was the truth. He thought back to the conversation he had had with Claire, and he thought it would've been much easier, but with how he looked and sounded now, there was nothing he could do to bring himself to tell his friend the truth. _I'm... I'm sorry, Claire, but... I can't bring myself to tell him the truth. It sounded easy before but... when he is right in front of me... I just... I can't,_ Ignitus said in his thoughts to Claire's. She tried to be as helpful as possible as she understood the pressure he must be going through, _Ignitus, it's okay. Just go with the next best thing. But think quickly or else he will get suspicious. I know you can do it._ He sighed for a couple of seconds to quickly think of something. In those seconds, he was able to find a perfect way to tell him without hurting him, or telling him the truth, "Volteer... There are things that not even I look into. Your lover's life... your mate's, life, is just something I don't want to look into to. But I will make you a promise right now. If the day comes where you give up on her, where you feel like she truly is died, then I will let you read the book for yourself. Only you will know, and only you can respond in what you feel is necessary."

It sounded like a very tempting offer for Volteer, but it still made him eager to know if she was died or alive. He couldn't think about it either as Ignitus would read his mind and make him change it, or he would probably try to interrupt his train of thought and make him forget what he was saying. It was the only option he gave him, so with a sigh and a nod, he agreed, "It's never going to happen but... Fine. I will agree to your terms. I've been to where she supposedly died to everyone, but I'm not giving up... I will never give up."

"And that's fair. I will not stop you from your search. Just make sure if you go anywhere, go with Spyro. Especially if it is outside the walls of Warfang. He will keep you safe."

"I know he will... He's saved me multiple times. And now I need to save, Ersa."

Turning away from Ignitus, Terrador backed up out of his way and let him walk past. As he walked to his bed, Ignitus spoke, "I know what it's like... to feel lonely."

Volteer stopped from his words, wondering what he meant by that. He didn't look at him as Ignitus continued to speak, "Those ten years, when you all were captured... I was all by myself for so long. I had no one to turn to, no one who loved me, no one to care for me. But... I did have my family. My mother and father were survivors of the Dark Master's attack. If she is... died, we are here for you. We are the family you can come to if you feel lonely. Please believe me when I say that... I know what it is like to feel lonely."

Frowning slightly from his words, he had never really given it thought about what had happened while he was captured. Turning his head to look at his friend, Volteer felt a little bad now for being so aggressive towards him and apologized for the way he acted, "I'm, sorry... When I was captured... those years were pretty tough. And with life now, I don't know how I made it through... And if it wasn't for you, I wouldn't look young, or have smooth and fixed wings compared to the... abused ones that they ripped and cut."

"We all went through a lot. The last thing I want is for us to go through such a thing again. By healing everyone and bringing us back to our younger selves, I wanted to erase the past from our memories. I know not everything deserves to be erased from the past, but, I do still believe that, we will make it through what ever challenge comes our way. We survived then, and we can now."

"Hehe, with Spyro and Malefor watching our backs now, yeah, I'm pretty sure we will be fine... And, now that you say it, we have come a long way, haven't we. To get to here."

"Hehe, yeah... we definitely have. I just hope those times are over."

"Me too... But, I'm going to pull a Malefor in saying but, if you had no one to turn to, or love, or care for, does that mean your parents weren't there for you?"

"Hehe, sorry. What I meant was, I had no one as in, I had no lover to love. No friends to turn to, no friends I could care for and protect. And when you all came back, and things had calmed down after Spyro rescued Cynder... Hehe, Spyro caught me crying out in the back of the Dragon Temple because I was so glad you all were back. And, just like now, he even had Cynder with him when he went looking for me."

"I feel bad for her. He never lets her go anywhere without him. She must've been scared out of her mind."

"Well, that's the funny thing, she actually enjoyed having him walk with her everywhere. Which, you know, is pretty obvious."

"Hehe, yeah, I guess you are right."

"Those were, pretty good times... But, the whole point is, we are here for you. If it turns out she is dead, and I'm not saying she is, I just want you to know, we will make it through it, together."

He nodded at his friend with a smile and thanked, "Thank you, Ignitus."

Ignitus nodded back at his yellow friend. Walking back over to his bed, Volteer jumped up onto it, curled up into a ball and laid down. He closed his eyes and tried not to think about the bad, but instead, he thought about what the two did back then. Both Terrador and Claire were confused both for different reasons, and Terrador was the first to speak of his curiosity, "Wired. Why is he going to bed so early? We still have a some good sunlight left."

After he spoke his question, Claire spoke hers with a pretty big blush, "Ignitus... I know it's... Embarrassing to ask but, how did you go ten years without kissing or loving someone? You were a lot older then eighteen years of age so... how did you do it?"

Ignitus blushed pretty hard at her question, but was able to answer both their questions, "Well, First, to answer your question, Terrador, he isn't going to bed. Lets just say my clone is having to write down a lot of words just on his thoughts as he is going crazy with them about a lot of things. And as for your question, Claire... it was very hard to think about kissing or... other things because, the world was overrun by apes, and the Guardians were captured, and I was trying to stay alive along with helping my parents so... I didn't really have time to think of myself."

Claire gasped at his words, "Wait! So you mean to tell me... You haven't really, put your lips against your lovers lips?!"

"Hehe, Claire, is this is a test? I promise you, I've never been with anyone else out there."

"How... But... I... Wait. That would mean that you three also haven't had lover's before, have you."

"Well... I was kinda in a relationship before but... yeah. Things happen," Terrador said, not really wanting to bring that up.

"Well, technically, the only one who has been in a relationship is of course, Volteer. But other then that, no, none of us have had lovers before."

"You poor, poor dragons. Why don't you all go out there and find someone. Being in love, the first kiss and the kiss after is like waking up to a new day that's warm and sunny..." Pausing for a second, she took a peek at Ignitus before looking back at the other two, and she tried to hint to her wish to be lovers, "Honestly, being kissed or pecked on the check is like, a three. But being kiss on the lips, like a ten. Never really got to the making out part but... maybe that will be an experience for someone else I love."

The three all caught on to her little hint which made them blush, but not as hard as Ignitus did, and Terrador teased him for that, _Hey, Ignitus, I don't think I have to be a super genius like Volteer but, I'm pretty sure she is hinting that she wants the heat from your lips and less from your body. Just saying._ His words only made it worse as he ducked his head and put his paws over his head from how red and embarrassed he was. Looking at the other two, she wondered if she would be able to get a kiss from him one day. So, she mouthed the word and hope they could understand, "Well...?"

Both Terrador and Cyril gasped as they were able to read exactly what she said. They looked at one another and then back at her. Their reactions made her blush as she realised what she had said. Hearing his friends gasp, Ignitus picked up on his head and looked at them, then he looked at Claire and asked, "What? What happened?"

Claire looked away and up towards the the corner of the room, not showing her blush, and also hoping that the other Guardians wouldn't say anything. Luckily, they were both nice enough to keep things vague while also giving him his answer. As Terrador walked over to his bed, he spoke as he did, "All I'm saying is, if you are doubtful about something, you are wasting your time. It will happen if you just say something, or even do something but, what do I know?"

His words only made Ignitus even more confused. Cyril did the same thing as he walked over to his bed after Terrador had laid down, "You know, Terrador is right. There is no reason you should be doubting yourself. If you feel like you should say it, then say what you have to to be happy. And if you are ever worried about what could happen, image what will happen if it came true."

With Cyril now laid down on his side, Ignitus looked at him, then over to Terrador and asked both of them out loud, "What is, 'it'? What am I supposed to be knowing? What am I wasting my time on? If this is some kind of mystery this late, there is no way I'm going for it. So are you two going to tell me what, 'it', is, or...?"

The two had already closed their eyes and pretended to fake snore, telling him that they wanted to sleep. He grumbled at the two, and looking back at Claire, he asked, "Can you believe those two? It's funny how Terrador picks on Volteer for wanting to go to bed so early and yet, there he is, laying down himself, trying to take a nap. Unbelievable that dragon is sometimes."

"Hehe, I mean, since things are kinda nice and peaceful, I don't blame anyone for going to bed early. After all, I'm sure me coming in and trying to assassinate everyone didn't exactly help everyone sleep so well. But now since they have nothing to worry about; No training, no threat. They are probably just enjoying this time to sleep," Claire giggled from the memory, and Ignitus had to nod as he now understood one reason the three could be wanting to go to bed so early, "So, now that we have this time to ourselves, what do you want to do?"

"Well, I am comfortable just laying here with you. And, Claire, you know it wasn't your fault for that attempted assassination, right?"

"Hehe, I know, Ignitus, you comfort me all the time because of it."

"Oh, hehe, sorry."

"And I know you are comfortable laying here with me, but, we could always go somewhere else for privacy."

"Where do you have in mind?"

"I don't know, you were talking about the White Isle which, sounds like fun to go to."

"Hehe, you want to go there? The only thing there is books, more books, a couple of rooms which; Two doors contain nothing but millions to billions of books on dragon lives, another door contains a pool of visions, and the last room is, well, my sleeping room... kinda hard to sleep on that bed since the old Chronicler slept there. I have nothing against him... kinda, but it's wired to sleep in a dead dragon's bed."

"Sounds like you're comfortable when you sleep there. But, wait, I thought you said that the Chronicler doesn't need sleep. Why is there a bed in the White Isle?"

"Any one can still sleep. Like, even now, I don't really need to sleep. It's just something that feels good to do, especially now that I have you. But, if you really want to see the White Isle, I can take you there right now if you want to. Compared to flying there, we could be there in a blink of an eye."

"It would be fun to snoop around. And maybe even read all about your past."

"Oh... That... I don't know if you want to read my past."

"Of course I would."

"Even for someone like Volteer who could read at holy speeds, it would take him ten years to get to my twenties. That's if he never slept and he always kept reading. Up to the time I am born, everything I do is written down. When I walked, what I did, what I thought about. There is nothing interesting in there. I'm not saying you can't read my past as, I give you permission but, it's pretty boring."

"Well, there is one thing I have always wondered ever since I got here."

"How you were going to assassinate one of us?"

"Hehe, well, that too. But one another thing I wondered was, how did you all become Guardians? Did you all know each other or something or, did it happen by chance?"

"You know, you are the first to ask this. I'm surprised Spyro has never asked me before but, it's a little understandable."

"Well, all I know is, from the old stories, many Guardians lost their lives during the battle against Malefor's armies. I'm going to guess this was made up to make Malefor look like a bad guy again? And it's also wired because, I thought the Guardians were supposed to be the masters of that one element. How could there be more then one Guardian, or, master, of fire? So, shouldn't there always be one Guardian of one element compared to two?"

"Well, I wouldn't say, many, Guardians, lost there lives, more like, four others. When ever we were chosen, the Guardians that chose us were still very much alive. We got along with them very well. And while Warfang was being prepared, We took command over there while the other four watched the Dragon Temple. We sometimes switched as to who watched where, but it mainly felt like home in Warfang. And, yes, there can only be one Master of fire, and at the time, Sear was the Guardian of Fire."

"Sear? Well... I guess before we get into the Guardians, how was life like when you became Guardians?

"Us becoming Guardians... hehe, well, the beginning was, difficult. Volteer was smart, pretty straight forward and got to the point back then. The reason he spoke in such big words later on is because of, Ersa. With all the work they did, and how much fun they had, they learned a lot together. And as for Cyril... He was a difficult one. He didn't really like Volteer since the beginning."

"Why? Cyril doesn't seem like the difficult type. He seems fine to me."

"Well... Lets just say he had a brother who he looked up to and admired. But one day, his brother got into a bad fight with another, yellow, Dragon, and his brother... died. Ever since then, Cyril hated yellow dragons for what they did, and when he saw he was going to be working with one, he hated his guts. He later opened up and talked about what happened and they became, easier to handle. Volteer was sacred to even go to bed because he thought Cyril would kill him."

"So Cyril was more fiery then he was cool... Huh. Well, going back, why did they select you four? We're they getting old or something?"

"When Warfang was being built, they knew it would be impossible for them to move back and forth, trying to keep everything well organised and safe. So, they were looking for Guardians to watch over Warfang and we were the lucky ones. It's just, really hard to keep something safe if Malefor's dumb ass keeps attacking. Then, he attacked it again with the Destroyer... then he attacked one last time... with his army which the Guardians took care of but... the repairs... Why am I upset that I give Malefor nightmares?"

"Hehe, I know I would if I could too... But, man, hearing it now, you all have gone through a lot over the years. With the apes, the Dark Master being your best friend, the dark creatures themselves and just, so much more. How did you manage all of this? Even after all that, I don't think I would be able to walk around with a smile on my face."

"It was tough but, at times, we would be able to have that laugh, just that one moment of joy that would push us to keep moving. Remember how I talked about Cyril's anger? Well, One day, when Warfang was being built, we all laid down in the grass near a camp fire and we... we all talked. We learned a lot about one another that day. It was a little easier to get along after that but, it was times like those that I fought, in hopes that we could lay down in the forest once again in peace; Absent of war... It was a time, that's for sure."

"I would love to read about that time, if you wouldn't mind."

"Hehe, not at all. Just, promise you won't pick on any of us when you read about how many times we shed a tear or something."

"I will... try. But it sounds like back then wasn't as fun as it was now."

"Well, that all changed when Malefor approached us."

"Ow, and when did this happen?"

"It happened a little later after that night at the fire. During that day, the Guardians came over and switch us out so they could discuss the plans more with the moles, I even remember that Volteer helped out a lot as well. But as we were chilling out in the Chambers... Hehe, I still remember how he approached us. He came in through the front door, looked at all of us, and said, 'I'm going to run things around here. Who ever is the strongest of you four shall fight me. If I win, I take over the role of all four Guardians'. This was the first time we had ever even seen a purple dragon so, this was very new to us. We laughed at him, wondering who he was and why he was purple... Times were pretty good after that time we met him."

"Wait, what happened? A fight? An altercation? And what exactly happened to the other Guardians?"

"Maybe some other time, I will tell you. History is, very confusing. And, it's a little tough to go back and think of those memories."

"Is that why you've been shivering at some points when you spoke?"

"Hehe, yeah."

"It's okay, Ignitus. That time is over."

"I know, it's just... I've always had this fear, and I'm sure many have but, you ever have that fear where, things seem good but, you feel as though, if you blink, or if you sleep, as soon as you open your eyes, you realise that everything was just a dream. Hehe, I know I control dreams and all so I know this isn't one but, even still, it's scary for me to think about," Pausing for a second, he laid his head down on the bed with a frown and continued, "That's why I pushed Spyro to train those three. I know it could be over in the blink of an eye, I know something could happen. Me and The Guardians, Malefor... we've all been through it."

Laying her head down next to his, she nuzzled him in hopes it would help. Pulling away from the nuzzle, she looked to see he was smiling a little more then she was which made his frown disappear. Laying her head down next to his and closing her eyes, she agree and disagreed with his way of thinking, "When I think about the future, I'm not all that scared, and you want to know why?"

"Why?" He asked, directing his eyes towards her.

"Hehe, because, even when I close my eyes and everything goes black, I can still see that bright red smile of yours. When I think of the future, I still see that bright red smile, that warm feeling, the jokes and laughs we have in the Chambers. I'm not worried at all. Spyro and Malefor are both purple dragons with four elements that kick ass. I mean, just Spyro's punch ripped the hallway in half. Combined with his help from Malefor, what's there to worry about?"

"Yeah... what is there to worry about?"

Yawning as she now felt tired, she apologized with a giggle, "Sorry. I was hoping we could have gone to the White Isle but, now even I am tired. I guess this peace is pretty relaxing... I'm snuggled up and happy, and I hope you are too."

"Of course I am, Claire. I will always be happy with you around."

"That makes two of us. But, if you have something else to talk about, I'm right here if you need me, okay?"

"You've been a big help and I know you are tired. I have nothing else to talk about. We can talk more in the morning."

"Okay... Goodnight, Ignitus."

"Goodnight, Claire."

With Claire now falling asleep along with the others that slightly snored, Ignitus laid there with his eyes opened. His mind racing with fear and memories of the past. _What if we do go back to that time? Warfang has been able to withstand attacks of course but... what if there is that one day something goes wrong. Ugh! My worries of the past, the future, someone's death, the whole thing with Ersa...! It's all just... it's all too much to handle... I... I need to make sure Spyro is as strong as possible. He can protect everyone... I know he can. We can't lose anyone... not now, not ever,_ Ignitus thought with fear as his mind raced with questions left unanswered and fears of the unknown. _I can have a clone at the pool of visions just in case, one is writing down dragon history, and another one I can have snoop around all over the Isle for anything that can help me, anything that can help, Spyro._ Picking his head up and looking at all the Guardians, listening to their slight snoring, he wondered what he could do to help them out as well. _I have to let them train. Taking them away from that training they were going to have probably wasn't a good idea... If Spyro trains them, I have to let it happen. Even if Volteer gets strong, he will not be stronger then Spyro. He will help... I know he will._ Laying his head back down next to Claire's, he apologized in his thoughts, _I'm sorry for this, Spyro. Giving you a nightmare is the only way I know that will push you to train as hard as possible. I will make up for what I'm about to do, I promise._ Closing his eyes, he tried to get some rest in hopes it would take his mind off of things which didn't provide much help.

* * *

"Haha! Lets see Spyro beat that kind of record. What are we at like, kiss number twenty? Maybe twenty-two... Oh Hell, I lost count,' Malefor asked himself back and forth, wondering what number they were at, and while he did that, Carith laid with her back on the bed and her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth with her eyes closed as she had been completely satisfied with the kissing that her lover was giving her, "Um, Carith, are you okay? Oh no, did I do something wrong again?! Tell you what, I have a fantastic idea. Instead of saying I did something wrong, agree with me that we should say Spyro did something wrong, just to see what his lover will say. What do you, say, to that?"

Opening her eyes and looking up at her lover as he stood on top of her with her back on the bed, she put her tongue back in her mouth and declined the idea, "I'm satisfied. I'm no where near disappointed or, upset, or, any negative feeling for that matter. You have done very, very well to satisfy my needs for your lips. But what I wonder is, why are you trying to pick on that poor Dragon? Spyro trusts you, he is contemplating on being your friend, and you want to see if we can make his lover turn against him?"

"Oh... Oh no! Abort! Abort!"

"Hehe, yeah, I thought so. And plus, just like them, how do you expect we turn those two against one another? That's next to impossible."

"I'm the Dark Master, remember? I have control over the darkness in Cynder, which means I could make her turn into her dark form and attack him at any point. She will feel bad and run away. Then, that's when you come in and tell Cynder to move on because she is better then Spyro and he would never understand that he isn't good enough for her. Bam. Full proof plan... or I think it's called, Fool Proof plan... I don't remember."

"Oh no, my lover's making a plan. Malefor, I'm going to help you on this so you can now how badly your plan will backfire. One, having control over Cynder and her darkness isn't even a bad thing. They will just turn it into another way they can mess around and tease one another while they kiss. And also, Spyro has more control over the darkness so, I'm sure she would be fine. And if I told Cynder to move on, hehe, she would come back, Bitch slap you like she did that one day in the training room, and then she would run to Spyro's wings, they would make out, and everything would be fine. Aside from the fact that he would hate you."

"Oh... Hell... Not the Bitch slap. Oh yeah, speaking of that, did you know Spyro slapped me the same day too?"

"Hahaha. When did he... when did he do that?" Carith laughed, feeling slightly bad for her lover, but it was still funny to her.

"I thought he said he was going to help me with something, but instead of saying he was going to help me, he said he was going to slap me, and he did! He actually slapped me! I was rubbing the side of my face for the longest time too because of him. First Cynder, and now Spyro. I wish I was still feared. At least then, I got the respect I deserved. Now I'm nothing more then a slap bag."

"Careful what you wish for, Malefor," A voice emerged from the darkness.

The voice caused Malefor to scream slightly as his scales felt like they had stuck up on end. Before the figure even walked out of the darkness, Malefor put a paw on his chest and sighed hugely before he started yelling at Ignitus, "Ignitus, you bastard! Knock man. You scared me half to death. And why do I have to get haunted by you? I'm gonna get the Ghostbusters on your ass if you keep sneaking in here."

"Stop using out dated references no one knows. I'm sure no one has read that book... Aside from me."

"What?! Carith, you've read Ghostbusters, right? It was about those four male dragons... which, a newer book came out and made them all females for some reason... But still, you have to at least read one of those books, right?"

"Um... would you hate me if I said no?" Carith was hesitant to say.

"Wha... Carith. Okay okay, I will give you pass, but please tell me, you've at least read like... what was a good book I read when I was like... eight...? Oh yeah! Please tell me you read like, Goosebumps. Everyone read that book back then."

"Sorry..."

"Carith... no..." Malefor whimpered.

"Yeah, Sorry, Malefor, not even I read that book when I was young," Ignitus chuckled.

"That's because you were a sick little dragon. Did you even read back then? Wait, I've got a couple more, and please tell me one of these rings a bell. Alright, Um, 'How To Kill A MockingBird'? 'The Dragon, The Witch, And The Wardrobe'? 'Dairy Of A Wimpy Dragon'?! These were like, the books back then. There are so much more and I know you have to know one of them... right?"

She shuck her head slowly, not knowing a single one of the books at all. Pulling a paw up, he started to pet the top of her. Moving his paw from her head, he moved his paw back down to behind her neck and repeated a couple of times as he whispered, "You poor, poor, Dragon. Don't worry, your lover's got you... You've fallen down, but I got you... What about, 'Lord Of The Rings'?"

"Nope," Carith giggled.

"Damn."

"Don't worry, Carith," Ignitus spoke, "Spyro hasn't really read any of those books either so, he is also missing out on history. And also Cynder because, well, Malefor wasn't very good taking care of a Hatchling so, she kinda had to learn history on her own."

"No, that wasn't on me, that was on Ghaul. I told him to take care of her, and he didn't."

"Uh-huh... Oh, speaking of Cynder having to learn, Carith, you ready for the sweetest thing Spyro ever did for his lover?"

"Of course. What happened?" Carith asked, intrigued about the conversation.

"Since she didn't know how to swim, he stayed right next to her in the water and help her swim."

"Aw. That's so adorable."

"She was scared of the water too, believe it or not."

"Oh, I'm so picking on that girl about that some day."

"If someday would ever come to pass. What do you want, Ignitus? Me and Carith were just about to go to bed... probably. I guess I can't lie since you can just read our minds and know what we are thinking," Malefor asked as he was a little tired, but was nowhere near wanting to fall asleep as he was having a fantastic time with his lover.

"I guess I can't really lie my way out of this but, even for someone such as myself, I still fear for the future. I talked a lot with Claire about the past and all the years I spent alone after that attack on the Temple," Ignitus was honest with him, and already seeing the frown on his face as he went to apologize, he assured him, "And I'm not saying that because I blame you. You don't need to feel bad. But, as I was talking to her, it has dawned on me more and more about what could happen in the future that could put us back to where we were before. "

"What?"

"Well... If some deaths happen... it could one day happen."

"Not this again. Ignitus, try and enjoy some peace and quiet for once. I know your mind is constantly working and all but, getting everyone all bummed and crushing Spyro's hopes isn't the best of fun... I mean, I would do it of course but, you? Come on, man."

"I... I didn't know how to tell you this but... I want to be honest with you. I told Spyro and of course, Claire but... I can't keep it from you anymore as well. Soon, i will have to tell the Guardians, and, after he finds out, I have to tell Volteer the truth."

"The truth about what?"

"Ersa is... she's... died."

"What?! How can you be so sure?" Malefor asked as he moved himself off of Carith and stood to her right side.

"I lied to him when I told him I didn't read of her past. When Volteer and Spyro went to the back of the Temple, the conclusion he came to was the same one the Chronicler had... Aside from the fact that the Chronicler knows all about what happened. When she escaped, she ran into the trees, later being ambushed and killed by the Dark Master's dark army. There was nothing we could've done back then."

"No... No that just... that doesn't sound right."

"Do you not remember that day? Me and The Guardians did accomplish trapping you and saving Spyro but, even with big victories, there were also big losses. The Hatchlings, the other Guardians were beaten and taken... And Ersa was taken away from us as well. Even the smartest of minds know when they are beaten, and, unfortunately, there were just too many apes and dark creatures."

"I... But..." Malefor sighed sadly as he didn't know what to say as he never knew her, so instead, he wanted to get to know her and asked a couple of questions, "Ignitus, tell me, what did Ersa mean to Volteer? What did they do, where did they go? What did they work on? Maybe something from there past will help me better understand how I can help."

"Well, I know we walked in on them almost kissing like, twice but... they never confessed their love for one another. They never once even pecked one another on the cheek. As for what they did, well, she was the mind behind what helped us trap you, or, well, the dark you. They did a lot of work and had a book full of this work. She accidentally destroyed everything they worked on but, Volteer was happy about it because they were able to do it all over again, together. After that day, I don't know, they seemed even happier together."

"Damn... I was going to say she maybe had something to help her but... if everything was destroyed then... Well, you all did still trap me so, that means not everything was destroyed. What else did they still have or, what else did they make before the attack?"

"We have no idea. I can go back and read everything they built but, it will take some time to find everything they built. Maybe two days if I really stuck with it but, problem with that is, Volteer is getting restless. If I don't do something soon and he finds out... He will be heartbroken. I've thought about best case, worst case, and, decent, outcomes. I would ask how you would feel if your lover was dead but... we already know how that turned out so... that kinda makes this situation even more difficult."

"Well, they weren't really lovers so... maybe it won't be, too much of a, kick to the gut."

"You know how back then, Volteer would usually goes on a rant about words that meant the same."

"Hehe, yeah, of course I do. Who needs a book when you got that."

"Well, I would like to say that, it developed from, Ersa. It didn't get, bad, until he met here."

"Bad? What's bad about it... Aside from the sound."

"Those two were, like, connected when they did it."

"How do you think Hatchlings are made?"

"Shut up. What I mean is, when he would say... Wait, just use what Terrador told us that one day as an example. They would be in sync with every word they used in some way and we never knew how."

"Oh yeah! I forgot about that conversation... Oh Hell... now that I'm remembering... I also remember how Volteer said how he would make Ersa his mate when ever he sees her again."

"Which is another reason this is getting very difficult for me."

Malefor sighed once again as now that he remember what he had said, it did seem difficult to understand what to do. Sitting down on the bed, he knew there was no point to think about what he was saying, so instead, he just said his thoughts out loud to also see if his lover could have an input on what to do, "So, if we come out and tell him, he wouldn't take it so easily... And with Spyro constantly getting his hopes up that she is alive... it's just going to make things more difficult... Well, even still, Volteer isn't as strong as me or Spyro. If it comes to a fight, we can calm him down if it comes to that."

"But here another problem, the Dark Master killed his parents, and when he finds out they killed his lover, he isn't going to look at the purple dragons as heroes. After all, think about it, He will never trust Spyro ever again which won't help, and he will blame you for the deaths of everyone he loves which, also does not help anyone. Maybe one of the Guardians could calm him down but, it wouldn't be helpful in the aftermath."

"Oh, Volteer... Why couldn't you plan ahead...? Alright, well then... What if you put him in a dream and let him say goodbye to his lover at least?"

"If his lover is in the dream, why would he want to leave?"

"Ugh... I'm actually at a lost... What if you, tell Volteer that his lover was really killed by apes which were technically under the control of the ape king, not me so... maybe it will help out just a little bit."

"Well, it's not a terrible idea. But even still, it all comes down to, how will Volteer react to Spyro when he finds out? We can't avoid anything from that for many reasons, one of which, those words came from Spyro himself, and second of all, he constantly has told him everything will be fine. I understand my son is trying to be helpful but, if he keeps giving him hopes about someone who is dead..."

"No... I get it. When Carith supposedly met me at the Dragon Temple, it only made it more difficult for me to stay in control. I knew what happened, I knew she was died and yet, there she was. I gave in and wanted nothing more then to cuddle with her. Just as I was calming down, she disappeared. All the anger boiled up inside of me because I knew who did it. But I didn't know it was you just trying to help me... Wait... why don't you try the same trick on, Volteer?"

"There are many problems with it. If that fake version of Carith would've kissed you, you wouldn't have felt anything. And even for the Chronicler, I couldn't use the power for long. Compared to just clones who are just a copy of me, I have to make sure I get every scale right, the horn position, color of her wings and body, everything I have to make sure is perfect. It's a difficult ability to use."

"But it could work. Spyro keeps saying she is out there, but, since we know she is dead, there could be a way to still make things play out in our favor."

"How?"

"If you use that clone and make it seem like she has moved in with someone else, then he will feel heartbroken at her. But, he won't be upset at me, nor will be be upset at Spyro because he was right; she was alive. So, if you could hold it just long enough to have that conversation, then, when the crowd walks in front of his line of sight, we distract him and you make her disappear."

"That... that could work. Unfortunately, it's a plan by you so, it might have a flaw."

"Go to Hell. I'm trying to help you and you say something like that? Unbelievable."

"My Love... there might, actually be, something wrong with that plan," Carith spoke, causing the two to look at her, wondering what she had to say, "If Volteer wants to be her mate, I'm pretty sure he wouldn't just give up just because she moved on. He would want to fight who ever she loves or is the mate of to win her back. This was similar to what happened to my mother's sister. She met this one guy but, didn't see him for a good month. She moved on and found love elsewhere. The other guy came back and tried to fight for her lover... Sadly enough, the other guy she didn't see in a month... he lost."

"And we can't have Volteer lose against this, fake mate of ours. Because... then he will never want to leave the Chambers."

"Or he will bulk up from anger and try and fight him again later on, possible killing himself from the training," Ignitus said.

Everyone sighed as they didn't think it could be helped. There was nothing for them to do as everything that seemed positive turned out to have a downside to it. All Ignitus could do was think back to what Claire had told him about what he should do, and he thought about it, _Is telling him the truth really the only thing for me to do?_ Brainstorming one last idea, he told them about it to see what they would say, "I have one last idea. Claire told me it would be best to tell him the truth. Maybe... maybe it isn't such a bad idea. I can put him in the dream world I have, calm him down as much as possible, and if I need to, I can bring anyone I need in to help. But, until I know he is completely calmed down, I won't release him."

"So... you are going to hold him against his will?" Malefor asked.

"I don't see any other way. This may have a downside but, he can't hurt anyone or himself when he is in the dream world."

"Hehe, well, look on the bright side. You and Volteer being in that dream world of yours, I'm sure he would enjoy being with another guy like you all alone."

"Hehe, there it is. I was wondering if you would make a joke from that."

"As soon as I thought about it, I could not say it."

Knowing what would be best, he believed he got what he came for in case of information. _Yeah... I think keeping him in that dream world could calm him down if need be. It's our only best bet,_ Ignitus thought to himself with a sigh, wishing there was something else they could do for him, but he was at a loss. Giving a nice smile to his friend, he thanked him for his help when he needed it, "Thanks for the talk, Malefor. I was going to also go bother Spyro about what to do but, he is going to have a lot to deal with soon so, I don't want him to have to worry about more."

"What do you mean, 'he has a lot to deal with'?"

"Oh, nothing to worry about. The Guardians are going to want to train soon so, he is going to have to help them soon."

"It's about time they trained off some of that weight."

"Hehe. They are just trying to enjoy this peace after plus fifteen years."

"Oh yeah... all that time."

"Thanks again. I will let you two go back to bed, or... what ever else you were doing."

"I should be thanking you. It's nice to talk to you when ever. Just, not when you appear and I have to go from all loving to, hey, let's talk about Volteer's fate so, heads up next time would be great."

"Of course. Goodnight you two."

"Goodnight, Ignitus," The two lovers said in unison.

Turning away and walking over to the door, he opened it with his paw and walked out of the room. Shutting the door behind himself with his tail blade, he let out a sigh, wishing he could tackle one situation at a time as it was all too much even for him. Looking over at the other door to the other bedroom, Ignitus thought to himself, _He could soon be in the same boat Malefor is in. A difficult friendship, difficulty in trust... Volteer might see that from Spyro just as Spyro sees that in Malefor. But, Spyro has changed, his trust has grown... maybe after Volteer finds out, it will just take some time._ With a white light that consumed his body, his clone disappeared, giving all the information he just got to the original.

With an open mouth and a loud yawn, Malefor agreed that it was time to go to bed. As he spoke, he stretched out his back before laying down on his stomach, "Well... Ugh... I guess I can see why Ignitus is stressing. I feel bad for Volteer though. Even though I don't know, Ersa, she sounds like a pretty fun dragon to hang around. It's a shame I will never be able to see her but... She probably would've killed me for what I put Volteer through, especially if those two really did love one another."

With his wings laid down on the bed, Carith rolled over to him, picked out his left wing, and rolled underneath it. Cuddling up with his body, perfectly laid down on her stomach from rolling over to him, she giggled a little from his words, "Who isn't out to kill you?"

"Hehe, right."

"But, I do feel bad for him. Maybe like how we helped Ignitus, we could all help Volteer find someone else he loves. I know it's not easy moving on, but... It could be the only way."

"And that's the problem. Take me for example; There was no moving on. I was so determined to be with you, I was willing to blow up the world... Well, blowing up the world was the Dark Master's idea, but... I'm scared to know what he will do. Even with Cynder, back when everyone thought I killed Spyro, Terrador tried to tell her to let go but... She couldn't. And, if Spyro did die, I'm sure that either, I would be dead by now, or, to this day, she would still be by his body, laying there in a pool of tears... it's scary to think about but... it's true."

"That was a... difficult day to say the lease."

"Hopefully there is something me or Spyro can do to keep another day like that from happening... I do hope you had a good night though, my love."

"Hehe, of course I did. Every night and day with you is fantastic."

"Sorry I have to be the one dragon Ignitus won't leave alone. Kinda ruins the moment. Even when the dude has a girl and friends, he always needs someone to talk to."

"It's better then the old Chronicler, that's for sure."

"Oh absolutely."

Laying her head down on her paws, she closed her eyes and whispered to him, "I believe you two can do it. So... I'm not all that worried. It will still hurt to see how much pain Volteer will be in afterwards but, that's what friends are for. We will be there for him when ever he needs someone to talk to... Goodnight, Malefor."

Laying his head down next to hers, he nuzzled her slightly. Pulling his head away and laying it down right next to her head, he whispered, "Yeah... I believe me and Spyro can accomplish anything... Goodnight, Carith."

* * *

Laid down next to his lover on the bed, Spyro's face faced the door as his lover slept peacefully. Picking his head up with a sigh, he looked at her, seeing her lay on her side with his wing draped over her, he was at least glad she was happy, but to him, he was bothered. He couldn't shake the feeling, the thoughts and images he had when it came to the death of the Guardians. _Do they know something I don't? It sounded like they were so sure of themselves... Could it have something to do with a dragon, or, the apes, maybe even the darkness... Not like they would tell me,_ Spyro thought, laying his head back down on the bed behind his lover's. _Hey, Ignitus, I know you can hear my thoughts. Tell me the truth, which I know you probably won't but... what is out there that I don't know about._ Waiting a couple of seconds, there wasn't a response. _"Sorry, was getting some work done," Ignitus apologized through his thoughts to his son's. Work? Aren't you sleeping?_ Spyro asked with confusion. _"You should know about my clones by now. Of course, me myself is sleeping. I'm working at the White Isle right now."_

 _Well, you going to tell me the truth or am I going to have to find out the hard way? The fact that you were also on Terrador's side doesn't help me feel better._ Once again, it went quiet for a second which only made him wonder more of what was going on, but he did speak after those couple seconds of silence, _"Sorry, working and talking is a little difficult, but I have put my work aside so I can speak to you. But, Spyro, in all honesty, I do agree that something could happen to us. The apes are still a threat, and with those dark spots, there is no telling what is going on outside of Warfang. And with Ersa and her death, it could split us apart and one of us could die of someone makes a decision so, I can't say we are safe."_ His body shivered slightly knowing he was right about the darkness. His words also made him think more about Ersa and the apes, but he was sure he could handle something like that, _The apes aren't a problem. With Malefor by my side, that's not something I have to worry about. I know Ersa isn't dead so I don't fear for what will happen, and as for the darkness... if it does get to the wrong dragon... it could be a problem. But that one Dragon had darkness in him and I took care of him quickly so, I don't see a need to worry about the darkness. As long as their is no dark master, there will be no dark creatures so, we are fine. "You say that but, what if there were dark creatures?" What do you mean? "I'm not saying there are dark creatures, I'm just saying, you don't know if there are or aren't. I don't know if there are because I can't see what the darkness does." Well... if there are... I can deal with it when I see it. "Why only you? Just before, you said you'd deal with the apes with Malefor and yet, now you want to take on the darkness alone? Are you afraid of him? You think he might turn against us?" I never said that. I would just feel more... comfortable... dealing with something like that on my own. "So if you saw a dark creature right now, and it attacked Cynder, what would you do? Who would you blame? I know you, Spyro, I know your tone. You also can't lie to me, because I know everything." Then you should already know my answer. "Why do you bother saying you trust him, and that you'll make him your friend if you will stab him in the back when something like the darkness comes up? He is just like all of us. You don't have to crush his heart every time." I wouldn't kill him...! "Then what would you do? Prove me wrong. Tell me something that not even the Chronicler would know."_

Spyro stopped as he did wonder what he would do in such a situation if his lover was attacked by dark creatures. Not even he could lie to himself about what he would do, but when he thought back to what happened in the training room with Malefor, his mind slowly changed more and more about what he would do. Finding a way that would satisfy everyone, he tried to tell him what he believed would happen, _If Cynder said everything was fine... If she was for sure happy even after what happened... I don't know if I could... be his friend, because I know there are dark creatures out there. But, after kicking his ass to a mess in the training room... I... I would... "Watch as he bleeds on the ground in fear for something he didn't do? Watch as he begs and cries for you to trust him and yet you just attack and slash at him while his lover pleads for you to stop as well? Sounds like a fantastic plan."_ With that thought now burned into his mind, he sighed, now feeling a little bad for what he would do. _"Sorry if I'm being hard on you... I'm just, I'm scared that the death we will have in our family will happen from someone in the family. If you want the truth from me, Malefor isn't the problem. He is who he is now; He's happy, joking, try to get along with everyone, self. I also want to be honest that... The Guardians, one of us, we could die at some point. I... I don't want to scare you, and I'm not saying you aren't strong now. And with Malefor's help, you are sure to tackle any problem..." How close am I to your power? "What?" You once put a percentage on how much power you used. I want to know, how close am I to your power from a one to a ten. Full out darkness mode would probably be the best for you to put in the equation. "Um... Full out power... You still haven't mastered the blue of all elements or purple so... I'm going to have to say like a... five, or a very close six."_ His paws clenched on to the bed as it frustrated him to hear he was so weak. _So low... huh. Which means that battle I won against you was nothing more then a lie._ _"Spyro, don't beat yourself up. The fact you are even close to the Chronicler's power is amazing. You could beat anyone you come across I'm sure." That's the hope of training... isn't it. "It's going to be okay. I will let you know if anything is going to happen so you can prepare. Just sleep for now. I will work out everything for you." Sleep... yeah... I guess I will try. "Oh, and just to lighten up your spirits, you kissed Cynder a lot longer and for more time then Malefor kissed his lover so, I'm pretty sure Cynder went to bed a lot happier." Hehe, that's something I could pick on him about later I guess... thanks, Ignitus. "You're welcome, my son... Anytime you need to talk, i will be there."_

Closing his eyes and trying to get some sleep, the talk he had with his father only made it more difficult for him to shake the feeling of the future.

* * *

Relaying the conversation the clone had with his son, Ignitus sighed and apologized through his thoughts, _I'm sorry for what I'm going to have to do to you but... I hope... I hope you will forgive me for this nightmare. It's the only way I know how to push you without telling you the truth of what is really out there._ Opening one eye, he looked at Claire as she slept. _And your advice about telling Volteer the truth is probably the only way, Claire._ Listening to the slight snoring of the Guardians, it made he feel relived to hear their snoring, to know they were alive and well felt good to him. Closing his eye and trying to go back to bad, he thought, _I'm sorry I lied to you, Spyro. Your power was beyond what I believed a normal Dragon could achieve. When ever I get the chance... I will apologize... I will make it up to you._


	9. Chapter 9: Non-stop Training

Chapter 9: Non Stop Training

 _"Spyro, we wanted to, talk to you. Me and Ignitus have both seen it and well, we wanted to know your input on our idea. In case anything ever happened to us, we would like for those three to take up the mantle of Guardians." Terrador said. "Sorry, I... I don't think I heard you right," Spyro slightly growled. "Ignitus checked and those three would be perfect to be Guardians. And, we were hoping that you would train the three in case something ever happened to us. What do you think?" "This conversation is over. Don't ever bring this up ever again." "Spyro, wait. We just... we know things aren't as easy as they seem, and it's, just in case, that's all." "Just in case?! What would make them becoming Guardians any better?! Why should I train them when I should be training the ones who are already Guardians!" "We aren't saying that we are giving up being Guardians, we just... It's just in case, Spyro." "Terrador... when we walk out there, you, me, and Ignitus, we all forget this was ever a conversation, understand?!" "Spyro, you aren't understanding." "No! You aren't understanding! You never put forth the effort to keep yourself safe! You're throwing someone else's life into the life of a Guardian because you know you are all weak, and you won't do a damn thing about it! If you were looking for a lover, Terrador, would you want her to know you are a dead beat who put his job to another, younger, dragon?!" "Spyro..." "Oh that's right, I'm not Ignitus, so you won't listen to me when I say something. And there is no point in threatening you, I wouldn't get any fun out of beating such a worthless excuse of a Guardian!" "This isn't something you can avoid, Spyro! One day, we will all be dead! You think the world is at peace?! We took one step out of Warfang and got attacked! Others are still dying out there while we sit her, blinded by this, fake peace!" "Well it's a good thing I was born then. The Guardians have never done anything to show they were worthy of that title. Couldn't save their own friend, couldn't save their parents, and couldn't save Hatchlings." "Spyro..." Ignitus murmured. "Fine. Since you've already given up on life, I will train them. Just don't show your face until you clean that pathetic off your face," Spyro spat._

 _Running throughout the forest, jumping side to side as he rushed to the battle, It was hard to avoid any other obstacle like sticks that pointed up out of the ground and stabbed at Spyro's paws as he stepped on them. It proved to be pointless to him to even try and avoid them as the only light was a small shine from the moon, so he couldn't barely see. Finally making his way out of the forest and to the open field where the battled had started, he shivered with tears seeing he was already too late to help. A body laid on it's side in the middle of the field, a green body. Running up in desperation to help, Spyro slid on the grass as he passed by his body and took a couple more steps to get to the front of his body. "Terrador! Hey... hey, Terrador! Come on, stay with me!" Spyro cried, tapping a claw on his side, but nothing happened._ _Terrador's body was filled with slashes, cuts, and bruises, and even a sword stabbed into his tail at the end._ _"No... no no no! What's wrong with my powers?! Not now... not now!" Terrador grumbled as he was just barely able to open one eye. Spyro cried out in surprise that he was even able to do that. "Spyro..." Terrador murmured, closing his eye and sighing faintly. "Terrador! Terrador! Please... please!" Terrador's breathing had almost slowed to a stop just as his heart. Using the last bit of strength he had left, he was able to shed one tear along with his last words, "Spyro... I'm sorry... Stay strong when I'm... gone... I will... miss all of you... Goodbye... Spyro." Taking one last breath, his body grew limp and all signs of life depleted. Tears ran down Spyro's face as they fell down onto his dead friend. His body locked up on him as he tried to move. "Terrador..."_

Coming out of the dream, Spyro took a deep breath in. Picking up his head, he opened his eyes wide. Breathing heavily from the dream, he was even sweating with fear. His body trembled, almost as much as it did in his dream. Trying to control his breathing, he sighed once. Taking another breath, he sighed again. Feeling the sunlight give off slight warmth to his back, he knew it was morning, and he had hoped this was real life and not a dream. The dream took a dark turn for him, and he couldn't stop thinking about it, especially with what Terrador said to him.

* * *

 _"Goodbye... Spyro..." Terrador murmured, taking one last breath._

* * *

Feeling his tears start to form in his eyes, he shuck his head and thought to himself, _I can't... I can't let that happen. Terrador is right. We are safe here, but there is still so many other problems out there. What if my time power runs out and I... And I can't save him?! What if... what if it was everyone that I needed to save, but failed because I wasn't strong enough?! Because I wasn't fast enough?! No... no... it's... I... I'm not going to let that happen._ Gently moving his paws from underneath his lover's head, he took his wing off of her back and pulled his tail away from hers. Standing up and crawling off the bed, he walked over to the door, but quickly stopped himself. Turning around, he looked at his lover as she laid in the sunlight. He smiled and knew what he needed to do. Walking back over towards the bed, he moved his head over and kissed her on her lips. Waking up to the feeling, she moaned slightly, along with opening her eyes ever so slightly. Pulling away from the kiss, he saw she was somewhat awake and apologized, "Hey, my love. I'm sorry to wake you but, I'm going to be training in the training room for a while. But I will have Malefor look after you in case anything happens."

"Hehe..." Cynder giggled, still half asleep, "I'm way stronger then, Malefor. But be careful, okay? Don't want what happened last time to happen again. Just wake me if you go anywhere else, please."

"Of course... I will let you go back to bed."

Scooting over slightly to get out of the sunlight, Cynder curled up into a ball and went back to bed. Spyro smiled, glad to see she was still happy, and he knew he needed to keep it that way. Turning away from her and walking back over towards her, another imagine hit him even though he was wide awake and not sleeping.

* * *

 _"Goodbye... Spyro..." Volteer murmured, taking his last breath before dying._

* * *

Shaking a little, he struggled to keep his balance as he almost fell to the floor, and his breathing started up again. He growled as he felt himself thinking more and more about their deaths, and it hurt more and more every time he thought about it. Shaking it off, he opened up his door with his paw. Walking out to the hallway, he carefully closed the door behind himself with his tail blade as to not make any noise. As the door shut, he looked over at the training room, and then over at Malefor's room, wondering what he should do. _I'm not taking any chances._ Making up his mind, he made his way over towards Malefor's room. Reaching his paw up and opening his door, he heard slight sounds of snoring coming from Malefor as he slept. Walking in, he felt bad having to wake him, but he needed the help. Standing in front of the bed, Spyro put his paw on Malefor's shoulder and he whispered, "Malefor... hey. I could really use your help."

"Ugh..." Malefor grumbled, not wanting to wake up, "Sleep, Spyro. Everyone is doing it nowadays. You should go back... And try it."

"Malefor, please. I need your help."

"Alright alright..." He grumbled, picking up his head and opening up his eyes, he continued, "What's in it for me?"

"Well, I will, take a day off of how long it will take me to be your friend."

"A day off from the year I probably still have...? You know what, it's worth it... Just... give me a second."

"Thank you..."

Turning away and walking out of the room, Spyro waited in the hallway for Malefor to come out. As he sat and waited, he went back to his thoughts again, this time, he had the same flash as he did before, only it was Cyril this time.

* * *

 _"Goodbye... Spyro..." Cyril_ _murmured, taking his last breath before dying._

* * *

 _Damn it,_ Spyro growled at himself, scaring himself more and more as he thought about what could happen, and maybe even what was to come of the future. He was able to evade any further thoughts as he saw Malefor lazily walk out from his room, wobbling from side to side as he made his way over towards him. Finally standing still, he stretched out in front of him and asked with a yawn mid sentence, "So what's... what's going on? Why do we need to wake up this time?"

"It's about what happened yesterday. I can't get my mind off of what Terrador said to me about how, they could die and... I had a nightmare about it. I know Ignitus caused it but, he knows as well as I do that it could happen. Terrador especially knows that he, along with anyone else, we could all easily die if I'm not strong enough to do something about it. I need you to watch Cynder for me while I train... please," Spyro begged, and even though Malefor could see he was scared, he still tried to lighten the mood up a little for him.

"Hehe, since when do I have to hatchling sit, Cynder? Plus, even I know you don't really trust me enough to watch her while you train."

"Malefor... If you can do this, then that year you talked about, I will take off... eleven months, and fifteen days, which would only leave another fifteen days..."

"What?! Really?! I mean... Ahem... what I meant was, even though you make me your friend, that still wouldn't mean you trust me. Just, go and train and I will watch over her. When you feel you want to be my friend, I will always be ready to hear it. I know you trust me, especially since I tried to pull the darkness thing in the morning yesterday so... thank you for that. The only thing I want in return is for you to promise me you won't do anything with the darkness... please. Not like that time."

"I promise."

"Alright... And also... you think you could uh... put in a good word for me when you're done? Just let Carith know that I helped so she could give me the gift that keeps on kissing, I mean, giving."

"Hehe, deal."

Alright then... just be safe."

"Okay, mom."

"Why do I even bother with you."

The two shared a slight chuckle with one another. Nodding at his friend, Malefor nodded back. Walking over to the training room, he opened the door and walked inside. Watching as the door closed, Malefor thought to himself about the way Spyro was acting, and it kinda scared him, _I guess I could understand why he wants to train so badly but... I have a bad feeling that he isn't going to go through a simple training session... Oh, Terrador, what have you done._ Walking over and laying down in the middle of the training room door and the door to the left of it, he chilled out there while Spyro trained.

Standing in the middle of the training room, Spyro concentrated on what ever he could think of that he could fight. Dark creatures, apes, and even dragons spawn into the room, completely darkened out with a black aura and body. Opening his eyes back up, he was surrounded by everything he had spawned, and rather then using his dark form, he stayed in his base form. Tapping his tail on the ground from his right, he moved his tail over and tapped his tail on the ground to his left. Fighting stance ready, everything in the room ready for a fight as well. Taking a step forward with his front left paw, he kicked himself forward, flying right at the creatures in front of him. Everything in the room moved and advanced towards him as he fought. Jumping up and spinning in the air, his body erupted into a fire tornado, slicing and burning everything that he passed by. Killing everything in front of him, he turned around and slowed his decent. As everything had rushed him from the door side, he threw up his paw. Large spikes erupted from the ground, piercing two dragons and killing them instantly. Now backed into a corner, he flew to the air. Looking down, fire erupted from his mouth, burning what he had hoped was everything on the ground. But at the corner of his eye, a dragon flew right at him, kicking him in the side of the face. His body flew out of the air, crashing right into the side of his own spike structure that he had made. His body flipped and rolled, but he was able to stand back to his paws. Looking at the progress, he knew he wasn't going to get to where he needed to be doing simple training like this. Pulling his paw up, he slowly moved it down, causing what remained of the spike structures to fall back to the ground. The remaining dark enemies all disintegrated in a cloud of dark smoke, and Spyro sighed, knowing he would have to make it as tough as possible. _I'll just do what Ignitus did to me that one time,_ Spyro thought.

Closing his eyes, he spawned about ten dragons, all consumed in darkness with a black aura. Opening his eyes, he had hoped what he planned would work. Rolling his shoulder, he walked into battle, but then quickly sped up and ran at one of the dragon's. Going to slice at him, the dragon dodge. As it dodged to Spyro's side, it sliced it his side as he passed by. The speed and sudden feeling of the attack made Spyro let out a small growl. Spinning himself around back to facing the front door, he looked at the cut, glad that it did in fact work with what he wanted. Looking back at the dragon, he used his wings and flew himself right at the dragon. He sliced at his neck, and missed. He tried to slice at his body, and missed. Then he tried to slice at his wings, and missed. Slicing at the dragon one more time with his claws, he went forward as he missed. Everything he tried to do, the dragon did to him in an instant. The dragon slashed his neck, body, and wings all in a matter of second. Luckily, as the dragon went to move back, Spyro slashed his claws around and was able to stab the dragon in the side of the throat. The dragon growled as he exploded into a dark cloud before disappearing. Though it was a small victory, he hated himself for already having so many wounds. The dragons all didn't waste anymore time. The remaining nine took the opportunity to attack while he was thinking. Each took a shoot at him. They rushed in at a blink of speed. The only indication they were still there was the pain and blood Spyro coughed up as they attacked him. The remaining nine used their tail blade to cut his side, chest, tail, or wings. Spyro fell to the ground in pain, coughing up more blood as they moved their tail blade inside his body to inflict more pain. He struggled to try and get up, but when he did, they would either dig their tail blades deeper, or punch him in the stomach. _Why... why is it so easy to lose..._ Spyro thought, feeling like passing out. Closing his eyes to try and think of a way out of this, the pain he felt, the weakness he felt, made him snap as he thought about the Guardians once again.

* * *

 _"Goodbye... Spyro..." Ignitus murmured, taking his last breath before dying._

* * *

 _No!_ Spyro cried in his thoughts. Seeing his father bleed, seeing that dream, his failures, knowing he could fail, it set him off. Hitting his paw on the ground, he growled as he tried to stand up, "Get... off me..."

 _"Goodbye... Spyro..." All four Guardians murmured at once, taking their last breath before dying._

"Get the Hell off me!" Spyro yelled with rage.

With his yell came an explosion of blue that lighted up the room, setting the dragons on fire. Hearing their cries as they burned, he snarled, trying not to even think about it as they weren't real any way. As the fires died down, so did the lives of the dark dragons. All of them were once again defeated by the sudden and hidden powers that Spyro had. Trying to ignore the pain, he healed himself with his hourglass, and as he did, he thought to himself, _Nothing ever changes when it comes to my power. I lose, see the death or life threatening situation of someone close to me, and I erupt darkness or fire from anger! It shouldn't have to be that way, I should know how to prevent it from ever going as far as life threatening...! I have to keep going I... I have to think of something!_ As the hourglass healed all his wounds, more dragons appeared all around him. _If they are impossible to beat, then i need to stick with what ever is a little lower then that. Next to impossible is something I should wait for. But maybe... Not nearly, impossible... I have to keep trying._ The dragons, just like before with the other ones, all used this opportunity to attack him while he wasn't watching. Spyro's tail blade swung beside him as he dashed in front of him, disappearing from sight to attack the dragons.

* * *

 _Should I go in there and train with him? Ugh, on one side, it's good to get training in, but knowing my luck, something could or would happen to either my lover, or Spyro's. But if I just lay out here doing nothing, I won't be able to improve and become as strong as he is, or even stronger,_ Malefor thought back and forth with himself, but he could only sigh, knowing it would be best if he just laid out in the hallway. Humming to himself as he waited for something to happen, he didn't know what to do in terms of fun. Putting two claws on the ground each from his left and right paw, he decided to act out the future from his thoughts. Moving his paws, he used his left paw to describe his lover, and his right paw to describe himself.

"Oh Malefor, you are just so strong, and cunning, and everything about me screams to love you," Malefor said in a variation of his lover's voice as he moved his left paw.

"Hehe, well, Carith, you know me. I didn't get these muscles over night, and I did go up against all the Guardians one time when I was training and almost beat all of them," He joked in his normal voice, moving his right paw.

"Oh my goodness, you're so hot."

"Be careful, Spyro's a grumpy little dragon when you use that word."

"He's always grumpy at something, isn't he?"

"I know right. I'm glad I'm not the only one who sees him trying to ruin my fun."

"Fun? I can show you fun."

"Oh, can you now?"

"Malefor...?" A voice called, causing him to cry as he looked over to see it was his lover, "Carith! Hey! Um... how did you sleep?"

"Well, I slept good until I heard you saying you were going to show someone fun... Where is she," Carith slightly grumbled just to purposeful scare him.

"No no no! It's not what it sounds like! I was messing around with my paws, bored out of my mind. My left paw was you, and my right paw was me. When I meant if you wanted to have a good time, well... that was you, saying it to me... I was just messing around and was waited for you to wake up."

"Hehe, don't worry, I know. I woke up a couple seconds ago and saw you messing with your paws."

He put a paw on his chest, and sighed, "I thought you were mad at me."

"Maybe. If you want a, fun time, all you have to do is ask. Or do you not love me enough, and you want to keep secrets from me?"

"No, I swear... I have been wanting to kiss you though. The only kiss I was able to give you was that small one when I had to walk out here to help out Spyro."

"Well, it doesn't look like you are bruised. I don't see dried up tears, and it doesn't look like there is any damage to you mentally or physically... I'm going to kill Ignitus if he put me into a dream."

"No, you aren't dreaming. He actually asked me if I could watch after Cynder while she slept... I was surprised he would trust me that much but, he said he did. So, I've been sitting out here while he trains in the training room. What Terrador said about how they could die really got to him so, he is doing everything he can to try and prevent it."

"Oh... Well, it's good to see he really has shown that he trust you. I just hope he doesn't push himself too hard... But, wait, you said you were watching after Cynder, right?"

"Of course, why?"

"How are you going to watch me with the door closed," Cynder called out, yawning when she was done with her sentence.

The two looked over to see she had opened the door and was still a little tired. She stretched out her body, and as she did, he explained, "Well, since the windows are too small for anyone to climb in, I knew you'd be fine."

"What if someone shot an ice shard at my head while I slept?"

"Uh... oh... I... Sorry, Cynder, I'm just, I'm kinda new to this. I've never been asked to watch after someone before, and since Spyro said he trusted me, I was too busy celebrating in my head to think of something like that. I promise it won't happen again."

"You're fine, you're just learning. Now, where did you say Spyro was again? There is no way he is going to get off easily with a kiss that he gave me in the morning, even as short and enjoyable as it was."

"Trust me, I know what you mean," Carith giggled as her lover did the same exact thing.

"Malefor, not you too."

"Wha... it's wasn't my fault. I didn't want to wake her, and I also didn't want to keep Spyro waiting as he seemed desperate to talk to me," Malefor defended himself, but now that the two had talked about it, he did feel kinda bad for giving his lover such a short kiss, "But, now that Cynder is awake, maybe we could have that, fun time. What do you say, Carith?"

"A girl has to look after her friend. I would feel bad if I got to have all the fun and Cynder couldn't have the fun with her lover. So, the only fun we will have is the cuddling variety. And of course with a couple seconds of us, kissing," Carith suggested, walking over to her lover and moving her hips side to side lovingly as she did, making him blush with a smile.

"Carith, you said you'd look after me, right? Is it okay if you, don't kiss him until I can kiss my lover?" Cynder teased, seeing the fear on Malefor's face as he looked at her.

Looking back over at his lover, her lips were right in front of his. Carith smiled with an evil look and agreed, "Yeah, I guess I can."

"Cynder... why... why..." Malefor cried, seeing his lover pull her head away.

She felt bad for him, and as he looked at Cynder, the sadness that he tried desperately to put on his face got to her, and she took back what she said, "Fine, you two can kiss."

"Yay! Cari..."

Without even being able to finish his sentence, she had already moved her head down and locked lips with him. A slight moan of pleasure escaped both their mouths as this kiss was way better then the one from the morning. Cynder groaned, wishing she could be doing that with her lover right about now, _Spyro... You better have a real nice gift for me when you get done training._ With the two pulling away from the kiss, Cynder walked up to the training room door and slowly tried to open it. She gasped, causing Malefor to quickly jump to his paws seeing the fear in her eyes.

"What's wrong?" Malefor asked, running over towards the door and looking inside.

Carith followed behind and looked through the door. They all watched in fear as Spyro constantly went back and forth, fighting dark dragons. Every time he killed one, another one would spawn. And with every kill, another one would slash or stab at him. The ground was completely cracked along with most of the walls, but what stood out the most was the blood that stained the walls and the ground. As he fought, a dragon was lucky enough to dig his tail blade into Spyro's side. He growled with pain, but yanked it out and stabbed another dragon with the same tail blade from the dragon. Using his tail blade, he then stabbed that Dragon in the chest. The two dragons exploded into a dark cloud before disappearing. The three watched in awe as he kept going without even healing himself. Cynder couldn't watch her lover get hurt any longer, and she took a step forward to try and prevent the training from going any further. But just as she took the step, she pulled her paw back and looked over at the main doors as they opened. Everyone looked over, wondering who could be coming up to their house this early. To everyone's surprise, it was all the Guardians and Claire. As the group approached, the doors closed behind them, and Malefor was the first to speak, "What are you all doing up here in the morning? This isn't how things usually are."

"Ignitus insisted that we all come up here just in case. And, after what happened last time you two didn't come down, things took a turn for the worst with what happened to you and all," Terrador explained, "I asked if you all would be coming down any time soon and he explained what was going on so, we knew it would be best if we all just came up here instead... Ignitus also told us what he did."

"What did he do?"

"Cynder... forgive me. I gave Spyro a... little nightmare..." Ignitus apologized.

"What?!" Cynder cried, unbelieving that he would do such a thing to his own son.

"Here me out. I was hoping that the nightmare would push Spyro to train some more, but... it seems to have had more of a negative effect then a positive effect. His mind is torn with what could happen that he is even having flashes of the nightmare, only, instead of the death being Terrador, it's all of our deaths that he is seeing as well."

"Damn man, what kind of nightmare did you put him through?" Malefor asked.

"I... I gave him a dream where he was too late to the battlefield. Terrador was already close to death and, the battle damage that I made Terrador look like was probably a little much. He tried to heal him with the time power but, it didn't work so, Terrador died. And now, ever since, he has flashes of the same thing just, like I said, with one of us instead."

"You ruined my day with the one nightmare, and now you ruined Spyro's. What do you get out of doing this?"

"No... I..."

"Taking time away from me and my lover. You better have a really good way to pay me back for taking him away from me when we could be having a normal day, kissing and loving one another!" Cynder growled, now more upset at him for both putting her lover through a nightmare and making him go through the training that she saw.

"I'm sorry, I truly am. I thought it would help him train but, the training he is putting himself through is not healthy. Unlike normal training where you would fight and then tap out or go a couple more rounds, Spyro's taking it ten times the levels up. If he gets stabbed, he will rip it out of his scales and keep going. If he bleeds, he won't heal until he feels like passing out. But even when he heals, he uses his hourglass which uses up more power and energy. If he keeps this up, he will lose both blood and power at the same time, killing himself in the process."

"Ignitus... Twice you've tried to help, and twice, look what it has done."

"I'm... I'm... sorry. I just wanted to help, and I've been scared that this peace will not last... and I know it won't. So I've been pushing Malefor and Spyro to push themselves to keep things from advancing to a point that we can't return from. I've just been scared that something will happen, and we won't be prepared for it. I'm truly sorry again, Malefor, and to you too, Cynder. I will end the training right now so this won't go any further, and we can hopefully go back to our old selves."

"If we go back to our old selves, no more nightmares, understand?" Carith asked with a raised brow.

"I promise."

"Alright."

The three backed away from the door and let Ignitus walk past. Walking into the training room, everyone tried to pile around and watch. _If Spyro sees one of them, he could have a different reaction. And if he sees Terrador or any of the other Guardians, he will ignore me and go back to training, So, I need to cloak everyone for the time that I'm in here in case he looks at the door,_ Ignitus thought, not paying any attention to the fact that a dark dragon was about to attack him. They all gasped as the dragon attacked, but he fazed right through the attack and kept walking. They all watched with wide eyes to see the dragon couldn't touch him at all. Getting up to his son, Spyro swung his tail blade around to attack him, but stopped his tail blade at his neck. Breathing heavily and bleeding down from head to tail blade, he growled as he pulled his tail blade back down to his body. The dark dragons all disappeared in a black smoke, giving time for him to talk to his father. Tapping a claw on his chest and healing himself with the hour glass, Spyro asked, "What are you doing in here? You could've been killed."

"I'm sure I would've been fine, but, I wanted to come by and tell you that, I'm sorry. I gave you that nightmare to help you train but, it isn't having the effect I thought it would have on you. I'm scared to see you training like this. Please, I know you're scared, but how are you going to protect everyone if you kill yourself in the process of trying?" Ignitus explained, hoping his words would get to him, but it only angered him even more.

"You want me to stop training? Then what?! The Guardians are going to come in here and train? Or, I stop training and lose to someone and the Guardians die! I'm not the Chronicler, I can't just cheat my ass to unimaginable power and walk around like everything is fine! I actually need to work for my power. And you shouldn't be sorry about a nightmare that I needed to see... I know it can happen and so do you, that's why you showed that to me... am I right?"

"Well... Spyro..."

"Am I right?!"

Ignitus let out a small sigh of sadness and was honest with him, "Yes..."

"Then I have to keep training."

"What about Cynder? She still needs your love and care."

"How can I love and care for her if she's died?! I will never be the same if anyone dies. When Cynder fought that dragon on the streets of Warfang, he hit her, and I wasn't fast enough to anticipate it, and she got hurt... and it was all my fault. Now every time I think about it, I... I see Cynder in Terrador's place... I see Volteer, I see Cyril... I see you... Everyone I know and love I see... I even see Claire, and it scares me because... I know how much she means to you, and I can't let you down either."

"Spyro, you know you aren't in this alone. Why don't you let Malefor come in and train with you."

"Because Carith would kill me if I put him through the training I'm going through... I know I shouldn't be doing this but, how else am I supposed to get stronger? Warfang gets attacked right now, all of the Guardians are about to die, but... I'm too slow, and I can only save one... What do I do then. Even with Malefor, that's two saved of the four. But what if he's down for the count as well?"

"Hehe, Spyro, Malefor being down for the count? Since when?"

"You have the power to put him down, which means you could do what I'm saying if you wanted to."

"Oh... yeah..."

"If I was fast enough, I could save everyone. It would be as simple as blinking, everyone is saved, the enemy is dealt with, and everyone is once again placed back in the Chambers, just like that. It can be accomplished, can't it? With your power right now, tell me the truth, could it be done? Saving someone with the speed and power, without needing to worry about a threat, or death. Can it be done."

"Well... With my power... it... it is possible."

"Which means I can have the power to do such a thing!"

"Spyro, it will still take too long for you to get to such a level. You are still learning to master the blue elements while I've already mastered them, and I'm even able to use the purple side of the elements for a short time. If you wanted to, and you used your dark power, you could possibly have control over the blue side of the elements, but only for as long as I had control over the purple side of my fire."

"Ignitus, remember when we trained? You took me into the dream world of yours and told me, with the right amount of intense training, I could be able to get such power in a couple of days if I trained for all twenty-four hours. Putting my body through this is just something I have to do if I want to get strong. I'm never going to get stronger then you if I keep holding off on training."

"I never should've given you that nightmare. I know you want to protect everyone, but training like this is changing you, and it's a change that you don't want to go through."

"I'm not going through a change. I'm going through the training that you talked about, and if you're done wasting my twenty-four hours, I would love to get back to it."

"And what will Cynder say, knowing that she won't see, kiss, or cuddle with her lover all day."

"I... I... I don't know."

"You say this training is blinding you, but don't you remember what I said after the fact about training. You knew she would understand that you need training, but she has needs as well. And just after I said that, you told me, as much as I love training, I would never neglect my lover to do so. You said you would never be able to live down the hate you would have for yourself. Usually, when Spyro says something, he means it, but you, this, you, is ignoring it, and her..."

"I... I don't know what to do!"

"Spyro..."

"No! You have the easy life! You have the power so you don't need to worry about your lover being attacked. You have clones that do work for you so you never need to wake up, and you know everyone's thoughts and actions! Don't talk to me about life when you've never been through it! You went through a change after you became the Chronicler! You weren't afraid of death, or fighting, or anything, because you had the power to do what ever you wanted! Don't talk to me like you understand."

Feeling bad for making things worse, he sighed sadly, wondering what he could say or do to help, but he was at a loss on what to do. He felt like he was letting his son down, so instead of speaking from experience, he just spoke what was on his mind, "Spyro... just, can you please promise me one thing. Don't do this forever. It will rip you apart, and feeling stressed out all the time, feeling as if you'll never do anything right... I don't want you to change. I'm sorry, and you're right about some things but... please, let me know my son is still there."

Hearing his soft and sincere voice about what he had said, he couldn't be mad. Yelling at him as he was trying to be helpful made him feel terrible, so he sighed, calming himself down. Ignitus wondered if it worked, and seeing the smile on his face, his face lit up with a smile as well. Knowing that he had calmed down, he did realise what he had said, and apologized, "I'm, I'm sorry, Ignitus. And you're right, I have been stressed out for a little while... and I know the fear isn't helping. I just... what do I do? I don't want to choose training over Cynder but, if I do, what will she think of me? Will she change her opinion on me?"

"You haven't really had all that much time together because of me messing with your dreams and Malefor's, and I'm sorry. I promised I would never do such a thing again to cause a nightmare. Just, if you do keep training like this, be careful, and don't do it for the whole day. If you have to, take a break. Talk and kiss your lover. Or, go through half the day training and fighting, and then the other half you spend with your lover. But if you go with that, you better promise her that you won't leave the bed at all tomorrow."

"Hehe, I might do that then. Another thing that I'm scared about is that Cynder will think I don't love her and start to search for someone else, or worse. But, instead of sleeping in bed with her for the whole day, I will make sure to keep my tail wrapped around hers for the whole day, and if I feel like she need a kiss, I will give her one... every second... or minute. I do want her to breath, hehe. And if she does want to lay in bed with me all day just... give me a heads up if anything happens with the Guardians, please?"

"I can definitely do that."

"Thank you. Oh, and, since we are talking about my lover, how is she doing? Is she okay?"

"She's fine. She's still sleeping through."

"Still?"

"Yeah, she woke up at one point but went back to bed. She's been taking it easy since you trust Malefor and all. Though Carith is up and awake kissing and snuggling with her lover."

"Cynder hates me, doesn't she?"

"What? Why would you say that?"

"I'm over training while those two are having the time of their lives... she is going to dump me tomorrow... isn't she?"

"Hehe, no, Spyro, she isn't going to dump you. If you train all day, then maybe, but right now, she's just enjoying the peace."

"And that's my point, what do I do? I'm trying to keep this peace for everyone, especially her. She only grew up to war, abuse, and loss. But I want her to only know peace, love, and friendship. Do I keep training to keep all of those things for everyone, or do I stay with my lover and show her the love and care she needs and desires... And... now that I've calmed down... I feel terrible that I left her to train."

"Hehe, mid life crisis Spyro right here."

"Hehe, no kidding."

"Like I said, she's still sleeping. When she wakes up, then you can stop training. Does that sound fair?"

"Yeah, I guess that does. And what about the other Guardians?"

"What about them?"

"Are they all safe?"

"As safe as can be, don't worry."

"And what about, Claire?"

"She's fine... Wait, why?"

"Oh nothing, just wondering how you are able to hold out so well... You know, without being able to kiss her."

Claire and Ignitus both blushed pretty hard from his words, but he tried to shake it off and play it off as he knew her, and everyone could hear everything they were talking about, "I don't think of such things. I am a gentleman. Unlike you and Malefor, I don't always think about such things. Cuddling with Claire is enough for me..."

"I wish you would do more with me..." Claire but her lip as she whispered to herself, and luckily, the only one that heard was Carith.

Leaning his head down, Ignitus whispered honestly, "Actually, just this morning, I came so close to kissing her. I don't know, sometimes about her just, she does it for me. I love her so much, and with every passing day, I hate myself for not telling her that I love her, and I wish I could because I know it would make her so happy to have that love back in her life. What do I do? I'm so desperate to kiss her."

"Hehe, look man, you're just going to have to wait like every other dragon. It took me and Cynder a couple of weeks, and it took Malefor and Carith what, like, a month."

"A month... A week... I don't think I can last another day."

"Welcome to the world of love. You can have a seat here next to me and Malefor when ever you man up and tell her. But be careful, you remember what happened if Cynder said she loved me too soon, that could happen to you."

"Oh come on, don't be like that."

"Hehe, don't worry. Give it another week, try something new and see how things go. Because when the day comes and you tell her, there isn't a feeling in the world that will recreate your first kiss."

Ignitus groaned, now more desperate then ever to tell her, but he knew he would just have to wait. Pulling his head back, he smiled at his son as he smiled back. Thankful he was able to calm him down, he made sure they were in agreement, "So, we are in agreement though? When Cynder wakes up, training is over, okay?"

"Of course, I promise."

Nodding with a smile, Ignitus turned and walked away, but was stopped by Spyro's voice, "Dad, wait!"

Turning his head around, he wondered what he wanted, "What's up?"

"Thank you for, talking to me. I'm sorry for the way I yelled at you... you didn't deserve that."

"Hehe, it's okay, Spyro. I guess I just need to teach my son some more manners."

"Hehe, well, when ever I make up the time I've lost with Cynder, I would like to sit down and talk more. Or we can use that dream world of yours again... it was fun to talk to you... I wasn't able to do that in a really long time."

"Yeah, it was nice... When ever you want to talk again, I would love to sit down and chat with my son again."

Spyro smiled and nodded as his father smiled back. Turning his head back around, he walked towards the door. Walking out of the training room, everyone moved out of his way and went to shut the door with his tail blade, but didn't. Luckily, Spyro had already gone back to training so he didn't notice. Walking over to Claire's side, he sighed and said, "Well, that worked out better then I could've expected it to. I was lucky enough to get to him before he did more damage to himself. And because of this luck, Cynder, it's now all up to you on want we should do next. Do you want to stop his training, or do you want him to continue? It's your call."

Cynder sighed, seeing what the training was doing to her lover, but she also knew why he was doing it, so she was torn between letting him continue to train, or to stop him before he hurts himself more. She felt it would be best for him to train, but since she didn't know anything outside of Warfang with what was happening, she asked him, "Tell me, if you can. Do you know who is the strongest in the world right now? I know it's a wired question but, I wonder if my love even has anything to worry about."

"Well, I can't say for sure. There are some dragons memories that I haven't really been able to read because... well... Cynder, do you, really trust, Malefor? When ever Malefor told you he had a run in with the darkness, you didn't seem scared at all, only sympathetic for him. But I want to know if you still feel that way."

"Well, don't want to make Malefor smile too much, but yes. I took off the chains and have no intention of ever putting them back on."

"Alright, but you can't, and should never tell him what we've found out."

"Now you're scaring me. What did Malefor do?"

"It's... It's not him, it's, someone else that we have to be worried about. When me and Claire first met, I... I also met some dark creatures along the way."

"What?!"

"We all came to the conclusion that there had to have been a dark master out there controlling them, and I can tell you for sure, it isn't, Malefor. I wish I could tell Spyro as well and it would make life a whole lot easier, but, I don't think it would be the, best time, to say something. He would probably kill Malefor if word got out there were still dark creatures."

"That's... There's... Who..."

"We don't know who or what this individual's plan is. All we know is he was able to get a hold of some darkness and has manifested it into himself, making more dark creatures. We are afraid he could attack, so, I've been pushing for Spyro and Malefor to train by giving them nightmares of what could happen, which... hasn't been the smartest move by me, and I apologize for it. As much as it pains me to see it, we need Spyro to push himself like this."

"Why only my lover?! Why not one of the Guardians who are supposed to be protecting this city."

"Cynder, you saw how he is training, how he is acting. It is more beneficial if he trains by himself then for the Guardians to train with him. Think of it this way; Spyro trains against say, level one hundred enemies, hundreds of them. And as for the Guardians, they train against the same. If those three train, they would only get thirty three percent each compared to the hundred percent Spyro is getting. Plus, he already knows all the elements and can train and use all of them at the same time. And he even has the time power to train with. Compared to one Guardian who only knows one ability and can barely fight, Spyro is just the best choice."

"At least you are admitting that the Guardians can't fight."

"Cynder... I want to, apologize to you," Terrador stepped in, knowing none of this would've ever happened if he didn't say anything, so he knew he should be the one to get yelled at, not his friend, "I was the one who pushed for the idea. We haven't trained as much as before because, well, we have enjoyed the peace we have in Warfang. After the years after years of war, I wanted to take a break as much as anyone else. So, with Malefor back, I neglected my training because I thought there wouldn't be a threat. And when Ignitus told us about a new threat I... I didn't want to have to go through it all again."

"What about training would make you go through it all again? If you knew there was a threat, why not try and get strong enough to beat the threat, rather then sitting and waiting for what was to come?"

"Because Spyro was already training so much, and had become more powerful then all of us even before when you two came back. He beat all of us, and now that he has trained, gained this, dark form of us, I don't feel like we will ever be able to rival up to his kind of power no matter what we did. He has pushed himself, and even now, what he was doing as he trained, how could we compete to that?"

"When you have someone you love, you'll understand why he does it," Malefor said.

Terrador sighed with a frown, feeling terrible now more then ever for what he's done. Luckily, Cynder understood where he was coming from as she didn't want to continue fighting either, and even she doesn't know why her lover pushes himself to be the strongest, "I guess I understand. When it comes to Spyro, if someone is stronger then him, he tries what he can to be better. Like after he jumped in front of me and was stabbed in his heart with an arrow, he hated himself for going down so easily by one attack. The next night I woke up, he approached me with a body that I could drool over."

"He hated himself for getting hit in the heart, with an arrow, and not being able to do anything afterwards?" Terrador asked, somewhat chuckling as even he knew if he were hit the heart, he would go down without a fight.

"That's what he does, and he does it all to protect me, and everyone he cares about. Which I'm guessing means we need to find you all some lovers so you can get your butts in high gear and start some training. But then again, Terrador, you've lost some muscle. Compared to your old body, I think it's going to be a little harder for you to find someone. Same goes for you two; Volteer, and Cyril. If you don't want to train like Spyro, then let Malefor help you."

The Guardians all looked at Malefor and swallowed hard as they saw an evil grin go across his face as he joked, "The student has become the master... The Dark Master that is."

"Oh come on, he won't bite."

"Yeah guys, trust me, having muscles never hurt anyone... unless you're using them to hurt someone. But look on the bright side as well, you get some muscles, you can pick up a smoken hot dragoness like my lover easily... Oh Ancestors! Oh wait, oh, I thought Spyro was out here... he would kill me if I used that word in front of him."

"How did you ever fall in love with, Malefor, of all dragons?" Claire giggled.

"Well, long story made short, he was pretty muscular when I met him. And unlike Terrador, he has grown even more muscle which is nice in itself. But, funny story, when he took me back to my place, I was actually the first one to give him a kiss on the cheek. I fell in love with him pretty quick," Carith lovingly said, slightly nuzzling her lover for a couple of seconds.

"Hehe, yeah, and then that kiss made me fly into a wall," Malefor chuckled along with everyone else while Carith pulled her head back.

"Oh, you poor thing. But that's not even the craziest part. He thought I was cheating on him because my dad gave me a peck on the cheek for good luck. He flipped out and locked himself in his room. When I came up, everyone shunned me for something I didn't even know I did. Even Ignitus. He made me feel the worst."

Claire gasped as she put her paw on her chest and looked at him, "Ignitus... I didn't know you were that kind of guy."

"Why are you trying to get me in trouble?" Ignitus chuckled.

"Alright alright, he was pretty nice about it. He was just confused, and unlike the, other three, he actually spoke to me."

The three chuckled and also somewhat frowned, feeling bad about what had happened when it all happened. Sighing from the fact, Claire was glad she chose the right of the four, "I got pretty lucky then. Found the Guardian with the most manner and respect for a dragoness such as myself."

"We're... sorry, Carith," Terrador apologized.

"Guys, you don't need to apologize. After that day, it was a non-stop apology... Then again, Malefor kept forcing you by making you feel bad."

"Hehe, oh yeah I did. And I enjoyed making you all suffer each and every day about it too," Malefor chuckled.

"So, what happened when you got into the room?" Claire asked, getting into the story.

"Well, after that, Malefor didn't want to say anything, but he wondered why I was there when I had already found someone I loved. I was able to piece together the fact that he was jealous and angry that someone else had my love, even though it wasn't love, it was just my dad. So, after talking back and forth, I asked him if he was still cared about me. He shuck his head... and said he loved me. And after that, it was the greatest night of my life."

"Aw, that's so adorable."

"Hehe, I find it funny though, Malefor. Reading back, it said that a horn had formed on your head and that's where one of your many horns came from," Ignitus chuckled, wondering why the Chronicler would lie about that.

"What? I love the horn on my head. If I only had the other horns, and not the big one on my head, it would look weird. But now that I'm back, my head horn isn't as big as before but, it still makes me look like a total bad ass," Malefor said with a smile, knowing he was right in everyway when it came to his horns.

"Yeah, I don't think I could see you without the big horn on your head."

"Damn right. The horns I have are like Hatchlings. Gotta take care of them to make myself look good."

"Haha, that's actually a really good analogy," Ignitus laughed along with everyone else.

The laughing died down as they heard a lot crash right near the wall closest to them in the training room. Wondering what had happened along with everyone else, Ignitus thought it would be easier if he used his powers to help out, rather then having everyone cuddle up near the door. Walking up and tapping a claw on the wall, it was now completely see through which everyone was surprised by, and he explained, "Now we don't have to pile up near the door. Of course, the door way itself isn't see through. That way, if we need to run in there in a hurry, we won't run in to a wall. The other side of the wall is still solid so Spyro can't see us."

"Dude, every time you use your powers, it just spells pervert. You can read minds, you can just appear in front of someone no matter where they are, and now you can make a wall see through," Malefor chuckled, now scared that he was being spied on and he didn't even know it.

"You think perverted, I think cool."

Watching the battled unfold, everyone was in shock in awe that he was still able to fight even with the wounds that they could only get a glimpse of as he was moving so fast. For some, he would appear in a corner with a dark dragon that he fought, and then the two would appear somewhere else, still fighting one another. What stood out the most was the blood that continued to cover to floor and walls. As Spyro fought the dark dragons, one was able to get a hit off him with his tail blade, pinning his back against the wall above the door to the gem room. It was almost like slow motion for Cynder as she watched in fear. With his teeth shown, he bled from his mouth with most of his teeth covered in blood. His neck had been slashed from almost every angle, and it was just about the same for his entire body. And with the dark dragon's tail blade digging deep into his stomach, she watch as more blood was shed and coughed up from her lover. Everyone thought he would've given up by now from the amount of pain he must be in, be he kept going. Grabbing the dark dragon's tail blade, he stabbed him with his claws right through his neck, causing the dark dragon to cry and disappear in a cloud of dark smoke. Falling to the ground, his Boyd hit the ground as his breathing seemed violent. His body shivered and spilled with blood, and he was barely able to stand up right. Looking at his paw, he saw two of the same paw rather then one. Blinking a couple of times, he knew he couldn't keep it up much longer, and he would have to heal himself. A dark dragon walked right up in front of him, tail blade raised to his side to attack. Putting his paw back to the ground and looking up at the dark dragon, Spyro tried all he could to punch the dragon. Pulling his fist back and going to punch the dragon, the dragon didn't move. As the punch connected with his chest, nothing. Spyro's body had grown so weak that his attacks didn't do any damage, nor were they barely felt. Backing away from the dragon, he went to heal himself with his paw, but the dark dragon was already in front of him and grabbed his paw before he could heal himself.

"Ignitus! He can't heal himself," Terrador cried out, scaring everyone with the truth, "Should we do something?!"

Swinging his tail blade around, he cut right into the side of Spyro were a wound had already been formed from another stab. The cries of pain made it just more difficult for everyone to watch, and they couldn't watch any longer.

"Ignitus!" Malefor now cried as well, "Never mind, I'll do it myself!"

"Wait, Malefor!" Ignitus cried out.

"He's in pain! He can't heal himself! If we don't hurry, he's dead!"

"Remember, I have the time power as well. If something like that happens, I will heal him. If you rush in now, he could miss the opportunity to break past his limits if he hasn't already. If he was in so much pain, the training would've ended because he wouldn't have been able to thing straight on what he was fighting, which means he is still there. Give it another minute."

Malefor growled at him, and along with everyone else, they didn't agree that they should wait. Cynder especially was in tears, claws curled with rage, ready to run in any minute no matter the risk. Throwing his body to the ground, the dark dragons laughed as Spyro laid on his side, slowly bleeding out from his wounds. Going to tap his claw on his chest, nothing appeared. He could only chuckle as he laid there, "Son of a... Bitch."

With the dragons over him, he closed his eyes and waited for an opportunity to strike. But with his eyes closed, the thoughts of the Guardians deaths arose once again. And with the deaths of the Guardians on his mind came the deaths of every one else as well. The dark dragons raised their tail blades over his head now, making Cynder take a couple more steps towards the door. Putting his paw over her shoulder, she looked up at Malefor with fear, and he nodded at her, "When ever you are ready, we can run in together."

 _Laying down on the ground in unimaginable pain, Spyro was just barely able to pick up his head. He wasn't the only one who was defeated. Everyone he knew and loved laid down, hurt and on the brink of death. Around them were dark dragons, just as the ones in the training room. Seeing them raise their tail blades, he knew what they were going to do. Trying and forcing himself to move, his body locked up completely. His head even fell back to the ground and all he could do was watch as they pulled their tail blades back. Biting his lip, he tried everything he could, and all he could think to do was use his dark power. As the dragons swung their tail blade at his loved ones, he snapped._

As the dark dragons swung their tail blade at Spyro, he jumped right up at them. Avoiding every single one, he was able to simultaneously punch the four dark dragons that were near him underneath their chins, sending them flying into the air before exploding into a dark cloud and disappearing. Everyone froze, even the dark dragons themselves. Standing to his paws, he hadn't even used his dark power. But now that he stood, he imaged what they could've done, or even what they would've done, and it angered him. His scales grew dark as he took on his dark form. Spyro's eyes went slightly wide as he felt, light weighted. _What the hell?_ Disappearing from sight, a scream emerged from a dark dragon one after another. And with one scream came another death. Everyone watched in shock as he cleared out the room one after another in only a couple minutes.

"Wh... Bu... how?!" Malefor barley was able to get out a word.

"Ignitus... how many dark dragons are in there?" Terrador asked, just as amazed as every one else.

"Sixty four was the original, but now... there's ten... five... one..." Ignitus explained as it was happening, watching with everyone else as he got to the last dragon.

Without even seeing what had happened, the dragon cried out in pain and exploded in a dark cloud before disappearing. Spyro reappeared in front of where the dragon had died. His dark power had diminished, but his wounds seemed to have almost healed completely. The blood and the violent breathing still remained which still scared everyone. Looking at his paw, he smiled wide. Chuckling with his smile, it didn't take him long to laugh with joy. Jumping around in a circle, he kept the smile on his face as he laughed. His laughter and smile made everyone smile as well. Letting out sighs of joy to see he was okay, everyone was glad he didn't actually get stabbed in the head.

"You honestly thought I would let my son get stabbed in the head? Trust me, if they were going to hit, I would've frozen time and gotten him out of there. I can't believe you all didn't trust me," Ignitus said, feeling a little bad that no one trusted him.

"I remember the last time I tried and trusted the Chronicler," Malefor sighed, but he realized his words and saw the frown that went across Ignitus's face, and he quickly apologized, "Oh, no no no, I'm sorry, I'm just, I'm just still calming down from what happened. I know you would never betray me like he did. I should've trusted your judgment, and for that, I am sorry. And, I'm sorry my words were phrased wrong."

"Thank you, Malefor."

"And, I'm sorry as well for that," Terrador apologized.

"You two are fine, but it's Cynder's lover I was putting at risk there so, I want to hear it from you, Cynder... do you forgive me?"

She sighed hugely, and since her lover was so happy, she let him off with a warning, "If Spyro wasn't as happy as he is right now, I might have had to kill ya. But... This is the father of my lover that I'm talking to. Next time, say that you'll use the time power to freeze time and heal, rather then just heal. Freezing time before it happens is way better then letting it happen and then healing him."

"I promise. Thank you, Cynder."

 _I can't believe I did it! I... I did use my dark power in the end of it but, I, I felt, different. I was able to move so much faster, and with such ease. How fast could I go if I was completely healed! How much more powerful could I be?! The training is paying off, and I feel like I'm getting closer and closer to be just as strong as my father!_ Spyro cried with joy in his thoughts, desperate to go back into a fight with the dark dragons. Not wasting anytime, he didn't spawn as many before, only five that stood in a fighting stance at the left side of the training room. Cynder bit her lip, taking a step forward, but then taking the step back. Ignitus saw this and reminded her, "You know, you could stop him now. I'm sure he has had more then enough training."

"I could but... If he takes a cut again, then I will intervene. I... I want to see if he could do that again. That was pretty... nice to watch," Cynder somewhat murmured with a smile and a blush as watching her lover's strength and speed was pretty nice to watch for her.

"Doesn't sound like a bad idea. Malefor, you should be prepared to go in there then. He could still be training when you walk in, and this is just in case no one gets hurt when they walk in."

Malefor nodded, and everyone continued to watch with some even wondering if he would show the display of power once again. With an evil smile, wanting to attack the dark dragons once again, Spyro took one step and his whole body locked up on him. _What the hell?_ Trying to move his body, he felt a sharp pain stab at his gut. The dark dragons disappeared as Spyro suddenly and violently coughed up blood and struggled to stay on his paws.

Everyone's face immediately turned to horror just as Spyro's did. Seeing tears start to run down as his eyes as his body shuck and shivered, Cynder cried, "Ignitus... Ignitus, what's happening?!"

Falling down to the ground on his side, shivering and almost completely paralyzed, his breathing once again grew deadly. Struggling to move, breath, and even stay awake, his face turned to horror with blood dripping down the side of his mouth. _What's... wrong with... me...?_ Feeling the pain getting worse all over his body and with nothing to do about it, his fear got the best of him as he started to tear up even more from fear as he wasn't able to do anything.

"Ignitus!"

"I..."

"Malefor...!" Spyro cried, interrupting Ignitus before he could say anything, and everyone's eyes went wide, hearing him cry for Malefor, "Malefor...! Malefor please... please I... I need help, please... please..."

Not waiting for anyone to tell him otherwise he ran into help him. Ignitus thought it would be best if he let everyone be seen again, so he disabled the power for everyone by tapping his claw on the ground twice. Running up to him as fast as he could, Malefor stood above him and cried, "What's wrong. What... What happened?"

"I don't... I don't know... I, I can't think, i can't think straight," Spyro stuttered, barely able to get out his words.

"What do I do? Do you need gems?"

"No, gems, gems only heal, wounds, but, but I'm not... ugh, wounded!"

"I have to do something! And I can't just leave you here."

"Get, get Ignitus... hurry he'll know... know..."

"Spyro...?!"

His voice stopped as his head laid down on the ground. As his eyes slowly closed, the last thing he saw was a black dragoness running into the room along with the others. He heard the cry of a voice, but couldn't make it who's it belong to. Closing his eyes, all he heard was his heart beating faster and faster along with the violent breathing. With his eyes closed, his breathing grew slower and slower and later, so did his heart. Trying to open his eyes and say something, or even move his body, he failed. He was paralyzed, struggling to breath, and the blood that spilled out his mouth made it impossible for him to speak. All he could do now was hope that Malefor would reach Ignitus in time to save him.


	10. Chapter 10: That Almost Killed

Chapter 10: That Almost Killed

"Spyro...?!" Malefor cried, standing over Spyro's nearly dead body, and turning around, he cried out, "Ignitus!"

Everyone ran into the room with Cynder being the first one. Seeing her lover's eyes slowly fade and close, she cried out, "Spyro!"

With everyone in the room and circled around his body, Malefor moved over as Ignitus sat down beside him to examine his body. Cynder stood next to Ignitus on his left, holding her lover's paw and weeping over his body. Putting a paw over his chest, the constant pounding of his heart grew slower and slower. He gasped, scaring everyone. Not wanting to tell Cynder the bad news, he instead tried to quickly save his son. Tapping a claw over his body, an hourglass appeared up from his body. Turning the hourglass all the way around, he pushed it back into his body. Everyone waited for Spyro to spring back up from the power, but he didn't. _What?!_ Ignitus cried in his thoughts, quickly going to put his paw back over his son's chest. His heart was still slowing down, and it was now beating dangerously slow. Blood still flowed out his mouth as his breathing had almost completely subsided. Pulling his paw away, everyone looked to see the fear in his face. Looking back down at her lover's body, Cynder cried, "No... no, no, no..."

"Ignitus, hehe, you're, you're, joking...? Right...?" Malefor begged for it to be nothing more then a trick, but the fear on his face made him believe it wasn't, "Ignitus... What... How could the time power... how could it not have worked?! I don't... I don't understand... You have to try again! You can't... you can't just... you..."

 _From the way he was acting before he... passed out, his body must've used more energy then he could've produced. When he was down for the count, he used his dark power in such a clean and easy manner giving him more speed and power even though he was already out of power... which must mean,_ Volteer thought about it for a couple more seconds, coming up with possible conclusion for it not working, and he shared it with his red friend, "Ignitus! That's it! He doesn't have enough power in supply! Think of it like a green gem. It gives you energy correct? Well, of course Spyro doesn't have wounds, but he also doesn't have energy!"

"Get to the point!" Cynder cried.

"Sorry... Remember, when you run out of energy, and your body needs energy, but doesn't have any energy to consume, it feeds on anything it can. The time power won't work because I'm assuming it heals someone completely and gives them back the energy they can easily consume. Spyro pushed out his dark and main reserve of energy so he doesn't have any energy to feed on, not even his dark power. He needs stamina or else he will die."

"Stamina...?" Ignitus whispered.

"But even with all the gems in the gem room, where can we find that much energy?"

Looking at his paw, he responded, "I know where."

Tapping a claw over his son's body, everyone wondered why he was using the same time power that didn't work before. Putting one claw at the top of the hourglass, he moved his paw down to the bottom of it. Moving his paw and putting it on the left side, he moved his claw along the outside of the circle that held the hourglass until he reached the left side again. Another hourglass appeared out of the main hour glass with the top and the bottom of the second hourglass facing the left and right. A small circle appeared around the main circle of the hourglass, then a medium size circle around the small one, and finally, a large hour glass appeared around the medium sized circle. Symbols of unknown origins appeared on the hourglass, and everyone watched as he moved the circle to line up certain symbols with other symbols to match in a straight line.

"What are you doing?"

"Spyro needs energy like you said. Well, I haven't just been fixing the Dragon Temple in my free time. After the incident with Carith, the Chronicler spent years, trying to figure out what happened to her. When one of my clones was grabbing some books from one of the shelves, a brick from the temple looked like it had been moved. Turned out, he had a book about everything he had learned about the hourglass, even this. This was one of his many finds."

"How long have you know about this?"

"It was a day ago when we were talking about the future of the Guardians. I feared the same fate and tried to find anything that could help my son in battle. And I was lucky enough to find this."

Lining up the three symbols, the hourglass that pointed to the left and right turned and fazed back into the main hourglass. Turning that hourglass completely, the circles surrounding the hourglass spun with it. Pushing the hourglass into his son's body, Spyro's body shined gold for a couple of seconds before returning back to his purple color. A small grunt emerged from his mouth as he shivered from the pain that still stabbed at him, but as he woke, the pain had completely subsided. The blood from his mouth disappeared as well, and his breathing, along with the beat of his heart, went back to normal. Cynder's eyes lit up along with her smile seeing him open his eyes. Looking up at her, he saw the tears in her eyes. Smiling at her, he whispered, "Sorry I scared you."

"Hehe, scared me? I knew my lover was strong. I wasn't scared at all," Cynder cried happily with a smile, but everyone, even Spyro knew that was a lie.

"No you didn't, you were crying all over his body," Malefor chuckled, and everyone sighed hugely, glad Spyro was alright.

"Carith. Little help."

"Stop picking on her, my love," Carith giggled, standing at his side and bumping her back side against his.

Looking up at his dad, he knew he had pushed himself even though his father told him not to, and he apologized, "Sorry for pushing myself like that. My fears got the best of me, again."

"It's alright, I promise. This actually made good practice for the new time power that the old Chronicler had developed. Which, going back, Malefor, you remember how you thought you failed because you didn't see her wake up? Well, if you would've placed your head on her chest, or even your paw, you would've felt her heart beat, but none of us would've."

"What? How?" Malefor asked, somewhat not wanting to know the answer as he knew it would only make him feel worse about the past.

"Well, The Chronicler had seen that anytime you use the hourglass in it's normal form, one symbol above the hour glass will always be the same. If you were to just simply put the hourglass upside down, rather then completely turning it around, it acts as a defense. The, lets say, victim, remains asleep. No one aside from the owner knows if the body is alive. So, we couldn't have even felt the heart beat, only you. So, only you would've know if she was alive or not. That's also why Carith's body didn't... ahem... decay."

"You son of a Bitch," Claire teased him.

"That would explain why I was so energetic when I first woke up," Carith said to herself.

"So... None of what I did would've ever happened if only I just checked to see if she was alive for sure..." Malefor murmured with a frown, now feeling more terrible then ever.

"But wait. I could understand not being able to tell if she's alive by her heart beat, but what about her breathing? Even the hourglass couldn't have covered that up," Cyril asked.

"It masks the breathing as well. It's a hundred percent effect on anyone or anything to make it seem dead," Ignitus explained, "But the way it mask the breathing is actually quite impressive even for the hourglass. But then again, it was invented by the Ancestors themselves so, I'm not surprised by the power at all..."

Everyone was listening except for Cynder as she was still recovering from what she had see. Looking at her lover, even he was looking up at Ignitus, wondering what really happened. She looked away from him and looked at everyone else to see they were focused on him as he spoke. Smiling with the opportunity, she turned back around and caught her lover by surprise as she gave him a heart warming kiss. No one noticed of course as they continued to listen to Ignitus's explanation, "So, the time power can hold in any oxygen or carbon dioxide so if there was anyone near by, it would stop your breathing while at the same time, still give you the the proper flow of oxygen. Then, when no one is around, it restarts the normal cycle of breathing. And if there was say, wind, it would let you breath in and out, covered by the wind so you wouldn't even know if they were breathing."

"So, what your saying is, I still should've known she was alive, and none of this ever would've happened?" Malefor murmured.

"It's not your fault, this is on the Chronicler. Like I said, he figured this out before he died and he could've told me, but he didn't. I could've been able to tell you that she was alive, but I couldn't. But look on the bright side of things; I always say that things happen for a reason. When the Dark Master almost killed Spyro, and you can back, he trusted you to keep Cynder safe. After that day, as much as he doesn't want to admit it, that's a big reason he didn't kill you, because you came through for him. If that day never happend, he might not have had the same trust for you."

"Yeah... I guess, but..."

"And also, he wouldn't have seen the way you stopped the Dark Master from hurting Carith when she walked up to you. If I would've just shown you Carith, and you came back, no one would really understand or even trust what had happened. If you just walked into Warfang and met Spyro, things could've been a whole lot different. So, it's best I discovered this now then before. So in a way, it's probably best the Chronicler didn't tell me."

"What? You think he was trying to protect me? Please."

"All I'm saying is, if he would've told me, things would've probably been for the worse."

"I'm not going to say I agree with it but... I guess you're kinda right..."

"What are you so worried about?" Claire asked, somewhat surprising everyone, especially Malefor as he looked at her, wondering what she meant by that, "Ignitus told me a lot about the Chronicler, and I asked him about what happened between the old Chronicler and you. The Chronicler kept you there and well, how could you have known what would've happened if the Chronicler tried to keep you from knowing? It's not your fault, and I know you would do anything to keep Carith safe. But I wonder, why did you, or, you know, the dark master, why did he want to blow up the world?"

"Hehe, funny story about that. The Dark Master wanted nothing more then to kill everyone on the earth. I... agreed to it as well. If I was died, I would once again be able to see Carith in the afterlife. But as time went on, I tried to prevent it as I realised I was wrong. I was able to break Cynder and Spyro free of the time crystal by making the Dark creatures believe I was the dark master, and I was able to modify the chain to not kill the two as soon as it was put on them. It was difficult but, I was able to pull through."

"Sounds like there was more of a reason behind what the Dark Master was doing then what we were told back then. And I guess it all makes sense now then it did before. But I don't understand why you would feel bad if you've tried everything you could to help. You even basically saved the two from death along with the whole world by protecting the two, so, why feel so bad?"

"Because of me, when I had agreed to just, let go of everything and let the Dark Master take control, I didn't realize I still had feelings. When looking through the Dark creatures memories, the Dark Master laughed at all the death that he had caused, and, two of those deaths were... Volteer's parents. And another victim I had claimed, supposedly, was Volteer's soon to be and wanted to be, mate. And, If it wasn't for me, you would've probably already been a mate for your lover as well."

Volteer and Claire both did frown from what he had said which only made what he said all the more true because of how real it all was. But Claire's frown turned more into a smile as she looked at Ignitus. Looking at her, he gave her a small smile, hoping she wasn't mad at Malefor for what had happened. Pecking him on the cheek for a second, she pulled away and looked back at Malefor, bringing light to everything that has happened, "Well, I wouldn't say we would've been mates. He was... Looking back, he would try really hard to protect me, and other days, he would kinda, get lazy. It's like he didn't know if he wanted to be in a relationship with me or not. I let my hate take over as well but, I guess couldn't hate the world apparently. Some one just had to come over and give it all back to me, didn't he."

"Hehe. I guess you were just... easy," Ignitus chuckled while Claire giggling as they remembered that conversation from a couple of days ago.

"Ha! Easy. You were truly the easy man during that time. Soon as you saw me, you couldn't resist being with me. Coming into my room while I tried to sleep, asking me to... sleep, with you."

"Hehe, you know, when she puts it like that, day one, you were desperate as Hell for her," Malefor chuckled with his lover and the other Guardians, "Oh, Ignitus, speaking of, sleeping, if you know what I mean, how about you make Claire happy and tell us why you chose her over any other dragoness in the world."

"Oh Ancestors, not this again," Volteer chuckled.

"Why, what happened?"

"He pulled the most, mushy come back for her ever when she asked that."

"Oh do please tell, now I'm very interested."

"Oh, I'm surprised Claire held back from kissing Ignitus after what he said..."

"Okay! Getting back to the topic on paw..." Claire nervously said, trying to change the subject.

"And when he flexed out his muscles using his power, I thought Claire was going to go for it, if you know what I mean?"

"Volteer! Topic change!"

"Alright, alright."

"Okay, but going back. Long story made short, I would say it was worth going through what I had to to end up here. I was able to find out the truth about what really happened which now makes me feel bad for hating you, I was able to meet the happiest group of dragons I've ever seen, and, I was able to have a girls day out with your lover and Cynder... And... I couldn't ask for more. I was even able to find someone to care for me again so, I wouldn't say that, you messed up everyone's life."

"Yeah, and as for Ersa, we still done even know if she's... died. But I believe she isn't thanks to Spyro. And knowing you and how you plan things, your probably messed up along the way so, I still don't hate you for what happened. I would still kick you if you were almost died before I healed you but, lets just see how things turn out in the future."

"Hehe, damn Volteer, I can't tell if the Dark Master is more cold blooded or you. You stop my heart and want to kick me when I'm down?"

"Kicking you while your down is just a dream I have, nothing more."

"Well, at least you'd heal me so, that's maybe a plus?"

"Yeah, one gem for a gaping hole in your chest should help enough."

"We're in a training room, you really want to fight it out now?"

"Um..." Spyro mumbled, pulling away from the endless amount of kissing he was doing with his lover to talk with everyone, and with the small mumble from him, everyone looked at him as he spoke, "Speaking of fighting in the training room, since we are all already up here, what do you say you all get some training in yourself? I mean, after what happened, Terrador, you said you'd owe me one. I would like to use that now."

"Um, well, I guess we can," Terrador agreed as he didn't really see a problem as to why they shouldn't.

"Damn it, Malefor," Cynder cursed, "You just couldn't keep your mouth shut and let me have time with, Spyro."

"Wha, Volteer started it! He was talking a lot of trash and I rightfully retaliated," Malefor defended himself.

Cynder sighed, knowing it would be hopeless to fight with him, and she had already kissed her lover so much, so the feeling of fear and sadness was gone. Backing up a bit from her lover, she reached out a paw to help him up. He grabbed her paw and she pulled him up. His bone felt like it had just popped out of place which caused him to growl gently as he didn't want anyone to know he was still not feeling all to well. Standing to his paws, his body was flexed from the training, and now as his lover looked at him, she was felt anger once again for Malefor opening his mouth, _Damn you, Malefor._ Slightly shaking his body to try and loosen up his body, it only made things worse as the pain started to feel stronger as he continued.

"So, what are we going to do? If we fight you, we aren't going to be up here for very long. So what do you suppose we do?" Terrador asked.

"Well, you all are definitely not going to go through what I did, so..."

All the Guardians sighed hugely from his words before he could even finish which made Spyro's suspicion grow, "What are you all sighing for? You all didn't even see what I was doing. Which also makes me a little curious how you all got here. Did Malefor get you after I told him to fetch you all... or before. And your sweat is kind of proving my point. And here I was thinking Malefor came through so well."

"No no no, I did. The reason they are sweating is because I told them what was happening. When you told me to get the Guardians, I kicked the door as hard as I could to open it instead of waiting. I ran down and Ignitus used his powers to bring us back up here. That's why it seemed like it took no time at all... hehe," Malefor chuckled at the end of his sentence, trying to hide what really happened to hopefully get himself closer to being friends with him.

"Well... You could've killed me and no one would've really noticed since I already had so many cuts and scrapes. So, I guess I will give you another point to help you get closer to being my friend, sound fair?"

"Yes! Absolutely!"

"Hehe, alright, calm down."

"Speaking of cuts and scrapes, how were you able to, you know, take such damage like the way you did? Usually when something stabs right through you, or anyone for that matter, they would tap out and heal, but you, you wouldn't go down. How were you able to do that? And since you didn't have the support of the darkness at all until the end, this was all shear power just coming from you during it all."

"Yeah, and you pulled out one of the dragon's tail blades to stab another which was pretty bad ass," Terrador chuckled.

"Well, it wasn't easy. Pulling out his tail blade was basically causing me two kinds of pain; when his tail blade stabbed me, and when I pulled it out, both of which caused me to feel pain and bleed. I figured it would be best to do it this way because, two times the pain, two times the chance I have to get stronger and learn to deal with pain like that so if it ever happened, I'd be fine. But when your muscles flex to a point they want to burst, you don't exactly have fun afterwards."

"You are done training, mister," Cynder made very clear as she remembered that moment as well, along with other moments of him pushing his body, "Unfortunately, I woke up a little bit ago and saw some of what you were going through. What do you think I would rather wake up to; My Love laying in bed with me and kissing me, or him getting stabbed and bleeding on the ground almost dying?"

"Oh... You saw some of that... Sorry, I didn't want you to. I was hoping you would've came in and stopped me. Which, speaking of, going back to my suspicion, how could Ignitus be telling everyone what was happening if he was up here?"

"Oh, obviously it was a clone. You act like Ignitus would send himself to anyone of us. He's too busy using his main body to stay with, Claire," Malefor joked, now wondering why he doesn't just use a clone to stay with Claire instead, "You know, we talk to a clone a lot of times unless you're with Claire and we are near, but why don't you stick Claire with a clone and go off and do something else?"

"Jealous?" Claire giggled.

"Jealous? Of what?"

"Someone what's some caring from his friend, but I'm am taking that all away from you, aren't I?"

"Your bark is worse then your bite, I can tell you that now... Mainly because you're right."

"Well, I'm here now. What do you need?" Ignitus asked.

"Well, nothing now but, maybe something in the future."

"Creepy and sketchy all at the same time with you right now. Well, looks like Volteer won't be the only one who likes Ignitus. Looks like you're joining the club, Malefor," Spyro joked with him just to embarrass the three.

"There are just some days, some days when I wish I had killed you when I had the chance, especially the chance I just had. But since your suspicious ass won't leave it alone, I was hoping he could give me more information on my powers like how he did to you. And, I was wondering if there would be a way if I could get the time power as well. I mean, you had it like, twice, right?"

"How did you know about the first time?"

"Well I mean, who else would've frozen you in that time Crystal? The Chronicler? Please, that time Crystal saved you, he would never do something that would help anyone."

"Well then, yes, I did get it twice."

"So then, Ignitus, what do I need to do to get my own time power? I have the same attributes as Spyro. I'm purple, better looking, and having an extra ability so, shouldn't I be able to use it as well?"

"Well, I can't give you the time power, Malefor," Ignitus said with a slight frown, almost as if he already had a reason for why, "Because you were once the Dark Master, if it happened again, then you would have the power of time at your disposal. And the last thing the Ancestors want is for light and dark to have an all out battle with each having the power of time. It could cause a lot of problems."

"Happen again? Then what's the point of me training to control the darkness if even the Ancestors think I'm going to become the Dark Master again? Does that mean I'm screwed either way?"

"They are mysterious when it comes to their plan. I'm sure we don't have to worry about the Dark Master ever again but, it's just for safety. If I could give you the time power, I would, trust me."

Malefor sighed, wishing he could feel the safety that Spyro feels, knowing he could just heal anyone when ever he wanted to.

"Speaking of Malefor having an extra ability, how did he get an extra ability and I didn't?" Spyro asked.

"Because his mother was a wind Dragon and his father was a fire dragon. So, when he was born, his first ability was technically wind. And since he was born a purple dragon, he gained all the other elements as well. Hehe, which is funny to think about because, seeing Malefor have white scales would be the cutest thing to see."

"Yeah, what ever," Malefor grumbled with a small smile, "Going off topic about my scales, how about we talk about what you did with your time power. I definitely have never seen that before. And yeah, I know you just discovered the book and all to help you with that but, what did all those symbols mean? The bigger the circle, the more symbols that appeared in them. And, I know my alphabet and all but, those were not words, nor were they letters."

"New form of the time power?" Spyro asked with a raised brow as he looked at Ignitus, "I'm listening."

"Hehe, no way, not today, Spyro. You've done enough training for today," Ignitus disagreed with a slight nervous chuckle seeing Cynder's reaction as he knew she wanted time with her lover, and he didn't want to take more time away by allowing him to train even more.

"Alright, fine. I guess you are kinda right... But just kinda give me a little juicy detail on how it's better then the original hourglass."

"Well... I guess I could at least tell you that. Compared to the original hourglass, this one works almost two times if not more better then the original. When I tried to heal you with the time power, it only refills your energy to its max limit, and it can't do that for the darkness for obvious reasons. But with this newer version, it's able to give you the energy at your max limit, and continue to do so until you are fully healed. That way, instead of me using two or three of the time power, I can just use one to save energy."

"Oh, sounds pretty juicy. And since Malefor talked about symbols, that must mean there is something even better hiding behind this new hourglass."

"No more training for today, understand?" Cynder commanded, earning a quick nod from her lover.

"Well... even though I can't train... could I still help the Guardians?"

"Help how?"

"I will be sitting next to you with my wing draped over you while I talk and observe."

"Hum..."

"I can also help Malefor which would make Carith happy."

"Well that helps out one of the girls, but what about, Claire."

"Um... I don't really know. What is it you want, Claire?"

"Hehe, well, I'm assuming when you mean, Guardians, you are referring to the other three and not Ignitus. Am I correct?" Claire asked as she already had an idea of what she wanted, and from that question alone, Spyro had already pieced together what she probably wanted, but she still wanted to hear her say it.

"Of course."

"Well then, I would like some more time with Ignitus. Could've had all the time in the world but because you were training, Ignitus couldn't lay down with me long enough to have a conversation because he was to busy worrying about you. So if you would so kindly, refrain from hurting yourself and the other Guardians. That way, me and Ignitus can talk all we want without problems."

"Easiest request I've ever gotten."

"Wh... what?!" Malefor cried out, "Easy? Easy?! That's easy for you? A simple, don't get yourself hurt? So then what about you being my friend isn't easy?"

"You know, maybe you are right. Maybe I should be your friend."

"Well you don't...! Wait... what...?"

"Because friend has the word end in it, kinda like what I want to do with your life, end, it."

"Of course you go and ruin the joy and happiness I felt for a second. I should kill you right now. You can barely stand so you wouldn't put up much of a fight."

"Neither did you when me and Cynder fought you in that volcano."

"You act like I was trying. Either way I saw it, I was going to end up where I wanted to be. Plus, I can guarantee that Cynder did all the work back there while you two fought me. I couldn't tell if I was fighting a Hatchling, or a whiny little Hatchling who thought he just lost his father."

Taking a step up and swinging past his lover, Spyro stood with his tail right at Malefor's neck with a smile, "Who was the whiner who thought his lover had dead even though it was his fault in the first place?"

Putting his tail blade against Spyro's neck, Malefor growled back at him with a smile, "I was just making sure I got to this exact moment so I could kill you. I already have your trust, and soon, I'll have your friendship, then I can put my plan into action."

Gently elbowing Volteer in his shoulder, Terrador joked with him, "Hey look, your boyfriends are fighting."

Pulling his tail blade forward and slapping Terrador's gut, he grunted loudly, trying to hold in the pain that just shot through his body. With the two fighting back and forth, Claire also made a joke about Spyro and Malefor as the two fought back and forth with one another, "Aw, you two would make an amazing couple. You have your fights, you have your jokes, and you laugh with one another. Well Cynder, looks like you have some competition."

Cynder giggled with the other two girls while Spyro and Malefor blushed red. They both scuffed at one another and pulled their tail blades away from one another and back to the ground. For Spyro, his body still didn't feel as though he had completely recovered, so pulling his tail blade back to the ground took a little more effort then he thought. Malefor along with almost everyone else had seen the pain on his face, and he felt bad for him but didn't want to say anything as he knew he would get picked on. With everyone calmed down once again, Spyro turned towards the Guardians and asked, "Alright, going back. I do want to train you three in hopes that you can become near as strong as my base form. So I'm just making sure that you three are ready?"

They all sighed, scared to even train because of what happened last time, but they all nodded.

"Just, try to be a little more, gentle. That way we don't have to fly out to the Dragon Temple again to chill out in the hot water," Terrador pleaded, somewhat starting the feel a phantom version of the pain as he remembered the fight, "And uh, also, I'm just wondering if we are going to have to be pulling tail blades out of our chest while we fight..."

"Don't worry, none of that. For now, I just need to see where you all are at, so no tail blade to the chest... yet."

"Yet?"

"Hehe, don't worry about it."

Turning away from the Guardians, he looked at Malefor and wondered if he would like to practice his dark power as well, "So, what do you say, Malefor? You want to give the dark power a little more training? I just don't want you to get overdramatic again and cry all over the floor because you think I'm going to kill you."

"Hehe, what ever. Just wait until something happens between you and Cynder again. I will be the first one to make fun of you for it," Malefor chuckled, but the way he said it kinda made him sound like he wanted something to happen, so he quickly clarified, "Not that I want something to happen as I would love to continue to enjoy this peace but... you know what I mean."

"It's okay, I understand. You don't have to if you don't want to. I mean it when I say I trust you. If something happens, I can help."

"Yeah but... you're already not completely healed, and I don't want to risk anything with everyone here so, I will just stick to my base form and train with the Guardians. Who knows, could bring back some fun memories when I use to train with the Guardians back then."

"Sounds fair to me," Spyro paused as he looked over at the Guardians and he continued, "Alright, we are all going to get ready. You three along with Malefor will stay in the center of the training room while the rest of us are going to hang out over by the front door. I will guide you if need be. But to start off, I'm going to send a couple of dark dragons at you at a low level to see where you all are at. If it's easy, I will make it more difficult until you can't continue, Alright?"

"Great..." Cyril sighed.

"Okay but, is it okay if Ignitus kinda helps out real quick?" Terrador asked

"With what?" Spyro asked.

"Well uh, the training room is a, little broken and, seeing your blood all of the place kinda makes me a little, uncomfortable."

"Understandable. Ignitus, can you help out."

"Yep, I got it," Ignitus agreed.

Tapping his claw on the ground, a white circle appeared on the ground and went all across the floor, repairing the floor and erasing any signs of blood. The white circle went up to the walls doing the same that it had done while it was on the floor. As it reached the ceiling, the circle closed in on itself and disappeared. The training room was now completely repaired once again and blood free. Cynder sighed as seeing the blood almost made her feel uncomfortable as well, and with the blood gone, her, along with everyone else, felt a little better. As Spyro turned and walked towards the wall nearest to the door, everyone knew what to do as he had explained it. The three Guardians and Malefor stayed in the middle of the training room while the other four followed Spyro. Sitting down a couple of steps from the door, Spyro pulled up his wing and smiled as Cynder approached. She smiled back at him. Snuggling her head into the side of his neck, she turned her body around to face forward and snuggled her side up against her lover's. Draping his wing over her, she nuzzled her forehead on his neck and laid her head down on his shoulder afterwards.

"It's about time I have this back," Cynder giggled, finally once again able to feel calm and comfortable.

"Hehe, sorry. I will... I will promise it won't happen again. But like Ignitus and I agreed, if you want me to stop training, just tell me. I know I might be, difficult, but with you, I'm sure everything will be fine," Spyro apologized as he had now come back to his senses and was no longer interested in training.

"Hehe, that's because, all it would take is me saying I would leave you for you to stop training."

"Hehe... yeah... But... you aren't leaving me... right?"

"Well, depends on how the day turns out. If things stay like this, you'll be fine."

"Sounds easy enough."

Ignitus walked over and sat down next to Spyro, and soon followed Claire as she sat next to him, and finally, Carith sat down next to her. The Guardians and Malefor awaited instructions on what they were going to be doing, and it didn't take long for them to receive the awaited instructions from Spyro, "Alright, with everyone in position, we are going to start off with something... simple. I'm going to throw a single dark dragon at you all and you all have to coordinate what you'll be doing. Now keep in mind, I'm going off of how strong I think you all are. This also means that this dark dragon will probably be a little stronger then Malefor, just to give you an idea on what you'll be dealing with."

Cyril sighed and grumbled towards Malefor, "I really hope you are a lot weaker then Spyro thinks you are."

At the end of the training room, a dark dragon appeared behind the four. They all turned around to see the dark dragon which was similar to that of Spyro's dark form. Huddling around in a circle, the four talked it out about what they think would be best, and Malefor was the first to speak, "Alright, Terrador, you can take most of the hits so you run down middle. I will go above, Volteer goes left and Cyril goes right. What do you say?"

"What makes you think he will just attack me?" Terrador asked.

"Because, you have some muscle still so, maybe he will see you as a bigger threat."

"Screw that. He isn't going to look up while he is attacking so you are getting the easy job, and you aren't getting out of this one. How about the weakest goes up? I vote, Volteer."

"You're a Bitch man," Volteer cursed.

"Or how about we just do what we did with those dark creatures when Warfang was attacked?" Cyril suggested.

"You mean the; Elements Of Devastation?!" Malefor cried happily.

"You really need to find a new name for that. I know you came up with it but, come on, you couldn't think of something better."

"Well, Planetary Devastation was already taken. I was also thinking about Galick Gun, All For One, or even Overkill but... couldn't use any since they were already taken..."

"No one here knows what any of those references are."

"Hehe... I do," Volteer smiled.

"What ever, point is, we can use it. I bring the fire, you all bring your elements, and bam, easy win," Malefor went back to explaining.

"Two things, one of which, how do you remember that we used that during the attack? I thought you were in the back fighting the other two."

"Dark creatures. I see what they see when I want to."

"Oh... okay. And another thing, you do realize if we go all out using that move, we could destroy most of the building which could fall on the citizens down underneath the mountain, right?"

"That is what Ignitus is for. And even if he doesn't help, Dragons have wings. No one would be stupid enough to just stand there and watch as the building comes down. So come on, lets bring back some good old times."

Everyone aside from Malefor sighed, but they had to agree.

"Alright, I guess it's worth a shot. Maybe if we just deal with this dark dragon, Spyro will call it a day and we can all go back to bed," Cyril agreed.

"There you go."

As the four spoke about their plan, they were just about to finish talking. Ignitus heard the entire conversation and hinted towards Spyro to help make it more difficult for the four, "Hey, Spyro."

Spyro looked at his father and asked, "What's up?"

"So, when ever you two were fighting the dark master, the Guardians were protecting Warfang which you already know. But, what you didn't know is that they used a move that Malefor helped all of us learn back then. I know the name sounds wired but, Malefor came up with it. It's called; Elements Of Devastation. Basically what they do is they combine all the element in a sort of beam. It's a little complicated to explain but, just know you could use this to your advantage. They have to stand still and charge up so, make it difficult for them."

"Hehe, Alright... You think you could teach me how to do it?"

"Spyro," Cynder whispered with a little bit of a growl

"Never mind," Spyro chuckled with a nervous smile.

The four turned around to face Spyro and Malefor called out, "Alright, ready!"

Spyro nodded at the four and they all turned around to face the dragon. The dark dragon took on his fighting stance along with the other four. Sticking with the plan, the four opened their mouths and charged up each of their elements to use against the dark dragon. It smiled at the four as it took a step forward and disappeared. Malefor's eyes went wide as the dragon appeared underneath him and slammed his mouth shut. The fire from his mouth erupted out of his nose as he was flung back. Knowing it wouldn't be complete, they still tried to use their elements. The three shot their elements in a beam right at the dark dragon. As they approached, he shielded himself with his wings. As the elements hit his wings, it absorbed into his body. The Guardians all shivered in shock that he was able to absorb their elements. Standing back up to his paws, Malefor wiped his paw across his face. Walking back up to the group, he whispered to Terrador, "Lets both just rush middle."

"Fine by me," Terrador growled as he looked at the Dark dragon.

Running at the dark dragon, Cyril and Volteer went different ways as one went right and one went to the dark dragons left. As they all rushed in to attack, the dark dragon swung his tail blade around, erupting a ring of fire. Cyril and Terrador quickly stopped in their tracks as they both placed a wall in front of them with their elements. As Malefor through up a wall of earth, he saw Volteer had no cover. Putting a claw out, he raised it, causing a wall of rock to appear in front of his friend. Ducking behind the wall, Volteer thanked, "Thank you."

Spyro smiled to see he used what he taught him.

"Malefor protecting his friends? That's unheard of, am I right?" Ignitus joked, seeing what his son would say about it.

"I use to think so... not anymore," Spyro said with a smile, causing the other four to smile at his words.

Jumping over his rock wall, Malefor took a slice at the dragon with his tail blade and just barely missed as he had dodged backwards. Terrador jumped over his wall and helped out. The two swung their tail blades constantly trying to hopefully get a hit, but they were just barely missing each time. Luckily, the dark dragon wasn't able to attack as well while the two attacked him. Cyril and Volteer jumped over their walls and ran over to assist. Swinging their tail blades at the dark dragon as well, he used this to his advantage. Grabbing Volteer and Cyril's tail blade, he yanked the two in front of him. Malefor and Terrador were already mid swing with their tail blade and couldn't react in time to stop. Malefor's tail blade stabbed into Cyril's shoulder while Terrador's tail blade stabbed into Volteer's shoulder as well. The two growled in pain, and Malefor cried, "Cyril!"

"Volteer!" Terrador cried as well.

Cyril grabbed Malefor's tail blade and yanked it out of him with a slight chuckle, "Watch were you're swinging, you bastard."

Volteer did the same as he pulled out Terrador's tail blade and joked too, "Who's side are you two on anyway?"

"Are you two okay?" Malefor asked, even though he watched as the two just shuck it off.

"Compared to what Spyro went through, this is nothing," Cyril chuckled.

The dark dragon took this opportunity as Cyril and Volteer's back was turned. Using his wing, he propelled himself forward. Malefor saw it at the corner of his eye. Using his wing, he pushed Cyril to the side and put a paw out right in front of him. The dark dragon used this opportunity to use his tail blade to try and take out Malefor as he knew he was the strongest of the four. A wall of earth appeared in front of the dragon as his tail blade hit the rock wall, along with his face. The tail blade had already went through the wall and hit Malefor in his chest, but he had hoped for this. Grabbing what he could see of the dragon's tail, he cut it clean off with his tail balde. Ripping the tail blade from his chest, Malefor growled, "Kill it now!"

Pulling the rock wall down, the four all went in for an attack. Each stabbed their tail bales into either his neck body or wings. With a loud cry, the dark dragon exploded into a dark cloud before disappearing. The four were a little out of breath, but a big breath in and a big breath out was easily able to fix that for the four. The four all smiled at one another, glad they were able to accomplish something together. Looking over at Spyro, they all wondered how they did. Spyro smiled and gave his honest opinion, "Seems like all of you are on different levels, and together, you all show that your able to accomplish something. But now that I've seen how you all fight, now you are all going to be fighting individually, each with a different dark dragon with different strengths. During this battle, I'm not looking for how fast or how well you can kill your enemy, but something else. And lets see if one of you can figure out what it is by the end of it."

The four all nodded at him with smiles, glad that they were at least doing well enough.

"Alright, restart back to the middle of the training room. Ignitus, if you'd be so kind as to help reset everything?"

"Man, the Ancestors are going to be pissed when they find out how much power I've been using but, I think I can do this once more before I get in trouble," Ignitus chuckled, tapping a claw on the ground which caused a circle of white light to appear, "Which means, Spyro, if any one gets hurt, you're going to have to use your time power on the four. so... Hopefully that won't almost kill you along the way either."

Spyro could only let out a nervous chuckle as now he was debating on just calling the training off. The circle of light went across the walls and the floors, breaking the walls of elements and cleaning the ground to make it look brand new. As the circle approached the four, it went up their bodies, down their back, and off their tail blades. As it did this, it healed any and all wounds that they had sustained during the battle. The white circle went up the walls and finally made it's way to the ceiling where it came together and disappeared. With the training room clear, the four walked back to their starting position in the middle of the room. With them ready, dark dragons spawned against the back walls.

"Hey, Malefor," Spyro called out.

Looking back at him, Malefor asked, "What? Did I do something wrong?"

"These aren't real, just remember that. Sometimes in battle, your opponent isn't going to play fair, and neither should you. But just like before, don't be afraid to kill the Dark dragon at any point. This is only training, and I won't feel bad or think less of you if you go for the kill. And to throw in some motivation, I will think a little more highly of you if you are able to kill the dark dragon fast enough, just hinting."

He smiled wide and before turning his head back to face the dark dragon, he agreed with himself, "Right!"

With that in mind, he didn't waste anymore time and rushed into battle with fire erupting out of his mouth as he attacked. The Guardians ran up along the sides of him to help as well. Watching as the four fought, Ignitus was curious as to what his son was looking for in this battle, "So, you're looking for something else? What might that something be?"

"You'll know when they are done. And plus, thought you could read minds? You should've known what I was thinking," Spyro chuckled.

"Well, I was mainly focusing on the fact that you were making Malefor smile. I know I make the dreams and all but, I'm pretty sure I trapped myself in one and I just don't realise it."

"I can pinch you if you want me to?"

"What? No. You'll dig your claws in my scales rather then doing a simple pinch."

"Yeah, maybe... But going back to the whole, making Malefor smile thing, it's clearly for the ladies. By making Malefor smile, he's happy, which makes Carith happy, which she then tells my lover about what an amazing job I'm doing, which makes her happy, which then she kisses me and makes me happy. And it's such an easy cycle."

"Hehe, sounds pretty simple. A simple task for a big reward."

"Yeah. You should know as well about how amazing it is to kiss someone... oh... oops..."

"What?!" Claire cried, looking at Ignitus with wide eyes.

"No no no, he's joking, he's just joking. I've never kissed anyone before in my life."

"Hehe, which is still sad because you are like what, mid thirties and you still haven't kissed anyone? I'm only sixteen and I have it all," Spyro chuckled, causing Ignitus to blush slightly as with his son saying it out loud, it did sound kinda bad.

"Yeah yeah, what ever. Not everyone gets chained up and falls in love every Friday. All because I haven't kissed someone doesn't make it sad."

"I can change that..." Claire whispered, biting her lip with anticipation.

"What?" Ignitus asked as he looked at her.

"Nothing! Just, wondering about things... Actually, now that you brought it up, the, chain? What happened?"

"Well, we brought it up before but I guess we never really discussed it. Basically, after I helped Cynder then she helped me back, I froze us in a time Crystal for three years. When we were later broken out of it, we had been chained together by a chain. After we beat the Dark Master, it disappeared and we don't know where it went. But from us being broken out, all the way to the battle of the Dark Master, we had it on the whole time.," Spyro explained.

"I miss that chain," Cynder was open and honest about, causing her lover to blush with a chuckle.

"So, you were chained together for a while I'm assuming... Then tell me honestly, Cynder, why did you stay with Spyro afterwards? Not being rude in asking, I just wonder. Did you stay because the chain forced you into loving him, or did you really love him even before the chain was put on?"

"Well, I... I ran away at one point when we were at the Dragon Temple from guilt. If I had never run away, I would've never released the Dark Master, and the three year war that happened would've never happened... And I'm sorry for that."

"Cynder, please. You think I'm upset? I've learned from Ignitus when it comes to his way of thinking. If you haven't done that, Malefor probably wouldn't be here and neither would I. And, with my previous lover, like I said, looking back, I wouldn't say he was... The best. Which is terrible for me to say, but..."

"I looked back into his past. Apparently, he made a bet with another guy that he couldn't get down and dirty with Claire in the next month," Ignitus interrupted, causing everyone aside from Claire to gasp as she had already heard about this from a conversation she had with him before.

"But... I thought..." Cynder was at a lost for words for what she just heard

"I thought he was a good guy too but, what did I know I guess," Claire giggled slightly.

"Well, even though those times weren't the best, what do you think about what you have now?" Carith asked, seeing a smile already creep along Claire's face.

"I can say with a smile that I have everything, and everyone, that I want. There is something missing but, I will just have to wait and work for it."

"Wait? Hehe, Claire, I'm the Chronicler, say you want something and I can get it for you," Ignitus said.

"Oh don't worry, lets just say, this isn't something you can get, but earn."

"Earn?"

"But, Cynder, going back to the Chain, how did it feel after it was gone? I'm assuming you still felt terrible for what happened in the past and you tried to run away again?"

"She tried to kill me," Spyro joked with a chuckle.

"I totally did not," Cynder rolled her eyes with a smile, "What really happened was... I wasn't going to make it, if Spyro was died, I will just say that. As I looked around, I... I jumped on top of him not knowing it was him and put my tail blade to his neck so... that was... not as fun as I thought the day was going to be."

"I even teased her by asking if she was going to kill me, which, now that I think about how the old days were, it was pretty stupid. Cynder was already scared of her past and not wanting to hurt anyone, and here I am, joking about how she would kill me, all while I was also laid out on the ground near death from the fight."

"Holy Ancestors... How did you survive?" Claire asked, seeing the two look at one another with smiles.

"Well, this was a pretty, crazy week to say the least. Just in a week, Cynder saved me from the volcano even as weak as she was, she saved me by protecting and healing me when at any point, she could've left me, and I would've died. And I was stabbed in the heart by an arrow, which she saved me from. I don't know why she put up with me, I don't have a clue, but she saved me... a lot."

"Hehe. Well, Cynder, what do you have to say?"

"Well, of course I saved you because I loved you. And you want to talk about saving? I won't go through all of them as there are way to many to count, but the main ways he saved me was from: Myself, The Destroyer, the Dark Master, my Nightmares, and so much more. But now that I've learned about the Chronicler, thanks, Ignitus, you ass."

"What did I do?" Ignitus asked.

"When we first got back to Warfang, and me and Spyro were separated, you gave me that nightmare which was a lot more then I could handle. Don't care if you apologised for it that one day, I'm still mad at you."

"Which, I am sorry about, once again. It was just supposed to help show the Guardians that you two were never supposed to, and never should be, separated. And even though you two were separated, you didn't even see what Spyro did when he heard your cry."

"Now that you mention it, I don't really remember much aside from his warmth and words."

"Lets just say, he kicked off the bed so hard, he broke it in half. Then he punched his door so hard, it broke off the hinges and slammed right into the wall. Hehe, that bed and door were victims that I never wanted to put into everything that was happening."

"Aw, Spyro, you did that for me?"

"Well... you know... Thinking back again... maybe I should've just busted through the wall to get to your room... Hehe," Spyro chuckled.

"Either way, you were still my Purple Guardian, even back then."

With the two moving in for a kiss, a loud cry was heard from Terrador, "Look Out!"

Running up and standing in front of Cynder, he spread out his wings and clenched his eyes shut as he braced himself for what ever he was supposed to have avoided. Something had flown past and hit the wall they were standing near with a loud cracking sound. Once again, another cry was heard, but not from Terrador, instead, it was from Claire, "Ignitus!"

Pulling his wings down and opening his eyes, he looked at his father and froze. A pointed rock in the shape similar to a spear stabbed right through Ignitus's neck. The pointed part was in the wall, but it was long enough to poke out the front of he neck. It was thin, thinner then the size of a claw which only made it look more painful. The four that were fighting didn't even realize what had happened as the sounds of battling and yelling at each other for support blocked out Claire's cry. Not wasting any more time, Spyro ran up and tapped a claw on Ignitus's chest to heal him. Grabbing the rock, Spyro cried, "Alright, I'm going to pull this out, and then I'm going to heal you, okay. It's going to hurt, and I'm sorry just... just... why are you laughing?"

Laughter erupted out of Ignitus as he couldn't keep it together which confused everyone. But what confused them even more was, as he laughed, he was passing right through the rock as if it wasn't even there. Pulling his claw back which made the hour glass disappear, Spyro wanted to know answers, but before he could open his mouth to say anything, Claire had already beaten him to it with a commanding voice, "Ignitus, answers, now."

He quickly stopped laughing and instead swallowed hard. Grabbing the rock from his neck, it disintegrated into a white light. With the rock gone, there was no hole in Ignitus's neck at all which made Claire believe he was just a clone, "Wait... Ignitus... you, you aren't a, clone, are you?"

"What? No, of course not. I would never leave a clone with you," Ignitus said, now feeling bad that he had scared Claire into making her think he was going to die.

"I... I trust you but, I also still want proof. As well as an explanation as to what happened."

"You're right... Sorry if I scared you..."

"Just, tell me if you are okay, then I can be as well."

"Hehe, yes ma'am. Alright, I will tell the truth. So, I'm sure I've said before but, a dark creature can not attack the Chronicler because of the whole, light and dark thing. But honestly, nothing can attack the Chronicler until The Chronicler himself attacks back. So, that little rock can't touch me as long as I don't do anything to retaliate. That's why, way back, when me and Spyro fought, he was able to instantly attack me, because I attacked first. So, with my power, I can just faze through stuff if I want."

"And... how do I know you aren't a clone."

"Well, that's even easier to explain. Unlike a clone, I can bleed, clones can't. And just so I can show you," Ignitus paused as a bright white light appeared in front of him, causing everyone to squint their eyes a little, "I'm going to be using this clone as a demonstration."

As the light died down, a clone of Ignitus appeared in front of him. The clone raised his paw up to chest level and turned it out upside down. Ignitus used his claw and stabbed his claw into his clone's paw. Taking his claw out, the clone raised his paw for everyone to see, but there was nothing there aside from a hole where he had stabbed his clone. Now, doing the same as before, he only switched to who he was doing it to. Ignitus raised up his paw and flipped it upside down at chest level. His clone stabbed his claw into him. Pulling his claw out, blood spilled from out of Ignitus's paw, along with blood being on the clone's. Putting a claw over the wound, he let it sit there for a second before pulling his claw back down to the ground. The wound was now completely healed, and all the blood from his paw had disappeared. As Ignitus spoke, his clone disappeared into a white light, "So, as you can see, aside from the white light, my clone's can't bleed. The reason for this is actually funny. Because the Chronicler has so much energy, he can make thousands of clone's. And if all of those clone's had blood, well, there are thousands of reasons this could go wrong. Hehe, here's a funny one. The Ancestors think that the Chronicler could go crazy and kill his clones for the Hell of it just to see bloodshed."

"Damn... what have the Ancestors lived through?" Spyro chuckled.

"Who knows... Well... I do, but last time I tried to talk about their past, especially to Malefor, didn't work out too well."

"Well... all that matters is your safe. Just glad Malefor wasn't looking or else he would pick on me for nearly crying because of what you pulled."

"I'm sorry, I truly am. And I'm especially sorry to you, Claire, didn't mean to scare you that badly."

She sighed hugely and already found a way for him to make it up to her, "Just, cuddle with me and don't let go, understand?"

"I've been wanting to do that all day."

Snuggling up with one another once again, Claire laid her head down on Ignitus's shoulder and sighed softly, trying to calm herself down and to get the thought out of her mind. Looking at the two as they cuddled and looking at the battle Malefor was in with the other Guardians, Carith looked over to Spyro and asked, "So, Spyro, I was wondering when I would be able to snuggle back up with my lover. It's been a while."

"Hehe, don't worry. If they don't finish up here soon, I will call off the training. I can see that most of them are getting tired, so it shouldn't be too long now," Spyro explained, making her feel a little better.

Carith nodded with a smile and continued to watch the fight, and Spyro was about too as well, but Cynder said something to him, "So, tell me, what were you really trying to prove?"

"Oh no, what did I do?"

"Nothing. It's just, when ever Terrador said look out, instead of freezing time and grabbing it out of mid air, or moving at lightning speed, why did you choose to quickly throw up your wings in front of me and protect me? Not saying it wasn't romantic or anything, just wondering."

"Well, I've been trying to deal with some of my problems without using my abilities. And i know for a fact, Ignitus saw it coming before I even did. And if I would've gotten hit by that, well, it would've hurt like Hell but, I would've gotten up, dusted it off, and healed myself. I've been trying to see what kind of pain I can take before it becomes more then too much."

"Focusing on training instead of a way to kiss me, okay."

"No its..."

"No, it's fine, I understand."

He sighed with a smile, seeing her look away from him with her own smile. Putting his paw on the other side of her face, she willingly moved her face towards his. Moving in and kissing his lover, he could feel himself becoming a lot calmer then he thought he could be, not knowing he was tensed and worried, which got him thinking, _What do I have to be worried about...? Oh yeah... Training, or loving, Cynder... I would say I've had enough training for one day, maybe week... So, I will take the week off... maybe longer._ Pulling away from the kiss, even Cynder could tell he was stressed by the kiss, "Seems like someone wasn't completely their old self. The kiss got better and better as we kissed. You feeling better?"

"Hehe, just, deciding between training and loving you should've been obvious. I should've just stayed in bed with you."

"Well, I wouldn't say it was all bad. I was able to see those muscles flex again. I bet you make Terrador jealous."

"How, the guy doesn't have as much muscle as before."

"Wow... That was a sick burn."

"Oh! I didn't mean it like that."

Looking at Terrador as he fought, she did had to agree that he was growing his muscle back, "Well, if you keep training him, definitely not at all for the rest of the week, but if you keep training him, he might be his old self very soon."

"That's my hope; Getting the Guardians back to where and who they should be."

The four were each knocked down onto the floor in the middle of the training room, violently breathing as they were out of breath and power. The dark dragons surrounded them in a circle. Struggling to stand back to their paws, each of them faced their opponents in a weak fighting stance. In the circle, Malefor faced his opponent away from the door, Volteer faced his towards the door, and Terrador and Cyril's opponent were facing the gem room and away from the gem room. Volteer knew they couldn't keep this up, and tried to think of a plan, and as he thought about what Spyro said, he was able to come up with a plan in only a second, "Guys... I have a better idea. Not to pull us down or anything but, me, Terrador, and Cyril... We are not as strong as, Malefor, but you know who's stronger then us?"

"What are you planning?" Cyril asked, seeing the Dark dragons take a step, he quickly said, "Because what ever you're planning you better hurry up and say it!"

"Strength in numbers my dear, Cyril. If we all focus are attention on Malefor's opponent, he will be the strongest of the four. Malefor can take out the three easily while we hold off the fourth, that being his dark counterpart. I would say we could all focus on just Malefor's counterpart first, but that would leave the other three who could still beat us down, so it's better if we go with the first idea."

"You want me to take on the three of them?!" Malefor cried, almost wanting to just pass out right then and there.

"Malefor, it's a win-win. You take out the three while we hold off the your counterpart. You look good in front of Carith while you fight the three, and you can join in and help us defeat the last dark dragon that was supposed to be yours. Hopefully at this point, he will already be weakened."

"Oh, hell... Well, your plans haven't failed me yet. When ever you're ready."

"When they take the next step, Malefor, switch to the front, we will switch quickly to the Dark dragon in the back. If they come after us, you have the speed. Remember our strengths and weaknesses. Terrador's the strongest, I am the smartness, and Cyril is the fastest. Take out which ever one you believe would be easier for you. I would say my dark clone, Cyril's, then Terrador's, but I don't have time to explain why..."

Just as Volteer said that, the dark dragons took another step. Everyone went for the plan. Volteer flew up and around towards the back of the room behind the Dark dragon. Terrador and Cyril turned and ran to the back as well, but the Dark dragon that was fighting Cyril tried to stop him. Malefor saw this as he turned around to face the three. Raising his paw and pointing a claw in front of him, he lifted it, causing a rock wall to come from out of the ground. The dark dragon slammed right into it and was knocked back by it. As he fell to the floor, the other two dragons attacked him. Dodging most of their attacks, Malefor growled in his thoughts as the two switched spots and constantly tried to claw at him, _Yeah, attack your dark clone first, Great plan, Volteer! How the hell do I tell them apart from one another!_ Getting slashed in the side of the face, he had it and yelled, "Enough!"

Grabbing the two by the neck, he slammed them to the ground and onto their backs. They both dug their claws into his arms and slashed his side with their tail blade. Opening his mouth to shot them with a arrow shaped rock, he stopped and struggled for a second. Even with the pain, he looked up at Spyro, scared to know what he would think of him if he did what he was about to do right in front of him. Spyro smiled at him and yelled out, "Remember what I said! I want to be satisfied with your performance, not dissatisfied! The better you do, and the sooner you finish, the more training we can do, together!"

His words gave him the motivation he needed to go all out against the Dark dragons. The pain from his arms were becoming more sever as he let them dig their claws into his arms for far too long. Charging up the small, rock like spear in his mouth, he shot it right at the dark dragon's head on the left. It slammed right into his head and hit the floor with a loud crack. The dark dragon couldn't even let out a scream as it simply exploded into a cloud of darkness and disappeared. Looking over at the next dragon, he charged up to do the same thing. Just as he was about to use it, the other dark dragon tackled into his side. Getting knocked off the dragon, Malefor's back hit the ground, causing his little rock spear to shoot out of his mouth and hit the ceiling. Rolling over and standing back to his paws, he trembled slightly, and looking down at the damage they did to his arms, he wasn't surprised. His scales had been ripped and torn, and the flesh and blood that spilled from his now damage arms made him shiver slightly. As the two dark dragons stood in front of him, he chuckled, "I sure hope I killed the Volteer clone."

With Malefor fighting his battle, the Guardians continued to fight there battle as well, keeping the Dark dragon near the back wall and away from their friend. With every attack they made, they were quickly taken down. Cyril went in for an attack, but the dark dragon swung around and hit him in the side of his face with his tail blade. Cyril's body hit the wall, which made Volteer run in to keep the dragon from doing anymore damage. The dark dragon tried to do the same, but missed. Volteer had ducked underneath his tail blade attack and went up to punch his neck. At the same time, Terrador came down from above and elbowed the dragon's head. As Volteer's punch hit his chin, his head was forced up from the hit, and only a second later, Terrador's elbow came down right on the dragon's head, nearly breaking it's neck. Terrador hit the ground from being so exhausted, along with the dragon's face hitting the ground as well from the attack. Volteer grabbed Terrador and flew him back a little away from the dragon. As the Dark dragon stood, he growled as he was now furious. Just as Cyril pulled himself out of the wall, the dragon turned around and attacked him. Grabbing his neck and pinning him to the wall once again, he cut his tail blade right into Cyril's stomach. And with a violent cry, his body went limp.

"Cyril!" Volteer and Terrador cried.

Hearing the cries, Malefor looked over to see what had happened. The blood that spilled out his friend's gut as he was pinned to the wall, and the faint feeling of passing out, he knew he had to do something quick. As the dragons rushed him as he was distracted, it proved to be the wrong decision. As they slashed at him, he grabbed one of their arms while dodging the other dark dragon. Spinning around and pulling the dragon down to the ground, he slashed the neck of the other dragon. With the dragon he had on the ground, he quickly charged up his little arrow rock in his mouth and shot the Dark dragon in the head, causing it to explode in a dark cloud and disappear. Looking back at the other dragon whom had has neck covered with his paw, he took a couple of steps before the dragon tried to strike with his paw. Hitting his paw out of the way, Malefor used his claws and swung it up and right at the opening gash he made with his tail blade on his neck. His claws went through the dragons neck, and he killed it. As it exploded into a black cloud, he turned around and saw the last dark dragon was pulling his tail blade out of Cyril's gut. As Cyril's body feel to the ground, his almost lifeless body angered him. Volteer and Terrador were already nearly out of breath, and the same went for Malefor, but he knew he couldn't give up now. Silently running behind, he tried to sneak up on the dark dragon. The dragon slowly walked forward, causing the two to shiver as they prepared for a fight. But, they saw Malefor walk slowly from behind the dragon, so they knew they had to take one for the team. Running up to attack, the two were easily taken out. Volteer was stabbed on the side of his face hard enough to make him hit the ground, and Terrador was grabbed by the neck afterwards. The dark dragon dug his claws into Terrador's neck, causing blood to spill out and down his neck. His cries were loud enough to cover up Malefor's steps as he ran up from behind him. Reaching his arm around, he grabbed the dragon by the neck, causing him to let go of Terrador. As he pulled the dragon back, he threw his body to the floor and stabbed his tail blade right into his neck. The dragon froze for a second, and for that second, all that was heard was the violent breathing coming from the four. The dark dragon exploded into a dark cloud and disappeared. As it did, everyone was ready to celebrate, and Malefor almost sat down, but he quickly remembered, _Cyril!_ Looking over at him, he ran over to his body. As Terrador and Volteer tried to stand up, they were successful, but only barely. They were able to walk over and check on Cyril as well. Ignitus chuckled and joked, "Well, Spyro, feel like healing everyone."

Spyro knew he had to, even though there would be a lot of pain to follow, "It's gonna hurt like Hell but, I don't want you to get in trouble with the Ancestors so, I will definitely do it."

"Hehe, don't worry. My clone had a talk and since nothing else happens today, they said I could heal them."

"They know what else is going to happen today? You had a talk with the Ancestors?!"

"Ahem! So, uh, we are supposed to be helping them, Remember?"

Cyril was just barely able to open his eyes, and seeing Malefor, he chuckled as he made a joke, "Let me guess... everything that's happened was all just a dream... we are still in the war. You knocked us all out while we were fighting... And you're about to kill me... aren't you..."

"Shut up, Cyril," Malefor chuckled, earning a small chuckle from the other Guardians as well.

"Please, if this was the war, Malefor would be a little Hatchling and hide out while his dark forces attacked," Terrador chuckled.

"Look, getting the Destroyer out was a lot more difficult then the Dark Master thought, alright. Don't blame me."

"Good thing it took so long for you to get the Destroyer out. We surely would've lost if you had summoned it sooner."

"Well, technically, no one even stopped it. The Dark Master did in fact successfully complete its mission... Which was to jump in a volcano..." Stopping his sentence, he looked to see Cynder and asked about what she had said to him when he first came back, "Hey, Cynder, Remember way back when I first came back and you told me to jump in a volcano?"

"Hehe, no, I told you to reverse time and burn in Hell inside of that volcano," Cynder giggled from the memory, causing everyone to chuckle or giggle as well.

"Wow. You were a boss when I first came back. Hehe, but remember what happened in the gem room when I first came back. You thought I had chuckled and was trying to kill you, you were like, 'No, my Spyro, please don't hurt him, I love him'."

"Shut up..." Cynder blushed, causing everyone to laugh again.

"Quit picking on my lover, Malefor. Or else I will bring up what happened in the training room with your dark power incident," Spyro threatened with a smile and a chuckle.

"Oh you would, wouldn't you," Malefor said with a small blush as well, embarrassed about that moment.

"Hehe... Now this feels even more... like a dream," Cyril faintly chuckled, as his breathing slowed, and he closed his eyes.

"Cyril! Cyril!"

"Dude, chill out... I'm just trying to rest," Cyril grumbled, opening his eyes back up again.

"Don't close your eyes then! If you're injured badly, and you close your eyes like you're dying, then of course I'm gonna freak!"

"Well... to be honest... I'm about to."

"Ignitus, could you, or do you need me to?" Spyro asked.

"I got it," Ignitus said.

Tapping a claw on the ground, a white circle appeared on the floor near his claw. The white circle moved over everyone's body, healing them completely of any wounds or blood stains. It did the same for the whole training room, cleaning and putting everything back in place making it look brand new. As the circle reached the roof, it closed tighter and disappeared. The Guardians and Malefor all felt so much better as they were able to see a more clearly now and breath without worry. Reaching his tail blade out, Malefor smiled at Cyril, and he smiled back. Putting his paw on his tail blade, he helped his friend stand. Looking at Spyro, Malefor wondered how he did during the battle, "So, how did we do? I mean, hehe, I did take all of them out so, you know."

"Well, you remember how I said I was looking for something at the beginning of the battle? Well, it wasn't how fast or how well you did against your enemy, but how well you did, together, against the enemy. Volteer, Terrador, Cyril, and you too, Malefor. You all showed that you work well together. You knew what you needed to do, together, with out having to rely on words to give your position away. Like when Terrador and Volteer attacked. Because you two did this, Malefor was able to run up from behind and kill his target," Spyro gave his honest opinion on how well they did, and to everyone's surprise, even their own, they did pretty well.

"Hurt like a Bitch when he grabbed my neck though," Terrador grumbled, moving his paw around his neck as if he could still feel the pain.

"Neck?! Try gut!" Cyril cried, putting his paw on his stomach.

"What? While I was fighting and getting constantly clawed at in the arms, I looked away, looked at Spyro, looked back at the dragon, killed one, and couldn't kill the other. The entire time my arms were being clawed out. You all should learn what real pain is," Malefor said, feeling as though he had the most pain out of all the other three.

"Well, no matter the pain, one day, you might have to go through it again, but at least you will be ready. You all preformed very well, and when backed into a corner, I would say having someone like Volteer will make life a whole lot easier. You all did well, and I'm proud to see you all aren't as out of shape as I thought you all were. So, as a reward, I will not make you four train for the rest of the week... or at the very least, I will try. But if you do want to train, I'm always here," Spyro once again congratulated the four on their performance of how well they did as a team.

"Spyro?" Cynder whispered.

"Hehe, that is, if my lover approves, then I will always be here... for probably about a minute."

"Speaking of, lover approves," Carith said with a raised brow and a smile, she looked at her lover and waved a claw over towards her, "I need to, approve, that this training did something."

Malefor chuckled with a blush, seeing everyone look at him, wondering what he was going to do. He of course couldn't resist, and he walked over to his lover's side. Draping his wing over her back, she nuzzled his neck for a couple of seconds and felt something a little different that she liked. Pulling her head back, she agreed with herself, "Oh yeah, this training of yours has definitely paid off. I wonder what other, New experiences, we can have. I wonder how it feels to kiss you now."

Carith blushed slightly as she realised she was the only one talking, and everyone looked at her with blushes as well.

"I'm allowed to think and say what ever I want about me lover, alright?"

They all agreed with nods, and they all went back to talking about other things. Malefor nudged her with his elbow, and she wondered what he wanted. He gestured his head towards the door, and she obeyed. Turning away from everyone, the two walked away from the crowd and over towards the door. Approaching the wall, he turned to see the whole training room and him and his lover sat down. She was confused and asked, "I thought we were going back to our room?"

Raising his wing up to block his face, he teased her, "Why go back to our room when we can kiss right here?"

"Oh," Carith purred, pulling up her wing and blocking her side of her face.

"Well, I guess we can all agree that Malefor is still definitely stronger then the three of us, that's for sure," Terrador sighed as he admitted it, but he didn't feel bad as it actually made him smile, "I know saying something like that isn't the best thing to say but... I remember when he couldn't even take even one of us out. And to see how much he has grown since then is... I'm glad I've lived to see it... I wonder what else I will grow up and see that will surprise me."

"Well, since Malefor and Carith aren't here, and I know the girls will probably talk about this next time they have another girls day but, what if you lived to see him have a hatchling with Carith?"

Everyone blushed from even the thought, but Terrador pushed through his blush and was honest, "I don't know. Malefor just doesn't really have the guts to doing something like that. But, if the two do become mates, then come back to me on the Hatchling thing. I don't know if I will be able to control myself if that day comes though."

"So, you believe it will happen though?"

"Well... I definitely can hope. If you don't kill the poor man, I'm sure his chances go from zero to a hundred pretty quick."

"Alright, i get it. I said I wouldn't kill him, and I apologized for what I did."

"Hehe... He's a good guy though. I know, hopefully, sooner or later, he will have that chance."

The way the two talked about mates and Hatchlings made Volteer frown. Looking over at the two as they covered their faces and kissed, he wondered what life would be like if he still had his friend, his wished to be lover and mate. Cyril saw this and wanted to help him out. Walking over to his side, he put a paw on his shoulder and Volteer looked over at him.

"Don't worry, someone's out there for you too," Cyril said, trying to cheer him up.

"It's not just someone that I want though... How do you think life would've been if me and Ersa were still together? Do you think, we would've been at the point Spyro and Malefor are with their lovers?" Volteer asked, thinking about it more and more, and he wish he didn't as it only made him more depressed as he did.

"Hey, Spyro thinks she is out there and so do I. When you see her again, tell her, okay?"

"Hehe, after getting past my mountain of tears, I will try."

A yawn emerged from Spyro's mouth, soon after causing his lover to yawn along with some of the others. Ignitus chuckled as he stopped yawning and asked, "Well, does this mean the day is over? The moon is slowly rising right now as we speak so, do you all want to do anything else?"

"Hell no," Terrador chuckled, "I've got my work out in. I'm ready to lay back down and have a good night's rest."

"I can agree to that," Cyril agreed.

"Alright then. Do any of you need anything from me before I go? Me and Claire are going to head down now. That is, also of course, unless you have any questions yourself, Claire," Ignitus asked, looking at her to see if she needed or wanted to do anything else while they were still there.

"I guess I just have to say, congrats to you all for doing so well. I'm glad that, in the end, everyone was alright. And, Spyro... For tomorrow, which I'm sure Cynder already has you locked in for bed, try not to do anything that will make Ignitus fear for your life. I was barley able to cuddle with him in bed because he saw the training you were going through," Claire said with a giggle, seeing the small blush on Cynder's face.

"Hehe, of course. I'm sorry for interrupting your time. Thank you though, Ignitus, for doing that. Checking up on me and making sure I was okay," Spyro thanked his father for being there when he needed him.

"Anytime," Ignitus said with a smile.

"Oh, and, one last thing before we do go. Spyro, I wanted to thank you for what you did for Ignitus back then. He talked a lot about how much of a help you were and I wanted to thank you as well," Claire remembered from a couple of days ago when she talked with him about the Chronicler.

"He was a mess, I can tell you that," Spyro chuckled.

"What ever," Ignitus chuckled as well.

Nuzzling her neck against the side of his, Claire asked, "Now, where were we?"

He smiled at her and the two turned to walk out of the training room. As they approached the door, Ignitus said, "Goodnight you two."

In between kisses, Malefor was able to say, "Good... Night..."

"Well, I guess that means we should be heading off to bed as well. Thank you, Spyro. I really did need to train again. Aside from being grabbed by the neck and have claws dug into my neck, it was pretty fun fighting with everyone again. We can definitely do it again sometime when ever you are free," Terrador thanked kindly, feeling like getting back into battle once again.

"Of course. I'm all for another battle. And unlike the Dark dragons, I will go a little easier on you all... And not dig my claws in your neck," Spyro chuckled, glad he was able to get the Guardians to train a little.

"I look forward to it then. Goodnight you two," Terrador said as he walked away.

"Goodnight Terrador," Spyro said in unison with Cynder.

"Well, I don't really have much to say aside from the fact I almost died... And I laid on the floor... And everyone just watched," Cyril joked.

"Hehe, sorry Cyril. Ignitus said he was going to use his power but took his sweet time. When ever you go to bed, make sure to yell at him for me."

"Hehe, alright. I will see you all in the morning."

"Of course."

As Cyril walked away, all that was left was Volteer, and compared to the others, he needed to talk with Spyro, "Spyro I... when you were talking about mates and Hatchlings I... it brought up thoughts about Ersa again and I... I just can't take it anymore. I've read a lot of books and everything to help keep my mind off it but... I can't take it any longer. I need to know if she is alive or not."

Spyro looked at Cynder, wondering what her input would be. She could only sigh with a smile, and she had to agree, "Alright, fine. But after you are done with your search, you and me need some alone time, understand?"

"Yes ma'am," Spyro agreed happily.

"Thank you... both of you. I'm sorry to take him away Cynder but... I can't go another day without knowing," Volteer admitted.

"I know what it's like to love someone and then lose them. When me and Spyro first got out of the volcano and I thought I had lost him... there were a lot of times when something would happen and I wanted to give up, but, with Spyro, I never wanted to after that. I hope when you find her, you will be able to experience what it's like to love as well. And you've read books about kissing... probably, and when they said it's good, that's an understatement."

"Hehe, I'm shaking with excitement right now."

"Now go get some rest. Spyro and I, probably along with the other two, will be down at the Guardians Chambers as soon as we can, okay?"

"Yes! Of course! Thank you! Both of you."

Volteer was now more excited more then ever for the next day and quickly ran towards the door and out of the training room. As he got to the hall, he stopped, and saw the Guardians were all still standing around near the door, and he questioned, "Uh... what's going on?"

"Instead of us going individually, we were all just going to teleport into the Sleeping Chambers," Terrador said.

"Why?"

"Because hearing the door constantly close and shut as we all walk into the Chambers... no one would be able to get some sleep," Cyril explained.

"Oh... how does Claire feel about wasting time? She could've already been laying down and talking with Ignitus."

"Kinda hard to talk with him if I say something romantic and it gets interrupt by a door opening, one of you apologizing, and then one of you shutting the door as you walked in the room," Claire giggled.

"Fair points."

"Alright, you all know what to do. Close your eyes and prepare for the magic to happen," Ignitus said, causing everyone to close their eyes.

Everyone did as they were told and closed their eyes. For a second, it was silent, but after that second, Ignitus broke the silence, "Alright, we are here."

Opening their eyes, they were all in the Sleeping Chambers right in front of the door. Turning and walking with Claire, Ignitus walked with her towards their bed. With the two heading to their bed, the other three followed behind and went towards their beds. Jumping up onto their beds and laying down, Volteer spoke as he laid down on his bed, "It's been a long time since we fought with, Malefor. Which... didn't realize it until now but, this is our first time fighting along side our friend after more then thirteen years... It's crazy to even say something like that."

As Terrador laid his paws out in front of him, he laid his head down and chuckled at Volteer's words as he couldn't believe it himself, "I was wondering why I was enjoying the training so much. It's good to see that he is still as strong as ever... And now that you talk about it, now realising how important that training session was... I kinda wish we would've continued. It would've helped us train, it would've help him train, and we would all be happy in the end... like the good old days."

"Hehe, the good old days? You mean the days where we would train him and injury him, or even nearly kill him accidentally?" Ignitus chuckled as he snuggled up to Claire with his head over hers as her head was laid down over his paws.

"Hehe, okay, maybe not those old days... Maybe the days as in, the month that Malefor and Carith had together when they were in love. Aside from that one time where he turned for a second... And some other times, but with Carith there, it was pretty easy to get past any situation that was thrown our way... I miss his sense of humor."

"We all missed him, lets be honest. We have just been having a pretty good life so far after he has come back that we don't even remember there being a war. The only real sign of the war is, of course... what we lost, but we don't blame him for that. With us healed and looking younger then before, it's like we never went through anything at all," Cyril joined in as he believed life has been pretty well to them.

"Yeah, seeing Malefor after what had happened... I know I'm supposed to be the tough one out of all of us but, when he came back, and when the next day rolled around and he looked like his young self again... I about lost it with tears... But I know he would've picked on me about it and told me to stay strong... And I tried... I should've just cried right then and there to hear him make some stupid joke," Terrador chuckled along with the other Guardians.

"I don't know which one is more stupid; The games he makes up, or the jokes he makes," Cyril chuckled.

"Well, I would rather have joking, game making Malefor over the Dark Master any day. And it's fun to see Spyro yell at him when he says something stupid. At least he knows what we are all thinking when he starts yelling at him," Ignitus said, and everyone agreed about that, "And it's also good to see Malefor and Spyro have made progress on their friendship. Not wanting to jinx us but... If those two do become friends one day, I feel like it will be smooth sailing from now and forever. That's my..."

A loud strike of thunder interrupted Ignitus as it lit up the room white before a loud and thunderous roar nearly shuck the whole building. Everyone jumped from the sudden storm, and it even sacred Ignitus, which made him wonder himself, _That's wired... Its not supposed to be storming at all tonight. Where is this weather coming from?_ As he thought about it, every else wondered as well. Soon followed storm clouds that covered the sky, making it pitch black outside. Rain then started to pour down heavily over the building with small roars of thunder from here to here.

"I guess that means we are off to bed. We can talk some more in the morning... I'm kinda already missing those four," Terrador said, closing his eyes as he tried to fall asleep.

"I agree on that. Sooner we go to bed, the sooner and better our day will be tomorrow," Volteer happily said, trying to contain his excitement as he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

"Great... can't wait to almost fall asleep, and then a huge strike of thunder wakes me... it's bound to happen," Cyril grumbled as he closed his eyes and tired to sleep.

"I don't know what everyone is complaining about. Then again, I'm snuggled up to you so... I know no matter the storm, I can sleep happily," Claire whispered, closing her eyes, and said one last thing before going to sleep herself, "Goodnight, Ignitus... I hope we can talk more soon."

"Of course we will... Goodnight Claire," Ignitus whispered, still eyes wide open as he was confused about what was happening.

 _One of my clones needs to figure out what is happening. It doesn't make any sense for it to be raining... But, then again, some days, there wouldn't be a cloud in the sky, then seconds later there would be a hail storm so... I guess I shouldn't bother with it. I've barely spent anytime with Claire, and I haven't spoken to her all that much... she probably hates me for that. I need to focus all my attention on her tomorrow... And I need to apologize._ As Ignitus agreed with himself, he decided it would be best to ignore it and focus on what is more important to him. Pulling his head up and pecking Claire on her forehead, she smiled slightly as she was still a little bit awake. Laying his head back down over the top of her neck, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

With the Guardians gone, all that was left was Malefor and his lover, who were still kissing with their wings up. The two walked over to the other two, and as Spyro sat, he looked over at his lover to say something, but as he did, she turned away with a frown, making him a little worried about what he did. He tried to speak to her again, but the other two were done kissing and pulled their wings down, focusing their attention on him with big smiles.

"Wow... Okay, sorry, Spyro. Didn't know that would be so enjoyable... Ahem. So, what's up?" Malefor asked, still trying to recover from the kissing he did with his lover.

"Oh, I just wanted to congratulate you on your victory against the dragons. You seemed a little, brutal, to say the lease when you killed those dragons. I thought I trusted you but, after that display, it's going to take some time for you to earn my trust again," Spyro chuckled as he joked with him, but it still shuck Malefor up a little as he didn't know for a second if he was lying or not.

"Hehe, don't be an ass. You said I could go all out, and I did. And Cyril was injured and Terrador was having the blood squeezed out of him like jelly by that dragon. I wasn't going to take my time on that."

"Alright, fine, fair enough. But, to be honest... I can't believe I am about to say this but, how would you feel if, one day, me and you train together and master blue fire, together?"

"What?!" Malefor's face lit up with a smile.

"Ugh... smiling Malefor is creepy. But, yes, really. I am going to try and take another step forward with you in terms of us being... acquaintance. Still going to need a few days before I can see if you are friend worthy but, you are getting there, I can tell you that much for sure."

"Hehe, be careful, Spyro, you make his face light up even a little more, you might break my lover's face, then I will never be able to kiss him," Carith giggled as the smile on Malefor's face made her smile as well, and even when he tried not to smile to stay serious, he failed miserably.

"I... I... Uh... Yes... Yes of course! I will keep trying my best, Spyro," Malefor said.

"Alright, well, you have done enough today. Rest up for now, and in the near future, we will train again, alright. Hopefully tomorrow will be a pretty, smooth day. Volteer wants me to help him find Ersa so, that's gonna be a fun one."

When he mentioned the dragoness, Ersa, it was able to break the smile on his face as he knew what could've happened to her, "Spyro... You said tomorrow would be a smooth day...? How smooth will it be when you, or someone else like Ignitus, has to break the news that she is dead...? I don't mean to, put you down or anything but, you gave him a lot of hope on her survival... what will he think of you if she's dead?"

"I'm not going to worry about it. Ignitus said that the Chronicler wrote down her death but... I don't believe it... I can't believe it. I... I have prepared, somewhat, if Volteer finds out and it turns out she is dead, but I hope it won't come to that... The most we can do is talk to him, and if things get out of control... It won't come to that."

"I hope Volteer still finds someone to love, if it's Ersa or not, as long as he is happy, that's what matters, right?"

"Yeah... But I don't know if he will be happy with anyone else but, Ersa."

"Well, he needs to find someone. I want to have another girls day out," Carith interrupted, trying to lighten things up a little bit more, "True, we didn't have the best experience last time but, who knows, with another girl, we could have loads more fun talking about what ever it is we are feeling like talking about... After that kiss me and Malefor had, I can't see myself talking about finding a new lover soon so, that's out the window."

"We will know for sure by tomorrow, that's for sure."

"Both fifty fifty on how tomorrow is going to go but, I guess we should be well rested either way. So we are going to head off to bed. We will see you in the morning you two," Malefor said, both scared and hopeful for tomorrow.

Just as the two turned to leave, Carith stopped and so did Malefor. Ducking her head next to Spyro's, Carith whispered, "You haven't been kissed Cynder as much as you should, have you?"

As she pulled her head back, he face palmed as he realised it was a mistake that he should've seen but was so busy with other things, he forgot. With that little information, the two turned and walked out of the training room and towards their room. Now feeling terrible, he turned to her and she turned towards him as he apologised, "I'm sorry, Cynder. I was busy making sure Malefor was okay, along with the Guardians and what I had observed along with my training, the thing with Volteer, my strength to protect everyone it's... it's been all over the place... I'm sorry that I've been putting other things before you."

She still didn't speak, but instead, she raised a brow, wondering if he had anything else to say, and seeing her reaction, he did, "Seeing those two kissing for so long makes you wish we were doing that, doesn't it...? Well, I want to make it up to you. I will kiss you for as long as you can stay awake."

Shaking her head, he chuckled knowing she wanted more, "Hehe, okay... What about, all night until the sun comes up?"

She raised a brow with a smile and finally decided to speak, "Oh no mister, you are going to need a lot more to make up. I'm not going to settle for a kiss a day, and then you want to make it up at the end of the day."

"You're right... I... I make a Spyro Promise, this will never happen again."

"Oh, a, Spyro, Promise? Sounds like the rest of my life is going to be pretty good for making a promise on that. What is the promise on?"

"For tonight, i will kiss you for as long as you want. Come tomorrow, when I help Volteer, I will kiss you when we leave to search, and come back. And of course when we wake up and fall asleep. But if we have any free time, it will be spent with my lips locked with yours. And to avoid any embarrassment, we can cover our faces with our wings as we kiss. Sound like a pretty good promise?"

"Indeed. I just wanted to kiss you more because... of what happened. I needed that feeling after seeing what happened... And after hearing that the time power didn't work on you I... I..."

"Hey, Cynder, it's okay, I'm fine, and I will not do something like that ever again unless you are there to stop me at any point... Here, lets go lay down so we don't have to worry about those memories being brought up. And it will also give us time to start kissing the night away with you to make you feel better. How does that sound?"

"Hehe, best idea you've had all day."

Standing up and walking out of the training room, they walked to their room.

* * *

With Carith walking over to the bed, Malefor shut the door behind them and walked to the bed afterwards. Jumping up on the bed, turning herself around and laying on her belly as she faced the door, Malefor followed behind as he did the same as her. As he made it up on the bed, he turned around and faced the door as he laid down. Draping a wing over her back, he laid his head down and closed his eyes. She was surprised to see he was going to sleep so early, and he even had nothing to say, but he did say one thing, "Goodnight, my love... See you in the morning."

It was strange to her as usually there was something on his mind, something he was afraid of, or confused about. She knew he was ready to sleep, but she had to know why he was so calm, "Alright, tell me what is really going on here. I don't think, since the time we have come back, you have never just wanted to go right to bed. Are you that tired? Was our time we spent kissing forever so enjoyable? I have to know what has changed."

With a smile on his face, he sighed. Opening his eyes but still keeping his head laid down on the bed, he explained, "Well... I have nothing to really talk about, nothing that has confused me, or angered me. I have everything I want as of right now, and I don't think there is really anything else for me to do right now. I'm happy with the way the day turned out. Hehe, of course, aside from what happened with Cyril during the training match but... all things considered... I'm truly happy, and I can say that with honesty."

"Oh, now you're truly happy. So, does that mean when I came back, you weren't truly happy? You were only, semi-happy?"

"What? No, of course not. You were the one who kissed me and changed me back to myself."

"Volteer probably could've done the same thing."

"Haha, yeah right. He wanted nothing more then to kill me that entire time. But what I mean by, being truly happy is... This is the first time, in more then thirteen years, that I have fought along side the Guardians once again. I have gained their trust back, I was able to see Ignitus find someone he loves, and I have you back. Cynder trusts me enough to take off her chains and never put them back on, and Spyro... He finally trusts me, and I feel like, slowly, but surely, if I keep it up, I will be his friend, and then... all that's left is for the other three Guardians to find lover's... Then everyone will be truly happy."

"Well, when you put it like that, it does sound like today went pretty well."

"Aside from what happened with Spyro as well."

"Oh yeah... that too. But what about the whole thing with, Ersa? Didn't you say something happened."

"That... that's going to change the way Volteer sees me, and I know it. On the off chance that she is alive, my life and his will only get better. But if she's died... I don't know what I'll do... I don't know what he will do, or what Spyro will think of me... So, for now, I'm trying to enjoy this time of happiness I have before tomorrow. There's no telling what will happen then..."

"I have hope that she is still..."

A flashing light lit up the room as thunder struck the ground causing a loud boom to follow, scaring both the two as their scales felt like they had stuck up on end. The two looked at one another because of how scared they were and started to laugh as it freaked them out a lot more then they had thought. Seeing how scared her fierce lover had gotten, she joked with him, "I can't believe my lover who is supposed to protect me from anything gets scared of a little thunder."

"Little? What is little to you? That came out of nowhere. I bet you that even scared Spyro, and I'm also betting you it scared the Guardians."

"You are right about one thing though, that came out of nowhere... Hopefully the storm doesn't wake us up in our sleep."

"Well, if it does, I will be there to protect you. After all, if lightning hits me, I will be fine. I have the ability after all."

"My hero," Carith purred, nuzzling the side of her cheek against his.

Laying her head down next to his, she closed her eyes and he did the same. Hearing him softly breath was so soothing to her even when the sounds of thunder and rain tried to interrupt it. Trying to ignore the storm, she focused on his breathing and whispered, "Goodnight, my love."

* * *

Laying down on the bed and facing the door, Cynder watched as Spyro followed behind after he had shut the door. Jumping up onto the bed, he put his paw on her side, and she raised a brow wondering what he was doing. He lightly pushed his paw, and she fell over onto her side. Walking around to her back, he laid himself over her back and looked at her with a smile as he succeeded in trapping her, "With you on your side, and me over your back, how could you possibly think to escape from me?"

"Oh no, what ever shall I do. If only I had a shadow ability so I could faze through the bed so I can get out of your clutches," Cynder giggled as she turned her head, and seeing him chuckle with a nervous smile, she knew he got him.

"I can't let that happen. I'm going to need to take that power from you before you can use it."

"And how do you..."

Locking lips with her, she let out a slight moan as it was a surprise to her and the feeling made it all so much better. She couldn't keep her head up to look back at him while they kissed and let her head go slightly limp. Her lips slipped off his as her head laid down on the bed, slightly panting with a smile from the kiss. Standing up off her back, he walked in front of her and laid down. Crossing his paws out in front of him, he laid his head down and looked at her. His face was inches away from hers, and he teased her some more, "Now that I've, absorbed your shadow ability into my body, how else do you plan to escape?"

"Hehe... you are strong, I will give you that... But, how will you be able to keep me here, if I poison you and run..."

Once again, before she could finish her sentence, he locked lips with her. As they kissed, Cynder pulled her head up slightly and had a thought go through her mind as the kissed they shared felt incredible, _Is he really... taking away my powers?_ She knew it wasn't true, but she couldn't help but think about it from the way and how smooth he kissed her. Pulling away from the kiss ever so slowly, Spyro chuckled as he saw her lover's head hit the bed with her tongue hanging out. He could tell she was enjoying herself, and continued to play around with her, "Your poison is gone, and so is your shadow ability. All that's left is your fear, and wind. So, if you want to keep those abilities, I suggest you don't try and escape."

"I... I... Spyro..." Putting her tongue back in her mouth, she had to break character as she did wonder, "Spyro, are you sure you aren't actually taking away my powers?"

"Hehe, what do you mean?"

"I don't know... something about the way you kiss me, and the way you talk to me, you just... make it feel so... real."

"Well, try and use one of your powers on me and see if you still have them."

"Well, you said you took shadow and poison. I don't want to want to leave you by going through the bed with my shadow ability, and I definitely do not want to poison you at all... So, how about this, I will not escape, if you give me my powers back? Sound fair?"

"Just so you know you get your powers back, you might feel something."

"Feel what...?"

Pushing into the kiss, it seemed just as amazing before, but she didn't feel anything different. And just as she thought about what he was saying, her eyes went wide as he used a little bit of lightning to make the kiss feel even better. With the lightning adding to the pleasure of the kiss, her eyes slowly closed as she could barley even kiss him anymore. Just as he had pulled away, her face laid down on the bed with a blush and a smile. Spyro chuckled as he whispered in a teasing manner, "Did you, get you powers back?"

"Y...yes...I believe... I did."

"Oh no... I didn't break you, did I? Maybe the lightning to make the kiss more, pleasurable, was probably a little over board."

"Do not... apologise. Don't you dare... apologize."

"Oh... Hehe, yes ma'am."

Trying to turn over on her stomach, she failed and instead, she rolled over to her other side and hit Spyro's side as she couldn't even feel her body. Moving his head up and putting both his paws on the bed, Cynder moved her head over his paws and looked up at him. Looking down at her, he asked, "Do you need some help?"

"Hehe, you might have given me my powers back, but you took most of my energy when you did."

He chuckled and helped her roll over so she could lay on her belly. As he helped her, she almost rolled back over to her other side, but Spyro caught her with his wing. Scouting up against her side, she leaned her body against his side for support. Laying her head on his shoulder, she sighed and thanked him, "Thank you, for the help... Seeing you almost die once again made the kiss a little more enjoyable for me to feel... Hehe, You could say, as of right now, I'm probably weaker then a hatchling but... Going back... If you do train again, only train when I'm there so I can keep an eye on you... please."

"Of course, I promise. I pushed myself a little to far not thinking about myself when I was training. All I cared about was your safety and everyone else's. I'm sorry you had to see me that way. But, I do wonder. Did Malefor really go and get the Guardians or, were they already there watching me? You can tell me the truth or a lie but, I just wonder."

She sighed, not wanting to tell him the truth as to help Malefor out more by making him become closer friends with Spyro, but she had to tell the truth in hopes that more good would come from it, "The truth is... we were watching you for a while. Everyone had come up already and Ignitus couldn't rest without knowing you were okay. So, when you wanted Malefor to get the Guardians well... we were already there... But that doesn't mean he wouldn't have tried his hardest. He was scared for you, and..."

"He would've done everything he could to save me, I know. I saw the fear in his eyes when I was slowly fading. Even though the Guardians were already there, he was still scared for my life. I left him alone to protect you while you slept, and, he did... At least, I'm hoping he did."

"Hehe, yes, he did. Carith woke up before me though."

"I just... I will give it some more time. I would say he is, closer then I ever thought he would get to being, my friend, but he has a long way to go... I just hope that he doesn't slip up and make a mistake... What do you think would've happened if the Guardians weren't there near the training room... would I have..."

A flashing white light lit up the room followed by a loud boom as thunder struck the ground, scaring both the two as they shivered from the sudden storm. Both of them put a paw over their chest with huge sighs as that scared them more then they had thought. Putting their paws back on to the bed, Cynder was glad the thunder had cut him off before he had finished, "Even the thunder doesn't like the idea of you bring up your death... I don't like to think about what would've happened but, knowing Malefor, he would've saved your life either way, with or without Ignitus. And Ignitus knows all. He could've just appeared in the room, healed you, and disappeared so, I'm not worried about what could've happened."

"Yeah... you're right."

"Of course I am. Like how I'm right that, one day, you and Malefor will become the best of friends. And, unlike the old Chronicler, I know you won't betray him the way the Chronicler did. He's already been through a lot, and, I know what it was like being treated like a monster. Not by you of course, but by Sparks. I don't want Malefor to have to suffer for what happened. It's better to move on from it. You aren't dead and things turned out pretty good in my life so... I am happy, and I know he is too."

"Because of Carith?"

"Because of everyone in his life. You being his friend would only seal the Dark Master away for life. I mean, of course Carith already locked him away and threw away the key along with all the Guardians but, you being his friend, you might be able to put a second lock on the Dark Master, making sure he is double locked and definitely unable to escape."

"Hehe... when you put it like that, sounds like a good idea. But, I do promise, if he keeps his act together like he is now... I'm sure in the next couple of weeks... I will see what will happen."

Ducking her head underneath his and laying her head down on his paws, she whispered, "You'll make the right choice, you always do, and you make me proud every time you do."

Laying his head on the top of hers, he chuckled as he asked, "Did I make you proud this night."

"Oh yeah."

Her reaction made him chuckle, "Hehe, I'm glad... Thank you, Cynder... I love you."

"I love you too. Just remember that promise you made to me, about tomorrow."

"I made a, Spyro Promise on it, of course I would never forget."

"Sweet..."

Closing her eyes, cuddle with her love, she feel asleep with a smile, but Spyro was still having trouble as he hadn't really prepared for tomorrow at all, _I still don't even really know if tomorrow will be as good as I want it to be, or as good as it needs to be. Even if Ersa isn't in Warfang, that means that she could just be somewhere else, and I could tell him that. But, knowing Ignitus, he wouldn't want us to leave Warfang and he'd tell Volteer the truth as he doesn't want to see him suffer..._ At a lost of what to do, he knew no matter what would happen, he would be there for Volteer. Closing his eyes, he feel asleep with the thought on his mind.


	11. Chapter 11: The First Dark Master Fight

Chapter 11: The First Dark Master Fight

 _Not even the Ancestors know where this weather came from. So I'm not going crazy. But that also means, if the Ancestors didn't know, then this has to be happening because of some dark force, that being, this, new, Dark Master,_ A clone of Ignitus thought to himself as he laid down and rested above the tops of the Guardians Building. Even as it poured down rain on top of him, with the feeling of cold water dripping down his body, he didn't seem to care as his thoughts broke the sound of rain and the feeling of coldness for him, _But if this does have to do with the Dark Master... What could this dragon be doing to change the weather so quickly? And just as important, where is he, and, who, is he? Or could it be a female? Could it even be a dragon at all? It's not like I will get my answers just laying up here. Can't see a thing from all this rain... Aside from the red glow of lava from the Volcano. I guess I just have to give this information over to my real body and see what I can do from there._ Standing up to his paws, he took a couple more seconds to look out over Warfang and wonder if there was anything he could see that might be out of the ordinary. Just at the corner of his eye, he was able to catch a glimpse of what looked to be a dragon going into it's home. He was unable to make out the color, and before he could get a closer look, another bolt of lightning lit up the sky and landed very close to the front walls of Warfang. Even for him, he shook, and nearly slipped off the top of the building as he did. Regaining his balance, he somewhat smiled as he thought to himself, _What do we have here? Why would someone be out right now? Looks like someone has something to hide. Maybe I can get a lead on that dragon and figure out what it is up to._ Opening his wings and flying down to the area he saw the dragon, he landed just a couple of steps away from the building and tried to sneak up to the front door. It proved a little difficult as the sounds of his claws hitting the wet ground made a constant clicking sound. Before he could reach the door, he had to walk up a couple of small steps. Once he was at the top, he put the side of his head against the door and listened. He could hear the dragon walking around, but other then that, nothing. It took a couple of seconds for the dragon to say something, but when it did, Ignitus felt as though he had struck gold. It was a little hard for him to hear with the rain, and also because the voice was so muffled, but he tried his best to hear. _"Almost got it. It's taken me years to make this, and now... Now I know I can face him once again, I know I can. I will show him that I can be better then her, and I can win him back! I just need to make make the storm fit in the bottle. Then... Then... I... No. Don't think about it now, you've come too far for this to fail... Hehe... Who knows, I might even be able to kill Malefor with this, but... after what he said..."_

"What!" He cried out loud accidentally.

Just as he did, he tried to listen once again, but he knew he was caught and heard the sounds of steps slowly coming towards the door. Turning and jumping off the top step, he slipped and fell onto his side, hitting the ground with a wet smack. Trying to scurry to get up, he slipped a couple of times before finally opening his wings. The door swung open, but he didn't turn to see who it was and jumped to the air to take flight. He heard the voice say something, but he couldn't make it what was said. Instead of turning around or flying back, and flew right for the Guardians Building. Flying head on into the front of the building, he fazed right through the wall. He passed through a room, then fazed through another wall, and was now in a hallway. He looked behind himself and then looked in front to see he was in front of the Chambers. Running into the Chambers and to the back door, he swung it open and saw that everyone was already awake, and they all looked at him a little with wide eyes.

"Sweet Ancestors, you scared the hell out of us," Volteer joked.

"No kidding. First the thunder waking us all up, and now someone just barging in here," Cyril chuckled as his heart was beating pretty fast from everything that was happening.

"Wait, your clones can pant?" Terrador asked.

"Well, Ignitus did show me that the only thing they can't really do is bleed so, I wouldn't be surprised since he's the Chronicler," Claire gave her idea on why the clone could be doing such a thing.

Everyone looked over at Ignitus, wondering what his input would be, but instead of a joke or a fun comment, he looked a little worried for his clone. To Ignitus, something didn't seem right, and no one knew what it was until he spoke, "What happened? If this was something minor, you would've just been able to teleport back to me and give me all the information. Which must mean, you have something important that you want to tell me, rather then just give. Am I right?"

"I think I know where the Dark Master is!" His clone blurted out and got straight to the point.

"What?!" Everyone cried in unison.

"Where? We can all gather now and take down the Dark Master right now!" Terrador commanded to know as he stood up on his bed ready to act as soon as they could.

"Wait, I..."

"Yeah. Terrador's right. Ignitus, think about it, this could help us so much in the long run. We were so scared of the Dark Master attacking, and hurting, and or killing one of us. If we act now, we wouldn't have to worry about such a fear!" Volteer agreed all the way with Terrador's thinking and stood up as well, ready to jump to the fight, "We can easily take him out now along with Malefor, and maybe even Spyro's help!"

"It's not a...!"

"Why are we still wasting time?" Cyril asked as he stood up on his bed before continuing, "The longer we wait, the more of a chance we have of losing where this Dark Master is. Since Ignitus is standing around, I might as well just run up and grab the two so we can just get this over with."

"Would all of you shut up and listen!" Ignitus's clone yelled, loud enough to make the Guardians a little afraid from the sound of anger in his voice, "For one, we can't bring Spyro into this! You all know what could happen, and I don't won't to risk bringing up the Dark Master even after what has happened. Second, it didn't sound like a male, she, sounded female. I couldn't hear her voice all too well so I couldn't make out what she was saying."

"Did you get anything that can help us track her down?" Ignitus asked.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"When ever I was listening, I messed up and she heard me yell. As I slipped and fell trying to get up here, she yelled out something. But get this, I can't read her mind. None of her thoughts and actions are recorded at all so, I don't know what element she possesses, what she wanted, or even what her true plans are. All I know is what I could gather: She is the one who caused this storm."

"What?!"

"Why do you sound so surprised, Ignitus? Don't you know everything?" Volteer asked.

"Apparently, I don't... And neither does the Ancestors... I was confused as to why this storm came out of nowhere as I would've known about it, but since I didn't, I asked the Ancestors," The clone answered for him.

"You... asked... the Ancestors?"

"Not important, but what is important is that, not even they know where this storm came from. It was scary for me to hear and I sat up on the roof wondering what could cause such a thing that not even the Ancestors would know about. As I was about to give the information to you, Ignitus, I saw a dragon going into their home. I followed down and listen to what the dragon had to say. She said something about facing, him, again."

"Him?" Ignitus questioned.

"She also said that she will show she can be better then her and win him back. After that, she talked about getting the storm to fit in the bottle, so I knew, this was her doing. But the reason I was caught in the first place was because of the last thing she said... These were her exact words, 'Who knows, I might even be able to kill Malefor with this'."

"What?!" Everyone once again cried in unison

"Let me have the information, if you would please," Ignitus said to his clone.

His clone nodded and obeyed. Walking over to his main body, the Guardians continued to talk amongst one another, wondering what they should do about this situation. As his clone approached his body, he stood beside him and put his paw on the side of his body. The body of the clone shined a bright white color as it slowly disintegrated and disappeared into his main body. As Ignitus gained all the information his clone had gather, his eyes went slightly wide as he didn't know so much had happened in the couple hours of night, _This is unbelievable! His wasn't lying if course but... The Ancestors... That dragon... And we don't know who, 'him', is. We don't know who she is, and... great... even more for us to deal with..._ Ignitus sighed as he thought about it, and even for him, he started to sweat just thinking about everything that could happen to them in the future. Feeling his sweat touch her scales, Claire looked at him with a concerned look and asked, "Is, everything okay?"

Breaking from his thoughts, he looked over at her and saw that even she was a little afraid, and she giggled as she tried to make her self a little more calm, but it failed, "Hehe, you know, if someone like you starts sweating with fear... someone as powerful as you... that's a little scary."

"That proves my point," Volteer called out as he heard what Claire had said, "Ignitus, you can't keep living in the past. Spyro would never kill us, and even if he were to hurt us, he wouldn't do it in such a way that would make Cynder fear him. You have to trust me on this, and you have to trust him. Carith can protect Malefor if Spyro tries anything as well, and he would never attack her, because, once again, Cynder would fear Spyro, and he would never want such a thing to happen."

"I... I know... But, we are thinking about this too quickly without thinking about what could happen."

"Are you talking about how she said she would kill, Malefor?"

"If she is able to make such a thing, then who knows what it could also do to one of you, or Spyro. And we don't know who the other guy that she is talking about is. For all we know, there could be someone out there stronger than Spyro."

"But we can't just sit on this opportunity! Isn't there laws or something to your powers about when you can or can't use them. A Dark force is in our city, you should have the grounds to use your powers to protect this city! It's not fair if they can use their darkness against us, but we can't use the light against them!"

"Well... that's a... maybe. I know the Ancestors don't like when they can't see more then one place because of the darkness. So, maybe I can get permission to use my powers to protect the city, while dealing with the problem so it doesn't mess with what they already have planned... It could work now that I think about it."

"What they already have planned?"

"If I say anything about the Ancestors, I can't tell you anything about what they say, plan, or do. I can only mention them since... I keep slipping up and saying their name."

"Alright, I guess that makes sense, but all this other stuff doesn't. Spyro also has the time power, if she was to try and use what ever she has, he can use his time power to stop her. Also, you can warn him of what to be careful of before we even go in to attack. If we defeat her, one less problem, and we can figure out who, he, is, and hopefully, she can lead us to the Dark Master and we can end all this War and death nonsense once and for all!"

Hearing his friend's words, it did sound like a pretty good idea. _I guess a lot more good could come from it then bad, and if anything does happen, I'm sure the Ancestors wouldn't mind if I used my power as well,_ Ignitus thought about it and agreed on what he had thought about. Giving it a couple of seconds to think a little more about it, he came to a decision that would hopefully be beneficial to everyone, "Unfortunately, we can't do it tonight. The winds are too strong, the lightning and rain can distort our vision as their is too much of it, and she can easily get away. I suggest we wait till tomorrow and focus on finding and dealing with her then."

"What? No... No no no, we can't do it tomorrow."

"Why... Oh..."

"Spyro promised me that tomorrow, we would search for Ersa. I can't back out of it now, not when I'm close to hopefully being able to see her again."

"Volteer, What we are dealing with, could get Malefor or any one of us killed, and it could also lead us to the Dark Master. Unless you have a better idea on what to do, we need to deal with this situation first before you go and search for her, or else we could have another war on our paws."

Volteer slightly growled as he was starting to get a little upset that Ignitus was trying to delay his reunion with his lover. But instead of yelling at him, he understood, and came up with what they should do in only a couple of seconds, "Alright, I have an idea then. Since me and Spyro are already in Warfang looking for Ersa, How about, while we search for her, we can also look to see if anyone is acting suspicious and has any kind of glass bottles with them that look out of the ordinary?"

Ignitus, along with everyone else, were very surprised he came up with a plan so quickly. _Even for me, that plan is pretty well thought out. If I try to push it and tell him no, he will get suspicious... There is no helping it. He has to find out sooner or later,_ He thought to himself, knowing there was no way he could try and work his way around Volteer's plan. Giving him a slight smile, he agreed to the plan, "Alright, that sounds like a pretty good plan. We will act as soon as we wake up tomorrow. So for now, lets just go back to bed."

"Um, Ignitus, I don't know how well you sleep but, this storm... yeah, not gonna happen, Unfortunately," Terrador chuckled, and the other two Guardians agreed with a nod.

"I could always just mute out all sounds so you all can sleep better."

"Sleep better? Have you ever tried sleeping with absolutely no sound? Thanks but, I'm gonna pass."

"Agreed," Volteer and Cyril said in unison.

"I could just give you all really good dreams and hope it will help you sleep better?"

"What kind of dream could you possibly give me?" Terrador asked.

"Um... I... I actually don't know. Maybe a dream... inside of a dream... of you sleeping?"

"And then, boom! Lightning!" Cyril laughed.

"A dream, inside a dream..." Volteer gasped and said to himself, "Just like Inception! I want to be Cobb!"

"It's a little difficult to sleep now. We are all already standing on our beds, the sound of rain hitting the glass windows, lightning hitting every once and a while, and this new Dark Master information... I'm about as wake as one dragon can be right now," Terrador sighed as he sat down on his bed, wishing he could get a good night's rest, "I mean, since we are all awake, we could do something."

"But then we will be tired tomorrow," Cyril said, sitting down on his bed.

"And, you know, can't have that happening," Volteer said as he sat down on his bed.

"Well... There is, one thing, I could do," Ignitus spoke, and everyone looked at him, hoping his idea would help in some way, "Since this storm is out of the ordinary, I'm sure I would be able to use one of my other, nice, and helpful powers. This is actually why the Chronicler doesn't need sleep as this power is always going, but, basically, we can stay up all night, and when morning rolls around, I can use my power to make it feel as though we got a healthy night's rest. What do you all say to that?"

The Guardians all paused as they looked at one another, wondering what they were thinking just by looking at their expressions. They all nodded with smiles, and as Ignitus looked to see their reactions, he knew that was a yes. Since everyone was in agreement, Ignitus now had a question for the three as he was confused on what to do, "Well, since we are staying awake for the next twenty-four hours... What do you suggest we do?"

Once again, everyone looked at one another and sighed as they realised their really was nothing to do. Volteer tried to think of something fast as he always did, and thought it would be funny to bring up something from a couple of days ago, "Hey, Terrador, How about you give us more insight on... rock paper scissors?"

"No..." Terrador grumbled.

"Yeah, Terrador's right," Claire agreed, "But it was still funny to see Volteer throw you both under like that."

"Oh yeah," Cyril growled as he looked over at Volteer, "What was it you said, Claire? One month of training with, Spyro?"

"Hehe... Hehehe... Come on guys. When it comes down to it, Claire was upset, which means Ignitus was upset... which means that he could literally give us nightmares. I'm not messing with that," Volteer chuckled as he was a little scared to see the looks from both Cyril and Terrador as even just bring it up made them growl, "But, Hey, now that we are talking about Spyro, and since Ignitus still doesn't think Spyro trusts him, why don't we bring those four down here and we can all do something together!"

"Even still, What would we do?"

"There is nothing wrong with just standing around and talking. And maybe that's just what Spyro and Malefor need to do; Talk with one another."

"I don't know if that will work," Ignitus said, "Spyro isn't going to be moving anytime soon, and if I was to try and get him down here, I don't think he will like me."

"Let me guess..."

"Yeah... Spyro promised her that, if they have any free time, it's going to be spent... kissing her. His other words were, a little embarrassing."

"Okay... What about, Malefor?"

"Um..."

"No way they are serious doing the same thing."

"Well... Kinda. The four are awake after what happened with the lightning. The only difference is, Malefor is... Well, he is being Malefor."

"That is the scariest thing I've ever heard. How bad is it?"

"Lets just say that, the Dark Master is trying to escape, and the only way for him to be, locked, up... is with a kiss from Carith..."

"Oh... Oh no... I'm gonna... throw up."

"Yeah."

* * *

Standing on the left side of the bed, Malefor looked at Carith as she looked back at him. She stood on the opposite side of the bed with a paw forward, almost as if she was ready to run after him. Sitting back down on the bed, Malefor looked away from her, and as he sat down, he looked out the window and tried to pretend to cry, "Carith's no ordinary women. She's brave. But the thing that makes Carith special is she'll never give up on you. Ever."

She giggled at him, not understanding what he was trying to pull. Taking her paw back, she asked with a raised brow, "Alright, Dark Master, What are you trying to pull?"

Looking back at her, he asked, a little surprised that she didn't know what he was doing, "You don't know what that's from."

"Oh no. Is this about those books again."

"Alright, wait wait wait, give me a couple more tries."

With a sigh, she agreed, "Alright."

Looking back out the window and trying to shed a tear once again, he gave out a slight cry as he spoke, "Though I've grown old, the bell still rings for me, as it does for all who truly believe."

Looking over at her, she shook her head as she didn't know that quote either. Looking back out to the moon, he tried once again, only his voice sounded as if he really was crying, "Always."

Looking away from what he could see of the moon and focusing his attention to his lover, she giggled at him to see he was actually slightly crying. A single tear went down his left eye, and she asked him what book it was from, "Okay, I'm curious to know, What was that, 'Always', from? If it has a deep enough meaning to make you cry, I have to know."

"It's... It's fine... Ahem... Sorry, I was just. Lets just say, when every the guy says that, he dies. Everything he said up to his death had meaning and it was... Difficult..."

Seeing as his lover was so sad, she took a step forward and wanted to comfort him now. But seeing as she took that step forward, he was able to regain his composure and continue to act as he once did. He stood up straight, and with his chest puffed out, and his wings extended out from his sides, Carith watched with wide eyes as the slight moonlight that shined through the clouds was perfectly on him as he stood there. The way his body looked, and the way he spoke in somewhat of a low, teasing growl, made her feel weak and vulnerable for some reason.

"The Dark Master? Please, don't put me with that, monster," He paused, and as he continued to walk closer to her, he continued, "For now on, you will know me as: Master Malefor."

Her heart skipped a beat as he was right in front of her, and his last breath was felt on her mouth as she could feel the warm air coming from his mouth as he spoke. She was a little in shock as she had no idea what to do, and she didn't know what had come over her. To him, she seemed a little scared as it looked as though she was breathing a little heavily without opening her mouth up all the way. Her face was slight moved to the left as she wasn't looking dead at him, and her eyes were slightly closed as though she was afraid of being attacked. But what confused him was the blush that had formed on her face as he got close to her. Tucking his wings back to his side, he needed to make sure he didn't actually scare her. Slowly moving his paw forward and placing it over her paw, he whispered to her, "Hey, my love, are... are you, okay?"

She had to blink a couple of times to come back to where she was, and looking down at the bed and at her paws, she saw and felt the warmth of her lover's. Looking up at him, he had a concerned look on his face, but he still tried to give a slight smile in hopes that she was okay. Getting control over her breathing and surroundings, she put her other paw on her head and apologized, "Sorry... I... I don't know what happened. When every you were playing around, I saw you... opening your wings, and then... I couldn't move."

"Did I scare you?"

"No no no, nothing like that. I wasn't scared at all, I was just... I don't know," Carith wondered as she put her paw back down to the bed.

Malefor gasped as he had a great idea, "Wait! You know what that means?"

"What?"

"Maybe Cynder has experienced the same thing before with her lover as well. Which means, you two can talk, and I can talk with Spyro in hopes that we can be friends faster, and you two both get your time to talk with one another! It's a perfect plan."

"I mean, it doesn't sound all bad. I think the only bad idea is you pushing the fact that you want to be Spyro's friend."

"Why?"

"Dark Master. He could think that you are pushing to be his friend because you just want to kill all of us and leave already. But then again, when ever you woke up and said you were the Dark Master and working on a dark army all night, he laughed and laughed, and all you could do was stand there with a blush and grumble."

"Yeah, Well... Alright, fine, that did happen, but it just goes to show that he really does trust me."

"Which I am very grateful for. And maybe you should introduce him to the new you."

"You mean," He paused, extending his wings, puffed out chest, and his once again soft and low, teasing growl, "Master Malefor?"

She once again felt as though her body felt weak, and she couldn't understand why. Luckily, he pulled his wings back and talked in his normal voice which helped bring her back once again, "Yeah, I think I like this new name for myself. I think I'm gonna keep it. No longer will we ever have to fear the Dark Master, as I will now be know as the Master of Light, rather then dark...! Although... I'm pretty sure Spyro deserves that title more then I do. I wonder what he would think."

"We... We could always go and find out."

"Hehe, absolutely. I'm going to ruin his time with, Cynder. And since he didn't kiss her all that much yesterday, hopefully I will be able to stop them now, and later, they will break up from not feeling anymore love to one another! Hehehe..."

"Haven't I already talked to you about what would happen if they broke up?"

"Yeah... And each and everyone one would end in my death from one of them so... Gotta make sure they stay together."

"That's not hard to do. Even if you were to attempt to break them up, which, if you ever do, you know what would happen, it would only make their love for one another stronger."

"Crazy how much those two were made for one another."

"And what about us?"

"I'm not surprised. Your beautiful and I'm handsome. Easy combo for us to be together."

"And sexy..." Carith whispered as she bit her lip.

"What?"

"Nothing! Just, wondering when we are going to go and talk with the other two."

"Oh, Yeah, sorry. The longer we wait, the longer Spyro has, and I can't let that happen," Malefor said as he took his paw off of Carith's, turned his body, and jumped off the bed.

* * *

Gently moving his lips off of his lover's, Spyro stood above her as he pulled his head back and watched as the side her head fell down onto the bed, unable to move. Just like Spyro, she needed to catch her breath and had to take a couple of seconds to do so, which gave her enough time to think about something she could do to make this night more memorable, _We've been kissing ever since we woke up, and he is keeping his promise, which, no surprise there but... How else can I make this night for us just as memorable as all the other nights._ Finally getting her breathing under control, she turned one eye to look up at Spyro, and as he saw this, he smiled. She couldn't help but smile back, and turning her head to face up towards his, she kept the smile as she quickly thought, _Come on, What do I say to him! If I don't think of something quick, he will say something romantic and beat me to it._ Just as she had finished her thoughts, both her fears and wishes came true as he spoke, "I'm sorry I've been neglecting my time with you. From the training, The Guardians, and Malefor... I keep putting things before you and... I know you probably hate me for it, and I'm trying to keep everyone happy, I promise."

"You think I hate you because you are trying to keep everyone happy, including me, all at the same time?" Cynder giggled as she could see the guilt on his face, but to her, she didn't understand why he would feel guilty for such a thing, "Like you said, you are trying to keep everyone happy, and I understand that. Just know that no one else in this world should be more important then me."

"Hehe, I know, I know."

"If you know, and if you know me, then you should know that was a lie."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not going to keep you from everyone else. If you want to train or, talk with the Guardians and Malefor, or even go out and just, fly around, I understand that. I know you are under a lot of stress after what the Guardians said, but remember..."

"Malefor's always got my back."

"Wow... So you do know that now."

"I do... That's why I'm not really jumping up to see what is going on. If something happened, either Ignitus would tell me, or Malefor would run to me for a warning about what's to come, or for help. It's never really happened before but, I know for a fact that is what he'd do. I've grown on the way Carith deals with him, and just like you, if we get out of line... it's very easy for you two to know how to shut us up."

"It's not hard when all we have to say is one word and you two break out into tears."

"It's a powerful word to say."

"We could even joke about leaving you two for a couple of dragons we saw and it is the saddest thing to see how sad you two get."

"I'm not scared. I could fight him."

"Oh really. I'm sure you can fight him, but could you handle me leaving."

"No..." Spyro whimpered.

"Hehe. I thought so."

"Speaking of leaving..."

"You try, and who ever this girl is, dies."

"Hehe, no, not that. What I mean is, how do you feel about Ignitus and Claire not being lover's yet."

"Absolutely pathetic."

"You've seen it too?"

"Spyro, please. I can see it all over her face, and some times, when they get close to kiss, her lips quiver with desperation. I really feel like he's missed his chance when he saved her from the darkness."

"Well, hopefully they are able to tell each other soon. I don't think Claire can handle it any longer."

"He is all powerful. She is now understanding what me and Carith feel when every we see our lover's as well."

"Oh, and what is it that you see?"

"I don't know... How about you show me once again?"

"Hehe... If you insist," Spyro growled in a low growl as he smiled.

Backing up off his lover, he stood off to the left side of his bed. As she rolled over onto her belly, she turned so her body would face where he stood. Watching him as his wings slowly opened outwards, his head ducked as he slowly crept backwards into the shadows of the back corner in their room. Since their was no moonlight to shine near this corner from where it was at, Spyro had disappeared into the darkness, but it was a little strange as it seemed as though he had completely disappeared. _Spyro...?_ She thought, standing up and taking a single step forward, wondering what had happened. A single white light shined from the corner of where he disappeared to, and her body shivered as she took her step back, not understanding what was happening. Another white light appeared from the corner, and with the slight shiver of fear going throughout her body, and showing on her face, she asked, "Spyro... Is that... you?"

After she had said that, the two white shines of light had disappeared. A couple seconds later, the white shines had come back, only, the white shines now had purple eyes to them, and she sighed hugely as she knew who those eyes belong too. _Thank you..._ She thanked in her thoughts as she was scared that something had actually happened, and she was thankful he did something about it. Taking one paw out, Cynder looked to see the paw was glowing with darkness as the moonlight finally showed as he stepped out from the corner. One paw after another as he walked out into the middle of the bed showed his dark side. Looking at him as he moved over at her, it seemed as though he could attack her at any moment, and her body had locked up on her, slightly going numb for some reason. Slightly stumbling just to keep herself up, Spyro stood there, now in front of her, showing off his completely flexed out and darkened body. His head slowly moved in front of hers and her breathing had sped up along with her heart. His voice was had a low, soft growl to it, and in a way, still soothing for her to hear, "You're right, I am, Powerful... So, don't make any, sudden, movements... Or else... I could... Bite."

Just as he said those last words, he had moved his head down near her neck and opened his mouth to pretend that he was going to bite her. Just as his teeth touched the scales on her neck, she froze in place, and her eyes grew slightly wide. Pulling away from the bite, her body finally couldn't stand up any longer. Her eyes grew heavy and closed, and at the same time, she fell to her side, almost as if she was in shock. Reaching out his wing and catching her before she fell on the bed, Spyro was scared for her as he thought he did something wrong, "Cynder...? Cynder, are you okay?"

Returning back to his normal form, he laid her down on the bed and was about to use his hourglass just in case. Just as reach to her side with his paw, he opened his mouth to cry out her name. Luckily, Cynder was slowly able to open her eyes and grumble slightly, almost as if she had just woken up from a dream. Spyro's face lit up, and he slightly cried as he spoke, "Cynder...! I... I thought I had actually hurt you... Thank the Ancestors."

Coming back to her senses, she asked, "What... What happened?"

"I was messing around with my dark form. And as I gently put my teeth on your neck to act as though I bit you, you just passed out," Spyro cried, trying to control himself, and as he spoke, she blushed more and more as she was now remembering everything that had happened, "I was afraid maybe I had used an ability or something without knowing and I... I... I'm just glad you are okay. And, just making sure, please Ancestors tell me I didn't actually hurt you."

Rolling back onto her stomach, he laid down in front of her as he watched with somewhat horror as she moved her paw around her neck, almost as if she was hurting from the bite. He couldn't say anything to make himself feel better as he thought he had hurt her, and it made it worse as he thought about it, _I... I actually... hurt her._ Taking her paw off her neck, she had looked away from Spyro, not even noticing what his reaction was to what she had done, and thought to herself, _I barely remember anything... All I remember feeling is... helpless and so... vulnerable._ The more she thought about it, the bigger the blush she had. Looking back over at her lover, she saw his reaction, and wondered why he looked do scared. Before she could open her mouth to ask, her eyes went wide as she gasped, _He asked if he hurt me, and I ignored him while putting my paw around my neck! And I even looked away from him!_ She saw as he turned away from her and walked into the darkened corner of the room. He laid down on his stomach with half his body seen with the moonlight, and the other half covered by the darkness of where he laid. Putting his wings over the front of his face, she watched as he slightly trembled. Standing up and taking a step towards him, she whispered, "Spyro..."

A knock came to the door, interrupting her as she tried to help comfort Spyro. Facing towards the door, she said, "We're awake. You can open the door."

Opening up the door, Malefor was the first to walk in. As he entered, he made his way to the middle of the room. As he started to speak, Carith walked into the room as well and joined her lover's side, "I'm not surprised you all are awake. Kinda hard to sleep with all the noise. I've lived with the Guardians before and, I've grown to deal with their snoring, but this... This is ridiculous."

"Hehe, yeah. I didn't really help either. We were resting fine up until that lightning lit up the sky and came crashing down like a monster. I shook pretty badly and woke up... Spyro..." As she spoke, she paused and looked over as she remembered what had happened, and she wasn't use to not being able to talk with him.

The two other looked over to see what happened, and both were in awe as they were completely confused. Carith walked up over to the side of the bed where Cynder stood, and she asked while not taking her eyes off Spyro, "What... Happened... I... Did you two... fight?"

"I... He... He gave me a little, bite, on the neck. I didn't feel any pain at all but, everything that had happened and what I did probably made him feel as though he did hurt me. I will tell you more once I help him out."

"He bit your neck?"

"I promise I will tell you everything."

"Alright."

Backing away and walking back over to her lover's side, the two watched as Cynder worked her magic, and they both hoped she would be able to help him out. Taking each step as easily on the bed as possible to not alarm him, she needed to make it as close to his body as she could, and she was successful in doing so. Now standing next to his side, she heard the slight sniffles coming from his nose, and it didn't take her long to know what to do. Laying down next to his side, she put a paw on his wing, and he shivered. Taking her paw off his wing, she went with the easier approach as she spoke, "My back is pretty cold, my love. Do you... think you can help me out?"

Even with how sad he was, he had to obey her. Taking his wing away from his face, he put his wing up and over her body, slightly warming her up. She wasn't able to see his face as she was hoping for as he had turned his face away from everyone and to his right when he moved his wing. Not wanting him to suffer for something he thought he did, she decided to openly admit what happened, "I know what you did may have seemed bad but, it was my fault for not telling you the truth. You asked me if that bite you did hurt my neck, and then I proceeded to rub my neck and look away from you... I couldn't answer you because... The way you were teasing me, I couldn't think straight. I couldn't really remember much but... I know for a fact that, that bite did not hurt me."

"Bite?!" Malefor cried, completely destroying the moment, "Teasing? Biting?! What the hell have you two..."

Carith grabbed his mouth shut with her paw, and he slightly frowned. Cynder slightly growled at Malefor for interrupting the perfect mood she had set to help out her lover. And even though she thought she didn't succeed, it worked as Spyro gave out a slight chuckle. She has hope in her eyes as he turned his head slightly more towards her. Seeing his smile once again, she wanted to smile, but she could see the tears from his eyes. Not wanting to ruin the moment, she stayed quiet to let him calm down. He turned his head more towards her, and she watched as he looked at her neck up and down. He gave off a slight sigh as he still didn't know if she was telling the truth or not. Ducking her head down right in front of his, she whispered, "You know, none of this would've happened if I kept my chains on."

"What?!" Malefor mumbled sadly through his teeth and gums as his lover still had her paw around his mouth.

"Hehe, true, but... if you had your chain on, we wouldn't have had that moment," Spyro murmured.

"But that moment tore you apart," Cynder whispered, moving her head closer to his as she was preparing for what she knew he needed.

"I just... I... I thought I actually, hurt, you. I... I didn't know if I underestimated my strength, and I thought my teeth actually sank into your neck, and I was so scared, I didn't..."

Taking this opportunity to calm him down, she pushed her lips against his, hoping this would help him out. As the two continued their kiss, Carith took her paw off from Malefor's mouth. Trying to act as though he was trying to look at his lips, he licked them and looked confused for some reason. Looking over to his lover, she wondered what he was trying to do, and she gave a raised brow with confusion. His face lit up as he had an idea. Putting his claw at his mouth, he then pointed his claw at hers, acting like she still didn't know wheat he meant. Since he didn't know if she understood yet or not, he opened his mouth to explain. Just as he did, she took the opportunity to kiss him. While the two kissed, the other two had just pulled away. Putting a paw beside her lover's face, Cynder gave him the truth with how she felt, "Look me in the eyes, and you tell me if I am telling the truth or not. I had a wonderful time. Seeing you come out from the darkness, to your, oh so shivering voice, and then the bite... When you said those words, and gently, bit down on my neck..."

She paused and looked over to see the two were still kissing. Glad that Carith was keeping Malefor occupied, she looked back over at Spyro, and with a blush on her face, she smiled and continued, "I... I Kinda want you to do it again..."

"What?" Spyro asked, picking up his head and looking at her with wide eyes.

Picking up her head, she sighed with her blush still glowing red, and knowing she had to explain herself, it was only more embarrassing, "Like I said, everything you did I... I don't know... I just loved the way you acted, and the way you spoke, it just... I'm glad that I fell in love with you, and I wish that... I wish I didn't pass out on you and make you think that you hurt me... To be honest... I... I wish you could do it again..."

His face now lit up red with a blush, but he couldn't help but smile, and it was satisfying to her to see her lover smile once again. He too looked over to see that the two were just now pulling away from their kiss, and he saw they were looking at one another, talking and teasing each other, so he knew he had time to say what he wanted. Taking the chance he had, he looked back at his lover and said, "If you are serious... and I for sure didn't hurt you... I was... actually thinking we could've had a lot more fun with our little teasing game we had going on."

"How... What else were you... thinking about doing?"

"Well... After the bite, I was going to cover my wings around you. You would pretend you're scared so you put your wings around me, I come out of my dark form and put my wings around you and... Then we would make out. I had other romantic ideas as well but... I don't really want to do the neck biting thing anymore."

"No no no!" Cynder cried, somewhat surprising him, and even for herself, she felt a little embarrassed from her outburst, "Ahem... What I meant was... You know..."

"Was it... That enjoyable to you?"

"I mean... Hehe... I did pass out..."

"I... I just want to make sure... One last time. You truly are fine... correct?"

"Yes, my love. You never hurt me... And to be honest... Seeing how sad you were, all because you thought you had hurt me even a little bit... Kinda makes me want to make out with you."

"Well... What's stopping you?"

Taking her eyes off her lover's and looking over at Malefor, he looked at Cynder, knowing what she was going to say. Spyro chuckled as even he knew that Malefor would definitely interrupt the two if they did kiss. Spyro couldn't say it since the other two stood their in the room, but he really did want to kiss his lover, so he came up with an idea. As Cynder looked away and back at him, he took this opportunity to get the two to leave the room, "You know... We have been talking a lot more about me and Malefor's future friendship. I think if he left the room in silent, and gave us some time to ourselves... Maybe I could take another week off those fifteen days?"

Malefor's eyes went wide as he almost gasped. Covering his mouth with his paw, he didn't want to make any noise in hopes that Spyro's words would hold true. Trying to get his composure, he took his paw off and let out a very silent sigh. Nodding with a smile as he looked at the two, he turned away, nuzzled his lover with his body as he walked past her, and left the room. Looking behind herself to see Malefor shaking his hips from side to side with joy, Carith broke the silence by letting out a small giggle. Seeing Malefor so happy even made both the other two snicker as well. Turning her head back over to the two, she mouth her words to Spyro as to keep the silence, "Thank you."

Spyro smiled with a nod. With a smile on her face, she followed to catch up with her lover who sat in the middle of the hallway in wait for her. Walking out the door, she put her tail blade on the side and tried to close the door all the way, but she failed, and didn't know that she hadn't shut the door as she was too busy looking at her lover. The door was barely open, and only a small bit of light shined from the hallway. Spyro had wished it would be private for both him and his lover, but he couldn't complain as this was relaxing enough to him. Now with no one else in the room, he was free to continue his love with Cynder. Locking eyes with one another, they didn't waste anytime as they moved in for a kiss. Just as their lips had touch, a voice called out to their minds, _Sorry to interrupt you four, I was just wondering if you all would come down to the chambers. We are all kinda bored, and we were wondering if you all had any ideas._ Spyro growled, but just before he could say anything, a voice yelled from the hallway, and from the sounds of the growl, they knew it was Malefor's voice, "Damn it, Ignitus!"

 _I couldn't find a time to get you four! Every time I looked, something was happening! I said I was sorry,_ The voice of Ignitus said within the minds of the four. Spyro slightly chuckled as he was glad he wasn't the only one who was getting blocked from having a moment with his lover. It didn't stop Cynder as she was going to have this kiss either way. Since their lips were already so close, all she had to do was move her head a little forward to have that kiss, and she was successful in doing so. It was a surprise to him. Not only was it a little sudden, her lips to his were smooth. Their was no need to rush things, so the two were slow as they moved their lips up and down one another's lovingly. Putting her lips on his one last time, she slowly moved them off of his, and she could tell it was just as satisfying for him as it was for her as his mouth still hung open, but only slightly. She smiled and giggled at him as he blushed. Closing his mouth, he saw the smile on her face and had to say one last time. Scooting forward just a little bit so their lips almost touch once again, she had a raised brow, wondering what he was planning. With his blush still showing, and her smile still giving warmth to his heart, he asked, "You know... You've been making a lot of movements as of lately. Do you not remember what I said."

Her heart raced slightly as she knew exactly what he was implying. Trying to keep herself together unlike last time, she teased him, wondering how he would respond, "Of course, how could I forget such a threat. Go ahead and try to bite me, but I will warn you, I know how to fight, and if you try... I might just let it happen... I mean! I will try and fight you!"

Standing up on the bed in a fighting stance, Spyro did the same and backed up slightly to prepare himself once again. Before he tried anything else, he made sure that everything he did wouldn't hurt or scare her, so he thought about what he should do, _Last time I went into the darkness of the room and used my dark powers. She did seem a little scared at first, so it's best I don't use that. And using my dark powers, I could underestimate my bite. So... I will just be me._ Walking up more towards her, he stood right in front of her, and she swung her tail blade around and put it right to his neck. He chuckled at her and continued to tease her, "Do it. You know you can't hurt me... You know what would happen if you tried. Try and hurt me, and I will take your powers away, just as I did before."

Her body trembled with desperation as she remembered that night, along with how amazing it felt to have been kissed by him. She had to give in as her body wouldn't let her attack. With her tail now flopped onto the bed, she had no way of defending her self, and as she thought about it, it made her heart beat faster as she wanted this moment to happen again. Saying it out loud only made it seem more real to the both of them, "Now that I'm defenseless, what will you do? Will you hurt me? Will you take away my powers just for your, amusement."

His response only made her blush even more, "Making out with you to take your powers is something I'd love to do. But I know you will struggle, and..."

He paused for a couple of seconds as he moved his head down to her neck. She could feel his warm breath as his mouth neared her neck, and all she could do was shiver in anticipation, not knowing when the bite would happen. Feeling like passing out once before, she tried all she could to keep herself standing up right. She almost failed as her body started to tremble, and his voice as he finished his sentence made her body have that limp feeling once again, "And I need to show you what will happen if you dare struggle."

"I need to stop being so nice to him," A voice said, growing louder and louder till they heard the door open, and as the voice went on, the two knew it was Malefor talking to Carith, "I don't hurt him after he gave me nightmares, I don't hurt him for all the other things he has done, and yet, how does he repay me back? Oh yeah, haunts my ass, wakes us up, blocks our moments, and then disappears. But you can't do that to him and Claire because oh no, he will give you nightmares, and bitch about it all day. I hate him... What... What's wrong?"

He saw that his lover wasn't speaking or looking at him at all. Her face was red, and she looked as though she was bracing for an attack. Not knowing what she was looking at, he followed her eyes and looked to see she was watching the two. He gasped as he saw Cynder's teeth clench, and her tail blade now moved up to her side. Spyro had also moved his mouth away from her neck, and pulling his tail blade to the side, he exploded into his dark form. Malefor cried, seeing the two look at him with a blood thirsty look in their eyes. Spyro took one step, and that was all he needed to do to get him to break down and cry as he backed away towards the door, "Wait wait wait! Please! Mercy! I know for a fact you can disappear and reappear, slitting my throat in a matter of seconds but, please, hear me out!"

"You're one dumb son of a bitch to have ruined this for me!" Spyro growled, and he added a little darkness to his voice to cause everyone's scales to stand up on end.

"We were having a moment as well. Talking about, neck biting, or in me and Carith's case, nibbling, and I was trying to have a moment with her. I even used my new name for my self: Master Malefor. Just as I was about to have my moment, Ignitus interrupted it, so, i thought he interrupted you. That's why I came in here because I thought you were going to want revenge. Please, you have to understand where I'm coming from with this."

Cynder watched as he took his step back, so she eased off of him as well and put her tail blade back down on the bed. His dark scales slowly came back to his bright purple ones, and it took him a second to calm down. Understanding where he was coming from with his words, he didn't want to hurt him, so instead, he had a better idea that he thought was fair for the both of them, "You're so lucky this isn't day one Malefor I'm talking to. For your actions, even if it was Ignitus fault... I'm sorry but... I'm taking that week back from you."

"Wh..." Grabbing his chest, Malefor felt like passing out, and he even felt betrayed.

"Before you go out and destroy the world because you cry too damn much, I said I would take that week back, I didn't say I would stop thinking about being your friend. And I didn't say I would take or add any days to our fifteen day friendship thing. So, you should be happy with how nice I am being with you right now. In my mind, I'm being a little too nice, but I can always change that."

Hearing his words, his eyes went wide as Malefor realised he was getting off easy, a lot easier of a punishment then he ever thought that Spyro would give him. He hated himself for even asking, but he couldn't stop himself from bring it up, and before he could try and shut he mouth, he spoke, "Spyro, I have to ask. I know what it is like to have special moments ruined. You said that I'm lucky I'm not, 'Day one Malefor'. I'm assuming you probably would've killed me but, even now, I expected you to punish me more severely... Why didn't you?"

Seeing the somewhat desperation in his eyes, Spyro didn't want to answer as he knew it would only make him more happy. Looking away from him and at his lover, she sighed as she knew he wanted her approval. Giving him a nod, she also gave him a smile. Sighing deeply as he still didn't want to tell him, he knew that good could come from this as it would also make his lover happy and Carith. Taking all the courage he had and trying to forget his anger, he focused his attention back to Malefor and responded, "I'm hopefully only going to have to say this once. I'm... I'm trying to put the past behind me. With the way you've been acting, the way you helped the Guardians in the training room, everyone having your back... I really do trust you, and more, to be honest. I have an idea of when I feel it would be best to become your friend, as long as you keep your act together, I can guarantee that I will become your friend in the future."

"Really!"

"Damn it, Malefor."

"Oh, uh... Ahem, sorry. Please continue."

"As I was saying, I don't want to take time or add time to how long it would take for us to be friends. I only need two more weeks, and then I will know for sure. But if things turn out right, and if we can keep this peace, then maybe... Maybe I will feel better with taking off more time. But you are in luck. I know for a fact that Ersa has to be alive, no matter what anyone says. And if I'm right, and you didn't kill her... I will promise to take off a week."

Malefor bit his lip on that promise as it was something he wished he could do something about, but since he couldn't remember much about that day, all he could do was hope that she was still alive, and he hoped to the Ancestors that it was true, _Please, for the love of everything, for both me and Volteer's sanity, please let Ersa be alive._ He didn't want to think more about it, and he knew it would be best if everyone got their minds off of everything that had happened, so he just suggested what he knew everyone was thinking about deep down, "Well, as much as I would hate to do it, it would be fun pulling an all nighter with the Guardians."

"Well, I can't really do that..."

 _Don't worry. I have the power to make everyone feel as though they just had the best sleep of their lives once the sun comes up. That way, we don't have to worry about how long we stay up for. And if you four do get decide to come down here... Please don't hurt me, I do apologize._ The voice of Ignitus said to the four in their thoughts, and everyone slightly sighed as they couldn't help but agree. Spyro was a little less so in agreeing as he was still a little mad, "You're lucky that I care so much for you, and your little saddened voice doesn't help. I would say you owe all of us, but since you are basically letting us stay awake for twenty-four hours... I will let it slide."

"Absolutely not," Cynder now disagreed, causing Spyro to chuckle, "How about we all embarrass, Ignitus? Talk about how he could kiss Claire, maybe even talk about how their future looks when they become mates..."

 _Cynder! Please, I'm sorry, I truly am! Spyro, help me out,_ Ignitus pleaded within their thoughts. Spyro could only chuckle as his paws were tied, "Sorry, but what Cynder says is final. I'm not going to tell her otherwise... But... On our way down, I will see what I can do. Maybe if we are left alone for a little bit, I can try and keep her silent with a kiss."

"It's not like Ignitus knows what that's like with his lover," Cynder whispered to Spyro, and the two snickered with one another.

 _I can hear you two,_ Ignitus grumbled.

"Relax, alright. We will be down there soon," Spyro said.

"Are we seriously going to go down there? Wouldn't it be best if we just stay in our rooms and did what we wanted?" Malefor asked with somewhat of a grumble.

Standing up on the bed, Spyro chuckled as he responded, "Yeah, Well, I'm not strong enough to fight what Ignitus says just yet. And if we did do that, you'd know what he'll do so, might as well just try and have some fun with this. And on the way day, we can talk some more if you're down for that."

"Well, I guess when you put it like that, why not."

Before he jumped off the bed, Spyro looked back to his lover and asked, "Is it okay if you walk with Carith?"

"Hehe, of course it is. If you want to talk with Malefor then go ahead," Cynder giggled, wondering why he had asked but, she didn't let it bother her.

Jumping off the bed and walked over, he passed Malefor's side and went out the room, awaiting for everyone else to leave. Once he left, Malefor soon followed behind, and the two then waited for their lovers. Letting out an annoyed sigh as she had to get up, Carith giggled as she knew why Cynder felt that way. Hopping off the bed, she walked over to her friend and she smiled as she asked, "Looks like you two were really loving that role play of you getting your neck bitten."

"Of course I was! And Ignitus ruined it...! And, so did Malefor but, if Ignitus would've kept his mouth shut and minded his own business, it would've happened."

"Do I have a story to tell you."

"Oh no, what happened."

"Just the fact that, Ignitus did the same thing when Malefor first tried that on me."

"Okay, I agree, I'm hooked. What happened?"

"Come on, I will tell you on the way down."

The two walked out of the room and saw the other two talking near the main doors, which had already opened as they were standing right in front. The two paused their conversation and looked over to make sure the two were ready. They both gave out sighs, and their lovers chuckled, knowing why they were upset. Knowing their wasn't much they could do, the girls nodded. The guys smiled and walked out of the house with the two following, continuing their conversation shortly after they did. The girls stayed back a bit as they were talking about things that were embarrassing to talk about, and they didn't want the guys to hear. Carith had to remember a little back as she spoke, "Let's see, this was probably, three weeks... no, two weeks into us being lover's. Me and Malefor were, you know, flirting with one another. And as he was flirting with me, he smiled, and I saw... the saliva from his mouth... I joked about it, and he did blush but, when you're flirting with one another, you kind of just, think nothing of it. He used my words against me and said that my neck looked... tasty."

"Wait! Wait wait wait... Malefor... Malefor, said this? Look, I know he isn't the Dark Master, two completely dragons, but... Malefor? I'm just... sorry..."

"Back then we didn't always have someone spying on us so, Malefor hasn't really been as romantic to me as he use to be, which is making me want to hurt Ignitus more and more but, I will use Claire as a weapon against him, and hopefully, she will be on my side."

"I'm sure we can do that. But going back, what happened?"

"Oh yeah, Sorry. So, one thing lead to another... I was on my back, and he was over me..."

"Look at you. For an Dragoness of ice, you sure have a face as red as the sun right now," Cynder teased her as she could see her face getting more and more red as she told the story.

"How dare you tease me like that," Carith grumbled with a smile as she tried to play it off, but the more she thought back to that moment, the more red she got, so she defended herself, "Look, he was breathing down my neck, I knew he was stronger then me, and... I couldn't move, okay."

"Hehehe, alright, alright."

"And, as he moved in to bite my neck I... I started to kinda, lose my vision. I don't know why, I just... My heart was pounding loud enough for me to hear, I was sweating and felt hot, and every time I tried to move my body to do something, he would only have to put his paw on my to keep me from moving... It was... Fantastic..."

"Whoa, don't faint on me now."

"Oh... Sorry, I just... I miss that."

"Well, we are almost at the Chambers so, we can talk more in there. But I really want to know what happens."

"Sorry, I keep getting side tracked. Alright. So, after all that, how special and important that moment was to me, just as his mouth had covered my neck and he went for the bite," Carith paused as she clenched her teeth in slight anger, remembering exactly what had happened back then, "Ignitus opened the door! Didn't knock, didn't just wait or anything, he opened the damn door! Ruined every single bit of that moment. I was so pissed off that I couldn't even kiss Malefor. He felt so bad, and he was mad as well but... We got through it, after Malefor got revenge on him."

"What did he do?"

"He somehow got the other Guardians to come up with a plan to get revenge. So, Volteer, with his smart, was able to shock Ignitus in a way to take away his ability. Terrador made a rock like shoe and made him walk around with all four of his paws covered, and Cyril made an ice sculpture of a heart on both of his sides. It was the most glorious moment of my life, and we forced him to walk around Warfang most of the day."

"Hahaha! Just thinking... Just thinking about Ignitus... And him in little earth made shoes... And a heart on his sides... Hahaha... Oh, oh... That... That is so worth it," Cynder laughed and laughed the more and more she thought about it, and even Carith had a giggle once and awhile as hearing her laugh, and thinking about it, she couldn't hold herself tighter either.

"Yeah, it was pretty fun. Hehe. I even had an idea to punish him further by using the elements on his horns or fins but, he looked like his reputation had been completely destroyed, and he was so sad. And since Malefor helped me through the whole, neck bitting being ruined, thing, I actually felt bad and apologized. Hehe, Malefor didn't though. It took a while for him to stop laughing."

Seeing their lovers turn the corner and go into the Chambers, they turned with them too, and Cynder asked, "Is it okay if we tell Claire this story? I want to know what she would think."

"I don't know. I know she will pick on me as well when I start blushing from everything that happened, before, he tried to bite my neck."

"You'll be fine. And since Claire is his lover, it would be cute to see her reaction to what happened to him. Maybe she will feel just as bad when ever you tell her how sad he was, then maybe they'd finally kiss."

"That's a joke if I've ever heard one."

Reaching the back door to the Chambers, Spyro grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and opened the door. As the door opened, he watched as all the Guardians looked at them. Their faces lit up as they stood back up on their beds, aside from Ignitus as he knew they weren't happy with him. As the four entered the room, Ignitus did wonder what took them so long, and even though he knew, he still wanted to pick on them about it, "What took you all so long?"

"Shut it!" Malefor and Spyro both growled at the same time towards him.

"Oh no, what did he do?" Claire asked, and seeing as the two were angry towards him, she knew it had to have been something with their lovers, "When we all agreed to bring them done here, did you give them a choice, or did you force them to come down here? And I'm guess they are mad because you interrupted those two from spending time with their lover."

Everyone was surprised that she was able to figure out exactly what happened so quickly, but to her, it seemed like simple knowledge. As the four stood in the middle of the room with their lovers by their sides, they all focused their attention on Ignitus, along with the other Guardians as now even they wondered what he really did to get the four down here. He let a sigh with a smirk and told the others the truth, "Okay... fine, I will be honest. I didn't give them a choice, and I did force them."

"You had to force them? Damn... Do you all just, not like us or something?" Terrador asked with a joking manner, but they could all hear the sadness in his voice.

"We see each other everyday. I love keeping it that a way. Since we were already awake, I just wanted to finally spend some more time with, Cynder. But then Malefor walked in, Ignitus spoke and wouldn't leave us alone... And he ruined one of the best moments of my life because of it!" Spyro growled more as he thought about it, wishing he could've known what it would've been like if he went through with his bite, "You better have brought us down here because a meteor was going to hit our house and you're just not saying!"

"Claire, is it okay if me and Carith talk to you?" Cynder asked.

"What for? I have no problem of course, and I do agree, I was just wondering," Claire asked as well, wondering what it could be as she saw the anger on her face, as well as Carith's every one and awhile.

"We are going to get Ignitus in trouble for what he did, and I don't care what you say, Ignitus, she will know either way," Carith stepped in as well.

Claire heard Ignitus slightly grumble with a slight blush, and because of that, she was now more interested in this talk then ever before. Standing up and crawling off the bed, she nodded her head over to the back of the room. With her walking to the back of the room, the other two girls followed. With the girls in the back of the room, they all laid down in front of some books as they were scattered all along the back, left, and right side of the walls. Since the girls stayed in the back, talking about what had happened, the guys all wondered what they were going to do, and since Volteer seemed to have more energy then anyone else, he was the first to ask, "Well... We could..."

"Wait!" Malefor interjected before Volteer could finish speaking, "We can't let the girls be better then us. As mush as it scares me to be so close to you, Volteer, because you're... You, we need to have our own circle of friendship."

"Oh yeah, and while we are at it, we can all get our cutie marks! Absolutely not," Terrador grumbled.

"Yeah, I'm with Terrador. Why can't we just talk on our beds?" Cyril asked.

"Because if we do that, then every time we talk, I have to look all the way over to one side of the room to speak with one of you, to look all the way over to the other side of the room, and since you are on the, other side of the room, I will have to yell to get my point across!" Malefor started to yell as he wanted to get his point across of how annoying it would be, and in the way he said and described it, they all agreed, "Also, who the hell is we? Me and Spyro don't have a bed here, ours is upstairs, where we can't go to, nor can we be left alone... apparently..."

"Are you going to enjoy your time down here or not? I thought it would be fun if we all spent time together like the old days. Even better with Spyro tagging along," Ignitus asked, and he knew it was mainly because of what happened while the two were up with their lovers, but he thought at least Malefor would have a good time just talking.

"You know what you did... You know..."

"I do, and I apologize, I swear. I'm pretty sure those two are going to talk Claire into dumping me so... Let me try to have a little fun before my life gets ruined."

Malefor snickered as he hoped that would be true, but even for him, he would feel a little bad if that were to happen. Laying down where they had stood, both Malefor and Spyro laid next to one another while facing the back window to see their lovers. Ignitus, followed by Volteer, Cyril, and lastly, Terrador, all got off their beds and walked over to lay down with everyone else. Cyril laid down next to Spyro while Volteer laid down next to Malefor. Then, Terrador laid down next to Volteer, and Ignitus laid down between Terrador and Cyril. Now with everyone in a circle, Malefor had a fantastic idea of something for them to do, "I have the most amazing idea! I was thinking of this game that I'm gonna call, DnD!"

"That's totally stealing," Volteer chuckled.

"Shut up, no it's not, because mine is different. My game is called: Dragons and Dungeons. See, I'm not stealing if I turn the words around."

"What? No way you can do that... Can he?" Cyril asked.

"Of course I can. Lets say, you own the Dragon Temple. It's yours and you own the rights to it. But if I make a copy of it, and change the name to: Temple Dragon, it's two completely different things. So yes, I can one hundred percent do that."

"Wha... I... Volteer. We need some confirmation on this."

"I've given up on him. It's like begging for Malefor to go away; Even when we want him died, he just keeps coming back," Volteer chuckled.

"Okay, one, harsh. Two, I should've killed you when I had the chance. And three, do you all want to play or not?" Malefor asked, growling slightly towards his friend as he spoke.

"How? We have nothing aside from our paws."

"I just make up the rules as we go."

"Hey, Malefor, next time you become the Dark Master, please kill me first," Terrador chuckled.

"What the hell is wrong with you guys."

"Nothing, nothing, we are just teasing. Continue."

"Uh huh. Alright well, instead of asking who would go first, I know none of you would raise a paw, bitches. I will just call out names as I go. Alright, so first... Um... Ignitus."

"Oh hell," Ignitus cursed.

"Look, it's up to you if you live or die, it just all depends on what you choose."

"I choose the use my tail blade on my self. My turn ends, who's next?"

"Ah! But because I hold the power in this game, you failed to kill yourself! Instead you killed an unsuspecting ape who was trying to sneak attack you. He dropped and item. Now, Ignitus, would you like to pick up that item, or continue on your journey?"

"I can't believe I'm going along with this... I... Pick up the item."

"The item was a small gem that give you a ten percent increase in power next battle. Congrats."

"Okay, great and all but, where do I put it? I'm not going to hold the gem."

"Every dragon will have a satchel bag that is thrown over their body to hold stuff in. And plus, I wouldn't really ask questions. When ever Spyro and Cynder were on their way to defeat me, they had like, four different pairs of armor that they were some how able to take off and put back on out of nowhere so..."

"You do realize that armor was magical, right? It would shrink really small, and like a gem, it would join in with our bodies. When ever we needed it, it was at the ready. But because of all the attacks the Dark Master put us through, we lost all the armor in the volcano as it came out on its own free will to help us," Spyro explained which gave Malefor more of the perfect idea of how he would continue his story, but it was strange to him as his face turned to confusion, "And the reason you didn't see it was because it didn't have time to fully form when the armor came out from our bodies. So when he hit us, it went flying into the lava."

"Ah, okay, that makes sense. Alright, change of story. Ignitus, forget the satchel bag, it's gonna be all magical in this story. So when ever you need to call an item, flip over your paw and tell me what item it is you are trying to summon and I shall give it to you."

"But... I have the item. Doesn't that mean I just call it out myself?" Ignitus asked, a little confused on how his game was now working.

"I need to know the item you are using, alright. It just helps everyone know."

"Okay, okay."

"Hehe, alright, now the story is going to get interesting because we are going to have more join in. As you continue your journey to slay the evil that has darkened the land, you meet another warrior that dawned the color of yellow scales."

Volteer gasped with a smile as he knew that was him, and Malefor continued, "As you approach the Dragon, he seems to have taken some damage on his back, along with his tail and wings. As you reach to ask him a question, he turns around in fear and frustration. Alright, Ignitus, what will you try to do to calm him down?"

"Uh," Focusing his attention over to Volteer, Ignitus spoke, "Hey, um... I'm not your enemy. To show that we are, friends, I give you this gem that I picked up from this dead ape."

"As Ignitus take his paw off the ground and extends his paw, a gem of blue color appears in his paw. The yellow warrior looks at it, examining it. What does he do next?"

"Oh! It's my turn?! Hehe, alright alright, I got this. Since I am battle damaged, I must assume that I'm not as strong as I could be," Having an idea of what he should say as he had thought about it for a couple of seconds, he spoke, "You must be after the monster who caused all this. Well, I will trust you for now. Keep the gem. The only thing I ask is that you help me find some gems to help heal my wounded body."

"Ignitus?"

"Hehe, alright, alright, give me a second," Ignitus said, and just as Volteer, he had to think of a couple of seconds before giving his response, "I agree to your terms, brave warrior. You seem to know how to take a beating and still keep going. Before we continue, I must know your name, so as we fight, we will know how to properly coordinate."

Both Malefor and Volteer both smiled hugely as they were getting into the game. The others smiled and chuckled as they were having fun as well, and chilling while doing nothing was pretty relaxing to everyone. The sounds of them all talking was muffled out as Spyro looked at Malefor only slightly, and seeing his smile as he spoke, it made him think more about what he should do about their friendship, _What am I worried about? Him wanted to kiss his lover, his third base jokes, embarrassing and interrupt me and Cynder... If there was a dark creature out there right now... would I attack him? Would I forget everything and hate him for it...? I guess this is why I need those extra weeks. I trust him but... Maybe if there was a dark creature, I would only hurt him... Maybe he would know what was causing it... because... I don't believe it would be him._ Ignitus smiled as he heard his son's thoughts, and he didn't want to keep it a secret from him, so he spoke to him through his thoughts, _"That's another reason I wanted you all to come down here. Malefor's having fun, and I want to show you that we are all right about who he is. And the girls are happy to be talking to each other, I know it. So just relax and enjoy this, game, that Malefor is making us play. I hate to say it, but, I'm kinda getting into it."_ Chuckling from his father's words, he knew he should start enjoying the time he had.

* * *

"So that's why... I was so upset. I was so close, so close to being able to have that moment... but, I didn't... And like I've said before, I know it sounds wired but... That feeling of just, you feel so weak, and you know he's going to bite you, but you also know he won't hurt you is just so... Uh," Cynder grumbled with a blush, talking with the other girls about what happened before they came down here, and unlike Claire, Carith knew exactly what she meant, "I wish I could have that moment back. He tried twice, and both times were ruined. The first one was... my fault, and feel terrible for making Spyro think he hurt me."

"I can't believe you were able to feel the same way twice when ever he tried. And the fact that he tried twice really shows dedication. Why do you think he was trying so hard to tease you like that?" Claire asked as even for her, just talking about it was enough to get her to blush, but she wanted to help out and listen to what was happening, so she didn't think much of it.

"That's just how Spyro is. He knew, in a way, I would've loved for the bite to happen. But... maybe it's just, never to be."

"Don't say that," Carith interjected, and seeing the smirk on her face, she knew she walked right into her plan, "Oh you are evil."

"Learned from the Dark Master himself. So, Carith, why shouldn't I stop? Is there, some kind of story you know where Malefor tried the bite, failed, and then was later able to do so?"

"You too, Carith? Don't tell me it was Ignitus who interrupted you too," Claire asked, feeling a little bad that the two girls were going through the same thing because of him.

"Oh... Unfortunately... yes," Carith grumbled.

"I'm going to need to have a word with him. But before I do... What's the story?"

"Just, promise me, you won't pick on how red my face gets. I will try to sum up the story with out getting into the details."

"Two things. One, I promise. Two, yes details."

"What?!"

"Hehe, I like the way you think, Claire," Cynder giggled with an evil grin.

"Why do you want details?!"

"Well, I guess I can kinda imagine what it was like, but Cynder didn't give too many details. The reason I need details is so I know how badly I should punish Ignitus. My old lover never did what your lovers do. There was no real, love, to him. So, I want to know what I could, maybe, hopefully looked forward to in the future."

"With Ignitus?!" Both the girls cried in unison.

"You tell your truth, I will tell mine, how about that?"

"Carith! You have to do it now! There is no way you would pass up on a truth like this," Cynder cried, begging for her now more then ever to tell the story.

"I'm not surprised you were an assassin, Claire. You were able to figure out what was wrong with us, and you even knew how to persuade me into telling you want happened. You are a little too smart for your own good, " Carith complemented her on her skills to know what was happening and how to easily get them to spill what they didn't want to say.

"Hehe, yeah, well... Look, I can't be romantic and tell you all the truth if you don't say your story first," Claire blushed, trying to grumble as to get the blush to go away.

"I think Claire wants a neck bite," Carith teased her as she started to sing.

"Story!"

"Alright, fine, you win. I will tell the story," Carith agreed, as she knew she could no longer wait, and seeing as the two looked at her, it made it a little difficult, but she tried her hardest to not blush, "Long story made short, Malefor and me were in our room. He was drooling, I made fun of him for it, and, one thing led to another and I was on my back and he was over me. His breath was warm as he breathed on my neck... And I saw his muscles so I knew just couldn't move... Ugh, Damn it!"

"No no no, you're fine. I promised I wouldn't say anything about your blush... So, what happened after that."

"Every time I tried to pull up my paw to stop him, he, tapped on my paw or arm with his and I just, went limp. I couldn't do anything. As he moved his head down to bite down on my neck... my heart was pounding, I was sweating and... even though it sounds bad, I... I enjoyed every second leading up to the bite... but, if only the bite had happened! I would've been a lot more happy that day."

"He walks in, doesn't he?"

"Opens the door right up and destroy the build up to the moment."

"Oh, Ignitus," Claire sighed as she shook her head.

"But now, I said Malefor failed but tried later on, and you agreed. So, I'm assuming you have a story where he is, successful, with, the bite?" Cynder asked with a raised brow, and she knew her theory was correct, and Carith's face got red enough that she had to cover her face with her wings just thinking about her time when it happened, "Sweet Ancestors, was it really that amazing of an experience?"

The only indication they got was a slight grumble that emerged from her wings. Claire felt a little bad as she knew what it was like to be embarrassed this badly, especially when she first met with Ignitus. As Carith pulled her wings down, her blush still showed, and since Claire felt bad for her, she decided to go through with her end of the deal, "You don't have to tell us that story, we won't make you feel that embarrassed. For now, I guess I will tell you all the truth."

Carith's blush blinked away as her and Cynder both focused their attention on her, wondering what she was going to say. Gathering her composure, she knew it was going to be difficult to say, but even she wanted the girls to know what her opinion was, "When ever Ignitus was talking about his powers, he was able to use a power that flexed out his muscles. And, ever since then, I can't stop thinking about him. He is perfect, don't get me wrong, it's just... Now... I do want to know what's it's like for Ignitus to... love me, and... kiss me, and... Please keep this between us but... Also... give me a neck bite."

The two girls gasped and they couldn't believe what they were hearing. Claire covered her face up with her wings as she was just as embarrassed as Carith once was. But as they were talking, Claire opened up her wings in fear, and both the girls looked at her with wide eyes, wondering what was wrong. She started to shake as she asked, "Wait... Ignitus doesn't know my thoughts and words but... He still knows all of your two's words! That means..."

"Oh no..." Cynder and Carith said, looking at one another, and then back at Claire.

Jumping up, with her wings wide open, she dashed over to the guys to hopefully find out they were wrong. Running over to Ignitus in a hurry, she stopped back a couple of steps away from him to try and calm herself down before she approached him, hoping he wouldn't notice that she was in a hurry. Ducking her to nuzzle his neck as she moved her head more in to look at him, he chuckled, wondering what she was doing as he saw a slight blush and a smile, "Is everything okay?"

Since Malefor and everyone else was too busy into the game, they didn't hear the conversation. Since no one looked over at them as they spoke, she knew this is the perfect opportunity to get him to tell her the truth without the other guys catching on and wondering what she wanted to know, "I know you said that you don't know my words and thoughts. But... What about other's thoughts?"

"What do you mean?"

"Say, I say something. Then, Cynder or Carith repeats it, and they talk about what I did or what happened... Wouldn't you... You know... Know what they said... Since it's not me?"

He could see her face getting more and more red and he couldn't understand why, and she caught on to this and was wondering if he even heard their conversation at all. At this point, everyone had stopped talking and they listened, wondering what she was going to do. Giving out a slight chuckle, he explained how it worked with a little more depth, "Don't worry, I don't know anything anyone says or thinks about you either. I was afraid that, if something were to happen that was embarrassing to you, the girls would talk or think about it, and it would probably ruin our relationship because it was a secret you wanted to keep. So, anything that has to do with you, I won't know about, even if it comes from someone else's words or thoughts. I just assumed you were blushing because of Carith's story but, because I can't see or hear everything else leading up to it, it was a little confusing."

Claire's eyes open slightly wide as she was surprised how much thought he put into making sure that he wouldn't know everything about her, and the way he used his words made her smile a little as well. Since the girls had been talking about what had happened with their lovers, she decided to try and flirt a little with Ignitus, "I'm surprised how much thought you put into this... And I love the fact that you even said how you didn't want to ruin our relationship... Why don't you?"

He didn't catch on and kinda chuckled instead by the way she was acting, "Why would I? Ever since I met you I wanted to be with you. And with the whole ice situation over my mouth, I was so sad and scared to think it was you. Even when I wanted to know so badly, I didn't want to see if it was you or not because, well... I trusted you. And when I found out you did it..."

"You hated me for it."

"You know that's not true. I know you had no control over what happened, and to think that you were supposed to kill me, but you fought to protect me is, it's another reason I'm glad I chose you over all the other, easier, female dragons out there."

Since the two were in their own moment, they didn't know that they had paused the game. With their faces being so close together, the way they smiled, and the way they blushed, they knew for a fact that they would hopefully be able to finally see one of them go for it. It was really difficult for everyone not to think about it, but just as they were about to kiss, he could easily hear their slight gasps and thoughts. _No way! Ignitus is actually going in for the kiss!_ Malefor cried in his thoughts, which they were loud enough for him to hear. _Go for it, Ignitus. You got this!_ Volteer thought as well, and along with everyone else's thoughts, he didn't just want to back his head up and ruin it for her. Silence filled the room, and not hearing anything ruined it for her as she knew everyone was looking. Her nose had just touched his, and she was moving in for the kiss, but because she knew they were all watching, she growled as she turned her head away along with her body. Standing up and turning his body around, he called out for her, "Claire, Wait."

She couldn't look back and face him as she was so angry with the others, and even though she wanted to be romantic, she knew her anger would get in the way. He sighed slightly and started to feel the anger that Claire had felt as she walked away. Turning around with rage at the others, Malefor defended himself, "Wait! hear us out. For one, now you know how pissed we get when you do that. Second, I'm guessing you heard our thoughts because you started to blush up before we did. I thought you just said that you couldn't hear anything anyone says about Claire, and we were thinking about her, kissing you."

"Anything that has to do with her! I could hear all of your thoughts because none of you specifically directed your thoughts about her, only me! 'Ignitus is actually going in for the kiss', 'Go for it, Ignitus', 'I sure hope he does it... Oops, he probably heard me... Yep'! I sure did!" Ignitus growled at all of them as he plopped himself down on the floor back on his stomach, rubbing the very back of his nose underneath his eyes as he tried to calm himself down.

"Wait... Hehe, who's thoughts were those?"

"They were... mine," Terrador admitted as he raised a paw, "Since they were right next to me, it was easy for me to see their reaction. And when I said that, I saw his body get a little teased up and I knew he was trying to ignore me... or... you know, us."

Picking a claw up, Ignitus pointed at everyone, and they all wondered what he was doing. Since he saw their confusion, he didn't want to leave them hanging, and wanted to see just had scared they would be, "Oh, hehe, sorry. Just pointing at all of you so I know what kind of hellish nightmare I should put you all through. Malefor and Spyro are easy, I know what I can do to you other three..."

"Wait a minute!" Malefor growled as he stood up, "Don't be crying all because you didn't go for it! That's on you. We aren't stopping you from going over there right now, and you don't."

"Malefor's right," Spyro agreed, "You did ruin my time with Cynder, but that last time I tried though, I won't blame the last one on you because, well, I blame that on myself for not knowing how she would react. But, because I love and care for my father, I tried to look past it. But it seems that being in love is making you a little more aggressive then I thought it would. Maybe it would be best if you never found love at all."

"Yeah, what the... Wait, Wait wait wait. Spyro, did you just say that you, love, and care, for your... father?"

"Family love, not what your thinking."

"I don't know dude. You said it in a way that Volteer would say it. You had a lot of passion in there."

"Alright, you know what, Ignitus, me and the Guardians can all agree that instead of giving us all nightmares, just put Malefor through five nightmares to account for his, and ours. Sound fair."

"What?! Hell no, I'm not doing that. One of you is going down with me."

"What a team player."

"Alright, enough! No one is getting a nightmare," Ignitus said, getting everyone's attention as he spoke, and putting his paw back to the ground, he had collected himself and apologized, "I will admit I was wrong, and I know what it's like to be interrupted now more then ever. I apologize for me lashing out to you all. It's just... It's no secret anymore that I love her, and I have hopes that she feels the same way. It doesn't help that, I know what could've happened to you and your lover, Spyro, if you two had kissed too soon. So... I'm just scared as to when to kiss."

"Yeah but, back then, my love for Cynder was basically a life and death situation for the world. Not every relationship has to be that way. Malefor and Carith loved each other when ever they wanted to, and either way you looked at it, if they were or weren't in love, he still would've hated not being able to save her, and the Dark Master still would've come back."

"So, what should I do?"

"Well, like I said, it didn't matter if they were or weren't in love, but it was probably for the best they were in love before everything happened. When Malefor was able to see her, it was much easier for him to fight the Dark Master. And I don't know the whole story around me and Cynder, but with what happened back with Cyril and that whole, poison joke, I'm guessing it's because the Guardians still didn't trust her."

"If it wasn't for Terrador and Volteer... I would've done something that would've made you hate me for life," Cyril somewhat murmured as he felt bad about the whole situation.

"I find it funny how you think you were going to win against someone who was more powerful then you but, no hard feelings, I promise. But going back, if you know that she was going in for this kiss, she obviously loves you enough to even try. Just so you know, once you kiss her once, it's really hard to never do it again. I mean, look at what you said to me when ever you said I kissed Cynder way more the Malefor did that night."

"Um... What night?" Malefor asked, laying back down on his stomach and looking at the two with slightly widened eyes.

"I'm trying to remember back... Oh yeah, it was literally like a day ago. After we were finally going to bed, me and Ignitus were talking through our thoughts and, he said how I kissed Cynder more then you kissed your lover."

"The hell you didn't!"

"Why Malefor, and I thought you loved me more then any other dragon loved their lovers," A voice called from behind Ignitus.

Everyone looked over to see the girls were walking back over from where they had sat. Scooting back some to make room for the girls, Cynder sat in between Cyril and Spyro, while Carith sat down in between Malefor and Volteerl. Ignitus looked over with a wide smile to see that Claire was able to come back over and lay down next to him. She seemed a lot calmer now then she was before, and he made sure to whisper this time while they all talked, all while keeping an eye on them to make sure they didn't see, "I'm, sorry, about what happened. I can give them nightmares when ever you want, just tell me when."

"Hehe, don't worry, Ignitus, it's fine. The girls talked to me and, I'm not as mad as I was before. Carith and Cynder talked about all the times they have been interrupted but, they always have someone they can go to when ever a moment is ruined, and it's the same one who had their moment ruined as well," Claire whispered back at him with a heart warming smile, and nuzzling her head onto the side of his neck, she then laid her head on his shoulder and apologized, "I'm sorry I walked off without saying anything."

"What were you supposed to do? I told the other that I now know more then ever what it's like to have a moment ruined so, I'm gonna try and take it down a bit. But, even though that moment was ruined, what is stopping us from having this one?" Ignitus asked, laying the side of his head down over the top of hers.

"Knowing everyone, probably, and literally, anything."

The two shared a nice small laugh and a smile, and he looked over to see that Malefor had given him a glance and a smile back. Ignitus chuckled, knowing what that meant, and instead of thinking too much about things, he closed his eyes along with Claire. Draping a wing over her back, the two were snuggled and happy, and he thought about it too, _I guess it's not a bad thing I didn't kiss her. This moment is just as special to me as every other._ Malefor and Spyro had done they same as they had draped their wings over their lovers, snuggled up and laughing with one another. The four didn't know the Guardians were just watching and laughing as they spoke, mainly because it was Malefor and Spyro having a heated discussion about who was really had the victory that night.

"I kissed her like, Twenty-two times that night. As if you could beat me on that," Spyro said with pride and a puffed out chest, feeling good that he was able to fulfil his duty as a lover.

"You wanna go there? Well, I kissed my lover, Twenty-three times, that night. As if, You, could beat me on that," Malefor said with just as much pride, puffing out his chest as well.

"What are you, six? You can't just go up one more number then me because you think you're better."

"I am better, and I know I did better then you."

"Wait just a second. I have a way to know who truly won. All because you gave her a kiss, doesn't mean she liked it. It's either you give her a couple of good kisses, then bad once, or you give her only amazing kisses, and no bad one's. So, I want to know from the girls. Who did better?"

Both of the girls looked at one another with raised brows, wondering who had the better time. Carith sighed and she had to give this one to Spyro, and looking at her lover, she apologized to him, "Sorry my love, but I'm pretty sure that they had a much better time."

"Wha... But... I thought..."

"Don't get into details as I know how satisfied I was when you kissed me! It's just, for once, I'm sure they kissed more for two reasons. One being because they didn't have Ignitus randomly appear in their room, and two, they didn't have to talk about books that she's never read before. And I'm sure that Spyro didn't pet his lover's head all because she didn't read some books."

"Books are love, Books are life," Volteer said to himself, feeling bad that no one else aside from him loves books.

"Malefor, I feel a little bad for Carith to be honest. A lover needs to feel love, and you don't try as much as you could," Spyro chuckled.

"You are the biggest hypocrite I've ever seen. You didn't kiss your lover like, at all yesterday. Even when you were injured, she had to kiss you!" Malefor growled, and everyone hissed through their teeth as they knew it was true, and as much as Cynder wanted to say something, she could only slightly blush as she knew it were true.

"And I'm making up for it."

"Oh yeah, two failed neck bites and sitting away from your lover while they talk is totally making up for it."

"Neck Bites?!" The Guardians all cried.

"So that's what you meant by teasing," Volteer said.

"I know how to make up for it, okay. I was able to kiss Cynder so well that she thought I took her powers away, and when I gave them back, I used my little lightning bolt as a way to have a better kiss, and to add on to the fact that she was actually having her powers stolen and returned to her," Spyro felt pride in his accomplishment, and everyone kinda blushed while Carith felt a little sad that she wasn't getting that love for her lover.

"Oh please, Master Malefor was a total, Master, Piece!" Malefor argued back, feeling as though he was able to have a better way of loving his lover.

"Oh yeah, Carith was talking about that and, you two are pretty lucky. Me and Carith were wondering who had it better and, well, it came down to Claire's decision," Cynder said, and both the guys looked over at her, and since her name was called, she opened her eyes slightly wide as she saw the two staring right at her, along with everyone else looking over at her.

Nuzzling her head against his neck again, he knew what she wanted. Picking up his head and opening his eyes, he looked at her as well, wondering what they had agreed on. Remembering back to the conversation they had, it was pretty easy for her to say, almost as if she was happy with the decision she made, "Well, I agreed that you both succeed, but in your own ways. It's true that Malefor does one thing, and you, Spyro, do another. But as long as your lover is happy, and you are continuing to provide that source, and love, and... Ahem, neck, biting, then it doesn't really matter in the end."

"You know, she's right," Ignitus spoke as well, and everyone looked at him, "Both of you acted in similar ways even though you both did different things. It just all depends on how things play out. And, since I did ruin your last moments for the both of you, I do feel bad. And, it was funny. Seeing you both try different things, and then something happened with your lovers, and you two flipped out because you thought you did something wrong was pretty funny."

"I'm glad i was able to put on a show for you so you can see my misery," Spyro chuckled, but they could all hear in his voice that he was still feeling a little down about what had happened, "Speaking of, misery, I wanted to know if you'd be able to tell or, show us, the story of when Malefor first became the, Dark Master."

"What do you want to know about that story? I thought Carith died somehow because none of the Guardians would tell me where she was, I blamed myself, and then anger and darkness took over. Carith saw me, I saw her, she kissed me, and everything went back to normal," Malefor explained out the whole story, but the more he talked about it, the more he wondered about what happened in his past.

"Well, I want to see how you reacted, and I want to see how Carith reacted. I'm also a little confused on how you became the Dark Master even though you were never exposed to the darkness."

"I... I actually was... before I even met the Guardians."

"How?"

"Well, I was young, and since I was a purple dragon, I wanted to become strong so everyone would look up to me. I traveled a lot around the world, which my parents didn't really approve of. All they wanted was for me to be safe. One day I, stumbled upon a Mountain, which, we all know which one it is."

"Wait! That all makes sense then! Ignitus, you knew about the Mountain, didn't you. It wasn't just some normal mountain, was it?"

"Hehe, I was wondering if you'd catch on to that. Continuing what Malefor was saying, he was corrupted by the darkness from that Mountain. He didn't really know what it was, and since it seemed no one else lived in this mountain, Malefor claimed it as his own since he wanted to be an all power dragon that everyone would know," Ignitus explained a little more about how the Mountain had got it's name and where the darkness had come from.

"And ever since then, if I was mad, something would happen to me. I knew the Guardians existed but, I didn't really care for the other four," Malefor spoke, but was interrupted by a question.

"Other four? So, there really were other Guardians?" Spyro asked, interrupting him as he was now curious.

"I'm sure Ignitus already knows a way to sum up everything that happened but, yes, there were other Guardians. And back then, it wasn't really, peaceful as you may think. The other Guardians were also so serious, wanting to get a situation done and over with so they could get back to doing what ever it was. So I, waited. Then one day, when the other Guardians were picked, it took me a while to gather up the strength to face them. I needed to know what was happening to me, and I was lucky enough to find that these four were way better then those four."

"I spoke with Claire about this, and I can give you the conversation we had so you all will know really happened back then," Ignitus suggested, and seeing the four nod, he gave them all the information on what had happened.

Their eyes went slightly wide, and the first thing the four did was look over to Cyril. He was a little confused, but seeing them look over to Volteer, then back over at him, he knew what it was. He sighed, not really wanting to talk about it, but since it was out in the open, he decided it would be best to get it over with and explain, "So I'm guessing you and Claire talked about why I didn't like Volteer back then... And I'm guessing you had to tell her what happened to my brother... I've looked passed it, I really have. There isn't hate between us anymore. We've all lost someone, so, it would be selfish of me to yell at Volteer when he has lost others as well. Lets just, move past this... What else did you all talk about?"

"Well, I now know why their aren't eight Guardians anymore. And also how Malefor met you four. Which, taking on all the Guardians at once? That was your master plan on your way to talk with the Guardians," Spyro chuckled as he asked, wondering why he thought that was a good plan in the first place.

"I was nervous. Even though I had trained, they were the masters of the elements. I couldn't just walk up and say hey," Malefor explained himself, and everyone gave out a little laugh as seeing him now, it was strange to ever see him so nervous about something, "And as for the other four Guardians... This was... a little bad, even for the Dark Master."

"What happened?"

Malefor looked down as he didn't want to explain what had happened, and he knew it would only make him look more of a monster. Spyro put a paw on his shoulder, wondering if it would do him any good. Giving a slight sigh as he knew that the truth had to come out sooner or later, Ignitus didn't want his friend to have to say what had happened, so he tried his best to explain, "It was kinda hard to see this battle, since she was in the dark zone when she fought him but... before we could seal him away, we tried to convince the four to wait as Volteer and Ersa were working on a way to seal him. Oxyn, the Earth Guardian, was very stubborn, and suggested that they attacked now. We knew we weren't ready, but they all ignored us and attacked. But... One of the Guardians had a lover, Sear, the Fire Guardian, was in love with the Master of Ice. Her name was, Carla. Those two both agreed it was bad idea but... They didn't want their friends to go headfirst into battle all alone... So, they followed..."

"Long story made short, they made it to me," Malefor slightly growled, and everyone focused on him as he picked his head up with a couple of tears falling down his face as he spoke, "It took a while, but... I was able to take them down one by one, but not without sustaining sever damage. Everyone was knocked down except for, Carla. I went to kill Sear, but, with the remaining strength she had, she stood in front of him... Which only made it worse... She was able to talk me down... I started to try and calm myself down because... She reminded me of Carith... Just as I was calming down... Oxyn shot a spear like rock at my arm. I went to do the same to finish him off and she... jumped in the way... And the spear stabbed her right in the heart..."

Hearing his slight cries and sniffles as he had to relive and remember such a moment, no one really knew what to say to him to make him feel better. Even for Spyro, he didn't know that he had gone through more then what he had originally thought. Taking his paw off his shoulder, he tried to come up with some way as to talk him out of feeling so bad for himself, and so did everyone else. Before anyone was able to speak, he only made it worse for himself, and everyone else as they heard what he felt when it all happened, "The worst part... She only made it worse for him. He... choked on his own blood, and the other two slowly died with begging cries as they didn't want to... And as for Carla... Well... It was like I had failed to protect Carith all over again... Hehe... Isn't that just a son of a bitch...

Once again, it went quiet, aside from Malefor's slight sniffles. Spyro knew he had to do something soon as his knew the more Malefor was to think about it, the more it would haunt him, and he didn't want that to happen. Standing up, he was about to speak, but once again, he started to ramble off more about that battle, "What if Oxyn never did that... Would they still be alive...? What could I have done..."

"Shut it!" Spyro yelled, and his voice echoed throughout the room, somewhat scaring everyone, including Malefor himself, "You're Damn right you aren't the Dark Master! You're pathetic!"

Walking in front and standing in front of him, he growled more and more as he spoke, trying to get his point across to him, "Whose fault was it that you were attacked? Whose fault was it that she died? Whose fault was it that the Darkness ever even took over in the first place?! Stop using what's happened to get yourself downed. You know what happened, you know what should've happened. We all know that was Oxyn's fault, we know that what happened with Carith was the Chronicles fault. You can't just blame yourself if you don't see the full picture."

"I..."

"Need to quiet your wining! It was there fault and there is nothing you could've done about it. You would've been stabbed in the back by one of them, we all know it would've happened. It was either you survived, and can love her now, or they killed you, and us, The Guardians, and your lover, all grow up, not knowing what it would've been like to live with you... I know I can't say what life would've been like either way, I know it would've been tough for either side, but from where I'm standing, we got peace the right way that involved everyone, even the enemy who fought in the war, to come home. What kind of life would we have right now if you were dead?"

Malefor, along with everyone else was at a lost for words, and it was crazy for everyone else, as even he noticed it, but it seemed like Spyro was trying to help him out. I did seem to calm him down, and everyone could see it, but he wanted to know what would happen if he really did die, so he doubted himself as he thought about it, "Well, the War would've ended three years earlier..."

Only for a second, he heard what sounded like wind, then a smack, and next thing he knew, he was on his side with his head on his lover's paws. His eyes were wide, and the pain he felt was excruciating. Everyone hissed through their teeth as they were able to see the red paw print that Spyro had made on his face when he slapped him. Now, everything sad about him was gone. All he felt now was the pain from his red cheek, and anger for what he did. Putting a paw on his cheek as he picked his head up, he yelled at him, "The hell is your problem! I was just curious you ass!"

"You shouldn't be! Life is fine the way it is! Warfang is peaceful, everyone is getting along, so there should be no need to look into the past and know what would've happened!"

"Well now we can't because your smack gave me a headache!"

"Then quiet arguing with me and just accept that you're wrong!"

He growled at him, and as he took his paw off his cheek, he also looked away to his left where his lover was sitting. Everyone chuckled as they watched those two get mad at each other, and since Malefor was now off the subject, they all let out sighs. As Spyro walked back to his spot and laid back down on his stomach next to his lover, he grumbled out loud, knowing everyone could hear, "You know, Carith definitely doesn't need your love. Ignitus might not be with Claire if they were at the Dragon Temple. Those eight could've gotten into a fight which would've made things worse. And, you know, the girls would've never met, and never had the time to talk with one another..."

"Alright, alright, I get it."

"Sorry, I thought you were trying to argue that I was wrong?"

Wanting to turn around and yell at him so bad, he knew he couldn't as he was facing his lover as the two were fighting. Getting a claw, she moved the tip of it up and down his neck, teasing him and causing him to shiver. The anger he felt was slowly going away, and as her claw reached his mouth, she moved the back of her claw through the side of his lips. With her claw reaching the front of his mouth, she turned her claw back around to face forward and placed it on his mouth. He slightly whimpered as she knew what he wanted, and she gave him a choice, "This claw will stay here if you fight with him, or..." She paused as she moved her claw slightly down to the bottom of his lip, "Or the claw will go away, and I won't restrict you from kissing me at all. What will you do?"

"Well, since he never looked towards you for help when he was all bummed out, I'm sure he's going to choose anything but the kiss," Spyro chuckled just to mess with him.

Slightly growling once again as his teeth showed through the sides of his mouth, he had to give up and he knew it wasn't worth fighting him over the kiss. Pulling her claw slightly down, he gave a little smile with sad looking eyes, and she knew what he was doing. Using her wing to block the view from the other, the two were able to freely kiss without feeling embarrassed. Spyro chuckled slightly as he was glad he was able to help out, and he was glad that he was able to stop him from thinking any further with such a thing. Hearing what sounded like a wing extending, he looked over to his side to see that Cynder had extended her wing in front of her face. Smiling with a blush, he had to, and moving his face behind her wing, the two had some private time to kiss. Since the other four were doing their own thing, Ignitus thought that Spyro's idea was pretty good about bring up the Dark Master encounter, so he agreed, "You know, Spyro's right. Since it was just a normal day at that time, and even though we saw the Dark Master, nothing bad really happened so, it would be nice to relive that day."

"We got growled at," Cyril grumbled.

"What makes that different then what happens today?" Terrador chuckled.

"Much rather be growled at then attacked. I'd count it as a positive day," Volteer agreed.

"Speaking of, positive days, and, growling, did I make one of you mad or something? I was literally on the floor, dying, struggling to stay alive. And everyone was just like, 'Haha, you remember that time Cynder was crying because she thought Malefor was going to kill her'. Like... I'm dying! What the hell guys?" Cyril growled as he asked, making a funny sounding voice when he spoke about what they had said, and they gave slight chuckles as it did sound bad when he put it that was.

"Technically that was Ignitus's fault. Those two wouldn't figure out who was going to heal us."

Hearing what sounded like a grunt, everyone looked over to Malefor to see him taking his head out from behind his lover's wing, and agreeing with what the two were saying, "Yeah, no kidding. I was bleeding on the ground from how cut up my legs were, and Ignitus is just taking his time healing us because it totally didn't burn at all but, what ever I guess..."

The five watched as a blue paw came out the front of her wing, and they knew it belonged to Carith. He looked over, and the other five saw as she waved a claw back over to her. They saw him smile, and then his head disappeared back behind her wing as they continued to kiss. They all blush slightly, but Ignitus was able to get their minds off it as he defended himself, "Just be glad I healed you all, okay. I could've left you all to have to heal for yourself, but I wouldn't do that, because I care for you all."

"Uh huh. Bet you if it was Claire, you would've healed her on the spot, comforted her, and then looked for who ever hurt her... unlike with us," Cyril grumbled.

"Aw, does Cyril want someone to comfort him."

"Not the point."

"I get it, I get it. I will try to be better about not wasting time... Speaking of, Spyro, I know kissing your lover is super important, but we only have a couple more hours of night left. So it's fine either way but, do you want to keep doing what you're doing, or do you want to know more about the first time Malefor became the Dark Master?"

He, along with the others, waited for their response. They could hear the sounds of whispering, so they knew they were talking it over. It took a couple more seconds of them talking it over before they were finally able to get their answer. They watched as Cynder took her wing back down, and as she put her wing back at her side, Spyro gave his response, "I guess we can do that. Since their is only a little bit of night left, I guess we should end it off on a high note."

"Was what you two were doing not something that you'd want to end your day off of?"

"Yeah but, I promised her about what I would do tomorrow, and I'm going to fulfil that promise. And since everyone is already down here, we might as well see what happened, you all can relive the memory, and the other two can... I don't know... See how far their relationship has come up till this point?"

"Hehe, Yeah... But they are still only in love," Volteer joked with a whisper so the others couldn't hear, but he wasn't as quiet as he thought he was and everyone heard.

Hearing a slight growl, everyone looked over to see the other two seemed to have been talking as well. After the growl, they could hear them whispering too. Carith took her wing down and put it back to her side while Malefor pointed a claw at him and opened his mouth to say something. He knew what he wanted to say about lover's, but he was quick to act on what he was about to say, and he shut his mouth. Taking his paw back down, he could see that Volteer was catching on to what he wanted to say, and he couldn't let him think too much about it. So he thought of something quick to get his mind off of it, "Ah. I have the perfect idea. Since you want to make jokes, I will make a better one. You're Character for the next three fights will have a fifty percent damage reduction."

"Fifty percent! That's like telling Spyro to fight The Destroyer by himself, and without anything backing him up!"

"Well, lucky for you, you have back up. Both Ignitus and Cyril."

"Where do I come in to play?" Terrador asked as he was left out of the game the entire time.

"Well, I'm doing what most do in a game; Give you the most powerful character at the end, rather then the beginning. You're not... Well, built, so I won't call you the most powerful character to join."

"Still got bigger muscles then you skinny bones."

"Skinny bones? You obviously haven't seen my arms, or when mussels flex. And don't get upset when you aren't the most powerful character in the game. Spyro still has to join in, and I'm going to make sure I nerf him because if he is able to use his dark powers in the game... Even for me, the all powerful who controls the game, can't really do much."

"Wait. Why did you make Ignitus go first if he is more powerful then Spyro then?"

"Obviously I'm going to nerf him as well. You think it's fair to have someone with the power of everything at your disposal? And I'm just going off how I think strategies work: Ignitus is the all around normal type, Volteer has the highest Intelligence, Cyril is surprisingly a very fast dragon, and then you have the Tank of the group which would be you, Terrador."

"And where do I come on to play?" Spyro asked.

"I'm thinking about how I could make it fun... Wait! I have a perfect idea! Ladies, how would you feel if you were to all join your men in battle. And before Spyro starts crying and saying, 'I don't won't her to battle, she could get hurt', I just mean in the game battling."

"Hehe, you know, he is right," Cynder giggled while everyone else slightly laughed, "Still love when you say it though."

Sighing with a blush and a growl, Spyro wanted to yell at him for that, "You know what..."

"It was a joke! Don't fight me, Alright. The point is, I thought it would be fun to add everyone in. That way, we can have a different way of having Claire join Ignitus, and she can have a different back story with more emotion or, depth to what's happened."

"How do you get more emotion then me being forced by the darkness to assassinate you all, to cut Ignitus, just to be comforted by him and stay with you all?" Claire asked, feeling a little of that gilt when she said she had cut him, and Malefor just had to pick on her about it.

"You cut, Ignitus?! How dare you."

"Damn you, Malefor!"

"You better be careful. You are making a lot of enemies right now. Terrador, Volteer, me, and even Ignitus and Claire," Spyro chuckled.

"Alright, Alright, I will try to calm it down. I apologize to you all, I sincerely do," Malefor put a paw on his chest and over his heart as he promised, and everyone knew that they shouldn't trust him, but they tried to forgive him, "We can keep the back stories I guess. But the whole point is, would you rather fight with how we do now, or add our lovers into the mix and we don't have to actually worry about them being hurt?"

"We can definitely do that. But since we are talking about lovers, doesn't that mean we can only add two of the girls and not three, since, you know," Spyro was the one to speak, and everyone, aside from the two he was talking about looked at him with wide eyes from that a statement, and seeing Claire blush along with Ignitus as his teeth showed from the side of his mouth, he apologized, "But I think it could be a fun idea. We'll probably talk more about it later, but we got a little side tracked, and I still want to know what happened with the Dark Master situation."

Slightly growling as Spyro looked at him, Ignitus sighed, trying to forget what he said, "You're lucky I'm so forgiving. And I know you are still mad about me interrupting your time with Cynder."

"I'm sorry, Father. You know I still care about you... right?"

"Uh huh... Anyway, going back. I'm going to put us all in the dream right up to the point where Malefor had turned so we will be outside. We will be able to watch and hear everything that happened. We can also hear everyone's thoughts while this is happening, but since Malefor was in a corrupted state, I don't know what his thoughts were."

"Hehe, I can give you an idea. Once I saw Carith, all my thoughts were, 'Well, I'm gonna be single'," Malefor chuckled with a small cry as he really believed that was what was going to happen.

"Aw, you know I wouldn't do that to you," Carith assured him, and he gave a slight smile, thankful for her help.

"Alright, everyone. Get comfortable, close your eyes, and I will pull everyone into the dream," Ignitus said.

Everyone all tried to get comfortable in their own way. Most were already comfortable like Volteer, Terrador, and Cyril as they laid their head either on their paws, or in the middle of them. Spyro tucked his wing back over while his lover laid her head down over his paws. Laying his head down over the back of her neck, the two closed their eyes. Malefor did the same as the two snuggled up against one another. While he draped his wing over her back, she laid her head down on her paws, nearest to his. Laying his down on his paws, the left cheek of his head touched the right side of hers, and the two closed their eyes. Ignitus saw that everyone was laid down, and looking over to Claire, he asked in a soft whisper, making sure no one could hear aside from her, "You know, I could easily give all of them nightmares right now for what they did to us today?"

She giggled as she was tempted by the offer, but she declined, "As much as I want that to happen, I just... I would feel bad. And I really do want to know what happened between those two the first time Malefor became the Dark Master so... I'm going to pass for now. It is a little crazy for me to see how evil you really can be when they embarrass us."

"Yeah... I guess I do need to chill out a little as I know I do kinda scare them when I say something like that. I just don't want you to feel uncomfortable, that's all."

"Well, snuggle up with me, let's dream together, and I'm sure I will forget all about it."

He chuckled at her request and watched as she got comfortable as well. Laying on her side, she had enough room to stretch out her paws without touching Volteer who laid down on her other side. She rested some of her neck and head on his paws with one eye opened as she looked at him and smiled. Seeing the smile and the way she laid, he couldn't believe he was already forgetting everything that had happened so quickly. Laying his head down on her neck, the two closed their eyes and entered the dream.

* * *

 _"Damn, I feel so bad for you, Malefor," A voice spoke as the two had entered the dream, and opening their eyes, they saw the voice was coming from Spyro, "You had so much muscle back then. I know you were in your Dark Master form but, even still, that is probably the only reason Carith didn't want to leave you. You look like you would've blown up the world if she did."_

 _"Ha ha, very funny. She really did leave me, and I did blow up the world, only for you to fix it," Malefor chuckled in a sarcastic manner as he knew he would've been picked on about that sooner or later. As the other two had stood up, Ignitus already knew what the world was going to look like as he had put it together, but Claire had never seen something like this before and looked all around the world. She saw they were outside during the day time. The Guardians from the past were up in the sky along with a dark dragon. She knew that was Malefor, and looking down from the sky, she saw the real Guardians, along with the other four, were all waiting for him to show what happened. She was amazed at how real the world looked. Moving her paws along the grass, she could actually feel it as it tickled the bottom of her paws and moved smoothly through the middle of them as well. The heat from the sun seemed real as well, and she couldn't help but ask if this really was a dream or not, "Ignitus... Are we... is this...?"_

 _"Hehe, I forgot that I never brought you in here before. Yes, this is the dream world that I've created. Normally we would be floating in space surrounded by planets and stars. Well, we wouldn't really be floating, but it would look like we were. What do you think of this?" Ignitus asked, seeing as she smiled the more and more she looked around, and even though she had seen everything before, she couldn't believe this was all in a dream. "I mean... this is... this is incredible! How is everything so real? The color, the texture and feeling of everything from the sky down it's... Amazing..." He was glad to see she was having such an amazing time just looking around, and she smiled more as she thought about it, "So this is what life would be like with peace?" She paused as she walked a couple of steps ahead. She truned around and walked in a circle, getting a feel for everything. Even in the dream, she was able to feel a nice breeze, and since she didn't have to worry about anything, she had to try something. Stretching out onto the grass with her front down and her back in the air, she processed to roll over onto her back and move all along the grass. Ignitus chuckled to see her having so much fun just by playing in the grass. She giggled as she moved her back on the grass, and after a little bit, she stopped, and looked up at the blue sky. Walking over to her, her view from the sky was now blocked by a red face that looked down at her and smiled. Smiling back up at him, the two blushed, and both knew this would be the perfect time to try and say something. She was too embarrassed to do so, and he didn't want it to seem awkward to them, so he asked, "Would you, like to come back here when it's just us? I can give you a dream like this anytime."_

 _Giving a slight sigh, she rolled back over onto her stomach and stood back up. He thought he had done something wrong, and he felt like he knew what it was, but he didn't know how to ask. She was a little sad that he didn't try and make a move on her, but she hated herself for not trying to put the moves on him either. She watched as he walked over to her side, and with a apologetic voice, he hoped he would at least be able to keep her happy, "I'm... sorry if I'm disappointing you. If there is something bothering you, you can tell me..." Knowing one way he could try and make her happy, he pecked her on the cheek. Taking his head back, he hoped that would help, and it seemed it did lighten up her spirits a little. She knew for a fact what she wanted, and she promised herself in her thoughts, "I promise on my life, next time we come to this dream world, or if we have another romantic moment, I will tell him." Holding on to her hope, she smiled back at him and gave him a response, "You know... maybe in a couple of days, I would love to come back here... Just you and me."_

 _"Then... it's a date?" She nodded at him, somewhat glad that he used those words, and in a way, she understood why. Walking back over to the others, Claire kept thinking to herself the more she thought about her love for Ignitus, and she was a little scared as she thought about it, "At this point, everyone knows about my love for Ignitus. One of them had to have slipped up and said something about us... But, then again, I'm always around him, so I would've heard it... Unless the guys talked about it when we were in our own groups, and they are covering it up...? Damn it all... Why does Ignitus have to be so amazing even when he isn't trying." Standing in front of the group, she picked up her head and looked at Spyro, wondering what he thought about everything, "So, Spyro... How does it feel to be out in the open again? The grass, the sunlight, and the cool breeze... do you miss it? Or... do you wish the world would always be this peaceful?"_

 _"Hehe, it's funny you ask that since me and Cynder were talking about it... I can't say that me and Cynder had the best time out in the open; When we first woke up, then the arrow, and another arrow and all the fights with apes but... you are right about one thing... There was one day me and Cynder just laid in the grass for a whole day without worry... It wasn't a whole whole day. After we defeated the Dark Master, me and Cynder slept a lot. Almost the entire day. But that day... Hehe, actually, Cynder, why don't you tell her," Spyro explained a little bit of what he thought, but he knew that his lover woke up that morning while he wasn't there, and he wanted to hear what she would say. Trying to sigh to get rid of the blush, she failed, but since they were in love now, it made her telling the story a lot easier. Just as she was about to tell the story she remembered a very important detail and spoke about that first, "So, Claire, I have a funny story for you. So the day before this, all I wanted was to be with Spyro, and to love him. I was so afraid he would leave me now that the Dark Master was taken care of. So, Ignitus, decided to give me a nightmare about how Spyro would call me a monster and attack me."_

 _"What?!" Everyone cried as even Spyro now remembered that he controlled dreams, and he growled at him for it, "Oh yeah, that's right! You were the one who put Cynder through that nightmare!" Seeing how everyone shunned him, he seemed a little confused which made the others confused, "Wait wait wait... Oh... I know what your talking about. When ever you were on your way back, the only nightmares I caused was the one with the Dark Master which Spyro used that power to help you, and the one in the room that night so the Guardians would know not to separate you two. I'm not the only one who can give nightmares. After that nightmare you had, I gave Spyro that power in secret. Some nightmares I don't cause. I do give nightmares for a reason, and... I'm sorry once again for the nightmares that I have caused against your lover and Malefor, but, that nightmare was from the Ancestors." She wanted to believe him, and so did everyone else, and since he saw everyone was still a little skeptical, he made sure everyone was on his side by revealing what could've happened, "Just so you know, I love my son, and I care about all of you. One possible outcome that dream could've had... Well... Warfang would be no more, and the Dark Master would've gotten his way, just to give you an idea."_

 _"Well... I guess that does make sense. And it would be wired if you were to give me a power to use, just to cause her nightmares, and you causing those nightmares would be pointless so... Cynder... I need to know from you on this one. I do trust him but, making sure with you," Spyro said, looking over at his lover to see that she had sighed, but she didn't let it bother her. "Even after that nightmare, you always knew how to cheer me up and fix my life. After what has happened, we fell in love. So... I do believe you didn't give me that nightmare, Ignitus. But even if you did, thinking about it now, I still wouldn't hate you. I just wanted to see how everyone would react, especially Claire."_

 _"And react I most certainly did. Phew... I knew you had some bad sides to you but, at least you didn't add another," Claire giggled, but when Ignitus heard that, his face turned to pure terror. "Wh... What...?" He whimpered. "Oh you know I was joking." Everyone wondered if he did think she was joking, but seeing him have to sigh and him trying not to shed a tear as he was able to fight it back, they all knew that he didn't know if she was or wasn't. "Pretty sad..." Cynder whispered through her teeth, "Anyway, Claire, I guess I can tell you the story of what happened later once we all can sit down again. I know we weren't able to talk about everything we wanted to so..." Carith knew this was the perfect time to bring up something that was told to her yesterday. Wanting to play it off as if it the words slipped off her tongue, she had hoped for a good reaction from Cynder, "Yeah. I do want to see and remember this day, but we also need to talk about how Spyro taught you how to swim, I mean! Taught you how to live." She was very pleased with the reaction as Cynder's face blushed red, her face was filled with embarrassment, and the first thing she did was look over at Ignitus and yell at him, "Never mind... I really do hate you now."_

 _"Wha... I... I didn't say all of what happened. Like how you were scared of the water and Spyro had to help... you... and... I... am so dead," He slowly realised that he was digging himself a deeper grave the more and more he spoke, and he could tell from everyone's reaction that he was only making things worse for himself. Carith gasped as she heard this and started to tease her about it, "Aw, that's so cute! You two make an adorable couple." Since his lover was being picked on, Spyro fired back to make it more helpful for her, "Rather have to help someone swim then a thirty year old cry Hatchling get over his lost lover."_

 _"What the hell, man? I haven't said anything and you hit me with that?" Malefor growled at him._

 _"Either way you would've whined about who I talked about. And since we are still on the topic, and still haven't seen what we came here to see, are we able to watch what's happened now or..."_

 _"Oh, yeah, sorry. We keep getting side tracked. Please look at the Malefor in the air as that is where I will start what has happened. And remember, you will hear everything and everyone's thoughts as if you were right one front of them," Ignitus apologised to everyone while also explaining what they had to do. Everyone looked up to the other version of Malefor who was in the air, waiting for him to finally start what happened in the past. Before he did, he had to make sure of one last thing. Looking to Claire, he asked to make sure, "Do I... really have bad sides to me? Because I..."_

 _"Hush your handsome face. I was only a joke, I promise you," She giggled at him seeing how worried he was which only made her promise to love him all the more satisfying to look forward to. Giving a nice sigh, he was glad to hear it, and now that he was for sure nothing was wrong, he let everyone watch what happened back then._

"Malefor! Please! How many times do we have to tell you? She went somewhere to do something but we don't know where. She isn't died," Terrador desperately cried in attempts to calm his friend down before he did something he'd regret.

"How long can you lie to me before you tell me the truth!" Malefor yelled with rage and frustration, waving a paw of fire towards to his friends in anger as if he was ready to fight them, "I didn't see her when I woke up, I looked all around Warfang for her, and even now, she would've seen me! I would've seen her! I prepared, and was happy, and ready for our one mouth anniversary, and now... Just tell me the truth!"

"The truth of the matter is; she isn't died," Cyril stepped into help as he flew a little closer to Malefor, and he spotted this quick enough to turn his body and growl at him, "We have seen this dark side of you before. This isn't you, and we all know this. 'You', know this. You said that it clouds your mind from the truth, and the truth is, we are trying to help you, and to protect you from what this, darkness, could do."

"My mind isn't clouded by the darkness, it's being clouded by your lies! You all aren't understanding my point of view in this is. To add on to my suspicion, you all were scared when I walked out into the Chambers. Volteer seemed sad, and it seemed something was wrong. But when I asked, you all shivered and told me it was nothing... And nothing is all you four ever thought of her."

"You want to know the truth, Malefor!" Volteer cried out from behind him and he watched as Malefor turned his back to look at him, knowing what he could've meant by the truth, "When she walked into the Chambers and she said she wanted to go out and find something for your anniversary, I couldn't stop thinking of how nice it would be, to have a lover like that, to have someone like that, who understands what I'm feeling."

"She... She wanted to get me an anniversary gift... So she...!"

"She didn't die trying! We know where she is, and for her sake, we are keeping her away from you until you calm down."

"If you want me to calm down then show her to me!"

"We can't do that, Malefor," Ignitus spoke in a low tone, and Malefor turned back around to face his friend, growling a little more when he said that, "Do you think she wants to see this side of you? Do you think she'd love someone who growls and threatens their friends? She would think you'd do that to her, she'd be scared of you. You push us out of your lives, you threaten us, you forget all about us when it comes to your love for Carith. It's like she's the only one who matters, and you never cared for us."

"You're wrong!"

"You only wanted to use us, and to help you with the darkness that had taken you over. You're scared, and you just wanted us to be there for you, and to care for you while you never really cared for us. And if I'm so wrong, when was the last time you hanged out with us? When did you joke with us, just spend time, with us. Oh that's right, Carith always had to be there for you to enjoy anything with us."

 _"Ignitus... What... What side of you is this?" Claire asked as she bit her lip, wondering where this serious and demanding side of came from. "I will... tell you later..." Ignitus slightly blushed, and he knew he'd have to as he heard thoughts from even the Guardians even though they had seen this side of him before, they had just forgotten._

"No... I... I... No! You want to know why! This is why! I tried to be nice, I tried to stay calm and play it cool, and to hang out with you all while you said Carith was doing something, and she'd be back! I waited hours for that! I spoke, and talked, and tried to ignore it, in hopes that you were telling the truth! Day's almost over, and I haven't seen her, I haven't kissed her... I haven't... I haven't done anything... and it's all my fault for trusting you all!"

"Who would you rather be with? The other Guardians? You think they would've done a better job then us to help protect you?"

"Protect me?" Malefor growled more and more as he flew closer to Ignitus, almost as if he was going to attack him, and both prepared for a fight, "You didn't, protect me. I only came to you because I trusted you all! I only stayed with you because I trusted you all more then I trusted them. When my parents died from the apes, it was in Warfang, being watched over by those four. I hated them, and I thought you'd all be better... but you're not. Every times I put my trust into the one's I care about, when I have the trust from my friends! I also lose someone close to me!"

The two looked at one another nearly face to face, both feeling the tension between one another and watching as their bodies teased up. Both were ready for a fight, but neither of them knew who would throw the first punch. Ignitus knew he couldn't do it, and he couldn't bring himself to hurt his friend. But he knew one thing was for sure, if he had to hurt him to save him, he would. _I'm sorry, Carith. This isn't him, and we all know that. You've seen this side of him before. We can't let him see you. If something like this happens again, and we can't calm him down the first time... then that means we won't be able to the second time, and we can't have that happen._ He couldn't think about it for too long as he knew what would happen, and he knew what else his friend could think of that would make things worse, "Malefor... You know we are your friends, and if it came down to it, we would put our lives on the line to keep you safe. We are family, and that includes Carith. You have to understand that if she was really in danger, you would've seen us put up a fight."

"What are you getting at?"

"Volteer told you we knew were Carith was, so you should know that we are planning something, and I will just tell you the truth. We can't have you seeing Carith every time you go into this, dark side, of yourself. You'll always rely on that. That means, if she were died, we know we can't have her trying to calm you down. I wanted to see if we could, to see if our time together, our years you've been with this family... I wanted to see if it meant something to you... And I wonder if you'd throw away Carith the same way you did us?"

Hearing him speak so poorly of both him and his lover, he snapped. Throwing his fist around to his side and gearing up for the punch, it reached halfway before Ignitus blocked it with his paw. The loud smack echoed throughout the sky, and the Guardians all gasped to see he couldn't been calmed. Malefor's fist hissed from how hard he punched his paw, and he struggled to push his fist forward with more power, but he couldn't, and could only growl as he watched the anger on Ignitus face. He was serious, and he knew he was proven right. Grabbing onto his paw, he warned his friend in a desperate attempt to calm him down, "Don't you dare think you can fight me. All we've tried to do was calm you, and help you... But it seems we've lost a friend today... Or you can prove me wrong and snap out of it you damn idiot! If you won't bring yourself back, I will with my own two paws!"

His words were slowly getting to him as he could feel his paw getting slightly weaker, so he let go of his paw ever so gently so he wouldn't notice. It seemed it was too late to help him though. He smirked as he had pulled his paw back. Spinning around very quickly with his wings, he kicked Ignitus's back and sent him flying to the ground.

"Malefor! Stop!" The other three Guardians cried.

Just as his body reached the ground, he used his wings and pushed them as hard as he could before he could hit the ground. The power of his wings ripped at the ground from the wind, slashing at nearby trees as well. It proved successful as he was able to safely stop himself with the huge gust of wind following as he used his wings to stop himself. Malefor followed down and landed in front of him, seeming completely different from what they had seen before. The Guardians all followed behind and flew to Ignitus back. They landed behind him and stood in a row, ready to help when ever they needed to. Putting a paw up, he looked to his left, and then to his right, nodding his head back to the forest, and they understood. The three ran into the forest behind him, disappearing from both of their sights. They didn't run very far, only behind a couple of trees before they met up with a blue dragoness. Carith looked at the three and disagreed with his plan all together, "I understand what Ignitus is trying to do but... We don't have to take things as a worse case scenario. We are suppose to go for peace, and to be strong enough to keep it. I have to go out there. We know he won't hurt me, we know his mind is clouded, we have all established that, so forget what Ignitus says, we can stop this right now!"

"We just have to wait it out long enough to see what he'd do. I don't like his plan, but... I want to see if all those years of us being together has gotten him to care for us even a little," Terrador declined the idea, even though he really did want to do something, but he knew it would be best to put his trust into his friend.

"We really were nothing to you, were we?" Ignitus spoke first, breaking the silence, and he could see the sweat dripping down all around his body and he knew his friend was fighting it, so all he had to do was try his best to calm him down even more, "Who was there for you when your parents died? Who was there for you when you cried, when you trained, when you, supposedly lost your lover?" He paused once again and started to walk around him in a circle, trying to get his words to echo as he spoke, "I wouldn't be trying to help you if I didn't care about you. I wouldn't try an train you if I didn't believe in you. You can fight through this, and you always have, with us by your side. You trusted me when I walked into that room. When you thought Carith had abandoned you, even when the darkness was taking over, you know for a fact! I would never leave you."

"Good thing we aren't talking about Malefor, then," He chuckled, but his voice wasn't his own, it seemed his actions weren't either.

Ignitus stopped in front of him, shaking his head in shame as he knew he had gone too far. _The darkness is manifesting into something more. I have to get Carith out here to stop him, or else..._ Before he could finish his thought, a paw reached up and grabbed his neck. He gagged from the sudden force on his neck, and he was gradually being lifted off the ground. Standing on two paws, Malefor's growl was his own for only a second as his paw let lose slightly from his neck, "Help... me...!"

The force around his neck once again came back strong, and his body began to shiver and shake. Standing on his back two paws to hold him up, Malefor growled as he shook his head, both trying to get control over the other. Seeing the fear in his eyes as he looked up at him, Ignitus knew he had to do something. It was almost in an instant, and even for him, he didn't know what happened as his body just moved. Grabbing his paw and twisting it, he dislocated it. Letting go of him as Malefor cried out in pain, Ignitus fell to the floor, spun around and used his back paws to kick his ankles. Another loud poop emerged from Malefor's body as he felt the kick, and he fell straight to the floor on his stomach. Grabbing his paw, jumping up over his back, he pulled his paw behind him and growled, "Give up!"

 _If this doesn't work... Then there is one more thing I can try_ , He thought to himself, but in doing so, Malefor was able to get the drop on him. Slicing his left arm that held his paw, Ignitus growled in pain and let go of his paw. Flipping him over and off his back, he stabbed his tail right into Ignitus's to keep him from moving it. The loud cries, and the blood that spilled from the two made it worse for the other four to watch, and both had moved up enough that they could almost be seen from the trees. With his claw right at his heart, the two breathed heavier and their hearts pounded to their heads, both scared for different reasons. _I could easily get out right now... But if I do... I... I have to wait and see,_ Ignitus thought, trying to control his breath to calm him down, "If Carith was watching right now, what would she think? How do you think she would feel knowing you were a monster?!"

Seeing him bleed slight blood from his mouth, his tail blade inside his tail, and thinking about what she would say, along with everyone's words finally got to him. But it wasn't easy for him to try and take control and the darkness had a tight lock on him. Taking his tail blade out from Ignitus's, the cry from him as he felt the pain of the blade coming from out of his scales was another driving force into braking the lock the darkness had on him. Standing out in the open, Malefor's voice had come back to him as he started to yell at his friend, "Damn it... Ignitus! Just... shut up and... let me do this!"

Seeing him struggle and cry and he pushed his head all throughout the grass, Carith couldn't watch any longer, "He got what he wanted, and I know Malefor can push through this! Instead of it being harder for us to watch, we need to end this now!"

Jumping out from behind the trees, she ran into the middle, and none of the Guardians could do anything as they knew there would be no point. Ignitus rolled over to his side and watched as everything happened, and he watched as she had jumped out from behind the trees. _Well it... kinda worked..._ Ignitus chuckled in his thoughts, wondering what would happen next. Standing in the middle and watching his he continued to drag his head in the grass, she cried out his name, "Malefor!"

His whole body froze, and even as he picked up his head, it was very slow. She was able to talk to him from the left side of the forest which was lucky as Ignitus was able to see everything since he laid down facing the two. Everyone watched as the light had already started to come back from his eyes. The purple slowly started to come back as now it seemed as though his tears were washing away the darkness. He couldn't move as he was afraid he would scare her, or do something that he shouldn't have done. Instead, she slowly approached him. Step by step, the other watched, hoping that she would be able to help him once again. As she looked him in the eyes, she could hear his evil growl even though he wasn't mad or corrupted, "Carith..."

He instantly shut his mouth as he watched her shiver, and he didn't know what to do since she was so scared of him. Her body clenched as she started to tear up too, and seeing him in so much pain, and after everything had happened, she didn't hate him for it. Instead, she blamed the darkness for what it had done to her dragon, and for what it forced him to do, _Don't you ever come after my man ever again! And I'm going to make sure of it!_ Building up all her courage, she put a paw on his and struggled slightly, wondering what she should say. Feeling his paw shiver, she could feel him trying to pull it away, scared of what the darkness would do. Putting a little more force on his paw, he stopped, wondering what she wanted. Looking him in the eyes, she growled, and made a promise, "You are going to kiss me... And if I don't have my Malefor back when I open my eyes... I... I will... leave... and you'll never hear from me again."

Watching as his eyes grew wide, she couldn't tell if that was a good or bad thing. She sat down, taking a deep breath in and then out. Looking at his paw and clenching his fist, Malefor shook his head, knowing he would never hurt her. Looking back up at her as he put his paw to the ground, she awaited the kiss, and seeing her body, her shivers, her tears, and her slight smile, he would never forgive himself if he did something to make her hate him. He felt as though the darkness was still corrupting his mind as his eyes grew heavy and he had headache that pounded away at his head. Moving in for the kiss, he wasn't even half way before his lover threw her head forward into the kiss. Both closed their eyes in hopes that when they would opened them, everything would be normal again. The kiss felt better and better as they continued, and she started to cry more tears as she knew something was right. Purposely letting her body go limp, he pushed into the kiss and made her fall back, but a wing came from behind her and supported her head and back as she feel. The wing helped her be gently laid down on her back as the two continued to kiss, and the other four watched in awe as the darkness disintegrated into white light from his head to his tail. Pulling away from the kiss ever so gently, he pulled his head above hers, and the two opens their eyes ever so slowly. He looked to see he had his purple arms once again, but what helped him the most was the big smile and laugh that emerged from his lover. His chuckle, and seeing her smile once again made him smile. Wrapping her wings around his back, she pulled her head up to his shoulder and cried with joy, "Malefor!"

He chuckled once again and went to hug her by putting his paw around the back of her neck. Before he could, she pulled her head back and had to make sure it was really him, "All because the kiss was good and you're back to normal doesn't mean I still won't leave you... I want to hear your voice again... Get me to remember that voice."

"Hehe... well... I uh... can talk... dirty to you if you'd like?" Malefor chuckled.

Trying to hold back more tears, she once again heard that soothing and joking voice of his, and she giggled at him, "Hehe, well, it's ruined now. You had your one chance and there it went."

"Hehe... Damn... Wait... Ignitus!"

Moving his paws past and over his lover, he ran over to his friend in desperate need to know if he was okay. Even though he was able to reach him before he had stood up, he didn't know what to say or do, but seeing him slightly grunt as he stood up made it even worse for him to see and hear. All he could do was apologize and hope that he would forgive him for what happened, "Ignitus, I'm so sorry, I..."

"What do you remember?" Ignitus interrupted him.

"What do I... Well... I remember being in Warfang, then I wasn't, then I was here. And I remember somewhat of talking to you four... and then... I struggled to keep my eyes open and I asked you for help... and..."

"Struggled to keep your eyes open? But... You never closed your eyes."

"Like I said, I don't remember much, but my eyes felt heavy and, I somewhat remember what had happened but... I swear to you I had no control. I tried, I really did. When you all spoke to me, I was able to fight more and more as time went on. I remember standing over you and... I was about to kill you but... I... Ignitus I... I couldn't. I'm so sorry..."

Seeing Ignitus as he walked closer to him, he was afraid he was about to yell at him, or scold him for what he had done. He moved his head a little to the right, closed his eyes, and waiting for him to be slapped. Instead of feeling pain, he felt warmth from his back, along with his chest, and he teased up slightly as the feeling was sudden. But then what felt like the bottom of someone's jaw resting on his shoulder, and he knew exactly what was happening. Opening his eyes and looking at him, he was surprised by the hug, but was quickly filled with both sadness and joy as he hugged him back. Moving his wings over his arms and putting his head on Ignitus shoulder, he felt the satisfaction of feeling safe once again. With both pulling away from the hug, Ignitus knew he would still have to have some words with him, "You stabbed my tail you ass. You're gonna pay for that one."

"Ignitus, I..."

"Malefor, relax. No one got hurt, you were strong enough to fight it and you didn't kill me. There is no need to be afraid. I just... I want to know if I was able to save a friend today? Hehe, even though there was some help from Carith but... Are you okay and safe now?"

"I... I am... And I'm sorry for everything that I said."

"You barely remember it. Let's just go home and forget this day as though it was all a bad dream, okay?"

"But... What about the others... and Carith?"

"We can make it past this. She hasn't left you so, you must've done what she asked. She still loves you, and I'm glad she's here even now to support you."

"Yeah... But I'm sure after what's happened, I'm gonna need to support her a lot tonight from what's happened... But first... I..."

"Go stay with her. Tell the Guardians that I will heal myself with some gems. While you are with them, you can apologize. We can make it through something like this very easily... I know we can."

 _"Thank you, Ignitus," Malefor spoke his words in unison with his other, and with those last words, everything had stopped, and the past of what happened had ended. Even though he smiled as he spoke those words, he still felt terrible for not being strong enough to stop himself from hurting him anyway. Nuzzling her lover on the cheek, it helped him feel a little better. As she pulled away, Spyro looked at him as the two made eye contact. Seeing what had happened for himself, he did want him to feel a little better as he could see he was so downed from what he watched, "I'm pretty surprised at your strength you know. Technically, this was your third time that you had a run in with the darkness, and you were able to stop it from killing Ignitus. You were barely trained to control it, and even when you were at your most for anger, you still were able to fight it... That's very impressive." He knew he was being too nice to him and instead of waiting for the sick burn, he asked him straight out, "Alright, you got me to smile. I know that's not what you want so, where is the snappy come back?" Surprising everyone, he didn't have one as he only smiled back at him, and Malefor's eyes grew wide as he didn't understand why he would be so nice to him. One thing that Spyro desperately wanted to know, along with everyone else is, what side of Ignitus did they watch, and he asked him, "I do still have many questions. One of which is, who in the buffed up, intimidating, women grabbing dragon was that? It seemed you could've kicked Malefor's ass if you wanted to. So what all happened?" Claire was also desperate to know as she started to rub her shoulder against his in a flirting manner, "I want to know as well..." Ignitus chuckled as he could see how much everyone wanted to know, "Don't worry, I will answer all your questions when I take us out of this dream world. Before we came in here, time does stand still. But, The sun was already rising and I've already given you all the power of a full nights rest. So what do you say we wake up to a new day and discuss what we saw?" They all nodded in agreement from his words. "Alright then. Make sure your eyes are closed." Everyone did as they were told, and they all closed their eyes, ready to wake up and talk about what had happened._


	12. Chapter 12: The Heartbreaking Truth

Chapter 12: The Heartbreaking Truth

Opening his eyes and coming out from the dream, Ignitus looked around at the others to see they were all still asleep, which he had planned for. With the sun coming up, he knew he had to be both quick, and lucky. Looking behind himself, another clone had appeared as it walked up behind him. Standing up and looking at the clone, he gave him his instructions, "Hopefully who ever this Dark Master is, she will be sleeping, and we can act on this now. Go to her house and find out if there is anything you can discover that will help us know who and what she's up to."

The clone nodded at him and did as he was told. Laying back down onto the floor and trying to put himself back in the same position, he watched as the clone walked through him, then through the others in the front, and then through the door, disappearing into the Guardians Chambers. Continuing to walk straight ahead, he walked through the door to one of the rooms. Reaching the back of the room, he fazed through the bed, and finally made it through the wall and out into the open over Warfang. Using his wings to keep him in the air while he remembered where the house was, it only took him a couple of seconds before he was able to locate it. Looking over to the left side of Warfang, he flew down towards the middle of the homes. Trying to stay unnoticed from those around him, he thought, _I can use my cloaking powers to keep me hidden from those on the paths but... It wouldn't work against the darkness so it would be pointless either way since, the Dark Master will see me walk into her home._ Landing down onto the ground, he approached the door very cautiously. Taking his steps as easy as possible, he walked up the steps and put the side of his head against the door. Waiting for a couple of seconds, he heard nothing. _Hopefully no one is home._ Backing his head off the door, he put his paw on the door knob and twisted it, but it was locked. _No surprise there._ Looking to his left, then his right, no one was walking around the paths. Using his powers, he poked his head through the door and looked around to see if anyone was inside, and to his surprise, he didn't see anyone. Walking through the door completely, his eyes had widened with amazement. Just the main room was farley large with two door to the right side of the walls. Everything else from the left side, the front, and some of the back side of the walls were covered in notes, potions, flasks, tables that held the gear, along with microscopes, red and green gems, and even minerals from all over the world. _I really don't like this._ Taking a look around at everything that was happening, he walked up to the table in the front that had papers scattered all over the place and a book right in the middle. He grew intrigued as to what the book could be as it wasn't very large, and it was similar to that of a small notebook. _Everything else around here is all messy. Some of what ever these chemicals are have been spilled on some of these papers and yet, this book is in such perfect condition._ Picking up the notebook, he said to himself outloud, "What are you planning?"

Looking into what was written on the notebook, he gasped as he continued to look through the pages. As he flipped through the notebook, he saw everything that this dragon had been studying, and it scared him. The main focus was on the Guardians and each page had something in common as to what it was focussed on. After a certain amount of pages, the top would read the Guardians name, along with what they liked, what they didn't like, their greatest fears, their strengths and weaknesses, eye color, wing span, and their base colors. As he continued to look through, his paw shivered, and he even almost dropped the notebook from doing so. At the tops of the page was Cynder's name with everything that was needed to know about her. It only became worse and worse as he flipped through the pages, seeing every possible way she could be killed, taken out, paralysed, or turned back to normal. As he reached the end of the notebook, even for him, he was scared and confused as to what this all means. _She knows all about us, and yet... Somethings are missing... Somethings are different from one to another... And it's about..._ Just before he could unveil his idea, the door knob started to move and shake. _Oh no!_ Quickly putting the book down in a hurry, he turned to see a dragon walk in with a slashed scar in the right eye, but that was all he could see before he bolted out the side of the house, going through the walls before flying up and into the air, making it out safely before he spotted midair. _I... I have to get this information back to Ignitus!_ Flying back to the Guardians Building, he did as he did before, going through each wall and obstacle before arriving in the Chambers. He stopped himself with his wings as he saw everyone walking out of the Chambers. No one was looking at him, so he flew around in a circle before he reappeared back in the Sleeping Chambers. Ignitus was luckily the last one and in the back of the line so he was able to stop him before he walked out into the room, "Ignitus, wait..."

Hearing his clone, both him and Claire turned, and seeing as his clone returned, Ignitus said, "Claire, if anyone asks, tell them I'm... Preparing for all their questions, and it's going to take me some time to get everything together..."

"For someone who can think pretty quickly, that was a pretty bad plan. They will see right through that," Claire teased him, and even he knew that was a pretty bad excuse.

"Yeah... sorry, I..."

Feeling the warmth from her lips as he kissed his cheek, he stopped what he was saying and smiled. Pulling her head back, she turned back towards the door and said, "Don't worry, I will keep everyone from getting too suspicious. I can give you some time to talk what ever you need over."

"Thank you."

He watched as she walked out the door and closed it behind her with her tail blade. Keeping the smile for a couple of seconds, he had to shake it off and focus back on the problem. Seeing as his clone had returned once again, he was a little scared to ask of what he had found, but he knew it would be better to know then to not, "I like having clones around to help but," He paused and looked at his clone, he couldn't help but to shiver himself as he watched his clone trying to keep his fears from showing, "The first time my clone came back, it was some pretty bad news. And now that you have already come back in such a hurry, my guess is that you have just the same."

"Ignitus... I'm like you, and I think like you, but this isn't something we can ignore any longer. Differences and friendships aside, if Spyro doesn't trust Malefor now, we will have a crisis just as bad as with the first Dark Master," The clones desperately explained, and seeing himself shiver, it didn't surprise him as that was his same reaction when he learned of what is to come, "Who ever this Dark Master is, she's smart. I mean like, smart enough to figure out the meaning of the universe. I will give you the information as to everything that was in the house as their is too much for me to just explain, but one thing most of all stood out. A small notebook with all of our names."

"Our names?! Don't tell me that... She..."

"She knows nearly everything about us. The main causes of concern is that she even knows our fears, our strengths and weaknesses, and so much more. And the worst part is... She even knows a lot about Cynder. For most of the pages, there was so many ways that she would've been able to kill, take down, paralyze, or even bring her back!"

"No... No no no... You... You don't think she's... after Cynder, do you?"

"I don't know... I... I really don't know... But here is what is crazy. Two dragons that we know didn't appear in that notebook. Malefor and Spyro. They weren't in that notebook. Then again, I wasn't able to read the very first couple of pages at the front as it was slightly opened to a couple of pages ahead so, maybe one of them was in there, but I know for a fact that Spyro's name was never there. I also know she doesn't know about Spyro because as I looked all over the wall, Malefor, and everyone else's name with there, except Spyro."

"Claire's name too?!"

"Don't worry, her name wasn't there either, which must mean this Dark Master is either new here, or... Something else..."

"What about Carith's name?"

"I didn't see her name, but like I said, those first couple of pages with this dragon we are up against is the world. I could try and go back if need be."

"No... It's... Damn it... We just... One thing at a time. First, we know for a fact that the Dark Master would know of who Claire is. So if she was able to know all about us, why isn't her name there? Why would this new Dark Master want to turn her back to normal form if she knows how powerful Cynder once was? How did she get all of this information out of us if we've never even seen or heard anything about her?! Even when that clone gave me the memories, that voice when she called out, that faint voice, it wasn't familiar in the slightest..."

"Then... What do we do...?"

"Hope... Hope that we can resolve this soon. Once today is over, we will confront who ever this is the next morning. The Dark Master can't come into a place of light and take it over so easily. Which means that, if need be, I will be allowed to use my powers. This dragon is already causing problems for the Ancestors, which means, it needs to be dealt with, and I'm sure they'd be fine if I used my powers to get rid of who ever this is... You have done all you can... Thank you."

His clone nodded at him knowing that his mission was done. Putting a paw on his shoulder, the two shined into a bright white light, and for a couple of seconds, that light filled the room. As the light died down and the clone had disappeared, he gained all the information and knowledge that the clone had, and his eyes grew slightly wide and he gasped with slight fear as he saw everything that was in that house. Looking through the images of what his clone had saw, he hoped he could find some answer that could've been written all over the walls, or something that could've helped him. _"Wheres Ignitus? And why is he taking so long?"_ Hearing the thoughts of the others in the Chambers as they spoke about him, he knew he couldn't stay. _I won't let you take down this peace,_ He promised to who ever could be causing what he believed to be a future war. Turning his body and walked to the door, he opened it and walked into the Chambers. As he shut the door behind himself, he heard as both Malefor and Spyro spoke with one another once again, and everyone was smiling to see them getting along so well.

"Alright, you ready for this?" Malefor asked as he sat again the left wall as he normally did with his lover by his side and a wing draped over her.

"This better be good. Alright, go for it," Spyro chuckled while he sat where he normally did on the right side of the wall with his lover beside him and a wing draped over her.

"Okay. So, Spyro, how do you make the number one, disappear?"

"Um... I... I don't know. How?"

"Add the letter G to the front of the word and then, bam... Gone."

"Wait... Oh... Oh ho ho. That's clever. Because one, and then the G in the front, which, okay, got ya. That's actually pretty clever."

"Thank you. I come up with my own ideas because, you know, I'm just that good."

Seeing as Ignitus had finally come out from the room, Spyro asked him, "What took you so long? Claire said it was because you were scared of that thunder last night and needed to calm yourself down before you faced us."

"Wha... Claire," Ignitus smirk, and she giggled at him, "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. I just had a clone from the White Isles come over and tell me that there was a tree that caught fire during the storm, that's all. He said that, for a normal lighting bolt, it was pretty big and a whole lot louder but, he knew it was coming down from the sky so, he wasn't too scared."

"Yeah, I never thought such a thing could be that big."

Some of the others had to put their paws over their mouths as they snorted in their nose, trying not to laugh. She was confused by their behavior, but the other two girls caught on quick. And just as quickly as they caught on, a blush quickly formed over their faces as they talked about it. Malefor took his paw off his mouth and pretended to cough, "Well Claire, sometimes you get lucky with a man so, congratulations on the, big, catch."

Seeing as his lover elbowed him, both Claire and Ignitus caught on to what he was implying and they were just as quick to blush as everyone else in the room. Seeing how embarrassed she already was, Ignitus chuckled as he waved a paw near his neck, somewhat have a threatening growl towards him, "Shut up, Malefor... Hehe... I will seriously hurt you if you don't shut your Damn mouth..."

"Don't get mad at me. I thought you would be happy to hear that a girl complemented you. Seems you were lucky enough to be the, big, Dragon in the room when it came to the complement."

"Damn it, Malefor, I'm warning you!"

"At least now we know why you brought us into that dream world. Ignitus, if you wanted alone time to, show off, if you know what I mean, then just ask."

Hearing him talk more and more, she couldn't look at anyone as she was too embarrassed to even say anything. Instead, she moved her wings around her face and hid, not wanting to face to Ignitus because of how embarrassed she was. Seeing how uncomfortable she was getting from what he was joking about, Ignitus started to show his teeth in anger towards him. Pulling a claw up and snapping his fingers, he shut him up with his powers. He was finally able to smile as he watched Malefor struggle to speak, and every time he opened his mouth, nothing was heard and he pretended to cry from it. Using the same paw, he started to rub the top of his nose as he was already annoyed at him so early on in the day, and it only got worse as others like Volteer joined in on the joke, "I don't know why you're so mad, Ignitus. I would say it's a win win for the both of you..."

Before he could continue any further, he looked over at him, growled, and pulled his paw off his nose. Snapping his fingers, he shut him up too and was starting to get annoyed with the others for testing his anger. Neither Terrador nor Cyril would dare to try and test him in such a way as they could see him teasing up with anger. Looking away from him and at Claire, they could tell and see that she wasn't having the greatest time either. Knowing it was probably a bad idea, Spyro knew he would have to try his luck as well and hope he didn't die, "Not surprised Volteer would know, but now so does Claire."

"Spyro!" Ignitus growled, "I promised you I wouldn't give you anymore nightmares. If you keep trying me like the others..."

"Okay okay, I'm sorry. I'm sure Malefor and Volteer will apologize once you give their voices back. I'm assuming they will know they shouldn't test you since you aren't in the greatest of moods right now. So, we will go around in a circle. First me as I will apologise. Ignitus, Claire, I'm deeply sorry that we were talking about the, Thunder, and there is no need to be embarrassed. Okay, now Volteer."

Looking over at his friend, Ignitus squinted his eyes at him and fear quickly over took him as he swallowed hard and nodded at him. Sighing, he had to trust him. Snapping his fingers and giving his voice back to his friend, Volteer apologized before he was forced a nightmare upon, "Ahem. Yes, just as Spyro said, I deeply apologize for talking about the, Thunder, in such a, undesirable, disrespectful, and inappropriate manner."

Hearing the apologize from the other two, he looked over at Malefor and knew this wasn't going to be easy. Snapping his fingers and giving him his voice back, Malefor sighed happily as he was know able to hear himself. Putting his paw to the ground, Ignitus awaited his friends apologize, and he knew that Malefor was going to be difficult about it, "Alright, look, you have to admit, it was pretty funny. I do apologize, I promise I do, but context matters. And so does phrasing... boom..."

"I should embarrass the ever loving... Duck! Out if you! You are lucky that I'm such a nice... guy," Ignitus growled, and even though he said that, everyone can see the vain that pulsed at the top of his head.

Seeing how embarrassed Claire was, along with the anger that Ignitus had for Malefor, Spyro knew he'd have to change what they were talking about before it got out of control. Many ideas floated around in his mind as to what they could talk about, and he thought about most of them, wondering what could give him a more definitive answer, _What I wonder is, was that what really happened? Ignitus said he'd have to change up what was said because of the old Chronicler, and yet, it didn't seem like he did at all. I also want to know what was going through Malefor's mind when everything was happening in more detail. And even though I have more questions, I know I can't ask too many..._ Pausing in his thoughts, he took a glance over at his yellow friend, watching as he tapped his claws in a row on the ground while also moving his tail from side to side from time to time. _Volteer is getting restless on us going out to find her, so, I will just ask these two questions._ Focusing his attention on Ignitus, he asked him, and even though he knew he probably already heard, he explained that for himself, "So, Ignitus, I know you probably were listening to my thoughts but, I want everyone else to hear so they can understand what is going on as well. So, just to get the first question out of the way, you said before that you'd have to change up the story a little because he only said her name once, but during that vision, he did say it only once, and it didn't seem you change anything. Why is that?"

"Oh... I actually wasn't listening to your thoughts. I was a little... distracted," Ignitus growled as he glanced at Malefor, and he gave out a slight nervous chuckle, "Anyway, as to answer your question, I actually made sure everything was right from the start. I did feel like messing around a little by showing you what the Chronicler had put, but... I didn't want to ruin the vibe that was happening."

"So, what did the Chronicler really put as his words?"

"Oh nothing. Something along the lines of, 'How dare you', 'I trusted you'. At one put in Malefor thoughts, as the Dark Master of course, he even put that he called her a Bitch so, crazy stuff."

"What is his problem?" Malefor growled, and hearing this words, it got him away from the embarrassment that he was causing those two, "Yeah yeah yeah, I almost destroyed his place a couple of times, along with almost killing him but, he did the same thing to me. Then again, I didn't have a place but, he did almost kill me a couple of times so... That doesn't really make us even though."

"I've already told you why he did it."

"And I already told you I don't give a damn about that line of reasoning. I still live and love and he's dead so, even steven, my friend."

"Speaking of friend, Malefor, this question goes to you. I wanted to know more about what your thoughts and feeling were during your times as the Dark Master the first time," Spyro spoke which gave Claire enough time to look around trough the middle of her wings to see if anyone was looking, and since no one was, she pulled her head back up while putting her wings to the side and continued to listen, "You said you struggled to keep your eyes open. I know before you said you didn't understand it yourself but, it seemed you had control, but in a way, you also didn't."

"Oh, that? Well, like I said, I was fighting it, then I wasn't, and then, it was like I was sleeping. Every time the Dark Master takes over, it feels as if someone else take over while I sleep. The first couple of nights when I first came back to Warfang with you all were tough, and... Well, I won't go into too much detail but, just know that I was scared, and afraid, and..." As he spoke more about what had happened, Malefor couldn't bring himself to remember back to that time, and he didn't really want to, so instead, he left things there, but Spyro was now intrigued about what happened.

"What do you mean? I'm sorry to ask and... I know you seem uncomfortable to talk about it but... I don't remember anything that you're talking about."

Giving out a sigh and a grumble, Malefor looked over to the entrance with his head downed, not knowing if he should talk about it or not. He didn't like to have to bring up the Dark Master again and again to make things worse for him, and he didn't want to break or shorten his trust that Spyro had for him. But remembering the training he had with him, and the fact he'd have to tell him sooner or later, he knew he had to try and man up to tell him. Looking back at him, he was hesitant at first, still not really speaking even after he knew he wanted to. Clenching his paw on the ground, Malefor finally found the words he needed to speak, "When ever I came back, I was up constant nights. For at least the first three days I was back. I felt so bad for Carith as I kept waking her up and, crying for hours I was so scared."

"Scared of what? The Dark Master coming back?"

"I... I... I was scared of everyone... I was scared Carith would leave me, Volteer wanted to kill me, I didn't know about the other two, Ignitus was the Chronicler and I thought he would mess up my life as did the other and... and then... You two... I thought Cynder was only being nice as a way to get to me, and to kill me just as I healed you so you all could live happily... and I was most scared of you as well because... well... I wasn't exactly the, nicest dragon you've talked to..."

"You... You really couldn't sleep?"

"Hehe... absolutely not... and... neither could Carith... Like I said, when the Dark Master takes over, it's like I fall asleep, and every time I closed my eyes those nights I... I had never really felt what it was like to just, drift off into sleep, rather then drifting off and waking up with blood on my claws and body... That why I wasn't really scared if we did or didn't get sleep yesterday because... I already knew about Ignitus's ability to help us get sleep without sleeping... That's also how I learned about his clone power so early on."

"Malefor I... I'm sorry, I didn't know I was causing that much stress on you..."

"It... It was definitely a, difficult time being back but... I thank the same ones who caused my fears, hehe..."

"Well... Look on the bright side. When ever you tell that story to me in more detail, don't look so down about everything that happened those couple of days."

"Why? It was hell on earth. I could never cuddle with Carith even for an hour without balling and drying out my eyes."

"Look at those days as progress. Everyone whom you thought was your enemy is now your friend. And, even during this times, you still had Ignitus who had your back, and even when you woke up, crying in fear, I know it was hard for Carith but, she woke up every time to make sure you were okay."

"Everyone's my friend... Spyro! You?!"

"Ah, no no no no. Nice try."

"Wha... But you just said..."

"My point is, no one here is your enemy anymore, and all thoughts that you had that feared you are now gone. And, I do thank you for one in such particular. If you hadn't acted so nicely, I wouldn't have the satisfaction of nuzzling Cynder's neck on the way up and down so, I do thank you for that."

"Oh... yeah, well, you know. I was just trying my best."

"Hehe, Yeah, your best to be a total kiss up," Cynder giggled at him as she wanted to throw in something just to have fun and make light of such a gloomy mood, "You know, if you were dead, I would've also taken the chains off then as well. Probably the next day but, since you were alive, I needed a couple more days to take them off."

"Even when you aren't slapping me, I still feel the pain... Cynder..."

"I do pick on you a lot, and I apologize. I would like to joke around more but, Spyro has a promise that he needs to fulfil."

"Hehe, I sure hope it doesn't have to do with a neck bite. That could be disastrous."

"Shut up Malefor," Spyro and Cynder growled at him in unison.

Moving his head to the left to position himself straight to kiss his lover, he stopped halfway to see Volteer took a step forward, desperate to hurry up and start the search. Spyro knew he didn't have much time to do as he said he would with his lover, but he still wanted to make sure he at least gave her some kind of kiss before he left. Pointing a claw up to his friend he took the step back as he knew what he wanted but didn't know if he could stand there any longer. Taking that step back, he gave him some time to do what ever it was he wanted. Moving his body and head straight, Spyro blocked everyone's view of them as he spoke with his lover and apologized, "Sorry I'm not kissing you as much as I should, and I even made a promise about it..."

"Why are you getting so downed?" Cynder giggled from his reaction which only confused him as he thought she would be furious with him, "Don't you remember? When ever you and I were woken up by that lightning, we kissed for quite some time. And it's true the second neck bite wasn't a success but, the first one was definitely... Look, I'm not mad at all. You've made my very happy in the past hours so, just make sure that, when you come back with Ersa, you still keep that promise, okay?"

"Why are you so supportive?"

"Why are you so handsome?"

"Hehe, fair enough."

With him pulling his wing down, he didn't even know the others had started a conversation, completely ignoring the two as they spoke which was a nice feeling to get some privacy. Malefor was the one who spoke first, but he didn't hear what they had started arguing about, so it was a little confusing at first for them to understand, "All I wish we could be is simple. Just like back then, nothing was simple. It was also Dark Master this or, Chronicler that. We could never live simple lives."

"Why isn't the life we are living now, simple? And, why does it matter to you, you aren't simple," Ignitus rejected his claims and he knew for a fact Malefor was nothing close to being simple.

"Uh, the hell I am. I am but a simple dragon; I see a women's butt, I slap, simple."

"Excuse me!" Carith cried out, scaring almost everyone in the room, including her lover as he ducked his head slightly as he looked at her, "And who's back side do you be slapping?! Because I know for a fact you've never done such a thing to me, and you never should! So, say again, what exactly do you do when you see other women?!"

"I... I... I don't... do anything..."

"Malefor... the door is right there. I can walk out at any point."

"I... Ahem... What I meant to say was... I'm a simple dragon; I see Carith, I give her a kiss... s... simple..."

"Seeing Malefor so scared of his lover is pretty funny to watch. Especially when his head is ducked down as if he's going to be attacked," Spyro chuckled quietly to his lover.

"Can you blame her?" Cynder asked.

"No... But, hey, can you do me a favor? Volteer is getting restless and if we don't leave soon, he might go out on his own so, when I leave, can you tell me how things play out?"

"You keep your promise, I keep mine."

"Hehehe, yes ma'am."

Walking over to the main doorway of the Chambers, Spyro turned around and waved a paw for his yellow friend to follow. Volteer's face lit up and he was quick to bolt over to the door. Walking side by side with one another, they walked out of the room and proceeded down the hall and to the main doors. On their way down, Volteer apologized for being so pushy about wanting to go, "Hey, Spyro, I wanted to apologise. I know you wanted to stay with Cynder and all. And I know I ruined that time for you, I just... I want to know if she's out there, waiting for me."

"Don't worry, Volteer, Cynder is very understanding, and with how I've been for the past couple of days, I'm very surprised she hasn't dumped me. She promised that, as long as I kiss her when we come back with Ersa, everything will be fine, so don't worry about it. I stay happy with my lover, and you stay happy with yours... Sorry, your mate, is what I meant to say."

"Hehe, I don't really know so much now."

"What?!"

"No no no, not like that. What I mean is, I know for a fact I will be her lover, but the more I think about, and what the title of mate means for one another, I just get butterflies in my stomach just thinking about saying that to her. And plus, I just don't want to jump into the whole mates for ever just yet as I want to know if she's comfortable with such a thing."

"Ah, I see what you mean. You got guts for trying that's for sure. Not even I could walk up to Cynder tomorrow and ask her to be my mate, I just need to grow up more and get the guts to do such a thing."

"Your time for each other will come. I just wish the best for the both of you."

"Alright, all because I'm helping you doesn't mean you have to be a kiss up."

"Wh... How dare you think such a thing."

"Such a thing that is true?"

"Eh... Okay... Kinda."

"Well, instead of thinking of ways to be nicer to me, you might need to start thinking about everything that you and Ersa use to do and talk about. She sounds smarts, and I know you liking her back then must mean she was probably as smart as you so, you're going to need to get that vocabulary back up and running to try and impress her."

"I know exactly how I will impress her. Instead of trying to be someone I'm not, I'm going to show her that I've never left her, or abandoned her all these years. I'm hoping this will show how dedicated I am to my love for her and I hope this will strengthen our bond even more... But... I don't want to get my hopes up too high just yet... We still have to find her, and that might not even happen today."

"Brighten up. You're the brightest color out of all of us. Purple and red is bright but, you come down from the sky to light up the night," Spyro paused as he and his friend pushed opened one of the doors to reveal the outside world, and the sun that shined down on them with such a blinding light, they had to block their eyes with their wings for a couple of seconds, "Hehe... Well, I guess fire does light up more then lightning. But you don't see the sun out when it's dark."

"That's because the sun is on the other side of the earth while the earth rotates, causing night and day cycles. The sun doesn't move of course, but the moon does in a elliptical orbit..."

"Hehehe, I miss this side of you Volteer. And I cant wait to see the joyful side of you again once we find her."

Putting their wings back down to their sides as their eyes had finally adjusted to the sunlight, they looked down over Warfang to see hundreds of dragons walking around the paths. Some laid down on buildings with others, some were flying around with Hatchlings, loved ones, and friends. With all the dragons walking around all over the place, Volteer knew it was going to be a challenge to find her, _I already see so many yellow dragons, both female and male. It could take us all day to find her which... is a good thing. It means we will find her nonetheless._ Looking to see how big Warfang had gotten, and how cleaned up it now was compared to what it looked like during the attack, it stunned him. _The moles sure do work fast. Thank the Ancestors we made an alliance with them. And even though Warfang has expanded, we don't really have anything behind us aside from the mountain and where we usually had to battle it out. But, we have expanded more outwards either way._ While he was thinking more and more about Warfang and where it would be best to find his lover, Spyro was also looking around as to where would be the best place to search for her. Opening his mouth for an idea, Volteer was quicker then he was to come up with a plan, "We need to start with the left side of Warfang. Not many dragons walk and live over there so it will be easier to move through. If we start in the middle now where all the dragons are, we will have every Dragoness in Warfang following you, so it's best if we start towards the left which is least populated, then go to the right which is a little more populated, and then go for the middle. When we switch from left to right, go behind the mountain of the Guardians Building so we don't get spotted. Understood?"

"Uh... I... Yes sir, Volteer."

Without being able to ask anymore questions, Volteer had already opens his wings and took to the sky, heading over to the left side of Warfang. _I guess I can't really blame him. Today, we learn the truth about what happened,_ pausing in his thoughts, he opened his wings, flew into the air, and followed behind his friend, _If the Chronicler can get something wrong about who Malefor was, he must have also gotten wrong about other things as well, specifically someone's life._ Reaching the left middle of Warfang, the two landed down on the paths. Even though this spot wasn't highly populated, there were still plenty of dragon roaming the streets, and most of the times, their bodies weren't moving from side to side as they tried to avoid bumping into one another. Volteer walked forward and looked around, both past dragons, and behind himself as well. Once again he was able to come up with an idea quickly as for what they should do. Turning his head slightly while opening his wings enough for him to fly, he spoke, "Stay down here and continue to look. I'm gonna go up on these buildings and see if I can find her from up there."

"Okay but..."

Spyro couldn't even have a conversation with him anymore as Volteer had already flown off the first chance he got of space. Sighing from how he was acting, he shuck it off and still tried not to let it bother him. Continuing his walk down the paths, he couldn't help but feel as though someone was watching him. Even as he tried to concentrate and figure out what could be bothering him, nearly every dragon he passed gasped and spoke as they saw him walk by, making it difficult for him to find her. _It feels like someone's watching me, I can't concentrate with all this talking, and if someone were to try and sneak up on me now and attack me for what ever reason, I might have to take a hit... hit... hit hit hit... Malefor! I left him alone with everyone else, even Cynder!_ His wings responded to his distress as they flung open. But as they got halfway, he forced his wings to stop as he struggled a little on what to do. _No... No... Everything will be fine. This is now one of those moments I have to put my trust in him. And if anything were to happen, Ignitus would warn me... Probably... Ugh! Just, forget about it! Cynder's fine, Malefor will protect everyone while I'm out. I need to focus on finding Ersa._ Volteer followed on the top of the houses, jumping from roof to roof as he looked down at the crowd of dragons that roamed all over the paths. Jumping from one roof to another, he had to quickly look down the small alleys to see if anyone could be hiding there, but for the most part, nothing. Just as he jumped to another roof, he looked behind his friend to see a group of females were slowly following behind him. They were young, and they looked to be the same age as Spyro, which made this even more difficult for the search. _Great. We haven't even gotten to the other side and is already activating his dragoness magnet... Which could actually help us... If he keeps walking around without knowing all those girls are following him, word will get out he's out and walking around Warfang! Ersa could hear this and possibly want to talk with him! This could work, and it might be better for me to walk with him so others know I'm out here as well, get the word out there._ Smiling from the opportunity, he ran up ahead. Climbing down the house, he made his way to the middle of the crowd and saw Spyro. Walking at the same speed he was, the two were now walking with one another. He could see the somewhat worry in his face, and he wanted to know what was wrong, "Are you okay, Spyro?"

It took him a couple of seconds to respond and he apologized for that as he looked at his yellow friend, "Oh, sorry, I just. A lot is going through my mind. I'm trying to keep my mind straight about what we are doing, and I am looking for her, it's just... Two main problems. I left Malefor all alone up there with everyone so it's got me worried, but I said I trust him, and I saw who he was so... I know I shouldn't worry at all."

"Well, this is only your like, twentieth time you've left Malefor alone with others. The trip to the Temple is a big part. You left us when we went to that warm water, sauna, thing. When Malefor was defending us and you fought everything, and when me and you went to the back of the Dragon Temple, and when we all came back to Warfang, you left to escort your brother Sparks. That was just that one day too. Leaving them now is not going to cause a problem."

"Yeah but... all those times, Carith was there. And you saw what was happening with those two when we left. I guess I'm not scared so much as to what the Dark Master could do as I am just scared of what happened between those two. You saw her face. That was the face of almost walking out the door. Granted, I'm no expert on how she feels and acts but, what he said didn't help him."

"Please, those two are just like you. Say Cynder, threatens, to leave you. You know that she needs you just as bad as you need her. The only thing threatening really that happens between those two is just something they can look back on and make romantic. I know this is... probably not the best time to bring this up but... Do you want to hear about how I... Almost kissed Ersa after that chemical explosion that destroyed everything."

"I'm really, really surprised you didn't."

"Well, after that, it became pretty difficult for me to hold back the fact that I love her. And... I think the worst part is... even after all that time. That month we were together... I never once kissed her, not even on the cheek because I was so scared."

"Volteer... What happened man? You don't kiss her the first time, and now you're telling me you didn't even peck her on the cheek? Disgraceful."

"Shut up. Look, like I said, I was scared, and at the time, I was working non-stop with her to find a way to help Malefor come back. We worked for hours and hours, trying to figure out something. It's mainly because of her help, and everything that we did that's made me so smart today... But... I will be... honest with you... The last day, before the attack... we had, fallen asleep together... I know I said I didn't kiss her but, I didn't kiss her to comfort her, or kiss her with her knowing..."

"What?!"

"I know I know I just... I was so thankful to her that she helped me with all this research, and all the time we put into everything that we had done. So, she laid on her side with her back against my side. I stood up, laid down in front of her and... pecked her lips... And then I just, whispered thank you, for all the help. Then I went back to my spot and laid back down with her..."

"Kissing a girl without her knowing is pretty messed up, especially since she was asleep."

"I didn't know what to do! I knew I loved her, she almost kissed me a couple of times, and I just thought it would be right, I don't know...!"

"Volteer, calm down my man, I was only messing with you... To be honest, I wish I could've had the guts to do what you did when it came to me and Cynder but... still pretty creepy."

"It's not like I made out with her! And even still, after I kissed her, she smiled so... I... I couldn't tell if she was awake or not. After that night, right before the attack, I'm talking seconds. We were having a moment and, I put my paw over hers as we sat and, just as we were about the kiss, the attack happened. I know for a fact that she has to know I love her. She has to be out there, and with us walking around, she might be able to find us as well."

"What makes you think that?"

"Well, I think it might have to do with your second problem."

"Someone watching me? What does that have to do with my other problem?"

"Well, just, don't look back. There are a lot of girls who are following behind you."

"What?!"

"Oh yeah. And they are all about the same age as you too so..."

"On no..."

"It's your fault."

"How is this my fault! You wanted to go up on the buildings and leave me down here."

"Well, you have been flexing almost this entire time so, it doesn't really help, repeal the women. You know Spyro, there are some pretty cute girls back there I think you'll like."

"Back off."

"Oh come on, don't be such a circle."

"Square, you mean?"

"I don't know, I think you might be a Pentagon."

"Why do you say that?"

"Because the girls are checking out all your sides: Front, back, left, right... And under."

"Oh no..." Spyro's face lit up red as he felt shivers go down his spine just thinking about it.

"Oh your fine. I meant stomach when I said under. And like I said, you're still flexing so, unless you want these girls to stop following you, I'd suggest you ease up."

"I can't ease up. Ever since that one bad experience with those dragons that attacked the girls when they came out her, I've not really trusted any one else out here."

"One bad experience? That's like saying you had one bad experience with breathing so you just decided to stop and die."

"Well, we are about to have another bad experience."

"Why?"

He didn't answer him. Instead, he looked straight just as Spyro was and saw hundreds of dragons looking at them. Volteer swallowed hard and Spyro gave him the answer, "Because as we were walking and talking... we made our way to the middle of Warfang... So what do you suggest we do?"

"Run..."

* * *

"C... Carith... You know I'd never do anything to betray our love for one another..." Malefor stuttered with fear more and more as he tried keeping a smile, but trying to get close to his lover while she backed up towards the door only made it worse and worse for him, but everyone else, it was very enjoyable to watch, "Look, before, Cynder talked about how I could've tried to kiss her when I was the Dark Master. How could I have done that if we never met before when she was corrupted and I was stuck in the Convexity realm? So you know for a fact I never did anything to anyone."

"Why did you say that, Cynder?" Carith was a little confused now as well, but still kept her eye on her lover.

"Just to see what kind of reaction I could get out of you girls at the time, especially Claire since she was new and didn't know anything really about us," Cynder was honest, but now that she remembered back to that conversation, she also remember how she reacted to it, "I'm pretty surprised you are even backing away. When I did tell you that, you said you were glad that I didn't attack him because you need his lips, and yet, you're backing away from him. Why is that?"

"Because I want Malefor all to myself. But if another girl has kissed him, I'm not ever going to kiss him, ever, again."

"What!" Malefor gasped.

"Hehe, well, since the truth is already out, I guess I can tell Carith about that one girl you made out with," Ignitus joined in on the joke and both of the lover's faces turned to fear as he said that, "Yeah, it was the day before you became Carith's lover. You were so desperate and didn't know what to do, you went looking for an easy way out. What was her name again... started with a C..."

"No!" Malefor yelled running in front of him, "Don't you start! You know for a fact I never kissed anyone else aside from Carith. Don't you dare say, 'Well I'm the Chronicler and I know what I read'. Which is bull as well because you'd never read anything about me being with another Dragoness. And once again," Turning away from Ignitus, he paused for a second and looked over at his lover before continuing, "How could I have been with someone else without you noticing? That was like, the only free day I really had. And you saw, every one saw what happened when I thought you died. If I had someone else, I would've moved on and forgotten about you, but I didn't. How do you explain that?"

"Damn... He's got me there."

Looking at the desperation in his face, along with him trying to control his breathing, she could tell how desperately he was trying to get her to stay, but she wanted more of an incentive. Walking up to her lover, his face lit up with a smile, but she ignored him and walked around him. Reaching the front of his body once she was done, she looked down at his arms, then up at his chest before finally looking at his face. _You're lucky you're so damn handsome._ Putting a claw up to her chin as if she was thinking, she decided to try and make a joke as to see how he'd respond to it, "You're adorable, you know that. But I do have to wonder, Ignitus does know all, and even though he agreed with you, you seemed so scared, as if you wanted to, shut him up before he said what was really happening. Any idea why?"

"Why? Because Ignitus is always trying to start beef between me and Spyro. You were on the verge of walking out the doorway. And... I guess I'm a little sad you don't trust me..." Malefor whimpered as he looked to the ground with quivering lips, trying to gilt trip his lover.

"Don't you dare..."

"I just... All I wanted to do was blow up the earth to be with you... And you still think I'm with someone else... I... I don't understand..."

"Stop!" Carith cried as the gilt trip had worked perfectly on her, "Alright... fine... you win..."

"No Carith, you win. Because of your sacrifice, you are now able to continue to be with the one and only, best lover even by Ancestor standards, Malefor."

"You're Damn right it's a sacrifice. She's sacrificing her freedom and sanity to be with you," Ignitus jabbed at him, only proving Malefor's point.

"See!" Malefor cried, "I get attacked by Spyro, Cynder's Words are more powerful then her attacks, and Ignitus won't get the hell off my back!"

"How could I be on your back if I'm over here?"

"My claws are going to be in your back if you don't shut up!"

"Hahaha, oh man, you are a funny one. I think we should keep you. But hey, if you think you can do better then Spyro in his dark form, then by all means, try and attack me."

"Malefor," Carith whispered, making her lover look at him as she had an easy idea, "You know, I know you just want to embarrass Ignitus with some kind of love word for him and Claire. How about, instead of making two enemies by doing that, I get Claire to help you out while we get back to cuddling near the wall. It works out for all of us."

"Aw but... Alright... you're right," Malefor agreed as he walked over to the wall with his lover following by his side.

Reaching the wall of the Chamber, the two sat side by side while Malefor sat closest to the doorway and Carith was in view of all the other Guardians, along with Claire. Draping his wing over her back and snuggled up, she had forgotten the plan all together on what she'd say as she was too busy getting comfortable. Sighing with a slight smile, she apologized for what she had done and felt bad that they weren't able to stay this way for the whole time they've been in the Chambers, "Alright, I will admit, you were right and I was wrong. I should've listened to you but, I was just a little, only a little worried, that you tried to pull something with another girl. And I apologize for that."

"Speaking of other girl," Ignitus spoke, but was quickly yelled at by Malefor.

"Screw off!"

"This isn't about you, this is actually directed towards Cynder's lover."

"What...? Wait... Another girl... Spyro...!? Ignitus?!" Cynder yelled at him, standing up and taking a step forward at him as she probably knew what he was going to say.

"Look, I don't mean to start no drama, and Spyro hasn't exactly gone after one of the girls yet, but... Ever since him and Volteer have dropped down in Warfang, there have been a lot of girls about his age and a little older wondering if they'd be able to, catch that tail."

"What?!"

"Oh yeah. Spyro's a little afraid as he doesn't know who's watching him, but it's all the girls. Because he's afraid, especially with what happened to you three girls, he's been flexing all down the paths and, well, he's attracted a lot of attention to himself not knowing it. And, I don't know, Cynder, you might have some competition in a little bit. Some of those girls might put up a fight to get with him."

"They should try! Malefor, if something like this happens and they try and take my man, put me back in that corrupt adult state of mine so I can have a fight to the death with each and every one of them!"

"Hell yeah!" Malefor one hundred percent agreed, but he saw his lover's face as she shuck her head, "I mean... Hell... no... Or, at the very least, we can call it a maybe."

"It's a no," Carith declined, somewhat smiling at her lover from the way he was acting, "Don't worry, Cynder. One thing I've learned, and I know Spyro sure better not disappoint, but what I've learned about purple dragons is, they are very dedicated when it comes to their lovers. I'm sure that Spyro wouldn't dare to go after any of those females knowing he's already scored big time with you."

"Oh, no, I'm not worried about him... well... maybe slightly... I don't really know what the competition is out there, and since Spyro is just... oh hell... what if there is someone out there better looking! I do trust him after everything that's happened but, that's nearly thousands of females out there, and at least one might catch his eye! What would I do then?!"

"Um... Fight to the death, remember?" Cyril chuckled as for some reason, he was agreeing on it too.

"Cyril, no. Malefor, hush. And Cynder, don't worry. Trust me, I've seen girls out there. From a one to a ten, you're an eleven, pretty rare kind. And as you get to your adult age, you'll look majestic. So stop worrying about it. And, look on the bright side, if we are right and it turns out he doesn't go chasing after the girls, you just have to give Spyro the best kiss to show him he was right in doing so."

"Yeah... I..."

"And ever since you took off your chains, Spyro's been nuzzling your neck a lot. I mean, he hasn't really been nuzzling you as much as before but..."

"And that's my fear!"

"How come both of you two can't trust your lovers?" Malefor asked feeling slightly offended as he believed he was doing everything to make sure he had his trust with his lover, "All because we are purple doesn't mean that we don't have feelings. We aren't monsters, okay. And we are rare, just as rare as a solar eclipse."

"Why? Because when ever we want to shine bright with joy with us being the sun, purple dragons like you are like the moon and they block out our fun and energy? Sound pretty accurate."

"I just need to take my tail blade and stick it through my heart."

"Don't do that!" Carith quickly cried, putting a paw over her lovers chest and trying to change the conversation as to not give him any ideas to mess with her, "Well if you think like that, how do you think of yourself and Spyro?"

"I don't know," Cynder was honest as she laid herself down on the floor, both feeling lonely and a little sad, "I know when he gets back we'd kiss a good couple of times but, that's if Ersa comes back, and what if she doesn't. And there's so much more to it. He's always hard at work trying to keep everyone safe and happy, and I'm not sad that he's going to help everyone when ever he can... I just wish life was a little more simpler, like how it was back when we first awoke from the Volcano."

"You mean crying and whining ever day about something or another? We still do that. I like... just did it,' Malefor asked as he believed nothing had changed at all, "We can go back to me being the Dark master if that would make you happy?"

"No," Everyone disagreed in unison.

"Not like that. What I mean is, back then, all we'd do is walk and talk. And that one day were we just cuddle the whole day... now, even with peace... we can't do that... And, Claire, I remember you saying you wanted to know about that day, and, well... Hehe, it really wasn't as nice of a time as you'd think. Even as we tried to lay down and sleep, my mind was always thinking about the worst. But... even in the worst of times, I still felt pretty good going to bed and waking up ever morning with him," Cynder sighed, remembering how good it was to lay down without a worry, but she felt as if they'd never do such a thing again, "Hehe, and it doesn't help that, when we do get the time, Ignitus interrupts us."

"You still had a nice time talking to the girls, didn't you?" Ignitus asked with a raised brow.

"Yeah... I guess I can't say yesterday was all bad then... Aside from the... neck bite but, who knows."

"How does anyone find that attractive?" Terrador asked, feeling a little weirded out even just thinking about it, "I'm not trying to get you down at all, Cynder, I just... Thinking about someone's teeth biting down on someone else's neck is just... We aren't vampires. So why is it so romantic?"

"Tell you what, Terrador, when you find a lover, then you'll find out... And now that I'm talking about it again, and remembering that night... they better hurry back with Ersa."

 _I wish they would too... but... I know that when they get back, I won't be able to hold the truth. I wish the day had never come, but... It's best he knows rather then letting it rip him apart,_ Ignitus thought, sighing sadly from the realisation, and since Claire had gotten into a conversation with Cynder, she didn't hear the sigh. _Why do I feel like the choice, and how long I've waited to tell him... Will she think less of me for it?_ Hearing her giggle, it hurt him inside to think of her being disappointed, and knowing everything that could go wrong, his heart started to race. He even started to sweat, and he knew if he didn't control his fears, everyone would find out and freak. _Damn it._ Controlling himself enough to at least stop sweating, he continued to think more and more about what to do.

* * *

Seeing Spyro take a step over to his side, ready to bolt for it, Volteer saw this as an opportunity to easily find his lover. Pulling his wing to the side to block him, Spyro was confused about what he was doing, and he counted on that confusion as he knew it would make him stay. With everyone gathered in one place, he called out in hopes that he would get an answer, "Does anyone here know where I can find a yellow Dragoness by the name of, Ersa? It would be absolutely fantastic if someone knew where she was and, my purple friend over here said he would forever think of the female who finds my friend."

Hearing all the girls gasp, even along with the other guys, they all started to talk amongst themselves, wondering if one another has heard or seen of this dragon. Stepping on his back paw, Volteer yelped slightly from the pain with a single tear going down his eye. Seeing all the girls blush and look at him, Spyro growled as he wondered what he was thinking by saying such a thing, "We could've just ran for it and continued our search. Now all of Warfang knows I'm out and about along with a legendary Guardian."

"You didn't have to step on my back paw..." Volteer whimpered, "Look, this is a good thing. I'm able to think ahead very quickly, and you should know this. Like it or not, it's better if we speak to them all now, rather then later. We were going to come to the middle of Warfang either way, and probably would've been spotted. So, this way, since we've already been caught, we can do this now and we might not even have to go to the other side of Warfang! It's a perfect plan. My other plan was flawed, but this one can work for us."

"But telling a girl I will think of her when I know I won't... I don't know... I don't like the idea of using others, that's not what I do."

"But she will think you're thinking about her, which will make her life all the more better. So rather you do or don't, she will still be happy."

"Yeah but... Why did the guys gasp as well? Little creepy."

"Don't worry about that. Two things the guys could be thinking about. One, they know it they help, you'd probably help them get a girl since you're so popular. Or two, some are as crazy as you are and hoping for training that breaks bones. Trust me, this plan will hopefully work for us."

"And if it doesn't...?"

"Then... We... We keep searching. We still have time. Ignitus woke us up very early in the day so, we could go back and take a break while the word stirs around. But hopefully someone will know right here and now for a sure fine answer."

The mumbling and discussions continued for all the dragons, and seeing most frown and sigh as they continued to talk more and more with each other made Volteer worry a little. He didn't want to seem too trouble as he still held onto hope that maybe sooner or later, someone would know where she was. _She could be hiding. After all, she would never just go out of her way and give everyone her name... Yeah... Yeah that has to be it! I... I know it is._ Looking over at his friend, Spyro could see the fear in his eyes even while he tried to keep his smile. He knew he should help him get his mind off things, and since he discussed about them taking a break, he agreed to it to get help ease his mind, "Hey, Volteer, there are thousands of dragons in Warfang. Why don't we take a break like you said and let the word spread. She could still be out there..."

"I know someone named Ersa," A red Dragoness called out, taking a step forward, and hearing the name, the whole crowd went quiet.

Volteer's face lit up fast, but just as quickly as it did, he started to think about, _Could... Could it be?! No... There are thousands of dragon in Warfang just as Spyro had said... They don't know the pattern that she has, where her fins lie down her back, or her horns and location... And her secondary color..._ Instead of smiling anymore, he was up front and serious when he asked who this Dragoness was, "You do? Alright, let me ask you a question to make sure it is her. What does her tail blade look like? And do you know the color of her eyes, or how many horns she has above, or around, her face?"

"Um... Well... I don't really know her personally, but my brother's girlfriend I remember had the name of Ersa. If you want, I could always ask him as I'm sure the two are dating."

Volteer's heart sank in his chest, and his eyes grew cold and white. The female who spoke to him in wishing she could help felt terrible as she saw his body nearly fall apart. Standing in front of his friend, Spyro assured her and everyone else that he was doing just fine as to not draw any suspicion, "Don't worry, you were a huge help. And it's fine about the Ersa thing as we were just curious to know of a survive, that's all. He only looks like this now as he drank some kind of liquid he's been working on in his room until he came out her. I need to take him back before he throws up like last time. And, thank you again."

She nodded at him and turned away along with everyone else, continuing their conversation and the hunt for where ever Ersa could be. Watching as everyone walked away, Spyro turned around to face his friend and saw him looking down at the ground, claws clenched and body teased. Blocking out both left and right views with his wings to help his friend, Spyro assured him that surely this could not be the one they were looking for, "Volteer, you know who she is, and you know she would never leave you for someone else, over a decade or not, I know I would never leave my lover and she'd never betray me no matter how long we're away. I know you know that there are plenty of other dragons who have the same names, and this could be the same case. So please, like I said, let's go up and rest, let the word go around, and lets think about what we should do next, okay? We still have plenty of sunlight."

Seeing him struggle as to keep his composure, his body had slowly eased up along with his claws as he was already ready to go. Taking his wings away from him and opening them back out to his side, Spyro awaited for his friend to do the same, and surprisingly to him, he opened his wings quickly, then turned, and flew up to the building before he was even able to say anything. _Don't fall apart on me yet,_ Spyro thought, pausing in his thoughts as he took to the skies and followed behind his friend who had already landed on the platform of the Guardians Building, _If he is this bad now... What will happen to him if it turns out she's dead...? No... we still have plenty of sunlight, we can do this. We can find her._ While he was in his thoughts, he had already landed and followed Volteer inside of the building, and hearing the doors close behind them as they entered broke him from his thoughts. Seeing Volteer look straight with such a serious face, he couldn't imagine what he could be thinking about right now, but with how he looked, he knew he should stop him from what ever it was he was thinking, "So, Volteer. Instead of looking like you want to kill someone, how about you tell me another story about you and Ersa to get you back in the spirit of things."

"There is no need, I'm fine," Volteer responded very quickly which kinda scared Spyro as he didn't expect such a quick response.

"If you were fine you wouldn't be talking in such a tone."

"I'm frustrated, alright?"

"Frustrated at who? That red dragoness out there was just trying to help."

"I'm not mad at her."

"Then who, Ersa? If it really is her and she's happy then shouldn't you be as well."

"I'm not mad at her!"

"Then who are you mad at?"

"I'M MAD AT MYSELF!"

His outburst made the two stop in the hallway as his growl echoed throughout the halls. Seeing his anger alright start to show, he knew he had to put a stop to it quick before he tried to do anything rash, "You better watch who you're talking to. I'm trying to help you out, and if you're going to act like this, and to know you could act like this in front of Ersa... You need to calm down before I cut the search all together. Understand."

His anger once again had to dissipate quick as the two continued to walk and he quickly apologized and his attitude changed drastically from pure anger to pure sadness, "I'm.. I'm sorry, i just... One second I'm angry, and then the next I'm... I'm having very bad mood swings right now. I know everything about what I could do to help myself, and I know what I should do to prevent my emotions and everything from spiralling out of control but... My limbic system in my brain is going crazy..."

"Then I'm just going to ask in a calming manner... Why, are you mad, at yourself. That's all I want to know."

"Because... If she really is with someone else then... I have no one else to blame but myself. I should've been faster, I should've done something but... I know I should be happy for her for the fact that she's happy. If it really is her then... I should feel happy but... I'm so upset with myself, and my anger goes over to who ever this dragon is but... if I were to, attack him, or try to win her back over... she'd only see me as a monster... What... I don't know what to do."

Hearing it from Volteer about not knowing what to do was scary as he always knew what to do. He was able to think about it for too long as they had already entered into the Guardians Chambers before he could even think of anything to say. Everyone stayed quiet as the two walked in and that was an easy indication for him as he thought, _They must've heard his yell from the hallway._ As Volteer walked over to where he usually sat, right in between Cyril and Terrador, Spyro walked over and joined his lover, and even as the two cuddle, they didn't know what to say to each other. Not even Malefor was able to speak as he knew how stressful this situation was and what could come from it. Seeing as everyone had already thought the worst aside from Ignitus, Spyro knew that he hadn't told everyone about what had happened. Breaking the silence, he explained, "Don't worry, she's not dead, at least, not from the information we got. Someone named Ersa is in fact out there but... Apparently she is with someone, and in love by the sounds of it. We don't know whether or not this is her or not but, we haven't given up hope yet. We are just coming up here to rest for a little bit, then we will go back down and search for her."

"But you can't..." Ignitus whispered very quietly as to not interrupt the silence, but he knew he had to say it.

Picking back up his head, he smiled as he walked to the middle of the room, and Volteer assured everyone that everything would be okay, "Don't worry you all. I know I'm not great... And I'm sorry that you all heard me yell. But I can assure you that I am fine, and once me and Spyro find Ersa, everything will go back to normal, only even better then ever. I know she'd never leave me for someone else so... it's... it's not her... I know it isn't."

"Because she's dead..." Ignitus whispered a little louder then he did before, but still couldn't be heard by anyone, but Claire, along with the other two Guardians saw water dripping down his eyes as he looked to the floor.

Seeing the other Guardians look over, so did everyone else as they watched him struggle to keep himself together. _Don't you dare say it, Ignitus. We still have time. You saw what happened in the hallway, so you know what will happen,_ Spyro warned through his thoughts to his father's, knowing it would end in a disaster now if he said anything. But even as he tried, he knew Volteer was looking at him, and the fear started to show on his face as he started to talk to try and calm him and his friend, "Ignitus... She's... she's out there... isn't she... You... you didn't... You didn't read her past, did you...? You... You said you... you said you didn't..."

"I can't..." Ignitus growled.

"Ignitus! Stop!" Spyro yelled, entering his dark form as quickly as he could in hopes he could use his speed to stop him from talking.

"Ersa's Dead!" Ignitus called out in a cry as he picked up his head and looked straight at his friend in his eyes.

Spyro wasn't successful in stopping him. He had to stop his speed though as he appeared in front of his father in the blink of an eye, and as he stopped, with his cry, a huge gust of wind exploded behind them as he stopped all his speed at once. His paw had stopped right in front of his father's mouth as he was centimeters away from covering up the truth. But now that the truth was out, not only Ignitus, but everyone knew what was to come next. At first, Volteer didn't believe it as he tried to deny that he was right, "You... You're wrong... Spyro... please tell me he's... he's wrong... he's wrong, isn't he... Ignitus you're... You're wrong...?"

"I'm sorry..." Ignitus whispered while Spyro pulled his paw back down to ground and stood right in front of his father, hearing as he spilled the truth about what happened, "You... You were right. I checked to see if she was dead days ago, and you caught on so quickly I... I didn't want to believe it, just like you. But... the same conclusion you came to when you searched for her, way back in the Temple with Spyro... it... you came to the same conclusion as he did... she died there... And that's all I read up to as... once someone dies... Their story ends and... she... she had no more pages in her life... that's... it..."

His words slowly became more and more faint to him as he knew it all along. His breathing grew heavier and heavier and he felt as though he was going to pass out. And with his heart beating as fast as he breathed, it felt like he'd have a heart attack at the same time. Turning to face his friend, Spyro saw how quickly he went from positive to ultimately crippled in a matter of seconds. As the tears ran down Volteer's eyes from the truth, he had to know one thing as it was also already pretty obvious to him, but he wanted, and needed to know, "You... You knew... didn't you... You knew she died... didn't you...?"

Clenching his teeth as he didn't want to give him the answer, both of them felt as though they could read their minds, so he knew if he didn't say yes, he would've already known. So instead of keeping anymore secrets, Spyro finally gave him the truth after so long, "I... I did know. Ignitus told me about the truth but I... I couldn't stand to think that someone such as her would die so easily. But... I was wrong... I got your hopes up high because I believed we could find her, I believed she stilled lived. And I wanted to see your smile, to see what you really were like back then. I never wanted to hurt you... I... I wanted you to be happy... I wanted you to have that feeling of love that you once had... I'm... sorry."

His words weren't getting to him, all he could think about was how he was lied to by both of whom he thought were friends to him, and no one was able to help him as he was in his own mind set now. His depression boiled like hot water into anger as he balled up his fist. Turning his attention to Malefor, both knew what was going to happen. Putting his wing in front of his lover as Malefor jumped over to the side near the entrance, Volteer was surprisingly quick as he nailed him right in the right side of his cheek, and the punch was hard enough to knock him to the ground.

"Volteer!" Spyro aggressively growled, taking a step forward and going into his dark mode.

"It's always been you that destroyers my life! You took my parents! You took my lover!" Volteer yelled as he stood above Malefor, wrapping his paws around his neck and applying force while Malefor tried to pull his paws off his neck.

Surprising everyone, Carith stepped in and punched Volteer in the side of the head, knocking him on to his side and letting go of his neck. Malefor gasped for air as he coughed, trying to get any air into his lungs as he wasn't easy on his neck when he was choking him. Helping his lover up, Carith, along with everyone else, couldn't believe he would try to kill him. Volteer cried as he laid on the floor, trying to help himself up, and to him, he wasn't surprised he was alone. Malefor put a wing up to protect his lover, and everyone watched as they saw his emotions make him out to be someone so different, someone so broken. With him trying to help himself stand, he went on a rant as he cried, "Feels nice...! To have someone there for you...! Carith gets taken from you, you get her back, and you have your, happy, life. Ersa gets taken from me, and I rot! Because I'm not the main character in this world... Only Ancestors with ultimate power, and purple dragons who are destined for greatness... What a world... My lover dies because of you... I get yelled at and kicked for it... And yet... when your lover goes... everyone's still your friend no matter how many times you've hurt or killed someone... Even Spyro fell victim to your... story!"

"We're all still your friends, Volteer!" Malefor yelled out, hoping his words would do some good, "I know what you're feeling right now as I've been there, and you, along with everyone else knows this. This is exactly what has happened before to me, and please know that I can help you with what you're going through now. Please... Let your friends be there for you... Let us talk and figure something out."

"NO!" Volteer yelled once again as his voice echoed throughout the room and his tail blade to his side, "Talk! Talk! You want me to talk! You don't know anything I'm going through right now! You're not my friend, you're not any of our friends! The moment anything happens to Carith, you would rather kill us, hurt us, and abuse us! All because we are worthless to you! Because you just want to use us! And what happened last night, seeing the past! You didn't give a damn about our words! Fought it back my ass, you didn't care! You even tried to kill Ignitus, and if Carith hadn't shown you, you would've done it... So let's switch rolls for a second. How about, we go back to me having something, and you go back to losing everything..."

"Listen to yourself! That's all you're doing right now so you should know how crazy you sound! Don't be a hypocrite about this situation. It's true that I blacked out when ever we were fighting, but I know I could've fought it. I would've won had she been there or not, so you have to believe me when I say that I really do care for you all. Seeing you like this now, I don't want you to go through the pain and sadness that comes with this feeling."

"You act like you're high and mighty, but you can't even accept what you did to us back when you last left us. You didn't care. Carith was dead and you got out of there the first chance you got. Didn't stay, didn't let his, supposed, friends and family, help him. But you know what, it would be funny to see the future. Aw yes, I can see it now, 'Malefor kills his Hatchling because his lover died and that's all he cared about'. Wouldn't be your first adventure doing something like that."

"GO TO HELL!" Malefor yelled, taking his wing off Carith and preparing for a fight.

"I'll see you there!"

"Enough!" Spyro yelled, once again exploding into his dark form.

Everyone watched in horror, even the two that were about to fight as the room engulfed in darkness and they could barely see the outline of Spyro aside from his white eyes. The darkness slowly came back to his body as it gave light back to the room. Walking into the middle of the two, he looked at Volteer who backed a way a little bit, somewhat still showing that he was there , which brought everyone hope. Coming back out from his dark form with his eyes turning back to a purple color, along with his scales, he now had to hope that he would be able to calm him down, "Malefor's right, Volteer. And I also see your point of view as well. Why do you think I was so hesitant to even try and bring him back? I knew without Carith, there would be no point, and it was true. But with your emotions now, even as you try to keep yourself sane, the darkness almost paralysis you if your emotions are too strong. The fact that all of us are even still alive is thanks to him, trying to keep control over himself."

"But...!"

"Let me finish!" Spyro growled, Interrupting Volteer very quickly as to not give him the input to change his mind on things, "I see where you are coming from. His love for Carith breaks him free every single time so easily yet, when you four are there, you all struggle. But you call him out for that even though you stand here and do it now. All of us are here for you, and we want to help you, but you decline it because all you care about is Ersa. So you should know why Malefor left, and you now know that the best things in life are also the worst things, and can be used as weapons: Love, Men, and Women."

"It doesn't matter. I know what the future is going to be, and it doesn't take a genius to see that. Almost all of us has killed someone, for some it is easier then others. And you're right, Spyro, love is used like a weapon. You stand in front of me, acting like you can help me, but even though you'll probably end up lying to me anyway, let's see what you say when I talk bad about your lover, about what's happened, and what could happen."

"Don't..."

"Oh, look at that, mister helpful turns into everyone's favorite enemy, isn't that sweet of you. Thought you were supposed to calm me down!"

"It's scary to think Malefor could be better then you."

"What?!"

"When Malefor was angry the first time and thought he lost his lover, even with the darkness, he fought it. And when Carith had supposedly died, he flew away because he knew that if he were to have stayed, he knew the darkness would've taken over and killed you four anyway, so by him flying away, he protected all of you from his darker side."

"You wouldn't know!"

"I know his actions are better then yours! You think you're the only one to lose someone! There is at least one couple out there who, after their Hatchling died, the two split up, and now they are without a Hatchling and their mate! Grow up on your issues! If you wanted to protect her so badly then you should've put in the work like how I do everyday to make sure you all are safe!"

"Shut up!"

"Go ahead then, hit me! Show me who I'm talking to! I'm sure Ersa would be proud looking down from above to see such a monster that she fell in love with! You were so nice to her, and if she were to see you now, you think she'd just accept you for turning your back on your friends?! She knows you could probably do the same to her, and to think the one she would've loved, to be a mate for, turned out to be another aggressive male."

Everyone was surprised that he would choose such words as they all believed he would attack him for it, but instead, he stood there, now looking down with his tears falling to the floor, body teased as he now didn't know what to do. It went quiet for a couple of seconds before he had turned towards the door and started to try and walk out of the room. Spyro walked past him and stood in front of the door way, wings stretched out so the last tip on his wing bone touched the ends of the doorway. Volteer had to stop in front of him as now his tail only dragged to the floor along with his wings, and it seemed all his anger and frustration had once again turned to sadness. Putting his forehead on Spyro's chest, he continued to sniffle and cry as he stood there, almost begging for an answer on what to do. He knew the answer was out there and murmured, "Let... me... through... please..."

"Volteer... I'm sorry I got your hopes so high. Like I said, all I wanted was for you to be happy. I held the truth because I didn't want to believe it, and I knew you wouldn't want too as well. We are your family, and we all care about you. Malefor may be a stubborn ass sometimes but, hehe, sometimes, when a family is that big, you have to learn to deal with one another, and to just have fun. I don't want her death to be the end of your world. I don't want you to go out the walls of Warfang and kill yourself for what's happened... Please... stay in the comfort of our home... let us help you..."

"I... I... I'm not going to do something stupid... I just... I want to be alone... I promise to stay in Warfang, and... I will be back before night just... please... let me... let me think things over..."

"Why be alone? We are all here now..."

"I just want to give my last thanks to Ersa... And apologise for how I acted... So... So I can hope that she will know I'm sorry for what I've done to you all... That I'm sorry I wasn't who I should be... And it's all my fault... If only I was strong... if only I had done things differently... maybe... just maybe..."

Sighing to see his friend in such a state, he knew it would probably be best if he let him go to think things over. Pulling his wings back to his side and standing over out of his way, he watched as he friend continued to drag his tail and wings on the floor as he walked. Knowing he could still hear him, he gave out one last call in hopes that would help ease his mind some more on what ever he's thinking, "We've all lost someone, Volteer, so you should know how sad and upset we would be if we lost you too. Please be back soon."

He didn't respond and continued down the hallway. Giving out a deep sigh, he had fears that that was the last time he would ever see of him. It's scared him to think about, but he knew he couldn't be downed about it now as he had to hopefully help get everyone back to their old selves after what's happened. Turning back and walking into the room, he stood in the middle and looked at everyone individually as he spoke, "We all just need to give him some time, and hopefully, with his strong mind, he will over come this, and we will be there for him. Malefor, thank you for not fighting back. Carith, you were trying to protect him so, I can't say anything as I understand. And Ignitus... Ignitus..."

"Spyro... I'm..."

"Don't worry about it. He is smart, and he would've learned sooner or later. Now that everything has calmed down, we can breath. As much as I wished the day wouldn't have turned out like this, I still did prepare. It didn't go as smoothly as I had hoped but, no one got injured so, I would say that was definitely better then other ways this could've played out."

"I hope this will make him feel better. I'm working on trying to make a deal with the Ancestors as to hopefully get Volteer to talk to his lover one last time."

"What? How?"

"I can't explain it of course, just know I can make it happen so he could at least give his goodbyes to her so he can hopefully move on. If you're wondering why I didn't try this on Malefor to help him move on, well, the Ancestors do not like the darkness what so ever, and, even though Malefor is himself, they don't want him anywhere near any of them or their stuff. He is actually forbidden from the White Isles all together."

"Didn't want to go to that hell hole anyway," Malefor said, completely fine that he didn't ever have to go back to that place ever again.

"Alright, hopefully that will help him. I guess now we just wait and hope he returns. Well, what I mean is, wait till nightfall so he can return."

Walking away from the middle of the room and over to his lover, he sighed hugely once again as he was pretty stressed out and bummed about the whole situation. His vision in front of him darkened slightly, and looking up, it was blocked by a red and black wing. Looking over, he looked to see Cynder smiling at him. Knowing how stressed he must be, she hoped her words would help, "I know after what's happened, us making out won't feel as good but, it's at least to help you out for everything that's happened."

Nuzzling her body up against her lover and curving her wing around the two now, they were face to face as they spoke, and Spyro responded her help, "Thank you, Cynder. I just, feel so bad. Even from what I heard, my gut just kept telling me she was out there, and I believed it, I always trust my gut no matter what someone else tells me. But... I guess... my gut only knows what it hopes will happen while my mind has all the facts that I should listen to."

"That's not true. After all, before, the Guardians and you didn't even know I was something more then just as monster. Your mind was filled with information about how I was evil, but because you trusted your gut, even after everything that's happened, we are here now... But... Who knows... Maybe Volteer could find someone else. I don't know what it's like, to move on from someone you love but... I don't think I could ever do it so... I don't know what he will do..."

"Yeah. And it's great and all Ignitus is getting the Ancestors help to let him say goodbye but... if he sees her... he isn't going to want to leave... If... if I saw you... even after what happened in the volcano... And I was forced to say goodbye even though you were right there... I... I..."

"Spyro... We will figure something out, I promise..."

Feeling the warmth of her lips as she put them over his, his eyes grew slightly wide before he was almost forced by his own self to push into the kiss as well. He didn't know it but, she was right. All the stress in his body and tension slowly started to disappear as he tried to calm himself down as well. It seemed to work as he was calmed, but of course, he still had the emotions rolling around in his mind, but now that he was calmed with the kiss, he was able to think easier and a lot better then before. Pulling away from the kiss and putting their foreheads on one another, Spyro chuckled as he whispered, "I keep forgetting the darkness usually messes with my mind... And your kiss just clears it up like a sunny day... Since you have powers to help me see clearly, and I haven't kissed you all the much today... Think you could help me out?"

"Why do you ask?"

"Hehe, because reasons. When ever it's more of a romantic atmosphere, I will tell you."

"Looking forward to it."

Feeling the warmth of her lips as they kissed once again, he could think as clearly once again which made it easier and easier for him to think of something to do. The two closed their eyes which helped him concentrate as he thought of an idea, and while he kissed her, he made sure he didn't lose himself completely to his thoughts and mess up the kiss. It proved to be very easy as the pleasure from the kiss was always in his mind as he thought about what he should do.

* * *

Laid down on the top of a building, looking down over everyone as he laid with his paws out in front to support his head, Volteer didn't know what to think of this new found information. But looking over everyone, seeing others laugh with friends and family, watching as mothers and fathers walk with their Hatchling, it stabbed at him more and more as he wondered what could've happened to him in those years that he missed with Ersa, _If she was still here now...could I have had a family...? Could I wake up everyone morning, with a smile on my face because I have it all...? What would have changed... what could I have done differently... Even how I trained to protect her, I've never been able to get my strength and power to that of how Spyro could... And she knows the same because, we thought the same... So... Ersa... I'm... sorry... I swear I've tried everything to be better, and to protect you but... Why... What was blinding me from being stronger...?_ He wondered more and more about what it could've been, but luckily, he had some help with that answer.

"Peace, Volteer," Ignitus spoke from beside him, and his yellow friend only moved his left eye over to see what he had to say, and what he meant by that, "You never really thought of such a threat. We had peace back then to be honest. You knew you were strong enough to take on dragons, many at that. But none of us could've prepared for what we were to face. If I'm right, you'd have to have the same strength and power Spyro has now to even attempt a chance of something like that. It's not your fault. We all weren't ready for such an emotional battle."

Looking away from him and back down to the citizens below, he scuffed slightly, "Look, thanks for the help but... I don't need a clone to help me feel better about myself. I would've figured it out on my own."

Laying down beside him, Ignitus raised his right arm while getting his claw from his left paw. Volteer wondered what he was doing and couldn't help but look over at his arm. Using a claw from his left arm, he stabbed a small hole in his arm. Seeing him do this, Volteer shivered as he wondered why he would do such a thing, and it didn't help as, once he did stab himself, a painful grunt emerged from his mouth. Seeing him pull his claw out from his arm, fresh blood covered the front half of his paw, and the hole in his arm revealed more blood. He was confused as to why he showed him this, and Ignitus forgotten that he wasn't there when he explained it, "My clones don't bleed, Volteer. I will give you the memory now so you know how it was brought up..."

Seeing the memory flash into his mind, his eyes grew wide as he now knew what this blood meant. As he blinked, the blood and the blood on his claw went away, and he put both back to the ground. Volteer was at a lost for words as he was surprised about what this meant and Ignitus explained in more detail, "You are just as important to me as everyone else is, including Claire. She's alone with the others right now and I was talking with her in my thoughts about what to do. Even she knows that you need someone. And, I might not be... her... But I've been with you and the other two long enough to know that I can at least hope my words will help."

Now that he was listening to what he was saying, and knowing that he was actually talking to someone, Volteer let the depression he felt take over once again as he spoke, "Spyro's right... How would she feel if she saw what I was, and what I was doing. He was right about what the darkness can do. He was right about... everything... Compared to others out there, I still have tons of friends like you all. I still have a place I can call home, and I have others I can look for to help me when I feel downed... You probably already know this but... It doesn't help that... I know Ersa is dead because... I did search for her once again when the war was finally over..."

"I did, read and see everything that happened. You asked a Dragoness in hopes she knew where Ersa could be but, she didn't know."

"Yeah but, at least she was nice enough to talk to me, and her husband was a very nice guy about it as well... I just, wonder what life would've been like if she was here... I feel like we would've already fallen in love, had a Hatchling together, and everything would've gone smoothly between us because... No one truly knew me like she did... She knew what to say... She knew... everything... like how Spyro and Cynder know each other... What do you think...?"

"Well, it's times like these where I do wonder what is the plan the Ancestors have for us. But... if you think about it, even if you were strong enough to fight everyone off, how would the world have changed today? Warfang was under terrible rule because of Oxyn and his way of doing things which made Warfang a pretty bad place. And other things like, where would the Hatchlings be? Where would we be? Would I or Spyro have ever found our loves. And you've seen Cynder's father. I think if he were still alive, this two would've never gotten together."

"Yeah... I... guess... And, I don't want to be selfish and only think of myself... Spyro changed the way I thought. I never trusted the purple dragons after everything they've done, and even through Spyro hasn't done anything untrustworthy... Today was just one of those days where... I... I guess I can't say anything... He tried... He kept my hopes up, and he was there for me every step of the way... Even when he wanted to kiss his lover and stay with her, he still found the time to help me."

"Volteer... I can hopefully do something that might give you some closure after everything that's happened."

"And how's that?"

"Well, after everything that's happened, I've been thinking of ways to hopefully calm you if you ever figured out what's happened. One idea I found was to, let you say goodbye to her."

"W... what..."

"I have a clone trying to desperately work out a way you could see her at least one more time in the afterlife. That way, you can see her again, and give her the proper goodbye rather then just leaving without saying anything. I know it would be emotional so, I'm trying to make sure you can stay with her for at least an hour. What do you say to that...? Volteer... Is... everything okay?"

Ignitus thought this would be great knows for his friend to hear, but as he talked about it, it seemed to make him tear up more, and he struggled as his body stiffened up. Trying to calm himself down as to not make too much of an outburst, he shuck his head from the tears, and Volteer couldn't decided whether that was a good idea or not, "I... I don't know... if I could do that... To see her again, to know she's there, to talk to her, and to feel her scales once again... I... To say goodbye when I know she's there... to know... I can be there... But... if I don't then... I'd miss out on it all... I..."

"Volteer... if it makes you, feel any better, the worse the Ancestors could do was make it so you could never talk to her, or, I couldn't have told you the truth. But I could maybe work out something better like, maybe you'd be able to see her once a week for a good couple of hours."

"But that still doesn't make it right...! I know she's there, they have her... soul, or, life or, what ever the hell, they have her, and they can't just bring her back?! If they are so powerful and you have connections with them, then there has to be someway you could tell them, or convince them to bring her back... right?!"

"I... I can't... do that."

"Why?!"

"Because if there was something like that, then the worst you could have to do is trade a life for a life, maybe even more depending on how important this life really is. And since this life has an emotional attachment, you'd have to kill someone..."

"I've killed before! If it means bringing her back then..."

"Volteer...! You have to kill someone with the same emotional attachment."

"What do you mean."

"You want a family... Well... you'd have to trade a family, for a family. That's just how it is."

Hearing it now, it sounded terrible, and all his hopes of getting her back were now shattered. He had to calm himself down once again from hopeful excitement and anger and once again went back to being depressed now, once again back to where he once was once again. Ignitus felt bad as he was wishing he would be able to help him in some way, but every time he thought of something, it would back fire on him and it would seem all his effort wouldn't do anything to help. Giving out a slight sigh, he agreed with himself as he thought, _As painful as it is for me to say... Ersa would know how to cheer him up... Those two were always the most joyful dragons I've ever seen._ Not really knowing if he could do anything else, he apologized as he stood up, "I'm sorry, Volteer... I know what she meant to you... And you're strong... If I were to lose Claire now... I'm deeply sorry that someone like you should ever have to suffer. I've made you invisible to everyone else along with myself before you came down here so, if there is anything you need to lash out now, I'm here... It's my fault for not being the leader you all wanted me to be..."

It was silent for a couple of seconds, and even Volteer's thoughts were none existent. It scared him as all he wanted to know was what he was thinking of, and even for the couple seconds of silence, he was glad to hear him speak and think after so long for someone such as him. As he came back to himself, Volteer let out a defeated sigh, knowing there was probably nothing he could do from beyond what he was told, "Can... Can you give me the memories... about the times I spent with Ersa... The Times where, it was nice and peaceful... The Times where things seemed terrible but... everything was so perfect because of what she did or what I did... Hehe, kinda like when she felt bad for destroying everything but... I did feel bad knowing that she thought that I thought my research was more important then her life..."

"Are you... sure...?"

"It's the one thing I'm most sure about..."

"Okay... But... please. Do remember what I told you; About how I was alone as well, and I understand what it feels like to be..."

"Ignitus, it's fine... I just... I need to think more... You've all helped... And it's going to take some time for me to look at Malefor the same again but... Maybe a quick punch and a hope dislocated jaw will make me feel better.."

"Hehe. Should I warn him of his inbound threat?"

"Oh absolutely. That way, when I do return, he will have constant paranoia not knowing when I'd hit him."

"Hehe, sounds like a plan."

Ignitus was glad that he was able to get him to smirk at least even a little which was progress enough, and he knew that was probably the best he could do. Turning away from him, his body grew a white light as it appeared around him, and just as he was about to leave, Volteer picked up his head and asked as he looked at him, "I'm not getting my hopes up or anything but... Did anyone find her? After the stunt me and Spyro pulled, does anyone have any information on her?"

He didn't want to tell him as to take the small smirk from his face that he had, but he knew if he didn't say anything, he'd find out anyway, so he was honest with him, "I'm... sorry, Volteer. No one has ever heard of a dragoness named Ersa. Of course aside from that one that the dragoness talked about, and I looked into it very quickly but... it's not her. No one knows anyone else named Ersa. And I wondered if maybe she had talked to someone if she was here but... it seems as though Ersa never even made it to Warfang... which means..."

"I know... It's fine... I just... was wondering. I will still promise to be back before my time is up... just... please remember the memories of me and Ersa..."

"Alright. When ever you close your eyes, I will give you the memories."

"Thank you, Ignitus. And, tell Spyro, thank you as well. I shouldn't have acted that way and... I know all he wanted to do was help. And, tell them, I'm sorry if I scared any one for the way I acted. That wasn't me and... I will give a proper apology when I get back."

"I will be sure to let them know."

As he disappeared, Ignitus smiled, and to his absolute surprise, so did Volteer before he vanished. Now with him gone, Volteer was once again all alone on the top of the building. Turning his head straight once again and laying on his paws, his frown pretty quickly disappeared. As he thought more and more about his time with everyone, he couldn't help but chuckle as he thought, _Thinking of how scared Malefor would be. Thinking about everyone laughing and joking about how scared he is... I... I guess I can't hold what happened against him... It wasn't the purple dragons that destroyed my life... It was my fault... I should've been strong and I wasn't... I'm so sorry, Ersa..._ Thinking about it now, he needed to remember what life was like back with her just one more time in hopes this would help him try and let go, but to not move on, _Ersa... I will always remember you... I promise that I won't move on from you, but instead, continue to live on for the both of us... I swear._ Closing his eyes another single tear went down his cheek as he did and he laid there and awaited Ignitus to give him the memories he wanted to desperately relive.


	13. Chapter 13: Volteer's Undying Love

Chapter 13: Volteer's Undying Love

 _"Why can't things get better?" Volteer thought, dragging his tail on the ground as he walked on the paths of Warfang, bored, sad, and with nothing to do. And with his boredom came the thoughts and reasons why he could be in such a mood, "The loss of my parents, losing our best friend, and to know something is out there is... It's so scary to think about. And ever since Oxyn and the others left to go find Malefor, they haven't come back since... which... Ignitus already knows... we all know what has happened... But why... Why must everything be taken away? Why must we lose so much?" Continuing to look downed and depressed as he walked, he didn't hear as others were asking him questions, wondering if he was okay, but since he was in his own world, he couldn't hear anyone as he passed by. The light from the sun was soon blocked out as something had appeared in front of him as he walked into it. What ever it was covered his face completely, almost like a blanket covering his face. Backing up, he saw it was a yellow Dragoness who had stopped him with her wing. She knew he was already confused as to why and giggled, "Walk any further, and you would've been head first into a wall... Well, technically speaking, you wouldn't have gone through the wall as you weren't going that fast but... Sorry... I just get way into how the world works and all. My apologies."_

 _"No no no, it's fine. You are right though. And I've never been someone who really understood such ways of telling things as well. I know it's a metaphor and all but... I get a little too into how things work and how they should. And, I agree with you. I wouldn't have gone through the wall, but I could've gotten a concussion at best if I hit my head too hard." Volteer chuckled as he started to get into the conversation, even for something so simple. She smiled at him and started to get into the conversation as well, "And it could be scary though as you could have too kinds of concussions. One could either be a closed brain injury in which there is no bleeding or opening in the skull, or..."_

 _"Or it could be an open brain injury in which something penetrates the skull and goes into the brain," Volteer happily finished the other sentence, and something about this made him feel the joy in his body once again, something he hadn't felt in such a long time. And with her smile, he was glad to see she was enjoying talking about something so in-depth with him. Seeing him now smile compared to how he was before, she asked him as his attitude had changed so quickly, "I'm, sorry for bringing this up but, you seem so happy now. I love to see smiles all around me and, helping and talking to you is such a dream of mine. But I was wondering, why did you seem so sad? I don't want to bring up bad memories or, what ever else you were thinking about. But, with me talking to you, and seeing you change from sadness to joy so quickly, does your sadness have to do with a female?" Even as she talked about it, he actually chuckled as she asked him that, but did give a small frown as he explained, "Hehe, no, it's... it's not about a female. I've never been with someone before so, it's not that. I just... I once had a friend and... he's gone... My parents are gone and... Please keep this a secret but... Us, the other three Guardians... We know what's happened to the other four... And by that, I mean... their... dead as well." She gave a small frown as well hearing how bad things had been for him, but she saw him smile once again as he continued, "But, I guess my attitude changed so quickly because, I haven't really talked all that much and in detail about something so simple with anyone. And usually when I do, I get yelled at and end up annoying everyone, especially the Guardians."_

 _"What's so annoying about knowledge? Knowledge can save you. Like how we were just discussing what kind of concussion you could get. With that kind of knowledge, you'll know what to do and how to proceed in order to help someone with their concussion. Hehe, I usually have my satchel on me, carrying stuff to help save lives just in case but, everyone seemed to be doing okay today. Well, aside from you of course. I'm sorry to hear about your parents and friend."_

 _"Well, he isn't so much gone as he is... corrupted. After his lover died, he left, and we lost her as well. We all liked her too as she was nice to him, she was funny, and all around someone you could trust. So, because of his corruption, we believe it's because of that that caused the other Guardians to die... And I don't know what I can do to help."_

 _"Corruption? How does it work?"_

 _"I haven't really attempted to test such a thing as I believe their would be no point in trying but... I know that, deep down, maybe it could work."_

 _"Well, their is science to everything. If he's corrupted then their has to be a way to stop it, or a way to control it, maybe even contain it. From the sounds of it, this isn't the friend you now, which means it could work off the brain which is, pretty obvious of course as that's where it could easily manifest, but what if we found a way to make something stronger then the corruption? Kinda like fighting a virus with a virus of the same power to cancel each other out, only, it would be a corruption fighting another... Oh... Sorry, I went off on a rant again."_

 _Seeing how bright his face lit up with a smile, she couldn't tell if she did something right or something wrong. Seeing him smile so wide, and compared to how he looked before, she had hoped that what she said had helped. And for Volteer, hearing how smart and helpful she was, he started to blush a little as he started to wonder in his thoughts, "Would she... Would she really help me out? Would she stay with me to help with such a thing? The hopes of bringing Malefor back, could it... Could she really help me...?! But... it... it sounds like I'm using her... But... in a way, I also just want her around... I haven't felt this happy in forever... What would she say?" He didn't want to wonder for too long as he knew it would feel awkward if he just stood their, blushing with a smile as he looked at her for too long. Instead, he gathered up his strength to ask her, hoping she would say yes, "Um... I... I was wondering if you'd like to... help me... with the tests to bring him back."_

 _"Wh... You... You... But I'm just a citizen. There is probably someone out there who is way better then me and I..."_

 _"Please... I don't want to force you but... I... I really want to get to know you in the process. And you don't have to worry about a place to stay. You can stay in the Guardians Building and we can give you your own room. And since no one else is ever up there because of us being Guardians, you'll have all the building to yourself basically." He was now afraid as he saw what seemed like a face of dumbstruck. She didn't know what to say as she believed she didn't deserve such a life, and it seemed like the dream life she had always wanted. "Being... with a Guardian... In the Guardians Building... working with him... I... I... I can't mess up my chance!" Now more scared then ever, she quickly agreed now that she was back to herself, "Yes! Yes, of course!" She was a little embarrassed from the sudden outburst and even blushed a little. Since she felt her reaction was more of a overreaction, she went to apologise. But Volteer's face lit up once again with the biggest smile he's ever had on his face as he happily said, "You will?! Thank you...! I... I actually just realized, I haven't gotten your name. So far, all I know is of the color of your eyes. Which I've noticed were always shining a beautiful bright blue which... Is very pretty I must say."_

 _"Oh..." She blushed slightly, putting a paw on the side of her face, a little embarrassed as she never knew she would get a compliment by a Guardian, "Thank you, Volteer." He felt a little bad about trying to jump into his experiment to help save his friend, so instead, he wanted to take things a little slower and apologized, "Sorry, I don't want you to think I only care about you because you're helping me. So, I want to take as much time as needed to find out more about you. So, before I show you around the pretty, Hehe, bland inside of the Chambers, may I get your name?" Hearing him say it now, she never thought anything of it and giggled because of the idea, "Well, it most certainly would've worked, and I sure wouldn't have been mad. But, Thank you, once again, for all this. And to finally give you my name... My... My name is, Ersa."_

 _"Ersa? Such a majestic name... I like it."_

 _"Oh... Hehe... Thank you."_

 _Now that he had looked out from the blue gaze of her eyes, he couldn't help but look at her now since he had calmed down a little from jumping up and wanting to do something. As he looked at her, his eyes grew a little wide as he didn't realize how beautiful she really was. The bright blue color of her underbelly, along with her wing flaps and the inside of her tail fins shined with her eyes. Ersa had five horns, two on her head, and three on the back of her head. The first two stood on opposite ends of one another on the back of her head. They went out backwards before curving slightly up. And the other three horns were small and were on the back of her neck. One was on the top left of her head, underneath one of her fins. The other two were slightly down underneath that one, both going off to each side, one on the back left, and the other on the back right of her neck. As her tail fins went from the top of her head and down her neck, he looked at her tail blade which was in the shape of a two similar looking sides with that of himself. Ersa couldn't help but blush as she watched him check her out from each side. Taking his head back up, he forget to see that she also had two small horns, one on the back left, and other on the back right of her bottom jaw line. He also missed the fact that she was blushing while he looked at her, and knowing why, he quickly apologized, "Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean..."_

 _"Volteer, it's fine. I've never been looked at by a Guardian before so, I will, allow it. But only for the first time. Watch were those eyes go mister."_

 _"Oh, yeah, of course. I'm sorry."_

 _"Volteer... I promise you, it's fine. I... I like the fact that you suggest to get to know each other so, please, let's talk some more. But, are you sure I am... worthy enough to be in such a building? And what will the Guardians think of me?"_

 _"Hehe, I guess this is where I step in and say it's fine as well. And, you know what... Ersa, trust me when I say, it's fine. Please, when you walk into the building and see the others, make it feel like home, okay?" Hearing his words in such a soothing way, she gave a small sigh before looking back up at him and smiling, "Okay... I trust you." He couldn't help but smile with what she had said, and he didn't want to break that trust so early on, so he knew he'd have to do everything he could to make sure he didn't. "Alright then, shall I, lead the way, Miss Ersa?"_

 _"Hehe. If you would, Sir Volteer."_

* * *

 _"What's wrong? I swear they are very nice," Volteer assured Ersa as she now wasn't so sure about going into the Chambers and meeting the other Guardians. As they sat right outside the doorway to the right, she was now shaking a little as she apologized, "I'm sorry, I just... What if I say something wrong or, I do something they don't like and I get kicked out of Warfang? I don't know, I just..." Putting a paw over hers, he assured her once again, "Ersa, don't worry. I know it's only your first couple of hours you've been with me, but I promise, I'd never lie to you. Trust me." Giving out another sigh, she remembered what she had said, and she believed she could trust him, so she put her trust and hopes into him. Putting her paw over his now, she nodded and said, "Okay... I trust you." He smiled at her trust. Taking a small peak into the room, he saw the three were all in there, talking in a row as they were discussing something. Looking back at her, he nodded his head into the doorway and proceeded to walk into the Chambers with Ersa following behind. The three Guardians looked over to see their friend had walked in with someone behind him. "Hey guys. What are you three talking about?" Volteer asked as he hoped this would get her to see they are pretty normal dragons. "Just wondering about the future, that's all. We've wondered how we are going to keep the Hatchlings safe at the Dragon Temple while also keeping the citizens safe here. But, we have an idea of how we can easily do that so, we aren't worried. We are just worried about... Malefor..." Volteer smiled from the idea of being worried which confused the other three entirely, but he explained, "Hehe, don't worry about that. I have an idea on how we can get our friend back. Even after what he... did to my parents... I will just have to make him pay by forcing him to undergo some... heart stopping, experiments." The three all chuckled from his words, but they still wondered what he meant by him having a plan. Looking behind his back to make sure she was okay, she did seem to have warmed up a little to them. Taking her final sigh, she walked out from his side and the three Guardians looked at her, somewhat causing her to blush. "Guys, I would like you all to meet Ersa. She said we could find a way together to bring Malefor back, and from the sounds of it, all it takes is us trying and we can do it. There is nothing science can't explain, and we know the corruption works by messing with the brain. And even if it doesn't, as long as he can control his thoughts, he can control his actions, and hopefully we can bring him back."_

 _"What?" The Guardians all were in disbelief to hear such news, but they didn't want to get their hopes up just yet. Ersa wanted to make herself feel at home as the two once discussed and decided to talk with the other three about their idea, "It's true that one's mind can easily be manipulated in a way through force, hypnosis, or other means. One of my many theories in order to help your friend is by making a virus similar to the darkness, there by the two will fight for control but kill each other in the process, hopefully freeing your friend all together. And that's just one of many ideas to help save your friend." Seeing their faces all light up with smiles, she smiled as well as it did seem they were just as normal as she was. Looking at Volteer, the two smiled together, hopeful for what was to come._

* * *

 _"Huh... I don't remember it making that color," Ersa talked to herself as she sat in front of a table holding two beakers, one in her left paw and another in the other, "Maybe I'm missing something..." She paused as she looked down on her book on the table, but papers were scattered over the top of the book, blocking what she needed to see. Putting one of the beakers down on the table, she moved the papers off the book and was now clearly able to see her notes. Picking up the beaker once again, she looked at it and read as what she had wrote, "'Unknown combinations to be cautious of...' Ah, here we go. 'When combining two elements, we've found what to and what not to mix. As of working in progress, we've found... Histaven mixed with... Oxfin... Desven...' Huh... nothing on mixing Histaven with Cerven. This is a work in progress so, might as well try it out." With a beaker out in front of her, she poured the two into it. At the same time, the two big doors opened at the front of the room, revealing Volteer as he walked into the room. "Hey, Ersa... Wait... What are you mixing?"_

 _"Well, I went through our book and saw we hadn't tried mixing Histaven and Cerven, so..."_

 _"Ersa! Run out the door!" Seeing the chemicals start to bubble and boil over very suddenly, she quickly did as she was told, dropping both beakers, and running out the door passing right by Volteer. "Oh hell..." Seeing as the table lit up on fire, he bolted out the door and the Guardians looked over from where they sat in the training room and were about to ask as they watched Volteer slam the door shut. "Run over by me!" Volteer yelled, running over towards the right side of the wall where Ersa sat, heart pounding and scared as she had no idea what she had done. The Guardians all ran over to Volteer and stood behind Ersa in a row. Putting his wings around Ersa as he faced her, Volteer braced for what was to come, and it only took seconds for it to happen. The explosion was loud enough to make even the Guardians fear. The building shuck, the walls from the other side sounded as if they had cracked, and the door was blown out from the back wall that separated the two rooms. With the doors hitting the floor, they crumbled into pieces with rubble rolling all over the floor. Volteer turned his head to see smoke coming from the room. Taking his wings off of Ersa, he looked at Cyril and said, "I need your help." His friend nodded and the two ran over towards the room. As the two reached the front of the doorway, Volteer pointed into the room and said, "You know what to do. Where ever there's fire, just put it out with as cold of ice as you can make. Just be careful as you still need your oxygen. If you feel light headed, run out here and I will help you." Cyril nodded and started from the doorway and made his way into the room as he blew ice from his mouth to extinguish the flames. "What happened?" Ersa heard Terrador ask which made her fear for her life as she knew what happened and who caused it. Her body froze for a second as she knew it was her fault, and hearing what had happened, she knew the worst had happened. Taking each step very carefully as she made her way to the doorway, it took her a little bit as she saw the look on Volteer's face. It seemed as though he was angry, disappointed, and even upset. As she stood beside him, she gave out a slight gasp as she saw the devastation. Everything they had worked on was now covered in melted ice, watered over and burned. Everything was destroyed from the looks of it, and even the room was nearly broken up and close to falling apart. She watched as Cyril went around the room, using his ice to freeze over everything where fire was. Volteer let out a sigh, like a stressful sigh, and Ersa knew what she had to do. "I'm... sorry... Volteer..." Ersa whispered. A chuckle emerged from Volteer's mouth as he joked, "Well. That's definitely going to be one for the books... Hehehe, well, after we get some books back. It's going to take a bit to make paper again but..." Turning his head to look at Ersa, she was gone. Turning around and looking behind himself, he saw Ersa running towards the front doors. "Ersa!" The other two Guardians watched as Volteer ran after Ersa as the main doors opened and she ran out. With those two out of sight, Cyril emerged from the room, covered in black dust and dirt, coughing as he walked over to the two. The two looked at him and he grumbled, "What the... hell... was that..." The two both shrugged and Ignitus said, "We are just as confused as you are."_

 _Running out to the outside area of the Dragon Temple and standing on the outside balcony, Ersa opened her wings but couldn't bring herself to fly away as she heard Volteer cry out, "Ersa! Wait!" She struggled as to what she wanted to do, but she didn't want to leave him, not after everything they've been through. Running up to her side, she closed her wings and looked at the ground as her tears fell to the ground. "Hey, what's wrong? If this is about what's happened, you have nothing to worry about." He seemed calmer to her, but she knew this was almost how he always was, and couldn't tell if what she saw was towards her or not. She couldn't bring herself to thing he would hate her, so she had to find out in a simpler manner, "I... I saw that look... How upset and angry you were at me... It's all my fault... All of our work... all of our research... Everything we've done... gone... I'm sorry..." Volteer gave a slight chuckle which confused her, and she looked at him to see he had a smile on his face. As she sat down, she was both scared and confused. She didn't understand why he would be chuckling at something after what's happened, but she knew this was just how he was. He seemed so normal even after everything that's happened, and she begged to know why, "I... I don't understand... After what I did... Why... Why do you seem... So calm? You seem... like yourself... Why...?" Walking in front of her, he sat down and looked her in the eyes as he whispered to her, "Do you really think any of the work would ever come close to becoming as important to me as you are." Hearing those words, her eyes grew wide as she mumbled, "W...What..." Once again, he smiled as he chuckled which gave her that heartwarming feeling as he comforted her, "It's paper, and materials. It's not a living thing. If anything, what you did was a good thing."_

 _"Why...? I destroyed everything! Everything we've worked on! And now, because of me... you can't save your friend... I'm a failure..." She stopped as she felt the warmth of his wings cover her back, and she looked at him, wondering why he was being so calm and helpful, but deep down, past her fears, she knew why. "After all this time, you don't trust me?" Volteer let out a small sigh with a frown, and she couldn't tell if he was playing with her or not, so she took it seriously as she apologized, "No... Volteer... I..." Once again he chuckled. Putting a paw to the side of her face, he assured her of everything she feared, "That ring we were working on to save Malefor, Ignitus has it. Don't you remember? I went to go and find it and I found Ignitus had it. He was training to figure out a way to safely put it on him without being killed. And as for our other work and our other experiments, well... I guess I will just have to work another lifetime with you to get everything back together. Which... I look forward to... I very much do." Now feeling like herself again, she looked past her fears and all she could do was cry. Putting her arms around his neck with her head over his shoulder, she whispered, "Volteer... I... I don't know what to say..." Putting his paw on the top of her head, he whispered to her as well, "It's okay, Ersa. The fact that you can still breath and talk is all I want. I didn't care about our work when everything was happening. All I knew is that... I needed to protect you... I was scared to think of what would happen to you if you took that explosion head-on." Pulling her head back while he placed his paw back to the ground, she wondered how he knew about the explosion, "How did you know those two chemicals would explode? We never had it written down, and that was new to me. And I had chemicals at the ready that I could've put in to stop it."_

 _"Hehe, don't worry. Nothing we had would've stopped it. A dragon like me once tried it and... it didn't go well for him. He was a friend of my dad's, and I looked up to him and wanted to be as smart as him. And as for why nothing would've stopped it, well... When those two chemicals mix, the substance burns at a temperature hotter then any element out there that would be a able to cool it down. He did find such a substance but... It's a little down to earth to get in a location from what he's found."_

 _"So... how do they work?"_

 _"Well, The Histaven is already such a very heated substance, and when melted in such a way, it becomes very dangerous. Cerven is similar, but not as deadly, unless combined with a super heated substance. With those two combined in liquid form, they ignite, and there is a substance in the Cerven that catches fire when it gets too hot, causing it to heat up and explode. And combined with Histaven, well... You got yourself one powerful bomb. Good thing we keep our other substances out of the way in that room though or else... Well... I wouldn't be talking to you."_

 _"Volteer... I..."_

 _"Ersa... To be honest, I've never been happier. With the work gone, we still know so much more from memory. With our memory and our knowledge of what we've already done and learned, we can learn and grow together once again as we work, possibly making something even better. We can make something amazing! And now, we can even have the fun adventures once again of us going out and getting what we need to work, all over again... and the best part... It's all with you... I... hope that's okay..."_

 _"Hehehe... well... When you put it like that..." Ersa paused as she closed her eyes and put her nose against his, "I look forward to our lives once again..." Volteer closed his eyes as well and the two shifted their heads so now their foreheads were touching as they sat in front of one another. After everything that had happened, Ersa needed to make sure that he truly wasn't angry with her, and even apologised for questioning it, "Volteer... My fears blocked me from seeing the real you... I know who you are, and I like everything about you... But with my fears... I need to know, one last time..."_

 _"Fears? Of me? The only thing you should fear is how we are going to get some of those elements back. We had to go nearly to the second layer in the earth to get those." The two shared a small laugh with one another which made her feel even better, and as she thought about it, the entire time, he was always keeping his smile, always joking, and trying to show her that nothing was wrong. "Volteer... Thank you... for everything... And... I'm sorry for doubting you... I will never do such a thing ever again... I trust you..." Putting his paw over hers, he chuckled as he whispered, "I'd never lie to you. Trust me." She giggled as she got her other paw and placed it over his, whispering with a big smile, "Okay... I trust you."_

* * *

 _"I know the world isn't at peace but... It's times like these where, it sure does feel like it," Ersa whispered very calmly, breathing in the fresh air as she was snuggled up and happy laying down next to Volteer. The warmth from his body and the wing draped over her, along with the cool breeze that was outside as they laid on the balcony, they both balanced each other out which made her as comfortable as she's ever felt. "Yeah... it sure does... But, don't worry, I'm sure that the world will be at peace here soon. With the gem to capture Malefor at the ready in case anything happens, and with the ring, I know we can save him. The Darkness will go away, we can deal with the apes afterwards, and we all go home happy. Aside from the loss of Carith but... We... We will find something to do."_

 _"With us together, I'm sure we will," Ersa happily agreed, looking up into the sky and watching the starts shine with the full moon gave off a sense of peace. With the two looking up in the sky, they both were able to catch a shooting start that went across the sky. Ersa and Volteer both gasped and he said, "Quick, make a wish." She smiled as she knew that he would give her the wish. Closing her eyes for a second, she opened them back up and he asked, "Well, what did you wish for." Ersa giggled at him, "You know I can't say, or else the wish won't come true... And so far..." She paused as she snuggled up to Volteer, putting her head over his shoulder and whispering, "The wish is already coming true."_

* * *

 _"I... I can't keep going on like this," Volteer thought, keeping his eyes open and waking up from his sleep. He looked at the Guardians first to see they were all sleeping around the floor in the training room. Looking over to Ersa as she laid sideways on the floor, passed out and asleep, he stood up and thought, "Just say it... You know you should, and you can, so why am I holding back from saying it? I love her, with all my heart and soul I do and... I guess it's... it's that reason why I can't say it. Because I'm scared she would leave, and all of that would be destroyed." Walking around the front of her body and looking at her as she slept, he growled at himself as he struggled on what to do. With a couple of seconds going by, he told himself in agreement about what he would do, "Tomorrow... I... I will kiss her tomorrow. I will tell her I love her, and our lives together, as lovers will be... amazing... perfect. But... I... I can't help myself but wonder..." Leaning his head down, his lips were right in front of hers, and he knew he shouldn't, but he couldn't help himself. Kissing her lips with his, his eyes shot wide, and he felt warmth and joy shoot through his body. Pulling away from the kiss, he had to catch his breath as if he had forgotten to breath and thought to himself, "I... I've read about what it's like to kiss but... that... She... She didn't even kiss me back... So... how would it feel if she did...? Damn it! I'm so stupid for doing that... I... I have to tell her tomorrow. I can't wait any longer." Walking back around and laying behind her back, he draped his wing back over her and laid his head down on his paws that laid in front of him. Closing his eyes, he didn't see the tear that fell down Ersa's face. A smile crept across her face as she thought, "He... He... really does... love me... He... I... I have to tell him tomorrow then! I can't believe I didn't kiss him as well. It felt... amazing and I... No... don't think about it, you'll never get any sleep... I will tell him tomorrow, that way, we will be able to kiss all we want... Me and Volteer... in love... I... please... Ancestors, let this be true."_

* * *

Volteer's body teased, his body shivered, and tears ran down his eyes as he cried, learning of this information that he had received. _She... She really did... love me... I... Ersa..._ He cried in his thoughts, unable to make out a full sentence as his mind was filled with all kinds of emotions as he remembered and learned more of the past. Having now seen everything once again, having learned of what he missed out on, he let his body go limp as he laid his wings and tail flat on the ground while ducking his head into his paws and cried. _I'm a failure... She knew... And before I could tell her... before... She could tell me... the attack happened... but... why...? What did I do...? Why... Ancestors... please... Please tell me... please... I need to know... I just want to know._ All he wanted to do now was just lay down and give up as there was no reason for him to stand up, no reason for him to keep on living. Thinking about about what's happened in life, and everything he's lost, he remembered back to what Ignitus had said to him when he had lashed out.

* * *

 _"Those ten years, when you all were captured... I was all by myself for so long. I had no one to turn to, no one who loved me, no one to care for me. But... I did have my family. My mother and father were survivors of the Dark Master's attack. If she is... died, we are here for you. We are the family you can come to if you feel lonely. Please believe me when I say that... I know what it is like to feel lonely," Ignitus murmured._

* * *

 _Even as I want to give out... there are still others out there who care and love me. Because of what's happened with Ersa, I really have become nothing but a monster to everyone who wishes to help me. I yelled at my friends even when they tried to help me,_ Volteer thought sadly to himself, remembering back to what happened when he found out she was died.

* * *

 _"You act like you're high and mighty, but you can't even accept what you did to us back when you last left us. You didn't care. Carith was dead and you got out of there the first chance you got. Didn't stay, didn't let his, supposed, friends and family, to help him. But you know what, it would be funny to see the future. Aw yes, I can see it now, 'Malefor kills his Hatchling because his lover died and that's all he cared about'. Wouldn't be your first adventure doing something like that."_

* * *

 _I was being a hypocrite when I said that... I called him a monster, said he turned his back on friends when... I'm doing the same thing... Just like him, I lost someone I loved, and it drove me mad. And now that I'm going through the same thing... I understand what happened... I understand why he couldn't fight it... and he's right... And then I yelled at Spyro... the main one who supported me... who had my back through this entire adventure... And all he wanted was to help me... And I turned on him too,_ Volteer continued to think to himself in his thoughts, remembering back once again to what he had done to his friends, along with everything Spyro said to him.

* * *

 _"Go ahead then, hit me! Show me who I'm talking to! I'm sure Ersa would be proud looking down from above to see such a monster that she fell in love with! You were so nice to her, and if she were to see you now, you think she'd just accept you for turning your back on your friends?! She knows you could probably do the same to her, and to think the one she would've loved, to be a mate for, turned out to be another aggressive male," Spyro spat._

* * *

 _"Volteer... I'm sorry I got your hopes so high. Like I said, all I wanted was for you to be happy. I held the truth because I didn't want to believe it, and I knew you wouldn't want too as well. We are your family, and we all care about you. Malefor may be a stubborn ass sometimes but, hehe, sometimes, when a family is that big, you have to learn to deal with one another, and to just have fun. I don't want her death to be the end of your world. I don't want you to go out the walls of Warfang and kill yourself for what's happened... Please... stay in the comfort of our home... let us help you..."_

* * *

 _"Why be alone? We are all here now..."_

* * *

 _Spyro was always there for me... He tried his best to calm me down, he wanted nothing more then for me to be safe and... all I kept doing was wanting to push myself to be alone, to hate and deny everything that they all said... And... He was right... love is a powerful weapon... able to destroy someone's heart if something ever happened... So... what should I do next... Do I talk to Ersa in the afterlife... or do I keep living my life with my friends...?_ Taking his head out from his paws as he thought about it, he felt tired now from all the tears he had shed. His eyes were open, but not completely. He watched as the sun was getting close to going away, and the moon would come up in the next couple of hours. He wished he had more time to think about it, but he was sure of one thing, _I guess for now, I should go back and apologize to everyone. And after what I did, I know Ersa probably saw that so... facing her now, after doing what I did... She wouldn't want to talk to me... I wouldn't want to talk to myself either if I was like that._ Standing up and dusting himself off, he turned his body turns the Guardians Building and opened his wings. But as he did, something caught his eye just at the very corner. It was only there for a split second once he had turned, and as he turned back, the dragon he thought he saw was gone. He felt wired for some reason, and turning and looking back, he saw a dragon flying out the walls of Warfang. _Is this dragon crazy?! He could get killed._ Turning his body around, he flew into the air and chased after the dragon. _I guess before I return, I should at least help get this dragon back before something happens._ Flying over the walls and over the trees, he was able to see a small glimpse of the dragon touching down in the forest, and he immediately followed. Landing a couple of trees away, he moved through the forest as quickly as he could. He got to an open clearing and heard what sounded like a joyful cry.

"Yes! It worked! I... I can't believe it worked!" The voice cried out joyfully.

Volteer was suspicious as to what it was, along with something that felt odd to him, but he couldn't figure out what. Before he looked at the dragon, he focused his attention on something in front of him. It was a small storm cloud. It gave out small rumbles with rain coming down from it. Volteer was in shock at seeing such a thing. _How... How could anyone know how to do such a thing?! And, to do it in this atmosphere... Who..._ Pausing in his thoughts, he looked away from the small storm cloud and looked up to who the dragon was. A loud gasp escaped his mouth and everyone emotion he had once felt before was all coming back to him. His sadness and tears started up once again, but more confusion then anything else. _It... No... No... I'm... I'm still dreaming..._ Walking out into the open field, his eyes grew wide once again, seeing the yellow and blue he had once seen before. The dragon looked over at Volteer and gasped as well, now both looking at one another eye to eye. _E... E... Ersa..._ Ersa blushed with a warm smile as she didn't think she would be meeting him once again in such a way. She didn't know what to say to him, and all she could do for the time being was giggle as she tried to say something, "Hey, Volteer... Hehe, long time no see."

Hearing her voice, he knew something was familiar about her. But his sadness grew more and more as he looked at her body, seeing cuts, bruises and scars all over her body. But what made him tear up the most was her left eye as he faced her. Straight down the middle with what looked like three claw marks made a scar in her eye, preventing her from seeing, and by the looks of it, he knew it must've been painful from what ever happened. He shuck his head as his teeth clenched, and he ran up to her as quickly as he could, throwing his wings around her as he stood in front of her. Sitting down in front of her with his head over her shoulders, he cried, unable to really get out a sentence, "Er... Ersa... You... I... How... I'm... I'm so confused... I'm... I'm so scared... Please... please... this... this isn't a dream... is it...? Please Ancestors..."

She started to tear up in her left eye as well, but she didn't understand why he was hugging her, and why he still had so much emotions towards her. _I... I don't understand... I thought... I thought he had moved on... I saw... I didn't see wrong, did I?!_ Ersa thought, only making it more painful for her to think about as she now believed she had made a mistake. Moving her wings over his and placing therm over his back, she hugged him as well, resting her head over his shoulder and giving out a slight gasp as she remembered this feeling. _His... scales... He looks so handsome... And his scales are so smooth, just as they always have been... I... I don't want to question it but... Why does he seem to care about me? I... I thought he moved on... What... What if he did...? What if I'm still right...? Damn it...! Now that I'm here, hugging him with his head over my shoulder I... I... I don't won't to let go._ Both held each other close, more scared then ever to let go of one another another out of fear of losing one another once again. And it took some time for one of them to say something, and Volteer was the first one after trying to get his composure back. Pulling his head back, she felt his head move off her shoulder, so she did the same. Looking at him, she saw the look on his face, and it was like he wanted to smile, but he couldn't, like something was holding him back. She felt the warmth of his paw as he placed it over her right cheek, and he begged for an answer, "I... I don't understand... after all this time, why... Why haven't I seen you... Where have you been, where were you...? But... most importantly... are you okay...? What happened with your eye... Your body, you're... cut and hurt... I'm... so confused..."

"Hehe, you're confused. So am I. I thought you... I thought you moved on from me. I thought you didn't care about me anymore... Why... why does it seem like the exact opposite?" Ersa asked, hoping now more then ever that she really was wrong with what she had saw and had high hopes that she would have the chance to be back together with him.

"What? What would make you think that? I've always stayed true to us being together. Why would you think I didn't care about you anymore?"

"Because... After the war, I found you walking around Warfang. You seemed sad until you met up with a another female. After you talked with her, you two started to walk away and continue your conversation. So, I followed and saw that... you were smiling... with a Hatchling laying over the tops of your head... And she was smiling too so... I thought you moved on... I thought you had another family so... I... I didn't know what to think anymore."

"Ersa... You..."

Before he could assure her about what had happened, he heard a crack of a leaf behind him and turned around to see a silver shine from in the forest. Taking his wings off of Ersa, he looked all around to see the same silver shines all around. It didn't take him long to figure out what they were and who they belonged too as the apes stepped forward with their weapons ready. Ersa gasped as she looked all around as well, seeing they were being surrounded by apes. _No... No... I'm not... No!_ Volteer's anger grew as he knew what could happen, and seeing her now once again after so long angered him, _I... I can't... I won't, let them hurt her!_ Hearing what sounded like the whooshing of an arrow going through the wind and toward them, he knew it was behind him. Ersa was ready to block, but for her and Volteer, it was sudden. His anger pushed him to protect her. He knew he couldn't turn around in time, so like a flash of lightning, he appeared in front of her and knocked the arrow out of the air with his claws. Ersa breathing grew heavy as she was confused, scared, and ready to fight all at the same time, and seeing Volteer do something she had never seen before, she had to ask, "When... when did you learn to do that...?"

"I... I haven't..." Volteer said as he was just as confused as she was.

Seeing the apes close in, he knew they wouldn't be able to take them all on and win, so instead, he had to ask for help and hope Ignitus would hear him. _Ignitus...! Ignitus, I really need some back up right now._ The response was quick as he heard back from Ignitus, _"Why did you leave Warfang?! And more importantly, where exactly are you? Is everything okay?"_ Looking around as the apes closed in, Volteer gave a nervous chuckle, _No, not really. Listen, we are being surrounded by apes, I need you to send Spyro here as quickly as possible. Please. "Volteer, if it's something small, you have to deal with it. If Spyro sees that darkness, he will probably turn on Malefor. Which, be careful, I can't see much but it looks like there is a dark creature right behind you."_ Volteer quickly turned his head only to see Ersa panting slightly as she was wondering what they were going to do, and since she couldn't think of anything, she looked and saw him looking at her and asked, "What are we going to do?"

 _Ignitus, don't scare me like that,_ Volteer growled at him. _"What do you mean? Was there no dark creature? Because from what I'm seeing, it's still right behind you."_ _Look, there aren't any dark creatures! Please, me and Ersa are in trouble and I need Spyro's help! "What?! Ersa?! Volteer, I know what's happened is difficult but..." Ignitus, please! I'm sorry for what I've done just, please send help! "Al... Alright. Just hang on for a couple of seconds for him to get there." Thank you._ Coming from out of his thoughts, he gave her the plan for them to survive, "We just need to hold out here for a couple of seconds before my friend gets down here. He can take care of all these apes without difficulty."

"Is your friend really that powerful?"

"Hehe, surprisingly enough, he's more powerful then Malefor, which... we have a lot of catching up to do."

"I'm looking forward to ever second of it."

* * *

With the information he had now, Ignitus looked at Spyro and quickly gave him all the information for him to quickly help and as soon as possible, "Spyro, Volteer is in trouble. He went out the walls of Warfang and is now being attacked by a horde of apes. I know this is a lot to take in, but apparently he is there right now with Ersa, and they need you now."

"What?! Ersa?" Spyro cried, and hearing that his friend was in danger, along with the fact that his friend's long lost lover is alive, he knew how important this was.

Taking his wing of his lover, he gave her a quick kiss on the cheek before running towards the door, but he stopped before he could run out. Looking at Malefor, he begged him with every bit of trust he had for him, "Malefor, please, keep everyone safe while I fight these apes. I need to know this so I won't have any distractions when I fight. I need to know that you have my back. Please."

Everyone was completely dumbfounded by his words, especially Malefor, but they all knew for what reason. Malefor took it very seriously and to heart as he assured him, "I promise, I will protect everyone while you are gone. You have nothing to worry about. You have my word."

"Thank you, Malefor."

Running out of the doorway, he ran to try and get to the two as fast as possible. Everyone was in awe from all the information that they had gathered, and seeing the two Guardians look at Ignitus, he knew they wanted to know more about what was happening, and even for him, he didn't know all the details himself, "I don't know if he is delusional or not but... apparently he is with Ersa. I can't see her, but I'm scared as I see what looks to be a dark creature, but Volteer swears that's not what it is. We won't know what all is happening until he gets back. So for now, we all just have to wait and hope... I... I don't know what to think but... from what's happened in the last couple of hours... it might be her... it just might be..."

* * *

With the two fighting for their lives, they were holding out pretty well for themselves. Volteer was easily able to take out some of the enemies while Ersa did the same thing. Watching her fight was amazing to him as she did it so well and with ease, but it also made him feel terrible as he had an idea why. It didn't take long for the apes to get a little more aggressive, and with their aggression grew more of a problem. The apes that attacked them with swords were now getting pierced by arrows. _What? Even with their comrades out here the apes are going to use their arrows to try and kill us while we are being attacked by the ones with the swords?! They must not care for their kind._ Volteer growled as it now made problems worse. Trying to dodge the arrows while also fighting the apes with swords, he started to grow tired already. _Damn it...! I should've trained more... I knew I should've trained more._ Just as he was getting tired, it seemed as if the attacks were getting more violent and fierce. Just as he felt like passing out, he heard a cry, and look over to see blood coming from out the side of Ersa's arm with an arrow stuck in it. Volteer felt that sudden energy once again. He didn't know where it had come from, but it was like everything around him froze. His body flashed a yellow light before he zipped past everything in the form of like a lightning bolt. As he appeared in front of her, he saw her arm and growled. His body started to now spark from yellow to blue lightning. The lightning formed around his body before exploding outwards. As it did, time continued to move as normal. The blue lightning traveled through and around them, disintegrating the arrows, and chaining the electricity through each arrow before electrifying an ape. The electricity continued as it shocked one after another. But before the blue ball of lightning could make it's way to the forest, it disappeared and dissipated. Volteer's body locked up on him as he nearly fell to the ground, but Ersa caught him as he fell to his back on her wing, and she cried, "Volteer!"

The apes started to close in and she had no idea what to do, but a dark figure appeared suddenly, like a cloud of smoke, and then disappeared. As the dark figure appeared in front of an ape, it, along with the ape, would disappear. Ersa watched as more and more apes started to disappear, and she couldn't tell whether or not this thing was on their side or not. But she was about to find out as a dark dragon appeared close to the front of her with pure white eyes and a very serous face. She feared it would do the same to her and Volteer. Looking away, she ducked her head wrapped her other wing around the front of him, and hoped no harm would come to them.

"Ersa... It's... really you..." The Dark Dragon spoke, and hearing his voice, Ersa looked over at the dragon and saw his pure white eyes were now normal, just purple eyes and a pupil, "I am so going to rub this all up in Ignitus's face! Hell yeah! This is amazing! I knew it, i knew someone like you would be alive! Volteer talked about how smart you were, how amazing of a Dragoness you were, and I knew for a fact you'd be alive!"

Ersa looked away from him and at Volteer as she heard those words and he gave her a weak smile as he felt like passing out. She gave a small smile as well and she remembered what Volteer had said about their plan. Looking back at the Dark Dragon, Ersa asked for confirmation, "You're Volteer's friend, correct? He said that we needed to wait until you arrived I'm presuming."

"I knew I was still Volteer's friend," Spyro said happily as he walked closer towards the two, and looking down on Volteer's body as Ersa moved her top wing, Volteer looked up at him and chuckled, but Spyro wasn't having it, "Don't you chuckle at me mister. You are going to get a long yelling at for what you just did. Coming out here without getting me first was stupid and dangerous."

Placing a paw on his chest, Spyro transferred some of his energy towards Volteer to help him stand, and as he did, he explained everything, "Once I give you some of my energy, both of you stay close to me as I will run you two up to the Chambers. And as for you, Ersa, you don't need to worry about your injuries. I've already taken care of the arrow in your shoulder along with the blood. As for the rest of the scars on your body, I don't know how to help."

"What?" Ersa asked as she looked at her shoulder.

Her eyes grew wide as he was right, both the blood and the arrow were gone. _How... who is this dragon? How could someone move so fast?_ Ersa thought to herself, hoping that she would learn more about everything that she had missed. Taking his paw off of Volteer, Spyro backed up and let him try and stand to his paws. With the help of Ersa, Volteer fought through the pain and was able to stand up. The feeling of weakness was still taking its toll as he couldn't stand up for long. Putting one wing on Volteer, and another wing on Ersa, he asked the two, "Are you two ready to go home now?"

Volteer looked at Ersa as he wondered what she would say, and he wondered how she would respond, "What do you say, Ersa? You ready to meet everyone once again?"

Walking closer to him, she put her wings over his back and kept them high enough so she didn't go underneath Spyro's wings. As Volteer did the same, she gave a slight sigh, trying to prepare herself for seeing the others once again. Giving a hopeful smile, she nodded. But it was hard for her to keep her smile as she knew what she would see when they went to this home of theirs, _Why am I even getting my hopes up... I know she's going to be there... And as much as I love Volteer... I feel like I know... I know he'd never leave his mate and Hatchling... And... And I wasn't fortunate enough to have that life with him._ Volteer saw as her smile slightly faded, and he couldn't figure out why. He wasn't able to ask as Spyro said, "Alright, we are going to go pretty fast so, similar to Ignitus, close your eyes you two."

Ersa did as she was told and frowned as she did. Seeing her frown in such a way, almost as if she didn't want to return with him, he closed his eyes with a sigh of sadness and a frown. The two felt a rush of wind with the light from the sun disappear very quickly before another light showed up, only darker then that of what the sun had given off. Hearing gasp coming from other dragons, the two knew they were back and opened their eyes together. Spyro backed away from the two and walked over towards his lover's side and sat down beside his lover. Turning back to his normal purple self, him, along with everyone else, looked at the two as they starred at one another. Volteer smiled at her and knew that she was probably just unfamiliar with how things were around her, so he gave her the quick run down, "So, while you were gone, we had a couple of more dragons join us. Of course you have the three behind me, and the female standing next to Ignitus is Claire, very kind Dragoness."

Claire waved with a smile, and since she wasn't with Volteer, Ersa smiled and waved back. Focusing his attention over towards the other two to the right wall, Volteer said, "And these two are Spyro and Cynder. Spyro was the one who helped saved us with a dark mode version of himself that makes him the strongest dragon in the universe, and the Dragoness Cynder is his lover."

Similar to Claire, Cynder waved at her with a smile and Ersa did the same. Looking over at the left wall with Ersa, Volteer wrapped up everyone that was here, "And, I know this might sound crazy, and trust me, we will explain everything, the purple dragon over here is Malefor. And as for the blue Dragoness, her name is Carith, the lover of Malefor. Hehe, I know you might be wonder, 'But how, she was died and he was evil'. Well, I will get into that soon, I promise, but for now..." He paused as he moved a little closer to her and sat down with a smile, keeping his wings over her back the entire time, "I want to know what's happened with you. I want to spend that time we once had together... That is... if you... still want to..."

Everyone looked back and forth at the two as they had talked, wondering what was going to happen next. Ersa looked around at everyone and didn't see the supposed mate that she thought he had. It confused her as she was sure of it, but since she couldn't see anyone around, she wanted to straight up ask him. Opening her mouth, she thought of a better idea and used this to her advantage to really see if he still cared for her or not. _This way, I will know if he still cares, and it will bring out the emotion in him for sure... Or at least... that's the hope._ Giving what felt like a uncomfortable sigh as she rubbed the side of her arm which made everyone believe she was uncomfortable, she broke his heart with her words, "Volteer... This is... difficult for me to say, and you even just saved me and all but... I thought you moved on... so I did too."

Volteer's world shattered into pieces and everyone gasped, looking over at him to see his reaction, and the light from his eyes had faded very quickly along with what looked like the color from his body. Raising up a paw, it trembled viciously and knew it would be pointless to try and get his paw up to her cheek or shoulder, so he put his paw back down, lips sealed on what to say. Even as she watched him tremble, it gave her very high hopes that she really was wrong, but wanted to go all the way with what she had in mind, "When I saw you, and I asked about that female you were talking to... I thought that really was your Hatchling and she was your mate... So... I moved on. I have a lover now or... mate, and me and him are trying for a Hatchling so... I thought you didn't care for me anymore... I... I'm sorry... Volteer... Volteer?!"

Ersa didn't realize it at first, but in the middle of her sentence, everything inside of Volteer felt as though it had died, unable to be recovered now after hearing of such a thing. He stumbled from one side, and then to his other before giving up and falling to his side. Running up and catching the side of his body with her wing, Ersa looked down on him as a couple of tears ran down his eyes. But it was difficult for her now more then ever as it looked like he had died. His cold, lifeless eyes. His mouth hung open only slightly, and it seemed as though he had stopped breathing all together. Feeling tears form in her eyes once again, seeing his upper half of his body lay on her wing completely lifeless, she couldn't continue to lie any longer. Everyone else was just as sad, seeing Volteer in such a state, and to hear her words, taking them as the truth was hard for everyone. Ignitus couldn't tell what she was doing was the truth or not, but murmured as he told her, "Ersa... Volteer... Volteer never left you. That Dragoness that you're talking about, he was walking around in hopes of finding you. She was already happily in love with another mate. She wanted to cheer him up, and to tell him everything would be alright... All he ever wanted... was you to be alive and healthy..."

 _He... He really never left me?! He... He stayed true to his words...?! Ugh... Damn it... Why I'm I acting surprised? I know who he is, I know how he acts but... after the dragons I've meant from the times out there... I lost trust in everyone... I'm so sorry, Volteer,_ Ersa growled at her own self in her thought, now mad as she made him go through and listen to such an awful thing. Knowing she needed to turn things around to bring that smile back to his face, she was straight honest with him about what was really happening, "Volteer, please look at me... Please... Please trust me..."

It seemed as though he wasn't responding, and it took him a couple of seconds to come back to reality. Clenching his eyes to let his tears roll down his face, he didn't know if he could hear this new life she had. But he still believed and trusted her, so he opened his eyes as he looked up at her, still cold and lifeless, and Ersa hoped her words would turn that around, "I'm sorry... I lied about it all... I wanted to see if you really had moved on and, I didn't know who I could trust. Even you I... I've not had the best experiences out in the world, and I lost trust in everyone. This was the only way I would know if you truly did move on from me or not. I'm so sorry for making you feel the way you do now... It's because of me that you lost your smile."

Everyone saw instant results to her telling him the truth. His color came back to him, and his eyes didn't look cold and lifeless anymore. And even with her words came a smile across Volteer's face and he truly did believe her in what she was saying. He now had high hopes that he still had a chance to be in love with her once again. The feeling of joy he felt in his body once again was immeasurable. But the feeling of joy slowly faded as he saw her slashed eye and wished there was something he could do to help her. _She doesn't deserve to have her body cut and bruised... it's all my fault... but... how can I help her... If I could, she might actually fall in love with me once again!_ Volteer thought, wondering how he'd be able to help her out, and luckily, he had a little help from a friend. _"You know, I could always make her look like her young self again like I did for us. It would get rid of everything that's happened in the last year's, and..." Yes! Please!_ Volteer cried, interrupting Ignitus. _"Hehe, Alright but, you still need to apologize to everyone." I swear, I promise! "When ever you are ready then."_ Standing back up to his paws, Ersa backed away and took her wing back. Looking at her eye, he asked as he wondered what happened, "Ersa, your eye... who did that to you?"

"Oh, this..." Ersa sighed, putting a paw over her right eye, "Let's just say, I was surrounded by a group of apes. When I was attacked, a dragon came out of nowhere to save me. After he did well, he wanted a reward for him saving me. When I said no... He attacked me, clawing out my eye mid battle. I was lucky enough that after I clawed at him, I cut his nerve and paralyzed him. Dark creatures swarmed in a little later and killed him. So... that's just one of many injuries."

"Oh, look at me, saving Ersa for you Volteer," Malefor happily said as he was glad he could help even back then.

"How long has it been that way?" Volteer asked, ignoring Malefor, but not on purpose.

"About ten years, maybe more... it's been so long, I've lost track of time... I've tried everything I could to try and fix my eye but... I gave up after five years of trying... I remember you telling me you helped out Ignis and his mate but, I don't remember what you did as we never tried anything to recreate it. So... I've been at a loss on what to do..." Ersa sadly spoke of her past, putting her paw back to the ground as she looked away in shame.

"Well... I can fix your eye for you, if you'd like."

"Thanks but... It's impossible. It's probably gone beyond the point of healing. I've tried everything, and I don't want you to also waste your life trying to help me. I will just have to be blind in this eye for ever..."

"Ersa... What if I told you that I knew of a way to heal all your wounds, to make you look young again and to have smooth scales where those cuts and scars are? What would you say to that?"

"Impossible... right...? Are you getting my hopes up because of what I did to you so you can crush them later on?"

"Ersa..."

"Sorry I just... I haven't really calmed down in years... I've forgotten what trust is even like anymore."

"Then please... Close your eyes and trust me. When you open your eyes again, you will see through both, and you will look as shiny and new as you did when we first met."

"Alright... we can try."

Sitting down, looking straight, and closing her eyes, Volteer looked over at Ignitus, wondering what he should do. Ignitus pulled a paw up along with his other one. Flattening out one of his paws, he then used his other paw, but only used one claw from it. Touching the middle of his paw with his claw, he saw the light spark within Volteer's mind as he knew that his friend knew exactly what he meant. Turning around and facing Ersa, he raised his paw up, but first, he needed to get a feel of her scales first. _What would her scales be like before and after? How would they feel?_ Volteer wondered, moving his paw up and going to touch her cheek. Feeling his paw touch her cheek, she moved her head away from his paw, still scared and untrusting of anyone. He pulled his paw back and gave up on the idea, but he still needed to assure her she was fine, "Ersa... Don't worry, it's just me... I promise I won't hurt you."

She growled at herself as she knew she could trust him, and she hated that she was treating him like some kind of villain. Sitting straight once again, she put her paw over his other paw and said with as much trust in her voice as she could, "I... I trust you, Volteer."

He smiled at the trust she put in him and knew he couldn't mess it up. Pulling his claw up to her eye, he very gently put his claw above her scar as to avoid actually touching her eye. She shivered from the touch but didn't move, and instead, she grabbed his paw that she held a little harder just to be safe. A white glow emerged from his claw and made it's way onto her body. The glow became a circle and moved from the top of her head all the way down to her tail. As it did, it cleaned off her body of any dirt, scars, blood, and anything else that kept her from looking like herself. Everyone's eyes widened to see such a change to her body, and even for Volteer, seeing her body once again, he had to blush. As the white circle reached her tail, it disappeared as it had finished its job. Taking his claw back down to the ground, and with a smile on his face, he said, "Alright. We are going to take this slow. So first, I want you to open up your left eye for me."

She did as she was told and opened up her left eye. Now that that was done, he nodded at her and said, "Alright, now open... your right eye."

"Volteer, this isn't going..."

Putting his other paw over hers, and keeping that smile on his face, he assured her, "Ersa... please... trust me."

Giving out a small sigh, she closed both her eyes and braced herself for what was about to happen. Instead of opening one eye at a time, she looked to the floor once she had sighed. And once she was done, she looked straight and opened both of her eyes. She gasped as she was able to see so clearly now, much more clearly then she's even been able to see in years. Touching around her eye, she didn't feel the scar, which then led her to look all around her body. As she looked at herself, going in little circles as she did, she cried as she looked at Volteer, "H... How... I... I can see...! I... I can... cry out of both my eyes again...! Hehehe... This... Volteer...!"

"Hehehe, well, I couldn't have done it without the help of my friends. Thank them for me being able to do this. But, I do wonder, how do you feel?"

"I... I feel amazing...! I feel...!"

"Perplexed," Ersa and Volteer said in unison.

"They did the thing," Malefor squealed.

The two looked at one another as they tried to see if they really did still think alike, and with the four words they spoke that were synonymous to amazing, they spoke in unison with each word, "Stupefying, Confounding, Prodigious, Extraordinary!"

Everyone looked at the two with wide eyes, similar to how Ersa was looking at Volteer with wide eyes as well, completely dumbfounded that he really was still the same Volteer she had fallen in love with. And after everything he was doing, everything he had done for her just in the time they were together, she couldn't keep it together. Volteer knew it would be time to finally say what he wanted to say, and he knew he shouldn't screw this up, but he only got one word out before being silenced, "Ersa..."

Being tackled to the ground by her, she put both her wings around his back as he fell, and she laid him down, locking lips with him and crying tears of joy as she did. Volteer pushed into the kiss, just as desperate as she was to feel the long awaited pleasure they had wished to share with one another. Even as he tried to push up into the kiss, she was much more forceful about it, keeping his head to the ground. And at the same time, Cynder found this as an opportunity to get what she had to wait for. She hinted at it, but it didn't take Spyro long to figure it out, "You did say we'd make out once you got back, with Ersa... and you did so..."

Putting his wing up very quickly in front of her, she blushed even from the smile, and look in his eyes as she looked at him, "I've been waiting for this too you know."

As they kissed behind his wing, covered from the the others, Malefor looked at Carith as he blocked the two with his wing and asked, "Should we?"

"Quit asking," Carith grumbled, but still glad she was able to have time with her lover.

With the three kissing their lovers, it made it awkward for the other four as they tried to either look away or not listen, which was very hard as they weren't quiet about it. It was difficult for Claire as well as she was now more desperate then ever to tell Ignitus the truth about how she felt, and it tore at her just thinking about, _To think I could be one of them getting kissed by there lovers... Damn it, Ignitus, I don't even care if you are just using me at this point, all I want to do is kiss you...! But don't fear, we aren't in the dream world yet... just a little more time._ For Terrador, he sighed with frustration, but still kept his smile as he said, "If we have to hear this during the night, I'm going to break my back over a rock."

"The night? These two just got back. We will probably hear this all day and night," Cyril chuckled at first, but then as his chuckle started to die down, he then knew exactly what this meant, "You got room on the rock for another dragon?"

"Hey, Ersa," Ignitus spoke, interrupting the two as he did, "I'm sorry but, it's very important that I figure out how you're still alive."

Taking her lips off hers and resting her forehead on his, the two were able to catch their breaths, still eyes closed as they wanted to cherish the long await moment she wanted with Volteer. Even same for him, and even as angry as he wanted to be for being interrupted, the kiss, and the feeling of having Ersa back once again, and now as her lover, he couldn't feel the anger he thought he would feel. Giving out a quiet slight sigh, Ersa opened her eyes and moved over to Volteer's side to allow him to move. Rolling over to his left, he stood up, opened his eyes, and stepped to his side to have the side of his body touching hers. Draping a wing over her back, she looked at him with a smile and asked, "So you really did love me...?"

"Hehe, well, I found out just a couple of hours ago that, you woke up when I kissed you so many years ago, and you loved me then too. I will explain more about how I know later but... I'm just glad I'm finally able to kiss you, after so long," Volteer smiled as he spoke, keeping his wing over her back with a little tension on his body as he was ready to protect her at any point.

"Well... We are going to have a long talk... We need to catch up..."

"Even if it takes all night. I will stay up with you."

"Thank you, Volteer... And, as for you, Ignitus, this is a really long story. Are you sure you want to hear of all of what has happened?"

A small grunt emerged from both of the two other male lovers in the back. Both Malefor and Spyro pulled their wings down after they were done kissing their lovers and said in unison, "Yes."

"Hehe, well, with that, I guess it would be better if you told it rather then me taking all the information from your mind," Ignitus chuckled, but Ersa had a confused look on her face about what he meant, "Don't worry, I will explain everything when the time is right, or, I could just give you all the information to your mind in a easier and quicker manner with a claw to your head. But enough about that. What happened for you to still be alive? The Ancestors, the all knowing Gods... They didn't even know you were still alive, so... how?"

Seeing as everyone focused on her, desperate to know as of what has happened, she gave out a sigh, knowing she'd have to remember and relive everything, but she tried to keep things simple and to the point, "Well... The main reason I survived... Was because of you, Volteer."

"Me?" He asked.

"I'm guessing you might have noticed it but, the ring, on the top of my horn. It's the ring we were working on to control the darkness from Malefor."

"The ring...? Wait! Isn't that the ring... from the piece of paper! Was that you?!"

"Hehe, yep. When I was walking through the forest as I remember their was a rare material over there from our previous work, I found the Dragon Temple had somehow been rebuilt. Or, at least it was decently rebuilt. So, I flew in, hoping you'd be there but... you weren't. So, I walked to our little hidden spot, saw the brick still hadn't been put back, and grabbed out the book from my satchel. I tore the page out and wrote that I was alive, and placed it in the hole. Then I placed it back and hoped you would find it... It was actually thanks to the ring that I was able to even get the book in the first place."

"Wait... You... Ignitus...?"

Pulling a paw up, a white bright white light had appeared, and as the light died down, a book appeared in his paw. Using his other paw, he opened the book and saw the first page was the same page he recovered and kept for Volteer in his book. As he flipped the page over, he wanted to slap himself as he saw the message she had wrote written on the back of the page. She gave out a slight giggle as she asked the two of them, "Did you seriously never notice that message?"

"No... I... I was too busy crying from remembering what that meant."

"I guess that explains why the brick was so easy to take out from the ground, it's because it was already moved," Spyro said, feeling just as dumb for not realising it, but he played it off, "But, when you're strong, everything feels weak to you."

The white light once again consumed the book, and as it died down, the light disappeared. With that out of the way, there was still one question that everyone wanted to know the answer to, and Volteer asked, "I guess the biggest question we all have is... how did you survive that day...? When I went there after all those years, you were gone, so... what happened?"

"Well... Like I said, it's all thanks to you... I luckily brought my satchel with me and, after I ran into the forest on the brink of death, my back was against a tree. Just as the dark creatures were about to finish me, I thought very quickly about what to do. I knew you gave the ring to me and decided to use the gem instead to trap Malefor because the ring would've been pointless. So, I quickly took the ring out, put it on my horn, and the dark creatures just, stopped."

"What?"

"The ring is full of darkness. When the put the ring on, it's like it's a virus, like how I said way back then. I can even selectively control a couple of them if I wanted to which, I learned later on to get our book back, so it only took me about a week or two to figure out after the attack."

"So that's why the book was gone... And I forgot The ring would be a virus that can take out a virus."

"Well, we did it. And that ring infected me with the darkness with no visual affects to my body. The dark creatures saw me as their own and left me alone. I did realise that meant that, if you put the ring on Malefor, the darkness from the ring would kill the darkness inside of him, and infect him with the darkness from the ring. And if he took the ring off, he'd be darkness free afterwards."

"So... you really made it out... I'm really not dreaming..."

"Hehe... I... I thought the same when you approached me..."

"But... why... after all these years... why did you never come back... I..."

"I promise you I have a reason."

"Please then... start form the beginning."

"Alright... First, it took me a while to figure out where they were holding you as you were moving from place to place after a good while before you ended up in the Freezer. So, after the ten years it took, I flew after you as quickly as possible. I found everything was died, and when I went to where you were being held... you were gone... and all I saw was blood... I thought you had died as well."

"Whoops... sorry... that was my blood when I rescued Volteer," Spyro chuckled.

"And after that?" Volteer asked, wanting to know of what happened.

"Well... I was never able to really find you afterwards. Once the world went to hell and Malefor was released, it was a pain just trying to walk a mile. So, I set up in places all around the world, trying to stay alive all I could. I ran into many who were effect by the war, trying what they could to, get what they wanted, before they died. So, once the world had split apart, I thought we were all dead, but over time, it came back. And as I made my way to Warfang, it took me a while but, when I finally made it, after all those years of, deaths, blood, sweat, and tears... I... saw you... With someone else... I thought it was over... and all I wanted to do was give up..." Ersa murmured, remembering and feeling everything she once had before and up to this point.

"Ersa..."

"But, I didn't give up. Not after everything I went through. So, I thought of a way to hopefully win you over once again by making something that would impress you. Many times I thought it wouldn't happen because you already had a mate and Hatchling, but... I kept trying. Then Warfang was attacked again and I was sure we'd all die... but I saw you, fighting once again. You three flew off after the citizen took over, and I had high hopes you were still alive... And then, out of the joy in my heart, I heard that you were asking about someone named Ersa. I was so confused but, hopeful. So I quickly finished my work, ran out to test it before I met you but... you seemed to have found me first."

"Wait... win him back... That was you wasn't it!" Ignitus blurted out and she was confused by what he meant, but she then remembered what he was probably suggesting.

"Hehe, well, first, I want to know what you were doing outside my door. I tried calling for you but you flew away."

"It was you! But... I thought... How do you have so much information on us?!"

"Well, Volteer of course. I used all that information to help me just in case you all tried to keep me from him for what ever reason. And since he was so kind to tell me all your weakness, it was pretty easy."

The three Guardians all looked at him and grumbled, and all Volteer could do was give out a nervous chuckle. Trying to ignore his anger towards his friend, it all made sense to Ignitus now, "That makes sense. You were the one who sent the dark creature for the book. And the reason I didn't see Spyro's name in there was because you never knew of him up until now, so his name wouldn't have been in that book! And the reason the Ancestors never knew you were alive was because of that darkness ring. They could never see you because you always had it on, and darkness clouded and protected your mind!"

"I don't know how the Ancestors work so... I guess so...?"

"That would also explain why the Ancestors were in such an uproar. When ever I asked if there would be anyway to bring you back, they said they wouldn't. But I kept pushing and pushing, hoping there was something they could do, but they said they didn't have your soul. Then, we all realised, you weren't died! But it was the question of how? Sorry to force you to answer and break the moment but, the Ancestors weren't happy not knowing what happened to you."

"Why, what would they have done?"

"Well... since they believed you were died, and you didn't explain, they would've made it so history was as it was told..."

"No no no! Stop... We are fine, everything is fine. So please tell me the Ancestors are happy," Volteer quickly stepped in knowing what that meant.

"Hehe, don't worry, Volteer. My clone talked to them and they were impressed with her smarts. So, they are giving her a chance to live her life once again."

"Thank the Ancestors."

"Literally," Ignitus chuckled, "But before you do anything else, Ersa, I need to record all your memories and store them in your life book. And at the same time, I will give you the memory of what everyone has asked me so far about my powers, and any question you would ask would already be answered for you. I'm just going to have to ask you to remove your ring."

She was a little scared to remove what she had believed was now apart of her as she's had the ring for so long. Taking the ring of her horn and looking at it in the palm of her paw, she shivered a little as she was a little scared to have lost what has protected her over the years. _Goodbye old friend,_ She thought, and looking over at her now lover, Volteer, she smiled more as she knew what this meant, _I have a new protector to keep me safe from now on._ The ring grew white as she looked at it, wondering what was happening. As the light died down, the ring disappeared and Ignitus explained, "Don't worry, you still have it. I just placed it in a room for you on the shelf of a bookcase. And if you want me to, I can also teleport all your stuff into this room all at once. But, with all that stuff, I would have to combine two rooms into one big room."

"All I want for now is Volteer. I'm going to hold off on the idea for now at least. So, for right now, I just want to get this over with."

Walking up from out of the safety and comfort of Volteer's wing, she felt exposed now more then ever. It felt to her as though she still couldn't trust everyone, _Malefor's in this room, I don't know these other females aside from what was said, and I remember Cynder being evil. And I don't know who Spyro even really is. As for the Guardians... I remember them, and I can easily remember why I should trust them. But everyone else, I'm not so sure._ As she stood in front of him, he placed his paw on her head and chuckled as he had heard her thoughts, "Don't worry, Ersa. Cynder, Carith, and Claire, you will easily be able to get along with. Spyro is all about protecting everyone, and Malefor, well... You can kill him if you want. None of us trust him."

"Hey... You do realize she might actually do that you know. Also because, you know, she doesn't know all about who I really am, you idiot," Malefor growled at him as the last thing he wanted was another enemy to hate him.

She did take his words to heart and was very on edge about how she really felt towards him, but she was also very confused and asked, "How did you..."

"Don't worry, I will give you all the memories while I see all that's happened from your past up until now."

As he looked through all her thoughts and gained all the information about everything that has happened, he chuckled, and felt a little bad for saying, but he had hopes it would bring light to the situation, "Ersa, I'm not picking on you, I swear. Hey, Malefor, you remember how you said Spyro and Cynder cried a lot? Well, Ersa takes that by a mile."

"You think I'm going to comment on that? You just called me a horrible dragon, last thing I want is to prove you right. Screw, that, my guy," Malefor declined, waving a claw as he knew he should stick with picking on the other two, "At least with Spyro and Cynder, I know that my death won't happen overnight when I talk about them."

"You talk so freely about death yet, when you thought I'd kill you, you busted out into tears begging me not to," Spyro chuckled.

"First impressions are everything. Can we refrain from saying anything that isn't how I would normally act?"

"And how would you act?"

"Like a total flexing male badass, that's how."

"I just took out an army of apes, what did you do?"

"Uh, took out an army of twice the amount you had to deal with while you were gone, and did it faster then you."

"Uh huh. Cynder, can you give clarification from this."

"Hahaha! I just realised that. Claire, then we have, Claire-ification. That's awesome. I wonder who else's name goes with something... I will have to think more about it, but all bets say it's going to be me picking on the Guardians first before I go to you two."

While the two were talking, all the information had been received with some information of what's happened sent to Ersa's mind. As she received the information, one of the things he gave her from the past of memories was how Volteer had reacted when he found out she was supposedly dead. Seeing the way he had acted, she turned to look at him and gave a small smile. She responded by giving him a raised brow as she wondered how he would react once she told him of what she had just seen, "So, Volteer. Care to explain what all that anger was when you found out I was died? You seemed pretty angry when you found out, and I was just wondering why."

"Ignitus..." Volteer growled at him, blushing a little and later giving a frown as he wished she would had never seen that side of him.

Walking up next to him on his right, she bumped her backside up against his which made him wonder if she was mad at him or not. Cuddling up to his side was a good indication she wasn't, and her words made the truth so, "I think it's pretty hot for you to stand up for me like that. It's good to know you really do have a lot of emotions towards me. But if you ever show that side again, especially with me around, you're in trouble mister, understand me?"

"Hehe, yes ma'am. I promise," Volteer agreed, very surprised as to how calm she was, but he could understand why, and he would've been the same if the roles were switched.

Before she could do anything else or go any further with her new lover, she had to make sure of a couple of things before she did. Looking over at Malefor, his face quickly grew to fear as she approached him. He didn't know what she was capable of, so he didn't know if she would hurt him or not, _She probably still only knows the Dark Master version of me! And probably wants me dead!_ As she stood in front of him, she was surprised to see such a change from his dark form to his original form, "Seeing you now, I guess I'm not surprised you found a lover. But the real question is, why would someone stay with you after what you've done?"

"Don't worry, it's a long story, and it's nothing bad," Carith assured her which made her come up with an idea, "If you want to, you could have a girls day out with us to get to know us girls along with what you've been missing. And if you're afraid of being attacked well, Spyro and Malefor won't let us go anywhere to be alone outside this building so, we will have back up in case someone tries something."

"A girls day out... _Maybe I could trust them with how I'm really feeling right now... And this would help me..._ Alright, I will agree. But I do have to make sure of something right now in order to insure the safety of Volteer, and myself."

Putting a paw up to the bottom of his neck where his chest and shoulder meet, she took some of her claws and curved them back into her palm while leavening two claws on his neck: One on the front and one on the back. He started to sweat a little as he didn't know what she was doing, and as she applied a little bit of pressure, he gave out a painful yelp as his body became stiff, trying not to move at all. Hoping she wouldn't apply anymore pressure, she gave him simple rules to follow, and somewhat testing him as to make sure everyone was safe, "Do you promise that I won't be separated from Volteer ever again because of the Dark Master inside of you?"

"Yes... Yes, I swear," Malefor answered, scared he would answer wrong in some way and make her hurt him.

"And you are sure you are back to your normal self?"

"Yes, I swear. I've been back for more then a week, and I feel fine."

"So I shouldn't threaten you any further?"

"No... please... I understand... My body feels like it's locking up on me."

"Okay... But, what does Volteer think?" Ersa asked, looking over at her lover for confirmation.

"Volteer! Volteer, buddy, please... You know me, you have Ersa back, I promise I won't ever be stupid again... Please... I'm begging you."

Hearing his desperate cry, remembering what he had already said to him, and since Ersa was alive and smiling, he gave out a sigh as he agreed to let him go, "As much as I would love to see what happens when you use all your strength... I said some things to him... that I regret saying. I'm sorry, Malefor, and considered this my apology for what I did."

"Agreed! I... I one hundred percent agree...!" Malefor agreed out of fear of wanting to joke, but he knew she would've hurt him if she did.

As she pulled her claw back down, Malefor let out a huge sigh, wiping the sweat from his forehead. Looking over to Carith now, Volteer felt and knew that he should apologize more for what he had said about the two, "I'm sorry that I tried to hurt Malefor. I'm sorry for the way I acted, and the way I lashed out... Everyone tried to help me and I was... I wasn't myself... I hope you forgive me for what I've done."

"Well, Ersa did agree to go out with us girls and have a girls day out again so, I will forgive you. I know what you must've been going through, and I know I shouldn't worry about you now since, well, Ersa will keep you in line," Carith accepted his apology as she hoped this would also help in bring his smile back, which it very much did, "Also, hehe, I did punch you so, I guess we're even."

Looking over towards Spyro, his friend already waved a paw at him, "Please, you don't need to apologise to me. Seeing Malefor almost get choked was pretty funny, but I am glad you didn't. Carith already summed up what I was going to say so, I guess you're free from what's happened. But... there is one thing that I have to get out there that has been bugging me for a while. I just... I need to hear what Ignitus has to say."

"Is it... about what I did...?" Volteer murmured as he asked.

"Don't worry. Just go sit where you usually do, only this time, with Ersa by your side. I need to take the center of the room real quick."

He did as he was told and walked over towards the Guardians with Ersa following by his side. The two sat down together with Ersa laying her head down over his shoulder. Snuggling up together with Volteer placing his wing over her back, she gave out a comforting sigh, wishing she could fall asleep now, but something kept her awake, and she quickly knew what it was. _I know I will be fine but... everything is so new... what if I close my eyes and... this is all a dream... And then I lose him... Ignitus, you can hear my thoughts right? And I know you control dreams so... will... will everything be okay?_ She couldn't see it, buy Ignitus gave a warm smile as he talked back with her in his thoughts, _"Ersa, I thought you were another dark master out there about to kill us. To hear the news that we have nothing to worry about, to know you are alive... All the fear and anxiety I felt is washing away. I do control dreams, and I promise, I won't give you one. I just want you to know what life is like around here. Do not fear, Ersa. I saw what you had to go through, but we are all family, and we all care for one another. Just watch what Spyro does and you'll see what I mean."_ She listened to his words and watched as Spyro started to talk about what was bugging him, "Ahem. So, I just wanted to say, Thank you to the new happy couple for being here today, congrats to you two. So today, I wanted to talk about something very important. Something so important that it breaks the barrier of importance."

"Cynder?" Carith asked.

"Let me rephrase. This is the second thing in the world that has broken the importance barrier with Cynder being the first..."

"Where do we fit into this?" Terrador asked.

"Ugh... Okay, never mind, forget it. The whole point of this is, I want to her it, Ignitus. You've been listening to my thoughts the entire time, you should know that I've been begging for this day to come. So I want to hear you say it. I was right and you were wrong," Spyro gave out a very big smile, hoping his father would say what he desperately wanted him to say, "I want to hear it with passion, and all the heart in your voice."

"Hehe, Alright Spyro, you were right," Ignitus agreed, but to Spyro, it felt weak, and he wanted to hear it again.

"Sorry what? For someone as strong as you say you are, that was pretty, Weak Sauce! Now try again."

"You were right, Spyro," Ignitus chuckled once he was done saying, and there was much more passion in his voice when he said it this time.

"Ah, there we go, that's better... Oh, wait, what's that? Oh, Ignitus, my brain wants to keep this memory forever so I'm going to need you to say it a couple more times. So, who was right?"

"You were."

"Sorry, who's you?"

"You were right, Spyro."

"Hehe, okay okay, one more time."

"Spyro, someone not as powerful and all knowing knew more about the future then the all knowing Chronicler."

"Oh, that felt so much better to hear."

Hearing the two talk about it, they all laughed as it was as best of times for everyone after everything that has happened. Because of what Spyro had done, and since he was right in him saying, Ignitus agreed with him, "Well, Spyro. Since she is alive and I was wrong, I do owe you one. That also means that you could easily let Cynder read of her parents past when ever you want her to, or, you could use this for yourself."

"Clearly it's for Cynder, not me. Plus, I still have other things to take care of. Mainly that being of Volteer... So, now that things have calmed down, what do you have to say to defend yourself? Running off and flying outside the walls of Warfang without even telling me? You could've been killed, Volteer. I know you saw her and you thought it would've been the last time, but it would've been even worse if Ignitus hadn't warned me about what happened, and you even promised you wouldn't do anything stupid."

Giving a small frown, he knew what he had done and what he promised him. _Spyro isn't mad at me, he was just worried for me... And I thank him for that,_ Volteer thought, slightly getting his smile back. As he was about to apologise for what he had done, Ersa picked her head up and jumped in, apologizing as she believed it was her fault any of this happened, "I take the fault. If you want to yell at anyone, it should be me."

"Ersa, but..." Volteer murmured, wondering why she was taking the heat for him.

"If it wasn't for me, he would've never flown out to save me. If it wasn't for me and my confusion, we would've came back sooner, but instead, we... Sat together and... talked... after so many years... I... Sorry, I mean..."

"Ersa, calm down, everything is fine," Spyro assured her, seeing her start to tear up a little, and since she didn't know how he really acts, she thought he was serious, "I wasn't actually mad at him, just a little disappointed, that's all. I get why he did it, and I understand. And I do believe what he did was right to help you, but it's still dangerous out there. Last thing I want is both of you dead, and most certainly neither of you. So, because I don't want to ruin the joy you two are feeling now, I will give him a slap on the paw. Just make sure you get me first, understand, Volteer?"

He nodded his head once with a happy smile, glad he wasn't as difficult with him as he thought he'd be. Walking back over to his lover, Spyro sat down next to her, and to everyone, it seemed the day was coming to a close. Malefor was the first one to stretch and ask if the day was going to end, "Well, with that out of the way, what do you say we all get some nice, peaceful rest in? Since me, Spyro, and Ignitus all knew about what could've been true, hearing that you were alive the entire time really lets us sigh in relief."

"I... I don't know... I... I kinda want to stay up a bit longer," Ersa declined with fear on her face as she snuggled up to Volteer some more, and everyone understood why she was acting this way, except Malefor.

"Oh, then I could always tell you a funny story, or a joke or..."

"Malefor, that's not it. Ersa is tired but... Ugh, you wouldn't understand," Ignitus interrupted as now that he had talked and interrupted Malefor, he now saw what everyone else was seeing with the shivering yet, she did look very sleepy with her eyes wanting to close in on her, "Ersa, you can easily have a perfect night to yourselves, and this will be one of many, I promise. I'm sure Volteer will help you sleep much easier as he will know what to say to calm you."

"But... I... My work, my lab, I... What if something happens. Maybe me and Volteer could just stay awake and watch after it."

"Ersa... When was the last time you slept well?"

"I..."

"I've seen your past, Ersa... You haven't been able to sleep well at all knowing Volteer was dead. And even when you found out, you still shivered at night, wishing you were with him, and scared it would never happen. That will all change, I promise you. If you're scared of an attack, you have Volteer. If you're scared of a war, hehe, well, you have two purple dragons and the Guardians."

"He's right," Volteer interrupted, and she looked at him as he spoke, "There really is nothing for you to fear. I would be lying if I said that I wasn't scared of waking up with you gone but, I try not to think about it. I know I'd protect you. Just like when you were being attacked, I... I pushed past my limits and was able to use some kind of, blue version of my power."

"What?!" Spyro yelled out, "How? I was only able to use my blue fire before and condense it but, only because I was in my dark form. How were you able to use your other, more powerful version, of your electricity?"

"I, don't really remember. All I know is, it made me blink at lightning speed and, when I needed to protect her, the blue lightning went out in this, bubble, killing anything that it passed through. It took all the energy I had but, it seemed to be very effective in more ways then one."

"That's amazing! To think what else we could do with such power! What else could my fire do or, my ice..."

"This is one of the reasons you have nothing to worry," Volteer chuckled as he talked with his lover while Spyro continued to rant off about what this new power could be, "I may be strong but, you've seen his power. It's scary to think someone as powerful as him exists but... he does it all to protect us. But, mainly his lover. I really feel like you'd get along with all of them. So, what do you say we talk in one of those rooms to continue to talk more about our lives?"

"I... We aren't going to bed though, right?" Ersa quickly asked.

"Hehe, no Ersa, we aren't going to bed, not yet. I just want to, talk with you some more about what's happened while you've been gone. We have a lot of catching up to do."

"I guess it wouldn't hurt to finally lay down with you at least."

"That's all I want."

With the two standing up and walking out of the Guardians Chambers, Ersa walked ahead of Volteer without realizing it for a second. She stood at the main doorway and looked behind herself to see him looking at Malefor. He seemed a little scared, almost as if he needed to say something, and he did, "Malefor... I know you've already said yes and I believe in your promise but... Please, make sure the Dark Master doesn't ruin what we have a second time, please."

"Volteer, how is Ersa going to trust me if you won't do so either? Everything's going to be fine," Malefor assured him for the second time hoping he would trust him.

Giving a hopeful smile, he turned away from him and towards the doorway. As he walked over to her, he nodded his head towards the left, and asked in his thoughts, _Ignitus, which room is it you'll be working on? Or, which room did you out her ring in? "Oh, you are heading in the right direction. The second door down. While you two sleep, I can easily combined the two rooms and get all of Ersa's stuff moved in." I... I don't know what to say. "Everything is fine now. Rest easy, and don't worry about a thing."_ Coming out of his thoughts from his talk with Volteer, Ignitus watched as Spyro stretched out onto the ground and agreed to finally get some long awaited rest, and he even yawned mid sentence,, "I guess that settles it. Time to go... And... Ugh, get some sleep..."

"Hehe, yeah. After today, I think we all need that," Ignitus agreed.

"What did you four do that you need sleep for? I defended everyone while Spyro was gone, he fought apes and saved those two, Carith had to fight off Volteer, and Cynder had to lay down in fear of not knowing if one of those girls were going to take him or not," Malefor asked, explaining a lot that happened today, and his eyes got slightly big as he thought about it, "Actually... wow... a lot did happen today. But even still, I want to know."

"You know why, this was an emotional day for all of us. Seeing someone like Volteer turn into someone we've never seen before... And compared to how he usually is... It's just a little scary. I had to tell Volteer the truth, and... You didn't see it but, Volteer was going through the five stages of grief."

"No he wasn't... was he?"

"First, he went through denial: This was him learning of her supposed death. Second, Anger: When he lashed out at us and attacked you. Third, bargaining: He blamed it on himself because he believed he could've done something, or he could've been stronger. Forth, Depression: On the roof of the building I found him on, he was broken, and didn't seem to care anymore. Lastly, Acceptance: Knowing there was nothing to do, he was about to accept the fact he couldn't do anything. Luckily he saw her before he accepted it but..."

"I get it... I guess when you put it like that, it really was bad for him, for all of us for that matter... But, you know me, I'm not going to mope about what's happened. Volteer has his lover back, so we can all look past it, and get back to being ourselves. And I'm sure once he goes through with his plan and they become mates well, we will forget he was even depressed by seeing him smile all the time... Hehe... because we all know why."

Everyone grunted and groaned form him saying that, understanding exactly what he was talking about. But everyone did agree with Spyro on his words, "Well, rather have... that, happen to him then the alternative. And I know now I have nothing else to fear so I can finally lay back and enjoy the sun rise and sun set."

"Nothing to fear? Uh, I'm pretty sure you forgot about me."

Spyro didn't answer, but instead, gave him a small smile which made Malefor's eyes grow wide, but he didn't want to get his hopes up too soon as he knew there was probably another reason behind his smile. _As if he'd make me his friend. He's probably smiling because he thinks he can just kill me off so he really doesn't have to fear... Ugh, but even I know that isn't true anymore... So what is it?_ Looking over at the Guardians, Spyro gave them all his good nights before he wanted to leave, "If we are lucky, the girls day tomorrow will be a success to add on to our luck but... it's our luck so, hopefully it's nothing too eventful. We can talk more in the morning, so for now, goodnight to you all."

They all smiled at him and nodded as they watched him get up and walk to the Chambers doorway with his lover following to his right. Looking at Malefor, he gestured his head to the right and asked him, "Do you want to hear the good news or not? Come on, I want to talk with you about something."

Once again, he could feel his facing wanting to light up with joy, but he knew what would happen if he tried to show his smile, so he tried to keep his lips sealed as he walked with Spyro on his left. Carith also followed when the two had stood up and walked to her lover's left. Drops of sweat started to drip down his scales as he was nervous as to what this something could be, and from memory, he was afraid he was going to be attacked, and his mind fought on whether it was good or bad. Hearing a sigh escape from Spyro's mouth, his heart skipped a beat, and he almost forgotten to breath as he thought, _Don't kill me don't kill me don't kill... Ugh._ The suspense was killing him, and it was like Spyro knew this as he was purposely holding off on saying.

"Do you remember, back in the training room...?" Spyro spoke, and Malefor couldn't tell what kind of emotion he was getting from him, and because he was trying to figure out what his emotion was behind his voice, he forgot to respond, "You asked me, 'Because of her death, do you hate me for it?' 'Do you blame me for her death?' I made you feel worse about that day by saying yes, and I told you that I did still have hate towards you because of it... But... do you remember what else I said that day. It was something very important that you've been working for since the day you first got here. Do you remember?" As he paused, wondering if he knew, Malefor shuck his head, and not because he didn't know, but because he wanted to hear him say it with his own words, "My friendship, remember? I said, if Ersa had never died... I would've thought about making you my friend a lot sooner... And now that she's alive, seeing the smile on his face again... I know it's a sign of good thing to come, and I want more of a bright future out of this now more then ever..."

Unfortunately, they had reached the door so Spyro stopped talking as he waited for the doors to open. The suspense Malefor felt made his scales feel tight, and he could feel his heart beating up against his chest, wondering if he was really going to say it. As the four entered the house, Malefor and Carith stood by their door while Spyro walked over to his door with his lover next to him. As he stopped, he gave out another sigh and turned around, facing him as he spoke, "One week. That's all I ask. Once that week is over, and you really do stay the way you are, I will have no problem becoming your friend. And to be honest, I almost think of you as a friend now, but not yet... Cynder once told me that, she was scared for my death. Once someone dies, that's it. You'll never seen that someone again in your lifetime. So I do still fear, but... I've realised you could've attacked her so many times with me leaving to do something... but you didn't... And I know why... But, that's a secret that you'll have to say later on... Goodnight you two."

Looking back towards his door, he grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and opened the door, walking into his room as he did so. Walking over toward the bed, Cynder went to close the door, and turned as she did. As she slowly closed the door, her eyes grew slightly wide as she saw the pure shock in his face. His body gave off a slight tremble, and a couple of tears went down his eyes. She wondered if he was possibly upset form the news but, just before the door closed, she saw a big smile go across his face before looking at Carith. Cynder couldn't help but giggle, giving off a sigh of her own afterwards as everything to her felt right. Turning around, she saw her lover was already laid down on his stomach with his left wing up as he waited for her. Walking over towards the bed and to his wing, she smiled, telling him about what she had just seen, "You know, I stand by what I said about death. But... I'm pretty sure you just broke Malefor from your words. Hehe, if he was the Dark Master, I'm pretty sure you just took him out in a couple of seconds without having to lift a claw."

Jumping up onto the bed, she moved to the side of his wing, laid down, and rolled herself over until she was underneath his wing. She only had to roll a couple of times before ending up underneath his wing and perfectly up right as she laid on her belly beside him. Putting his wing down over her back, he wondered if that meant he did good or if he disappointed her in some way, "I really hope that means I did something good. You might defeat me because of my tears if I just did something bad."

"Don't worry. When I mean you defeated him, we know the Dark Master feeds on anger. Well, you probably just destroyed all the anger he could've still had left in his body. I saw tears, a stiffened up body which I thought was him being sad, but then I saw a big smile as he looked at his lover. Those two sure are going to have a perfect night."

"And why can't we?"

"I mean, we can but... I can't believe yelling at Volteer was more important then trying to satisfy me with a kiss when you got back, and you even promised... but... at last, here we are."

"What? I did give you a kiss. Right after those two started to kiss."

"One kiss? One kiss out of the thousands I was hoping I would be able to get from you today."

"Are... are you... d... disappointed... in... me...?"

"Well, you are very lucky about one thing, and it's saved you for now."

"What's that?"

"Ignitus told me that, a bunch of girls were following you. He was even telling me how they were checking you out and I... got a little scared of course. Haven't really seen the competition but... I told everyone the truth that, I actually like the past a little better then the present."

"What? Why? Is it because of me?"

"I... Just... Thinking about it now, you are still you: Ready to protect, love, and defend me. But, back then, we just laid together and, talk with one another. And even though... Sparks... was there, and we had some incidences with our enemies and an... arrow... Things back then just seemed so much better when we weren't being attacked."

"That's probably because, back then, I was always on edge. We were weak, we needed to get to Warfang, and I couldn't stand you being hurt. It was a constant struggle for me to be honest, and I needed you, I needed to talk with you every moment I got because... I just couldn't think of losing you. But now, things have calmed down so much after what's happened. We're safe, I'm much more powerful then I've ever been before and, I guess I've just been enjoying not having to worry so much."

"Yeah... that is true... And you did have a lot of stress because Ersa was supposedly dead and, you didn't know what to do so..."

"Hehe, yeah, that was a massive headache... But, if you are bringing this up then..."

"No no no, you're right. I just haven't really been seeing what you've been going through and, you are a lot more active when it comes to situations like these. I'm usually just chilling out on this bed while you're out there dealing with Malefor or, training or, any other situation. You have a lot going on and, I understated that. I will try to back off more as I don't want..."

"No!" Spyro cried, standing up very suddenly and jumping to his side, standing over her as he did so.

"W...what..." Cynder wondered as she rolled onto her back to face up at him, positioning herself right underneath him as she moved.

"Cynder, it's all my fault. Carith even saw it way back in the training room a couple of days ago. I haven't been the best kind of lover to you, and I don't want you to have to think that you have to change, none of us should have to. Please, I will stay up all night if I have to and make it up to you. I promise from here on out, I will love you more, just like how I did yesterday. Malefor being an enemy of mine keeps getting in the way, but I will put you first from now on, I promise!"

"You... promise...?"

"'Spyro promise'!"

"When will I see my lover be himself?"

"Tonight, I will show you what I'm supposed to be to you as a lover. And tomorrow, I have nothing to stress about, nothing to worry. I swear I will be who I need to be for you. And like I said, we don't need to change. The stress got to me but, now... I won't let you down, not ever."

Putting her wings around his back, she wondered if his words would hold true, "Well you're lucky you caught yourself before doing such a thing. But now is the time to show me if you can turn things around?"

* * *

"Even though those two are together, and I'm happy for them, not having Volteer lay in his bed is a little... heartbreaking," Cyril spoke to the other Guardians who were all laid down on their beds, along with Claire who laid down beside Ignitus, "It's not going to help if I think he's dead, then look over to his bed and see he's gone."

"He just needs time alone with her until he comes back. After all, those two might be up for a little while trying to calm each other down after so long. Lets let them have there time, and sleep well knowing we got the good side of things," Ignitus spoke, laying his head down on his paws while Claire did the same on her paws.

"Things are as they should be, and slowly, things will go back to how they should be. I just hope that the same thing doesn't happen to you, Ignitus," Terrador hinted as he laid his head to the side on his paws.

"What does that mean?"

"Oh yeah, he still doesn't know. And you won't be able to find out from our thoughts either. Hehe, that's great," Cyril chuckled, laying his head on the bed.

"What are you two talking about? Is this about Claire? And is this about her leaving me?"

"You know I'd never do that," Claire whispered, trying to also hint at what it could be in hopes he would find out, "I just hinted at the Guardians something and now they now about a secret which I will tell you later on. For now, all I want to do is sleep peacefully now and hope that tomorrow's girls day out doesn't go as bad as it did last time with those dragons."

Seeing her close her eyes, he knew he couldn't ask her about what it could be. The other two also closed their eyes with smiles, both glad Ignitus was confused as to what they were talking about, and because their friend had been reunited with his lover. Closing his eyes along with the others, Ignitus thought about what those two could be talking about as he fell asleep, _Claire hinted at it? If the others know, why won't she tell me? What if she hinted that she loved me...! No... But... Damn it! I don't want to make a mistake. I've only pecked her on the cheek a couple of times today, like when I left to get Volteer and when I came back and some other times but... I know... I have to tell her soon but... how?_

* * *

"Hehe, yeah, after Malefor came back, I was so very close to killing him too, but Cynder stopped me before I could do it," Volteer spoke more and more of almost everything that Ersa had missed throughout the years, and to her, it was soothing to finally be laid down on a bed cuddle up next to him under his wing as he talked, "Which, a lot happened that day. Even after the whole war situation, Spyro confessed his love to Cynder, Malefor came back, Carith was back from what we thought was the dead... Oh man, that was a crazy day. And then the day after was pretty crazy. Not that anything big happened but, it was still eventful."

"So... from what it seems, nothing has really changed, has it?" Ersa asked him with a slight smile as she had hoped nothing would change, "Never really a big fan of big changes. Well of course, aside from Malefor now being himself, that's a good change but... I thought after everything that had happened, you all would've changed from how you were before. I don't really know much about those others but, I guess I will find out more tomorrow."

"Well, I can tell you, Claire, it's both a sad and funny story of how she came to stay with us. At first, she was an assassin who's mind was corrupted by this darkness and she was going to kill us. She almost killed Ignitus but, was able to break free and run away but, he caught up with her and, ever since, they've been together. Which is crazy to think about but, they've already been together for more then a week now. Time sure does fly."

"Wow... I would love to know more about that. I know what you've told me before but, what about Carith?"

"Carith? Well, she's probably the most normal of the females. Her backstory is pretty simple though, and all around, she just likes being with her lover and hanging out with the other girls. So if you're wondering if any of the girls are a threat before having a day out with them, you're fine."

"Then I'm guessing I'd be safe from Cynder as well, right?"

"Hehe, Cynder, oh absolutely. Of course some still see her as what she once was but, after Spyro saved her, her life has really changed. With Spyro's help, he's shown her what peace really is and what it can do for all of us. She's much more laid back then she was before but, she's far beyond a threat I can assure you."

"And what of Spyro? I've never seen someone with such power. Seems like he would probably be a liability if someone ever made him mad. I was actually afraid of him even after he had shown his normal self, and that's why I didn't really talk to Cynder as I was still upset because I still believe she was the one that hurt you."

"Don't worry about that. We've all looked past what has happened from what the Dark Master and Cynder's evil self has done. Of course, it's... not easy when it comes to the death of a loved one like my parents but... At least he didn't kill you too so... I forgive him a lot more then I once did. And as for Spyro, Well, he's like Malefor, as long as those two have their lovers, they're fine. Spyro is all about protecting everyone, Never about hurting or death... unless someone he cares about gets hurt then, you just back away."

"Has he, ever lashed out before?"

"Not from what I've seen. He's never really shown his anger, but he did get that form of his after fighting the Dark Master so, I guess you could say that's the only time he's lashed out before. We did separate him from his lover at one point and, Well, he wasn't exactly happy about it. It's was stupid and we all hid the truth from why we really did it but... after he claimed down, we apologized, so, I wouldn't worry about him."

"I will... try not too... But I guess for now, my main fears rely around him, his lover, Carith, and Claire."

"You don't trust me?"

"I don't trust other females for one. And two, I've seen what happens when a strong dragon tries and uses his power for something he desires so, I'm just keeping an eye out... And... thanks to you, I will be able to keep both my eyes out for those four... I just, I don't understand. How were you able to... I mean... Even if it was something you made, it wouldn't have worked that fast."

"I had a lot of time on my paw, what can I say?"

"You always find a way to amaze me... I guess I will try and trust those three tomorrow, but I will still keep my eye on Spyro. I don't really have any fears of Malefor as I remember what you've told me, and, after my little, talk, with him, he doesn't seem threatening what so ever... And... I guess after just looking at him and the way he speaks, he is definitely scared of death."

"Aren't we all... But, now with you back, my love, I'm looking forward to what we will do tomorrow to be honest. Today was an up, then down, and then very down for me, and since we found you, my joy is through this roof. And hopefully, with tomorrow, things will continue to look up from here on out."

"I sure do hope so... Volteer, in the morning of tomorrow..."

"I will still be here... And if you ever do wake up in the night, just wake me up as well. And if you're afraid about the whole, Spyro attacking or killing us, thing, just talk to him. I had to have a talk with him as well, and I told him I didn't trust him for what Malefor has done. I actually didn't tell you this part but, Spyro actually saved my life when the Dark Master went on a rampage that day."

"What? How?"

"He had gone through a lot of power trying to defeat the Dark Master and... he had a choice. Both of us had been severely damaged as the Dark Master dug his claws into our chest, causing us to bleed uncontrollably... He didn't have much power left but... he healed me... And nearly died doing so... We all thought he did, and we believed it was all over but, Malefor helped save him once he came back to himself with Carith's help."

"How... I... What did he heal you with? What kind of power does that? It couldn't have been gems... could it?"

"It was a time ability he has that drains a lot of his power when he uses it... But, after that day, I put forth a lot of trust in him and his lover. It's one of the main reasons I trusted him when he said you were alive. He was so sure of himself, and when I thought all hope was lost because you were probably... dead or... with someone else... I... I held on hope, and he was there to back me up every step of the way."

Hearing him talk so highly about Spyro now made her really think twice about whether or not she really could trust him. His smile and his words as he spoke showed her that he really meant what he was saying, and she looked away from him as she thought about what to do, _He's the only one I know nothing about... Maybe I can ask Cynder more about how she feels about him, see if he's ever used her or attacked her._ She didn't want to think about it too long as it would take time away from what she was enjoying. Looking back over at him, the two locked eyes, and it made her feel both joy and sadness. _And just a couple of days ago, I promised to make him my mate... what a failure I turned out to be... But... what if I told him now._ Opening her mouth to ask him, his lips silenced her before she was able to say anything, and the sudden shock of pleasure going through her body made her feel as light as a feather. Now with the kiss, she couldn't think of what to do as she was to busy pushing into the kiss along with him. She started to feel light headed and closed her eyes as if she were to fall asleep. Feeling the top of a paw underneath her neck, she didn't know what he was doing, but couldn't help but to give in. Taking his lips away from here ever so slightly, he slowly moved his paw down onto the bed, and her head rested on his paws. She struggled to open her eyes, and it started to scare her, causing a single tear to go down her eyes as she didn't know she was this tired. Feeling her mind starting to drift away, she gave out a small murmur, begging to stay awake, "Vol...teer..."

He heard her soft cry, and everything about her showed that she was scared. Looking down towards her face, he could see her eyes were barley open, so he knew he didn't have much time to say everything he wanted. So instead, he kept it simple, and hoped it would help her sleep much more easily, "I would never break your trust in me... Trust me when I say that... Please, sleep well, my love."

Hoping his words got to her, it seemed to do some good as her eyes completely closed once again, but unlike last time, a small smile appeared on her face before she fell to sleep. Volteer had a smile on his own face to see her sleeping for the first time in years. Watching as her body went limp to his left side, he helped ease her body onto the bed as she now laid sideways. Walking off from over her, he laid down beside her, draping a wing over her as he did. Looking at her as she slept so peacefully, he couldn't stop smiling even as he thought, _I haven't made her my mate yet, but, there is always tomorrow. I'm not going to frown. She's happy, we are cuddle, and finally in love. I promise I will keep you safe._ Laying his head down on the top of hers, he closed his eyes and drifted off to sleep.

* * *

Laying in bed with Malefor cuddle up to her side, Carith couldn't help but look at the smile on her lover's face as he slept. Seeing his head laid nearly sideways with a smile, and the dried up tears in his eyes gave her hope for what more was to come in the future. _To see Malefor so happy again, and the celebratory kiss he gave me that almost made me pass out was just... I really hope those two become friends._ Thinking of what the future could hold, it gave her hope to see him getting along with Spyro so well, compared to how things were in the past. _I didn't even get to say thank you to Spyro, but, hehe, I guess I could always tell everyone what happened last night, that way, Spyro will know he is right to trust him, and Cynder will gladly give him a rewarding kiss, if she hasn't already._ Laying her head down on her paws, she made sure she was able to lay her head the same way as his so she could look at him as he slept with a smile. Giving out a pleased sigh, she closed her eyes and thought before falling asleep, _Just one week... Don't do anything stupid my love._

* * *

Taking his head back a pulling away from his kiss with Cynder, he looked down on her as he stood above her with her back against the bed. Her head fell to the side of the bed as she felt like passing out, and all while Spyro apologised more for not being what he should be, "I know I should be loving to you more and, I wanted to show you now that I can be. I hope I was able to give you the love that you had desired all day right now..." He paused, worried as to what her response might be, but her head still laid down on the bed with a slightly open mouth as she tried to catch her breath, "Cynder...? I'm hoping that means I did good?"

Once again, she didn't respond, so he thought of a way to get her to talk. Leaning his head more down towards her neck, he somewhat threatened her in a teasing manner, "Good thing you took your chains off. With your neck exposed, I can bite you when ever I need to. So, it's either you talk, or..." He paused and started to put his mouth over her neck, and the feeling of his breath and teeth come over her neck, her paws curled as she felt hopeless to do anything, but to both her luck and dismay, he pulled his mouth back to talk to her, "Well, you get the idea."

"You're... such... a tease," Cynder was finally able to speak after catching her breath, and opening up one eye, she looked up at him and grumbled, "How dare you have your mouth over my neck and you don't even go for the bite...?"

"Oh! I'm... I'm sorry, I just thought you were probably scared or, maybe I..."

"Hush your handsome face... All I'm saying is, next time, you are committing to the bite, you understand me?"

"Which bite? The one of eighty seven or eighty three?"

"Is that a reference to something?"

"Um... no... just wondering."

"Wondering if I'd leave you?"

"What?!"

"Don't worry, you've proven yourself very, very well tonight," Cynder assured him, giggling as she looked straight up at him in his eyes to see him sighing of relief, "Sorry I was putting pressure on you about you not loving me. You've shown countless times to me that you really do try. I guess I've just been a little jealous that everyone else keeps getting attention. Which isn't a bad thing. If you never gave Volteer your attention, you might have never found her."

"I'm just glad there isn't anything else to deal with. That was the only major issue that needed to be resolved, and I'm a little excited for tomorrow to see what all happens. One thing I really wonder is how Malefor will act now that I've said what I said. I also wonder what Volteer will do since, he did say as soon as those two were back together, he would make her his mate so, I wonder how that plays out."

"I don't really blame him... It's... not exactly easy to tell the one you love to be their mate..."

"Yeah, I guess it is," Spyro agreed, not seeing what she actually meant by that, but he did see her blushing some and wondered why, "Are you okay?"

"Oh, yeah! I just, really hope those two will be able to become mates, that's all... And, since you talk about the new day... I'm getting a little sleepy now so..."

"Oh, of course."

Standing off to his side, he let her roll over onto her stomach which made her feel a little sad as she thought about what had happened, _He kisses me as I've wanted, and then almost does the neck bite again... It's... kinda cute because, I know he's not biting down because he's scared to hurt me... hehe, just like how scared he got when he thought I was mad about it._ Laying down to her right, she was quick to snuggle up to him which made him chuckle. Draping his wing over her back, he blushed a little as he hoped this would help make tomorrow special, "So, while everyone talks in the Chambers and the girls talk some before you all leave, do you, want to kiss behind my wing in private like before?"

"You know my answer. So my question is, why are you asking?"

"I just... I don't want to screw up, that's all. I'm just, a little... maybe very scared. Especially since I now see that it feels as though I'm not loving you enough."

"I'm not upset or disappointed, just wanted you to know, and you were very quick to remember. And, like I said, I'm not you, and I couldn't image the stress you must've felt when you found out she was probably died. And then after Ignitus revealed it... I understand... If you'd think I would dump you because of this, well..."

"W...what..."

"Hold on, I didn't say what I needed to... Let's just say I... when ever those females were... checking you out... I got a little angry and told Malefor that, if one of them attempted to be with you, I... wanted him to turn me back into my adult form... so I could eliminate the competition... Hehe, yeah, he was all for it, and apparently, so was Cyril..."

"Oh... I... Ahem, well, I'm not, that good looking."

"Oh be quiet you. I could see you now, if you wanted to, you could flex your muscles and break a brink in them."

"Hehe..."

Nuzzling her head against his neck, she proceeded to lay her head down over his paws and said, "We should get some rest. Just thinking about you now makes me want to make out with you, but I'm pretty tired and would fall asleep half way through from both the pleasure, and the soothing feeling."

"I do hope I made you proud today though... even though I didn't..."

"Spyro... In the morning, I will give you a more proper and rewarding kiss, i promise."

"Alright..."

Laying his head down over hers, Cynder gave a nice comfortable sigh as she whispered, "Goodnight, Spyro."

"Goodnight my love."

With Cynder dozing off and falling asleep, Spyro had to make sure of one thing before he was able to sleep. He thought of everything that he could've possible missed, and hoped there was nothing else he needed to get down, _Volteer's fine, Ignitus, I sure hope you're fine. Terrador seems like himself. I barely saw Cyril. Malefor isn't a problem for me anymore, which means... all that's left is Cynder, and I can focus completely on her... I just need to remember what she said and I will make sure I don't mess up again._ Now that he was sure that he wasn't missing anything, he was able to get some rest with hope that he could make things right.


	14. Chapter 14: Second Time's A Charm

Chapter 14: Second Times A Charm

 _Even though I tried to trust him, I barely know him aside from what Volteer told me... I can't shake the feeling that he could do something, something could go wrong, something could lead to another and...! And... And I can't barely get a good nights rest because of it,_ Ersa feared as she thought more and more about what could happen in the future. Opening her eyes only slightly, she frowned more as she thought, _What should I do...? Should I, talk to him...? What if he gets angry and threatens to kill me if I ever bring something like that up again...? He's the only male I'm worried about... And he could be like the others out there._ Very carefully moving her head back from his, she made sure she helped his head lay down on his paws with her nose before backing her head up completely. Turning away and looking at the door, Ersa grumbled slightly as the sun had shined in her eyes. _It's... morning...? Did I... really sleep better then I thought...?_ _Wait... what?!_ Looking all around the room, it had expanded as it seemed like two rooms had combined into one. There were now two books shelves that sat at the right side of the room, and it was piled on with books and papers. And on the other side of the room were a couple of tables with all kinds of flasks, poisons, minerals, and papers. _All my stuff from my house... but, how? What it... Ignitus? How could he have done this so quickly?_ Now with everything in the room, she felt more at home with everything she once had now being in the room. Looking away and down at Volteer, it felt peaceful to her, _This room to me feel like... a sanctuary... I have all my stuff, the room is nice and cozy, and, best of all... I even have Volteer._ As she smiled thinking about everything that she now has, her mind quickly trailed off to what could happen if she lost it all again, but she knew she shouldn't think in such a way, _I barely know him and I keep treating him like the enemy... And... he did save Volteer over his life so... So maybe I do just need to talk to him. But if I'm right, and he really is just another... animal... I can only imagine how terrible he's going to make me feel for him saving us._ Standing up on the bed, she carefully made her way off the bed without making a noise and preceded to walk over to her work station of beakers. Picking up one from where it sat on the table, she sat down and examined it, wondering what she should do. _If he does try something of the sort, I will be prepared for it. I shouldn't make it lethal, just something that will hopefully get everyone to see who he is before I... paralyze him? Hum... Maybe._ Setting the beaker back down on the table, she moved her paw over and grabbed a book, sliding it over to the front of her. Opening up the book to some blank pages to the back, she started to write, remembering what she needed to. She started to draw Spyro's head on the left side of the page, but stopped midway. Looking over at Volteer, she gave a sigh as she looked back at the page. _What if all this worrying just makes me miss out on more time I could be having with Volteer... I've already missed so much of him... I... I will let him sleep in, get this information now, just in case. I don't want us to be apart, so I'm not taking any risks._

* * *

"Can't we just lay in bed?" Carith grumbled, rolling from side to side as Malefor chuckled to see her desperation.

"I'm sorry, Carith, I just, really want to talk with Spyro today," Malefor said, only making her grumble more.

"But you all will have half the day to talk. When me and the girls go out, you all can talk then. Please, I will do anything for you to stay in bed."

"Anything?"

Hearing his voice in sort of a hopeful and soft tone as he said that, she rolled over and faced him. Seeing his smile, she blushed very quickly as she didn't know exactly what he was getting at, "I... Well... I mean..."

"I wouldn't be blushing if my lover told me to cancel guys a guys day out."

"Wouldn't be..." Carith gasped as she realised what he was implying, "You evil little dragon."

"I can always stay here, if, you cancel your day out with the girls."

"Are you trying to use me?"

"What? I'm not using you, I'm just, using what you love against you... Oh hell... that actually sounds pretty bad. Can we forget I ever said this."

"Oh ho ho ho, no. Now I'm going to use you for what you did."

"Carith... I'm your lover, okay, don't do anything rash..."

"The tides of the war have changed. So, it's either you stay in bed with me, or I tell Spyro that you were using what I loved against me like an evil dragon would."

"Wait wait wait! Pause, time out... I will take back what I said if you do the same."

"Why don't you make me?"

Standing up on the bed, Malefor chuckled, "I'm sorry, what was that?"

"Did I stutter?"

"You're going to be stuttering when I'm done with you."

"Um... I feel more scared then confused by that statement."

"It was the best I could come up with in a short time... sorry... Still want to make out though?"

"You are hopeless... And what did I say? Stop asking and just kiss me."

Watching as he walked over and stood above her body, she rolled on her back, waiting and hoping to get the feeling of his lips. But instead, he ducked his head onto her chest and she looked at him as his lips started to quiver from sadness as he tried to fake cry. Rolling her eyes as she knew what he was doing, she put a paw on his head and started to grope the back of his head, trying to comfort him, "I'm sorry my love, I didn't mean to say that. You know I love you."

Seeing him smile, she pulled her paw back and smiled as well. Since he didn't want to wait too long and ruin the moment, he moved his head closer and kissed his lover on the lips. Not being as comfortable as he could be, he moved his head upwards and moved his body a little forward as to stand right above her, and in a perfect place to look right down at her as he kissed her. To her surprise, he started to get more into the kiss, putting a paw to the side of her cheek. Not able to stand up as he was starting to forget how to stand, he rested his body over Carith's. _Now with Spyro's friendship within my grasp... what do I have to worry about?_ Hearing a slight moan escape from out his lover mouth, he didn't really know if it was a grunt or a moan, so he backed his lips away from hers. The two breathed slightly faster then normal, and she was confused as to why he stopped, "Why... Why'd you stop?"

"Hehe, sorry. I didn't know if you had grunted because you wanted air or... moaned because you were... enjoying our kiss?"

"Damn... And it wasn't even really your fault too."

"Well, now you've gotten me interested. I guess I can, stay in bed with you a little longer."

"What changed your mind?"

"Persuasion of course. Just thinking about Spyro's friendship for me but, even as excited as I am to be his friend, I just need to, be myself. And also, if I'm with you and, not out there, I have a way lower chance of possibly messing everything up for me so, it's a win-win for all of us."

"You're Damn right it's a win-win," Carith purred, putting a claw against his chest as she wanted to get a feel for his body, and with that in her mind, she raised both her arms and put them behind his head, giving off a very teasing smile as she wished to continue, "Well, you're already here, and since you know what you should be doing... I don't have a problem with us continuing."

The way she was acting made him blush a little, but he didn't want to stay quiet for too long as he knew she'd see what he did. Putting his noise against hers, he chuckled, "And how should I know if I should stop to let you catch your breath?" Malefor asked, giving her a small kiss to her lips, only teasing her more.

"I have a nose that works perfectly fine."

"Alright."

* * *

"Are you that excited for the girls night out?" Spyro asked, chuckling as he watched as lover wag her tail a little with excitement over the up coming event.

"Of course I am! Another female in our group means we are one step closer to having just as many of us as there are males. And with another female, it means more stories, more things to joke around with, and best of all, more things to talk about as to what the other is really thinking about their lover, just to get them embarrassed," Cynder excitedly said with a big smile on her face, giving her lover a smile as well as he was happy to see her in such a great mood, "But then again, I guess the only thing left to mess with Ersa about is her being a, mate, of Volteer. Oh, I wonder what she would say."

"You think you could... maybe cancel?"

Cynder quickly gasped to hear him say such a thing, and she was quickly starting to wonder if this was an imposter. Jumping up on the bed and over his back, Spyro rolled to his back with wide eyes from both the energy and the sudden jump. Squinting her eyes as she looked at him, she wanted answers as to why he would say such a thing, "Who are you and what did you do to my lover. Normally you'd be happy and all for me because I'm happy, but now you don't want me to go?" Since she didn't hear him respond automatically, she moved her tail blade around and to his neck, "Tell me, now."

"Cynder, it's me, I swear, it's just... I want to uphold the fact that I said I'd be a better lover, and love you much more then I've been. So, I just wanted to lay in bed with you all day," Her eyes started to widened as she listened to him talk, starting to feel as she knew where this was going, and her tail blade lost tension as it rested on his chest, "You told me you wish things were as they were back then. So, I wanted to, maybe use the, 'I owe you', from Ignitus. He wouldn't bother us, no one else would bother us, and we can lay in bed all day, just like back then... only, not on the floor..." He paused as he wondered what her input on what he was saying would be, and seeing a single tear go down her eye as she smiled, he chuckled as he knew that means he was doing right, "See. It's still me, my love. Just needed to get back to who I was."

Giving out a sigh, she laid down on top of him and nuzzled her head underneath his neck. Placing his wings over her back, Spyro also gave a pleasant and small sigh as he was enjoying her comfort. Putting a paw over to the side of her head, he did wonder if that was a yes or not as to be sure, "Is that a yes? I'm only asking because, I want to make sure that I use my one wish basically to make sure you're happy."

"Why?" Cynder murmured, backing her head up and looking down at him with her smile, trying not to tear up, "I love you, is that what you want me to say? Use that wish for yourself for once, I already have everything I could possible want and need. You always think about me and others, so why don't you do something for yourself for once in your life?"

"So, you're saying that you don't want me to use my wish so you can read about your parents past?"

"What?!"

"Don't you remember what Ignitus said, about how I could use the wish for you? This way, I can insure that you will be able to know the good life they had. You can learn how they met, and loved, and became mates."

"I... But... No..."

"No?"

"I... Ugh... For... For right now, lets just, enjoy this day. You are using that wish for yourself. I can read about my parents past at a later time. Crying with joy because you are being you, and then reading about my parents, my eyes would hurt from me rubbing them because I can't even read the book... And... you know, I don't think Ignitus would appreciate me getting the pages all wet because of my tears so..."

"Hehe, I mean, it doesn't matter to him. He never worked on that book so..."

"Oh yeah. But, I want to read the book and see it as I do. And, maybe even read it multiple times to remember and understand more and more of how happy they were together... I... I do really hope they had a happy life with one another... But, what about your parents? Don't you want to learn about what they went through to become mates?"

"Of course I do. I'm just making sure everyone else is happy before I do something for myself. I helped Claire by getting the Guardians to back off. I helped Ersa get back with Volteer. And I guess you could say I helped get Carith back with Malefor since my times power was the one that brought her back. Now all that's left are those other two, and I'm sure if they found lovers, It would be all the more easier."

"Then why don't you use the wish to see and read about your parents?"

"Because that's pretty selfish of me to read about my parents before you, especially since I offered to do so for you first."

"You need to find another lover..."

"What?!"

"You're too nice and all around too perfect for someone like me."

"What? Hehe, Cynder, don't get me wrong but," He paused and looked at her body from both sides, causing her to blush as he continued, "I think someone like me doesn't know how well they have it. And before you say anything to the girls, you already know I love more then your body. So when ever you are out and about... please don't scare me and say you'll find someone else."

"Hehe... well... You've been very, very well with your love for me so... I guess just keep this up and, you'll never have to worry."

"I guess it's a good thing you're on top of me then."

"What? Why?" Cynder blushed slightly, not knowing what he meant by that.

Reaching his head up with his lips just barely in front of hers, he whispered, "Because you usually go limp when I kiss you. This way, you won't fall over. And if you do, you'll just be laying on me."

Hearing his words in such a voice, she couldn't help but be quickly consumed in pleasure as he kissed her. Laying his head back down to the bed, she followed, continuing to kiss him even as his head laid back. Feeling her body already go limp, it only made her feel even better as she thought, _Feeling his wings over my back as I lay here, unable to do anything... It's so relaxing... And I feel so... safe._ With that in mind, it only made her feel better as she continued to kiss him, giving out a slight moan in the process.

* * *

"How about... Rock paper scissors?" Cyril suggest as the four sat in the Sleeping Chambers about what to do.

"Bring that up against, and I will make sure that you will die very slowly like in the training room," Terrador growled at him for even making such a suggestion.

"Okay, how about, patty cake?"

"I'm not four."

"What? Everyone does it even up to their thirties."

"Don't care. Next suggestion."

"Um... one two three?"

"The hell's that?"

"It's like duck duck goose only, combined with a hot rock."

"Okay. I'm listening."

"So, you know how in hot rock, you have to throw it to another someone before it melts in your paw? Well, one two three is basically where you have to get up to three with it in your paws before throwing it to someone else. If you go over, you lose, and if you go under, you only get one or two points. But if you say, count to three every single time and stay in the lead, if the rock melts in your paw, you completely lose. Second place basically gets first."

"Sounds like fun but, rather see the rock melt in Malefor's paws and watch him burn."

"Hehe, yeah, me too."

"Also, I'd rather not get killed by Ignitus for playing this game. Don't think he'd appreciate a ball of burning magma in her paw, especially when it melts so... yeah, lets not piss off the most powerful thing on the planet."

"I could totally play," Claire agreed to playing, and while the other two were surprised, Ignitus quickly rejected the idea.

"Sorry Claire but, they are right. I couldn't handle seeing your paws be burned by a stupid game."

"I do have ice powers. If it does melt in my paws, I could always just quickly freeze it. I'm not as weak as you'd think."

"True but... Seeing that rock melt in your paw, it would melt my heart from sadness from seeing it."

"Ugh!" The two Guardians grunted at his words.

"Hey, quiet you two!" Claire yelled at them before looking back at Ignitus, and placing a paw over his, she giggled at him as she did slightly agree, "Even though that was cute, I do have to agree with them. I still give you ten of ten points for trying though."

"Hehe... thanks, Claire," Ignitus thanked kindly with a warm smile which made her smile go with his.

"Well, Terrador. Looks like we are the two lone survivors of the infection that is plaguing this place like a virus... It's easily been able to take even the most powerful, and mighty of warriors," Cyril grumbled as he laid his head back down on his bed, wondering who could be next, "Terrador, we can stay strong, I know we can. But if this is about mighty warriors... you may soon be next."

Looking away from him, Terrador's face turned to slight anger as he grumbled in disagreement, "Yeah right. I'm not making the same mistake a third time."

"Hey, guys. Since everyone is awake, with Volteer slowly getting there, should we all head out to the Chambers and wait for them all there as normal?" Ignitus asked, looking at the two to see them stand up from their beds rather quickly, and even for him, it was very surprising, "Whoa, I don't think I've ever seen you two get out of bed so quickly before. What's the deal?"

"Um, obviously it's about Volteer and Ersa. He said he would make her his mate as soon as they met, and he hasn't. I want to go out there and watch it sat at him because he hasn't said it," Cyril chuckled as he got off his bed at the same time Terrador did, but hearing his words, he wanted to clarify, "He is still my friend, especially after that day, I still hold by my word. But it's just going to be funny to watch. Kinda like you two."

"Wh..." Ignitus blushed hard in disbelief that he actually said that, but Claire didn't blush as much as he did as she already knew and wished he'd say something.

The two Guardians look over at her to see her giving a slight frown, and they knew exactly what it could be. Standing up on the bed, Ignitus growled as he watched the two walk over to the door. Cyril opened the door and walk out to the Chambers, soon following behind was Terrador. Giving a sigh as he shook his head, he jumped off the bed and watched as Claire did the same on the other side. Walking to the front of the bed with her, he draped his wing over her, and as the two made there way out to the Chambers, he asked her "What do you feel about the whole mate situation between those two."

"I... _This is my fault especially. I know he loves me, and I've barely shown I love him... Ugh, I need to talk with the girls._ I think and believe they can do it. I don't really know much about either of them, but from how they acted when they first got back and saw each other, I wouldn't be surprised if they become mates within maybe a week. At least, that's the hope," Pausing, the two sat down together where they normally sat, as she continued, "Unfortunately, you won't really know most of our conversation because I'm talking and asking her so, girls only stuff. I can't tell you, or the other Guardians if she says something."

"I'm just hopeful it happens."

* * *

As the kiss from her lover continued, Carith started to feel feel light headed, wanting to succumb to the feeling of pleasure. Trying to stay strong, she put a paw against her lover's chest, trying to push him off of her, but she was too weak. The kiss had already made her weak, and she knew her body was giving in. _Damn... you... I know what you're... Trying to do,_ Carith even struggled to think as he kissed her. Finding her chance to gather strength, she was lucky as Malefor had just pulled his lips off hers, giving her the power to try and push him even a little. It didn't prove to be much as she was still too weak to do anything. Looking at her paw and then at her, he gave a chuckle as he wondered what she was doing, "What's wrong? I thought you wanted this."

"What are you... smirking for? I know what you're trying to do," Carith slowly got her voice back as now her mind was clear, and she called him out for his lies, "You truly are still evil. Trying to make me pass out from the feeling of the kiss only to quickly jump out of bed and hang out with Spyro. You never loved me."

"Hehehe. Carith, what are you talking about? I just wanted to kiss you, that's all. Unless, this is what you were hoping for then, I could always play along," Malefor teased her, using his right paw to move her paw off his chest, and it took little effort as she let it happen, "So, if you're enjoying my kiss enough to want to pass out, that must mean I was doing something right. I guess that means I will just have to try again, and since those other two aren't coming in here, I guess that means we are trapped here."

Watching as his head moved towards her neck, all she could do was helplessly move her neck outwards as to avoid him, only making it easier for him. Watching as his mouth opened and moved over her neck, she quickly cried out, "Wait!" And with the sound of the cry, he backed his head up very quickly, watching as she looked up at him, and she finally gave in, "Alright... you win... As much as I would've... loved, for that to happen... I don't think I could handle anymore love from you... My face was already pretty red when we were making out, and a bite... I don't know if I'd wake up..."

"Isn't that what we were going for? Just lay your head back and..."

"Malefor... I'm giving you one chance. Either leave now, or... I'm going to be on top here soon. Understand me?"

"Um... That kinda makes me want to stay now."

"Would you just go."

"Hehe, alright."

* * *

Continuing his kiss with his lover, Spyro felt so relaxed, as if he was flying in the air without moving or opening his wings. As with his eyes closed, he could just imagine everything in his mind. Pulling his lips off hers, he went in for the kiss once again, but her head plopped down onto his neck, completely out of it. He gave a slight chuckle and tried to look at her as he asked, "Cynder? You, okay my love?" Touching her shoulder, nothing, and as he tried to move her arm, he picked it up, and dropped it only for it to flop back down on the bed, "I hope that means I did good?"

Giving off a pleasant sigh, she nuzzled her head more up his neck, forcing him to lay his head down on the bed. He gave a chuckle from her reaction, and knew it would be best to just lay there. _Finally... I haven't felt so peaceful in forever_. Looking over to his side, he saw the back of Cynder's head as she had laid her head side ways on his neck. His eyes focused on her body as her stomach went up and down from her breaths, and seeing her so peaceful made him smile. Laying his head back down, he closed his eyes and thought, _I don't ever want to move._ With the door opening behind him, he didn't realize it as he was too into the comfort. Malefor ran into the middle of the room, wide mouth and ready to say something. But he stopped dead with a blush as he saw the way the two were laying, along with the smile on Spyro's face. Turning his face away and taking a deep breath in, he saw his lover coming out into the hallway. She looked to see his bloated face as she walked over to him and was about to ask. Breathing out all the air he sucked in very slowly, he pretended to slap himself over and over again, then waving a paw over his neck. Never had she seen him act so wired before, and entering the room, she walked to his side and looked at the two. Her face grew just as red as she turned to see her lover turning, and the two faced one another with beat red faces.

"I don't feel comfortable," Malefor cried in a very soft whisper.

"Maybe... maybe they are just laying there?" Carith whispered back, hoping that she was just seeing things.

"Wh... Cynder looks more exhausted then him, you know why, because she's on top! I'm going to hell, and I hope the first thing that gets burned are my eyes."

"Let's just, leave and... never speak of this."

"Never speak? My whole perception is ruined... oh no... I'm gonna throw up."

Hearing slight grumble sounds, the two froze dead as they shot stiff. The one that was stirring in their sleep was Cynder. Picking up her head and opening her eyes, she saw the other two in her room. Not knowing what was going on, it took her a second to process what could be happening, and she apologised as she had an idea of what it could be, "Oh, Sorry ,Carith. I will be down in a minute so we can head out. Just, give me a little more time, that's all I ask," Since her voice was so soft, they could hear as if she was first waking up, only making them even more uncomfortable, and seeing how they acted, she grew a little confused, "Are you two, okay? Is something wrong?"

Now that his lover was awake and talking, Spyro also had to open his eyes as he wondered what was happening. Seeing as the two were already in their room, he gave a slight grumble as he knew he wouldn't be able to enjoy his time with her any longer. Rolling her over to his side, she slid off his chest and onto the bed. Rolling back onto his back and then onto his stomach, and then proceeded to scoot over to his lover, finally laying down with her by his side. Since the two still weren't talking, Spyro decided to try his luck and asked, "Look, I'm going to say this to you, Malefor, because I don't want to be rude to Carith. Either speak or get out."

"I... I, uh... Just um, you're sixteen, right?" Malefor fumbled on his words as he didn't know what to say.

"Um... Yeah. You made that very clear in the training room when you mocked me about how I was smaller then you. Still only an inch but, what ever."

"Carith... Carith!"

"Malefor! Hush!" Carith cried, putting her paw over her lover's mouth with a chuckle, but she had to take her paw off as he started to use his tongue to lick her paw, "That's a pretty evil tactic to use."

"Alright, look, forget it. I'm going to throw up if we talk about this any longer. Cynder, if you want to know what we are talking about, ask Carith when you all have your day out. I'm not messing up my chance to be friends with Spyro so," Taking a deep breath in, and then out, he tried to compose himself to not show his more crazy self, "I'm sorry for walking in, but I was wondering if you'd like to talk some more while they girls do as well."

"All you had to do was ask," Spyro said, standing up on the bed.

"You aren't... mad that we interrupted your... Um..."

"What? Love session? We already had our fun and, the day for the girls day out was going to happen either way so, we will just continue later."

"I'm gonna go hit my head against a wall, excuse me," Malefor said as his eye twitch, and turning around, he walked away from everyone and into the hallway.

The three watched as he walked into the hallway and just started crying, which made the two even more confused then ever. Carith could see their confusion and knew it wouldn't be best to ask them now while the two were still there, but with all of their confusion, she knew she had to ask somehow. Walking over to Cynder, she moved her head down and whispered, "Did we walk in on you uh... mating with Spyro?"

Pulling her head back, her face burned just as red as the other two when they thought the same. Seeing the blush and watching as she ducked her head into her paws, that was clear indication that nothing really happened. Seeing her try and control the blush, Carith apologized and gave her the reason as why she believed that, "It's just, when we first walked in... you, and your face... and the position. It was kinda hard not to think that something like that happened."

Watching as she waved a claw, Carith knew what that meant and moved her head down, listening to Cynder as she whispered, "I was comfortable... You can't tell me you haven't laid on your lover's chest before and felt the same? Same goes for the opposite way... Just... Look, we can talk more about this later just, what ever you do, don't tell Malefor or Spyro what I will tell you later on. We will leave this between us girls, agreed?"

"Absolutely agreed," Carith very quickly agreed as she knew how embarrassing this must be for her.

Spyro watched as the two were talking but he didn't know what it was about. Seeing as Carith backed her head up, and with Cynder taking her head our from her paws, it seemed that she had helped her out with what ever was happening. Knowing that her lover was still probably confused as to what was happening, she tried not to think about what those two had said as she explained, "They were just... thinking about something that happened years ago. Don't worry my love."

"Alright... As long is everyone is fine then, sure," Spyro agreed, still seeing her blush even now as he spoke, "Hopefully you really are okay. I'm going to go... Help, Malefor. I'll try to figure out why he is crying and then we can head down."

As he stood up on the bed, the two girls watched as he jumped off the bed and walked past Carith to get to the hallway. Focusing their attention back to one another, Carith wanted to ask very desperately about something, and Cynder already knew and declined, "I'm not saying anything until we have all the girls together. Ersa wants to be Volteer's mate so, I want to know her reaction. And Claire is, well... She isn't even lover's with Ignitus yet so, I would love to know her reaction. Let's just see what everyone says."

"Are you sure you want to tell the girls that you uh... You know, even though you didn't?" Carith asked, a little confused as to why she would.

"I can get the satisfaction of saying now then never."

"Never?"

"It feels like it would be never."

"Why are you crying?" Spyro grumbled as he walked up to his side, seeing both his paws covering his eyes as he did see some tears.

"You just... you grow up so fast..." Malefor cried, looking at his friend as he did, "First, you fell in love, and now... You've already done gone to third base with her..."

"Third base! Damn it Malefor, if you start this up again... wait, what? Third base with who...? Wh... Why would you think that?"

"I saw her face, the way you two laid... I can't believe you... OW!" Malefor cried as he felt a paw slap him behind his head, causing him to look at Spyro as he growled, "You little bitch."

"We didn't do anything, alright. She was just laying on my chest, that's all. But the real question of this mystery is, how are you actually tearing up in your paws? Were you like, actually sad?"

"Course I was. I thought my other brother from another mother was growing up so quickly to adulthood."

"Okay, A, say that again and we're gonna have problems. And B, I'm still two years off before I become a full on adult so, I've still got years until I ever try anything like that."

"Damn, you're gonna make her wait years? She's gonna leave you by then."

"If Carith can go without you for almost two decades, I'm sure there will be no problem between us... I hope."

"You better."

"Sorry, when exactly do you think you'll grow up and ask Carith to be your..."

"Hey Carith!" Malefor cried out, trying to mute Spyro's words.

"Hehe, hey back to you too," Carith giggled at her random acts of her lover.

"So, are you two ready to get going?" Spyro asked.

"About as ready as we will be. But, hey, Malefor, is it okay with you if I talk with Spyro some on the way down?" Cynder asked, seeing as his world had been shattered, and he even started to make a sad, quivering face, "Oh don't you start. You have all the time in the world when we sit down in the Chambers. You also have time when ever you sit in the Chambers while us girls go out."

Giving a small sigh, he agreed, "Alright, fine... Spyro, you should count yourself lucky. Usually, I would pick on the Guardians or something like that, but now that we are almost best friends, I'm putting that aside just to talk to you because our friendship is more important then any other battle."

"You're still going to mess with the Guardians aren't you?" Spyro asked with a raised brow.

"Oh absolutely. Ersa too but, she scares me so... maybe just the Guardians."

"Well then, come on. Let's see what today's going to be like."

Walking over towards the door with his lover running up to join by his side, the doors opened outwards as he approached it. With his lover snuggling up to his side, he draped a wing over her and looked at her with a raised brow as he wondered, "So what exactly do you need to talk to me about?"

"Oh, you know, just some... lover stuff," Cynder hid the truth.

"Hehe, Alright."

Seeing the two walk out of the house, Malefor followed behind the two with his lover beside him. As they walked side by side, he did the same and draped a wing over his lover's back. Looking back to see Malefor do the same as her lover did, Cynder asked as she already knew why, but wanted to hear it from Spyro, "You know I just want to hear you say it but, why do you, not complaining I swear so, let's get that out of the way but, why do you always put a wing over my back when ever we go anywhere?"

"Hehe, well, to protect you of course."

"Protect me from who?"

"You never know. We may be safe in here now but, what if a swarm of apes stormed the building and I didn't have my wing over you which would've been a crucial point in protecting you?"

"Hehe, there it is. I do love the feeling as always though to know I have that protection."

"Is that what you wanted to ask me?"

"Oh, no, it's just, well... You know how Volteer and Ersa might be mates right?"

"Of course."

"Well... How do you feel about that? Mainly the whole mate part between the two?"

"Hehe, well, I mean, they have been in love for years so, I guess I'm all for it. If Ersa has been holding onto hope for this long, and the fact that Volteer has been doing the same, I'm very surprised neither of them said anything at all. But hopefully you three will be able to convince her a little more, and maybe find out why she didn't tell him right off the spot. Ever since those two got together, Volteer seemed pretty happy so, hopefully he'll stay that way now."

"And what if he isn't? You gonna leave me again?"

"Hehe, Don't worry, I'm sure with Ersa being back, I shouldn't have to worry. And, do you want me to remind you what I said last night? I have no problem with that."

"I mean... neither do I."

With the other two following behind, they heard the other two laugh with one another as they talked. Malefor gave a slight sigh as he wished he could've been the one to talk with Spyro, but he didn't want to think too much about it. Looking at his lover, he saw her giving him a raised brow, and he very quickly apologized, "Oh, no no no, that doesn't mean I don't want to be with you as all time we have is precious, it's just... I guess I'm really excited to finally have Spyro as my ally and not an enemy."

"Hehe, Malefor, I'm not mad at you for trying to be happy. I understand why you are feeling this way, but you do have to admit, Cynder is right. And I can guarantee that you'll be able to talk with Spyro in the Chambers. I understand you seem eager to talk with him, and I understand what for but, is there another reason?"

"Well, ever since Ersa came back, it's really nice to know I didn't destroy everyone's life completely. And, I just want to talk with him some more, to hopefully show him that I am who I am, and not who I was controlled by. I'm so close, so very close, and I don't want to ruin this. But, I guess if I think about it, not keeping Cynder away from him is definitely a good idea so, I just had to roll with it."

Seeing as the two had turned into the Chambers, the other two followed behind and went to where they normally sat on the right side of the wall facing the Sleeping Chambers. Seeing as the Guardians were already out in the Chambers, sitting down in the row they usually sat in, Malefor felt joyful enough to greet them with a good morning, "Hey guys, and gal, I hope you all slept well."

"Who the hell are you and what have you done with Malefor," Terrador was the first to call him on his actions.

"What do you mean?" Malefor asked as he sat down in front of the wall with his lover beside him.

"Yeah, that was a little too friendly for you. You're not saying that so you can later light us all up in a ball of fire or something," Cyril was also very sceptical about the way he acted.

"Guys, it's me. I've just been a lot more happy with the way life has been going that, I just want to also show I'm still your friend and always will be."

"Oh yeah, I'm calling bull. This is coming from someone who burned my tail in my sleep all those years ago," Ignitus chuckled as he agreed with the other two Guardians.

"Well, I wasn't in love back then, and... That was funny so, can you really can't blame me?"

"I don't know, that sounds like something Malefor would say," Claire giggled as she knew the joking side of him.

"Claire barely knows me, yet she trust me before all of you? I feel hurt, I really do."

"You're going to embarrass those two when they come out of their room, aren't you?" Ignitus asked.

"Hehe, oh yeah. There are something that I just can't change, and that's one of them."

"You are turning into a Sparks real quick," Spyro chuckled as it gave him memories about the past.

"You're comparing me to that small little guy?"

"He use to embarrass me and Cynder nearly twenty-four seven on our way back to Warfang. He couldn't go one day without him saying something about how we loved one another."

"Yeah but, I'm embarrassing only the other Guardians, not you two, so that should make me a Malefor."

"Okay, so, tell me, what are you going to say when they walk out?"

"Hehehe, Oh, I've been waiting for this. Hehe, I am going to clap as they walk out and congrats Volteer on taking the charge. Then, I'm going to congratulate him for getting to third base with her, and since Ersa doesn't know what I'm talking about, it's only gonna make him super embarrassed. And then as he looks at me in anger, I will just laugh and laugh. And since Ersa doesn't know, she won't hurt me."

"There's Malefor," The three Guardians agreed with chuckles.

"But why do you say third base? I mean, I get it, it's so Volteer knows but, why not make Ersa know as well and just say that they, well, you know," Spyro asked, somewhat already knowing the reason.

"What? Screw that. Like I said, she scares me. I'm afraid she's going to do that pressure point thing in my neck again. I'm not going to embarrass her as I know she'll probably push down even harder with her fingers if she got to my neck, and I'm not letting that happen," Malefor completely disagreed with the idea as he moved a paw around his neck in fear even now as he spoke, "But who knows. I don't really now what's happened so, maybe I will hold off on saying something for a little bit, but if a, big thing, comes up, like with Claire, Oh yeah, I'm gonna be embarrassing them left and right like a punch."

"Do not, bring that back up," Ignitus warned as he watched Malefor put his paw back the ground with a raised brow and a smile, "Don't you smile at me. We will have problems."

"Alright, Alright. But can I at least say something to Volteer?"

"No."

"Well, guess what, opposite day."

"Then yes."

"Guess what, opposite day isn't a thing, and you just said yes so, thanks for the confirmation Ignitus."

"I can't believe I fell for that."

"He's a master when it comes to manipulating someone for his own gain," Cynder stepped in, once again throwing a jab at Malefor.

"Damn Cynder, you are way to good at that, and now I'm just depressed."

"Sorry," She giggled.

Hearing what sounded like steps, everyone stopped talking as they looked right at the door in hopes that it was the two. They all smiled as they saw the two turn the corner and walk into the Chambers together. As they were walking over to where Volteer usually sat, Ersa followed right by his side, and since they were talking the moment they walked in, they didn't notice everyone was looking at them, "It's just one of those things you have to be prepared for. And I did promise you I'd talk about it, but, I'm at least going to wait a little longer before I say anything," Ersa spoke as the two sat down with each other in the line of the Guardians.

"I'm sure everything is fine, I promise," Volteer assured her, and seeing everyone was already here, he thought this would be as good of a time as ever, "Look, everyone is already here so you can get it off your chest. I promise, you'll be fine to talk about it."

Malefor quickly gasped as he wondered and expected what it could be, but feeling his lover's paw over his, he struggled not to say anything. Ersa gave a sigh as she feared for her life to even say what she wanted, but with Volteer's wing over her back, and being surrounded by most of who she trusted, she knew it'd probably be best if she did say something. Focusing her attention over to Spyro, she struggled a little bit, but got the courage to say what she wanted, "Spyro, I'm... I'm going to be honest. I know everyone else here, and aside from the girls, I do trust them when we go to have our day but, you... I... I do not trust who you say you are."

"What? What do you mean?" Spyro asked, seeing her a little scared to answer, but with Volteer's paw over hers, she was able to gather her strength.

"I... You are a handsome dragon. Volteer's told me a lot and, knowing you're sixteen, and not even an adult yet, I'm scared of what you could do in the future. You say you love Cynder yet, when you become an adult, I've seen what could happen to good looking dragons. They use their looks, they use their power, and they use it all for their own gain. I feel like, when you grow up, you'll only care for other women, and not actually care to be in love."

"Hehe, does that mean Volteer will be the same? I'm sure you know he's handsome too."

"True, but I know him a lot better then I know you. I feared of telling you that I don't trust you, and that you scare me more then you make me feel safe. With your power, and your looks, you could have any female you've ever wanted, I can guarantee it, and by telling you now, I only fear more for you future then ever before... I am sorry, I just, time outside of Warfang, all those years... that's all most men care about."

"First Volteer doesn't trust me and now you?"

"Spyro, I..."

"Ersa, it's fine, I promise. Look, I'm sure he's already told you, and I just did but, even when Volteer didn't trust me, he came to me and told me. I helped him through it, and I hope we are still friends even to this day."

"I mean, you did help me find and save Ersa so..." Volteer chuckled, still thankful that he was such a big help in her safety, "Which, I do still thank, and forever will."

"But that's another problem. I feel like, because you helped us and saved us, you just want something that would help you, something that would further your future," Ersa once again scarcely said as she didn't know if she was going too far in saying or not.

"Hehehe," Cynder giggled, making Ersa a little confused as to why, "Ersa, you probably didn't hear because all you were focused on was Volteer, but Ignitus said he owed him one, which is basically like a wish coming from someone like him. You know what Spyro did when ever I asked him about his wish?"

"World domination? More power? Probably a female that only focuses on him and only him."

"Well, two of those Spyro already has. As for world domination..."

"Yeah, sorry Ersa, that's already been claimed by this guy... Or at least it was," Malefor joked, pointing two claws at himself as he said it.

"Are you threatening to do it again?" Ersa looked at him with squinted eyes.

"No! No ma'am!"

"Hehe, well, look, Ersa, Spyro's wish was for me to read about my parents. I kept telling him that he should use that wish for himself, but he wants me to be happy, that's all he wants. He wants everyone to be safe and happy, and that's it. That's why he's also so muscular because he trained a lot to make sure I was safe on our way back to Warfang, and through our life together," Cynder explained, making Ersa second guess more if she really could've been right or wrong about what she believed, and seeing her flirt with her lover, and seeing him smile, it did make her think, "And he was definitely given a rewarding kiss for that, one after another."

"Hehe, yeah well, you know," Spyro chuckled with a slight blush seeing her smile.

"But... why? I just don't understand. Someone like you, power like yours, especially when you helped us... Volteer told me you lost your parents to the dark master so, why you, compared to so many others out there, what makes you pure? What makes you want to do good compared to other dragons out there?"

"I, can't really give you an exact reason but... I think I have an idea. Ever since Ignitus approached me, I've always wanted to do good, and restore the world back to what it should be. I've had a lot of help over the years when it came to the Guardians or, Cynder, and basically everyone around me. It was tough after me and Cynder first returned to the Temple after I saved her and, even when I felt down, or she felt down, we were both there for one another. I guess I just had help through my life that's kept me pure."

"So where did Malefor go wrong?" Volteer asked with a chuckle.

"You had to say something, you couldn't just keep your mouth shut," Malefor grumbled.

"Ersa, I can promise you I'm not who you think I am. Cynder once told me that you only get one life, after that, you'll never been seen ever again for as long as you life. I couldn't stand seeing and losing someone close to me, and that even means Malefor. It just took me a while to see that for him but, I'm not going to change who I am," Spyro assured her, and hearing his words, it still took her a little bit to figure out whether or not she should trust him, and since he could see she was still thinking about it, he assured her once again, "If I ever do step out of line, Cynder is always here to keep me being me. And that's never really happened before, aside from when I fought the dark master but, I promise, just give me one chance, and I will prove to you I'm not something you fear."

Giving out a sigh, she wanted to trust him as she was tired of fearing for so long in her life. _Even after all these years, I don't even know what it's like to not fear, to just chill out... like how me and Volteer use to do back then... Should I trust him?_ Ersa thought as she had a good idea of what she wanted to do, but just needed a little more clarification from the others. Looking at the others, they all knew she was just scared, so they all nodded with smiles in hope that would help. Once again giving out a sigh, she finally agreed to giving him a chance, "Alright, Spyro, I will give you a chance."

"And that's all I ask for. I won't let you down, I promise."

"Hehe, well, now that that's out of the way, I guess I should always be a little more honest with you. When I first woke up, I... uh... I was devising a plan on... killing you..."

"Hehe, Yeah that's... wait, what?"

"Yeah... I, didn't know or trust you, and as I explained, I had many fears of you. So, I woke up with the intention to prove myself right and then, get rid of you. But before you say something, out of the thirty eight possibility, only four of them would've resulted in lethal use. All the others could've only paralyzed, burned, melted, or..."

"How long have you been awake?"

"Only a couple of hours. Why?"

"Thirty eight possibilities in only a couple of hours?"

"I was scared, and I'm sorry for preparing for such a thing..." Ersa acted sad and a little scared just to see if she would be able to get a rise out of him.

"Hehe, well, I hope I don't do anything to disappoint you of my chance then."

 _I guess he might really be as pure as he said,_ She thought. Making a mental note in her mind, she saw the look on Cynder's face, and was quickly able to tell she was a little scared for what she had said. Easily able to read her emotions, she assured her, "Oh, don't worry, Cynder, I'm not going to hurt him, I swear. As long as he keeps his promise to me and not become, one of them, then we should be all fine and happy."

"You're staying the way you are, right?" Cynder chuckled, trying to stay positive, but she still feared for her lover's life.

"Hehe, don't worry, I promise," Spyro once again promised just to be sure.

"And you thought I was joking when I said I feared her," Malefor chuckled, seeing the fear on both of their faces.

Now that she was able to get that off her chest, Ersa did feel better and hoped this would have a good change in her life. _Now that I can try and put my trust in Spyro, I do feel much better, and a lot safer to know he's on our side. Now, I just need to know more about the other females,_ she thought, remembering exactly what the girls had told her yesterday, so she took the opportunity to ask as she had wondered, "So, when are we going to have our day out? I'm fine if we wait a little bit longer. I have to go and... tend to some more of my projects now that I know Spyro isn't a threat."

"Yeah, definitely do that before we go," Cynder agreed.

"I guess we can leave here soon. It technically all depends on when you feel like going as you are the guest of honor this time around. First it was Claire, and now you, so this is about your day," Carith excitedly said as she was all for going when ever, just as long as she could have some girl time, "I'm pretty excited so, I do apologize."

"Oh, it's fine, I assure you. I haven't really had anyone I can trust to talk to in forever so, this will be a good time for me to try and relax," Ersa agreed as she believed this would be a good time for her to try and relax a little, "I just want to spend a little more time with Volteer before we set off. I hope that okay."

"Don't have to ask, he's your lover now so, take your time, we are in no rush... Well, kinda but, you'll be fine."

"I can also vouch for this day as well, Ersa," Claire spoke which made her look over to see what she would say, "When ever we first had a girls day out, I wasn't so sure myself as I had never been on one before but, even though something happened last time, I still had a very nice time to talk."

"What happened?" Ersa asked.

"Oh that's a story for sure to tell," Cynder giggled.

Smiling now as she was hopeful for the day, she gave out a peaceful sigh as she tried to finally relax. _I guess maybe things won't be so bad as I thought it would be,_ Ersa thought as she now felt comfortable to sit down with her lover and just think, but as she was, she watched as Malefor and Spyro started to talk with one another, joking back and forth. The sound was drowned out as she sat there, thinking about how life could be. _It's so strange to, be here now after so long... I... All I want to do is enjoy this time... To forget everything that's happened back then._ Looking at Volteer, he looked at her and gave a warm smile. Moving his head down, he gave her a nice kiss to help her keep that smile. Pulling his lips off hers, she did keep her smile from his help. Snuggling her head against the side of his neck, she then proceeded to rest her head on his shoulder while she closed her eyes, trying to enjoy the peace for once. _All's right... If I could just figure out how to get myself together and tell Volteer I want to be his mate, then... Then... I can truly just relax... That's all I want to do now after so long._ Now with her fears out if the way, she didn't know it, but she started to drift off to sleep on his shoulder, and everyone smiled to see as even Volteer smiled as he looked down at her. Since she was falling asleep, Spyro looked back at Malefor and started to talk more with him, "Just make sure to keep your voice down, just a little, don't want to disrupt the happy couple. But, going back, if you had to give up one power, what would it be?"

"Obviously wind, doesn't really belong with my purple body, and even if I got rid of it, no one would really know since I never use it," Malefor responded, but now he was curious as to what he would choose, "Alright, now you. If you had power to be taken from you, which one would it be?"

"Um... I guess I would say, Lighting. Through my adventures, Fire keeps Cynder warm when it's cold, and Ice keeps her cool when it's hot. Earth helped me make structures for use to live in when it rained. But through my time, I don't think I've ever had to really use lightning for anything... aside from... Aw Damn."

"You're thinking about the lightning in the mouth trick?"

"Yeah... I guess I would have to say earth then."

"Oh come on Spyro," Terrador chuckled, feeling a little bad that he didn't want to keep the ability, "True that lightning does that, thing, but also, think about it like this. What if their is hail? How are you going to protect your lover then? Or what if there is a lightning storm? Earth is a far better ability then any other out there. And true fire keeps her warm, but, so does body heat, so why would you need fire?"

"You are not going to bash my ability," Ignitus chuckled, now needing to give his reasons why his ability is better as he wanted to defend himself, "True that Earth does things to keep you protected, but think of what fire has done for you over the years. It was your first ability, you learned it from your favorite Guardian and father, so there is a lot of emotion and memories too it. So clearly fire is a must have."

"Then we can all agree that ice is by far the ability that everyone would keep," Cyril smiled as he was glad that no one wanted to get rid of ice, "But I'm going to have to go against you, my friend, Terrador. You can easily make an ice shelter without needing earth, protecting you from lighting storms and hail. Best of all, you can see through the ice, so it makes for a wonderful view under the stars."

"Well, on the contrary my dear friend," Volteer now decided to join in as he knew for a fact as to which ability was the weakest, "Ice may be good, but it most certainly couldn't hold up against a hail storm. Earth is made pretty strong, so I would have to say that the most useless ability is going to be ice. Earth does everything ice can do just only better. But that doesn't make you unless, because there are things ice can do that Earth can't."

"Well, I'd definitely agree with you, Cyril, as I believe ice is the best ability to have," Claire agreed with her friend, and seeing him smile made her smile as well, "Think about it like this, if you are an ice dragon, or Dragoness, and find another dragon, say, Fire, it makes for an amazing time together. When it's cold, he warms you up, when it's hot, you cool him down, and both of you work together as lovers."

"I guess that's true," Terrador grumbled as he did have to agree.

"Hehe, well, if you think about it, Spyro, you've already lost your abilities like, twice, right?" Malefor chuckled from memory as he knew that he would be the only one to know what it was like without powers.

"Hehe, oh yeah. First when I saved Cynder, I used all my powers to save her, and then after me and her came out of the time Crystal," Spyro chuckled as well from the old memories of his past, "And to be honest, I felt terrible at one point when Cynder was cold and I couldn't warm her up in the Temple, and since fire really does hold a place in my heart and keeps me warm, I'm definitely going to have to say that fire is a must have."

"Yes," Ignitus cheered with a smile.

"And now for ice. It is very true, and I see both point of view on why ice is good and bad. But, do you all remember when we were heading back to Warfang after me and Cynder came back from our visit with Ignitus? If you remember, it was pretty hot during that time, and my ice ability sure did come in handy while you others were sweating. So, that's two down, as I also agree to having my ice powers."

"Haha, nice," Cyril cheered with a smile.

"Now for either lighting or earth... Huh... Well, I think I have a decider, it's just how I will say it. When it comes to lightning, it does make for some useful stuff, but, sorry Volteer, I'm actually gonna have to give up lightning for one reason, and that's because, naturally loving your lover is the best thing. And the jolt is nice and all but, so is the time I spend with Cynder. Which means I'm going with your ability to keep, Terrador."

"Sorry my friend," Terrador chuckled, cheering in his own mind.

Volteer gave a sigh as he was a little sad he lost, but that didn't stop him from smiling, "Alright alright, you win. But just you wait. Me and Ersa are going to discover something cool or unique with our power and then you'll be begging to keep lightning over Earth. So I might have lost this little battle, but many more are yet to come, and I will rain supreme when it happens."

"Hey, Malefor, speaking of battle," Carith whispered, pulling a wing up to block her view of everyone else, "Do you want to see if you could win one?"

Moving his head close to her face, he gave a smile as he chuckled, "Do you really think you can handle my lips so soon? I'm surprised you've even been able to talk so much after how much we kissed."

"I've learned to deal with your tricks."

"Well then, let's see if you can continue to do so."

Seeing as the two had their wing up, Cynder knew exactly what they were doing and knew she couldn't be bested. Just as she turned her head, everything went dark, and then her lips were pushed up against by her lover's. Giving a slight moan from his sudden the kiss, she quickly gave in and pushed into the kiss, completely concealed behind her lover's wing. Luckily, the Guardians were talking back and forth so they didn't see or bother the four as they kissed their lovers. The only one who did see was Claire, and she knew she couldn't take it any longer as she needed to kiss the one she loved as well. Waiting for the right moment, she watched as Ignitus turned his head towards Cyril and started to talk to him. Seeing this opportunity, she moved her head to his lips. Unable to go through with it, she kissed the side and very back of his lip before quickly pulling her head back. Feeling the kiss, he turned his head back around and looked at her as he wondered what she was trying to go for. But he tried to play it off like a normal kiss, "Hehe, does someone want a kiss in return?"

"Oh... uh... sure, of course."

Seeing him move in for the kiss to peck her cheek, she did give a smile as she thought, _I'm getting there... I just need..._ Before she could think what she wanted to, he felt his lips kiss the back of her lip for only a second before he pulled away. Her eyes grew wide as she wondered what that could mean. _Does that mean... He must love me!_ Seeing as he took his head back and smiled at her before turning back to focus on the other Guardians, Claire bit her lip as she whispered, "I will have you... _Thank you, Ancestors, for giving me the chance to be with him._ "

"So, hey, Volteer, why did it take you two so long to get out here? Usually we would all be out here and we'd have to wait for the others but, it with the opposite for you," Cyril wondered along with everyone else as they wondered if they had told her.

"Oh, that. Well, me and Ersa were talking some about a lot of things, one of which is how she still feared to face Spyro from her fears and other things," Volteer explained, and he saw as they all sighed, slightly shaking their heads at his words, and he wondered what that meant, "What? Is there a problem with me talking to my lover? I hang out with you guys all the time."

"Don't worry, Volteer, that's not it at all. It's something that we will have to tell you later on, but for right now, just enjoy your time with her. We most definitely are not saying you shouldn't," Terrador said, not giving him a clear answer of what they all meant so Volteer had really nothing to go off of.

Giving off a raised brow as he still did wondered, Volteer just tried not to think too much about it as he wanted to focus more on what he really cared about. Looking down at his shoulder as her head laid there, he couldn't help himself, and he gave a kiss on the top of her head. Taking his head back, he didn't know she was asleep as she made a slight mumbled noise, and she snuggled her side up against his once again. Picking her head up and opening her eyes, she yawned loudly, and smacked her lips as she closed her mouth. She gasped as she realised she had fallen asleep, and thought, _Oh no! My potions!_ Taking off from out of underneath Volteer's wing, she ran out the Chambers and to her left, quickly heading back to their room.

"Ersa, is everything okay?" Volteer cried, a little frightened from her sudden jump to leave, so he stood up and ran to the entrance.

Making it out of the Chambers, he turned to his left and saw their door was opened. Making his way over to the door, he looked inside and stood at the entrance. He watched as she started to pour liquids from one beaker to another one that was empty. Some she had to quickly put corks over to keep the gas that simmered from out of them inside the bottle. Walking into the room, he looked at one of the beakers she had closed from the release of gas and saw as the inside started to fog. The fog then started to turn green and the bottle started to burn more and more. _Wait a minute,_ Volteer thought as he looked at his lover and asked, "Hey, my love, do you remember what's in this one?"

"It's... From memory, I put... I believe... Hold on," Ersa tried to explain as she kept running all over the place to get stuff to stop most of her concoctions, and looking over at the beaker very closely, she knew what it was, "Oh, that one. That was one of the lethal one's I was going to use. I was going to use a mixture of about three elements in there but, I had only two so, I couldn't," Going back and making sure everything was well and done, she remembered the two elements, "I'm pretty sure I put... Histaven along with some Exquil, both melted off course."

"What?!" Volteer cried, feeling as the bottle started to warm up to a point that he couldn't hold it anymore and he put it to the ground.

"Wh... Volteer..." Ersa stopped what she was doing and saw as his face turned to fear, "I... Wh..."

"Quick! Do you have anything cold, a mineral that hasn't been melted down like, Ilax or Xver?!"

Quickly looking all around her table, she couldn't find what she was looking for, picking up one rock after another as she hoped to find it. _Come on, come on! I know it's here somewhere,_ Ersa cried, starting to shake as she started to feel flash backs of what's happened back then and didn't want the same thing to happen again. Looking underneath her tables, her eyes grew wide with a smile as she spotted a blue crystal, giving off a cool blue aura above and around it. The crystal had frozen the ground around it, along with the small surrounding area around it. Tucking down and going for the crystal, she grabbed it, and yanked as hard as she could to break it from the ice. As it snapped off, her head almost hit the table, but she was successful in backing up and avoiding any contact with the table. With the Crystal in her paws, she ran up to Volteer. Holding out her paw, he grabbed it and yelled, "Stand back!"

She didn't know what to do as she didn't know how serious this really was, so all she could do was take one step back. Reaching down and taking the cork out from the top of the bottle, he dropped the blue Crystal into the bottle in hopes it would work. A loud hissing sound bubbled into the bottle as fizz started to grow up to the top of the bottle. Just as it was about to spill over, the bottle froze, along with everything in it. Picking up the bottle and holding it from the top with only two claws, he saw the fear in her eyes as she shivered. Giving her a smile and a chuckle, he understood why she seemed so scared and tried his best to calm her, "Hehe, Sorry. If that would've gone off, it would've been close, but not as bad as the explosion from before. But the problem mainly is, yes, the explosion isn't as bad, but the effects are just far beyond worse..."

"Is everything okay in here?" A voice called from the door, and as Volteer turned to see who it was, he saw it was Spyro.

"Hehe, don't worry Spyro, we're fine. Thank you for checking on us though."

"You sure."

"You've done enough to help me. Go back to Cynder and enjoy your time."

"I will, take I word then."

Watching as Spyro walked away, he turned his back around and saw she was still in shock from what had happened. Before he could continue his explanation, he had to apologize, "Sorry for scaring you, just trying to make sure you didn't get burned. If this would've gone off, it most likely would've burned your body to the point of shock, which... I won't go into what else it would've done. Hehe, I'm just glad you had some Xver. Luckily, it's a lot colder then Ilax, and we would've had to get some help from Spyro. But we are all good now."

She knew it was all her fault for making him worry so much, and started to feel terrible for almost already destroying everything even though she just got back, "Volteer I... I'm so sorry... I didn't know... I didn't mean to..."

"Exactly, you didn't mean to. Ersa, it's fine, I'm not upset," Putting the beaker on the table, he walked up to her, and standing in front of her, he assured her, "This is just like all those years ago. Remember, your life is more important then any work, piece of paper or, anything else that can easily be made. Remember what Spyro said, 'You only get one life'. Hehe, I'm pretty sure paper doesn't so, I'm fine and so are you," Giving her a kiss on the lips, she did feel better, better then she did before as she thought more about it, and as he pulled away, he chuckled, "And look at that, Spyro came over to check on us. I told you he was just as I know he is. So even if worst came to worse, he's still right there so, we're fine, i promise you, my love."

Giving him a hug as her face rested over his shoulder and her wings over his back, she let a tear go down her face and onto his back. Putting his wings over her back, he did the same as he rested his head over her shoulder and stood their in silence, feeling a smile go across his face from the embrace, _I miss this so much._ Feeling the loving hug from her lover, she started to chuckle slightly and make fun of what's happened, "You're enjoying this aren't you. Knowing you saved my life again, you're smiling, aren't you."

"I don't enjoy you having to fear so early on already. But, I am enjoying this time with me and you right now... Hehe, and, yes, I am smiling to know that I was able to save you once again."

As she pulled her head and wings back, he unfortunately did the same, but he was a little confused as he looked at her. Watching as she pulled her wings back to her side, she started to blush, looking with her head down, but only slightly to see his chest. Using her eyes, she looked up at him, and in a teasing kind of voice, she made his scales stand up on end, "Let me guess... You want a reward for saving me now, don't you."

Feeling as the shivering feeling went through his body, he blushed as well, and her teasing voice only made it all the more embarrassing for him. Looking up at him, she moved her head up to his lips with a smile, and he gave a chuckle as he tried not to think about it, "Of course not. Just like before, my reward for saving you is knowing you're still alive in this life. The reward is to know I can feel your scales, talk to you, and know you're alive. That's reward enough for me."

Giving a sigh, she giggled, "Hehe, you know, it's very hard for me to sound dirty if you keep acting so nice."

"Oh, Hehe, Sorry. I might've ruined it but, I guess I should say, can my reward be a kiss?"

"Of course."

Kissing one another lovingly on the lips, it was a nice view of fresh air for her as she thought, _You will be mine here soon... I know I will be able to tell you._ Every time he pulled his lips away, she went right back to kissing him, doing the same to him in a teasing manner even more. And with each kiss, her feelings of fear of what had happened, they started to disappear. Her shaking had stopped, and her smile started to stay on her face once again. Now pulling away from the kiss for good, the two put their foreheads on one another and tried to catch their breaths. Giving out a sigh, Ersa chuckled as she was able to see the frozen beaker, and it made her wonder, "I want to hear you say that you're smarter then me because, clearly you are."

"Hehe, to be honest, I've found you to be smarter then me through the years. For you to have survived through those years, using your smarts and survival tactics, what kept you going? Even when times were bad, what did you do? How did you keep yourself going?"

"Oh come on, you know what it was and who I thought of every second."

"Are you able to... say it?"

"I have no problem telling my lover that I thought of him all those years. Every day I thought about you, and now being back, my thoughts and dreams are coming true, slowly but surely."

Taking his head back from hers, the two looked in one another's eyes as he asked, "What's coming true, 'slowly'? If it's anything I can do right now, I have no problem."

Giving a quick blush, she giggled, "Oh, don't worry about that... Hehe... That's just, something I need to talk with the girls about."

"Does that mean you want to head out here soon?"

"Yeah... I guess since I was able to get a little rest on your shoulder to think I'm... I'm finally calming down. My chest hurts and, I still have this fear in my gut to do the things I love as, I'm afraid to lose them but," Putting a paw over his, and remembering everything that's already been said and seen today, she smiled, "After everything that's happened... I'm starting to trust everyone here... and I believe in the future for us... I... I really do."

"That's fantastic to hear."

"So, come on, let's head back to the Chambers. But, actually, before we do, is that beaker going to be okay just sitting there?"

"Oh, yeah, it's fine. Since the crystal is now in it, and the way it reacts to what you put into it, the Crystal is now basically pointless, and trying to get it out, we would need some serious heat. I'm not surprised you did have that gem though. It's easy to get, but nearly impossible to melt. And now that beaker is made of ice along with everyone else. But if you want it back that badly, we could try and melt the ice."

"It's fine. I just need to find a way to keep it without having to see it because... You know... It's also just in case we need it."

"I think I know someone who would take it. Come on, let's get back to the others."

Turning his back and walking out of the room, she couldn't help but stare at him as he walked away, forgetting to walk herself. As he walked out the door, he turned to his left to look at her, but she wasn't there, so he looked into the room to see she was still standing there with slightly widened eyes. Waving a paw at her, she shook her head and walked up over to him. Walking out of the room and to his side, she smiled once again to feel his scales on her side, and the two continued to walk to the Chambers. Turning the corner side of the Chambers, everyone looked at them and Volteer chuckled, "Don't worry, everything's fine. Just had to stop a, uh, fire, basically."

As they walked back over to where they normally sat, Ignitus explained it all for them while the two got to where they needed to be, "So, as Spyro was explaining, it's true that something was happening, and if it did happen, it would've ended very badly. And, Malefor, this might actually work out well in your favor. You've already got two souvenirs on your shelf and, how would you like another?"

"Hehe, I'm always down for the memories. What is it?" Malefor wondered with a smile, hoping to add something to his collection of memories.

"The beaker that Ersa was using is now completely frozen over so, the gem is still inside of it. Ersa wanted to keep it just in case they ever needed that gem again, but doesn't want to see it because of what had almost happened. So, I was wondering if maybe you wanted to put it up on your shelf as like a souvenir next to the Chains and the door knob."

"Hehe, I forget you kept my old door knob that I ripped off," Spyro chuckled from the memory.

"Absolutely! I will keep it as a memory for how Ersa first came back on her official day," Malefor agreed very quickly, excited to add something new to his collection of pieces.

"Hehe, alright. I will have a clone put it in your room for you for safe keeping. And also the ice won't melt so, you don't have to worry about that at all," Ignitus explained to him, watching as he smiled more and nodded as a thank you, and as he smiled back at his friend, he looked over at Ersa and asked, "So now the only thing that is left is, when are you going to leave to have your girls day so I know to put some powers over the ones that are going."

"Going? Who else is going aside from us girls?" Ersa asked, as she looked at the other two girls and saw them looking at their lovers.

"Hehe, yeah, Sorry, Ersa. Me, Malefor, and I'm assuming Volteer will be going as well. But we will be hanging out in the back, far enough away so we can't hear you, but close enough to help in case someone tries something," Spyro apologised as he couldn't stand here and wait as he once tried to do, and he apologized once again for it, "Once again, I am sorry. Just, I promise, us guys will not interfere."

 _Then, would it still be possible for me to ask the girls about me and Volteer becoming mates...? Yes! Yes, yes, of course. I'm not holding this off any longer and I will find out one way or another,_ Ersa thought, letting off soft sigh as to get herself prepared as for what was to come. Now knowing that her lover was going to be right behind her in case anything happened, she agreed and was ready to go when ever they were, "Alright, I guess I am ready then. Now that everything has settled down, I guess we should get going."

"I absolutely agree," Carith very quickly agreed with her statement.

"I guess we just need the go ahead from you, Claire as I am ready too," Cynder agreed to going as well, now just waiting on her other friend to agree with them going.

"Well, with Malefor and Spyro going, I guess I do feel a lot safer. And since even Volteer's tagging along and another female, I'm pretty excited if I do say so myself which, seeing your excitement and especially Carith's, I know I'm not the only one who's excited," Claire was the last to agree, but just like her and the other girls, they were ready to go now more then ever.

"Well then, come on girls! Who's ready to have some fun?!" Carith happily cheered out, taking a couple steps out from her lover's wing, and raising a paw into the air for excitement.

The other girls giggled, but they all did the same and raised their paws into the air with smiles. Now with all the girls being on board with everything, Carith walked to her left, passing right by the front of Malefor as she did. Using her tail, she groped his neck, following all the way to his chin. She watched the entire time she did this, and saw the blush and smile on his face as his paws moved on their own, making him come closer and closer to her as her tail went off his chin. Standing up and walking over to the entrance with Cynder, Spyro looked behind himself and asked, "So, Volteer, you going to join us or not?"

Looking at his lover, Ersa gave a quick sigh before smiling. Looking at her lover and giving a slight head jester towards the doorway, she happily nodded with a smile. With the two walking to the door, Claire was the last one to walk towards the door. As she got up to walk over, Ignitus stopped her as he spoke, and she turned to listen to him, "Hey, Claire... I promise tonight will be different. I... I really do look forward to seeing you tonight... _My love._ "

Still unable to say it, he did blush, and gave off a little sigh as to not catch her suspension. Giving a nod and a smile as well, she believed in his words and hoped she knew what he meant by that. Turning back to the others, she thought more about it as she continued to walk over to the others, but she was soon met by a warm body that gave warmth to her left side. Looking to see who it was, everyone looked to see Ignitus had joined along with all the others as they waited at the doorway. She blushed a little and he explained, "I mean... since everyone else is going with their females, why can't I go with mine?"

"Hehe, I have no problem with that," Claire giggled, enjoying the feeling of having him come along.

"I... Ignitus! You... You aren't going to leave us... Just us two...?" Cyril cried, feeling a little betrayed and lonely.

"Yeah, Ignitus. Nothing against Claire but... Not having you here is really going to be a bummer," Terrador agreed as it didn't feel right with it just being the two of them all alone in the Chambers.

"Sorry guys, I really do want to stay but, since everyone else is going out, and since I haven't really been out in a while myself, I thought it'd be best to just get some sun," Ignitus said, making the two only feel more sad as they knew their would be no way to persuade him to stay, "But if it makes you two feel any better, you could always tag along. We guys talk in the back while the girls have their conversation up front. But if you two stay here, you could always bond a little more, discuss what you think of life or what ever."

"Yeah... no. No offense, Terrador..."

"And no offense Cyril but, it would get a little awkward with us two just kinda, chilling out and, being really uncomfortable when we try to start a conversation so, if it's okay with the other girls, I would definitely like to come along and uh, get some sun as well, right? You're not the only one who hasn't been outside in a while," Terrador chuckled as even he knew they haven't felt the sun on their scales in days.

"Not really much of a girls day out if all the boys are coming along but... I guess it can't be helped," Carith sadly sighed as now everyone was going to be out and about, and she knew what that meant, "The only problem with this is, now everyone knows the Guardians are on the paths, along with the purple dragons, one of which most don't know and hopefully shouldn't, along with their lovers. So, I'm pretty sure us running into someone is very... very highly."

"Well, while me and Volteer were looking for Ersa, he scooped out the places with the least amount of dragons so, all we have to do is go to that side like we did last time, and we will be fine," Spyro suggested, remembering what his friend had told him.

"So then I guess Volteer is leading the way?"

"Well, for now I guess. Then we will let you ladies walk ahead and we will back up and talk amongst ourselves as well. Sounds like a plan to me. What about everyone else?" Volteer agreed on a plan and everyone agreed to it as well as they all nodded when they had looked at him.

 _Thank goodness we are able to come along,_ Terrador sighed happily, glad no one else was keeping them from staying cooped up inside the Chambers any longer. _It's going to be nice to finally stretch my wings once again, and it doesn't have to do with battle._ With this thought in his mind, he gave a smile just thinking about going outside once again. Similar to him, Cyril was also having joyful thoughts just thinking about going back outside, _It's pretty sad for me to be excited to go outside when I could literally do it any day but... I feel like today will definitely be a nice day. Hopefully we done attract too much attention to ourselves so we can enjoy our time._ Both of them were already ahead of leaving as they walked up to the group that had all been standing in the front of the Chambers, talking amongst one another. The first to go out was Volteer and Ersa, then following behind was everyone else with Terrador and Cyril in the back. With everyone heading down the halls, Malefor thought to himself as he was all alone for the time being, _Since Carith is talking with Claire, I don't really have anything to do. And I don't want to push talking with Spyro because I know he wants to spend time with Cynder. So what should I do?_ While in his thoughts, he felt a rush of air go past him, and picking up his head, he saw Cynder had ran past him. Watching as she started to talk with both Claire and Carith, he was a little confused as to why she would be doing such a thing.

"You okay?" Spyro asked, causing Malefor to shake as he looked to his right, "Whoa there. You doing okay?"

"I... I uh... Yeah, of course, I just... Why aren't you with Cynder?" Malefor asked feeling as though something was happening and he just didn't know about it.

"Cynder has been, proud, of my performance so far, and I promised to keep doing as good of a job as I am now so, I thought it would be a great of time as any to come talk to you. It also didn't help that I kept wondering what more we could talk about, and since she saw that well, she thought it would be best if we split up for a while."

"Split up?!"

"Hehe, yeah, and what are the odds that Malefor caused us to spilt apart."

"No, no no no. We are not doing this, and you are not going to cause me to have a heart attack! If you are being serious, I'm backing out of this conversation right now..."

"Malefor, calm down, I'm only joking."

"Are you sure?"

"The first thing I said was true. Cynder's happy with my love for her, and I just wanted to talk with you some more. I also felt pretty bad that you were just hanging your head low while everyone else just talked and laughed away. I thought it would be nice to talk about something."

"I mean... since we are on the subject, I was wondering how you would feel about maybe talking about a power increase."

"Of course. What do you need help with? Dark Power, Your abilities, or maybe some other trick?"

"I was wondering if you knew how to use your other elements, like, the other color version of them?"

"The other colors? Oh, that. Well, I haven't figured out exactly how to do it, but when I'm in my dark form, I believe that I can use the power."

"How so?"

"Think about like this. I've already mastered my elements, same as you. And since I had a talk with Ignitus, I now know there is more to my power then before. So, I try to look deeper into advancing my power, which is a little more difficult then it sounds. I've only really been able to use blue fire when I'm in my dark form, and I've even been able to condense it when I helped you with your dark power."

"So I'd need my dark power if I would want to use my other colored elements?"

"No, not exactly. When I was going to help Volteer and Ersa, he somehow managed to use his blue colored lightning to protect her."

"Great, which means like everything else, it's going to take some form of emotional break down for me to get?"

"I could always ask him and find out what he was feeling at the time."

"Sounds like an idea."

Seeing as the girls were all in front of the group, they pushed open the doors to the outside of Warfang, and everyone followed out into the open. Standing outside along with everyone else, Ersa got a nice breath of fresh air as she smiled wide just thinking about life as it is now. Seeing all the color in the world now with both her eyes, the sun, the clouds, and the beautiful blue sky, she couldn't help but think of the joy that she had once felt way back in her past, and it was all coming back to her in the short time she was with her new lover, _No more anger, no more sadness, and no more fear... And it's all thanks to Volteer. There is just one more thing in this life that I need, and the girls will help me find the answer, I know they will._ Turning around and looking at her lover, Volteer smiled at her as she did, and giving a smile back, she asked, "Well, were to my love? You know where we are going, don't you?"

Seeing her smile, along with her body shining from the sunlight that stayed over her, he couldn't help but blush and try his best to recall what he had said, "Oh... Hehe, well, um... Ahem, sorry. We should head to the left side of Warfang from memory. But if you're really feeling adventurous, then the middle has the most populated place of out of all the areas. But of course, it's all up to you."

"Yeah, I think we'll stay to the left side. I already found my male to spend my life with," Ersa said with a smile on her face, only making Volteer's blush grow more as he smiled at her, but she didn't see that smile as she had looked over at the other girls and asked as she opened her wings, "Are you all ready to go then?"

The other three girls all nodded at her, opening their wings as well, and soon following were the guys. As the girls took flight, flapping their wings and flying up in the air, the others followed behind and did the same as them. Heading to the left side of Warfang, everyone knew to stay low as to hopefully not be spotted by anyone as they made their way to the paths. Everyone landed at different times, each with a click from their claws as they touched down on the ground. Once the girls had landed, the guys had landed only seconds later. Ersa looked back behind herself to see everyone had landed, and looking at the other girls as they stood in a line in front of her, she called out their names from closest to her to the furthest, "Well, Cynder, Carith, Claire, what do we do now? And I do apologize in advanced if I say your names often, just trying to get accustomed to all your names to help me not forget."

"Please, there is nothing wrong with that," Cynder assured her.

"Hehe, yeah, do you know how hard it was for me to keep track of all the Guardians? Along with now Spyro, three other females, and my lover. No one would judge you," Carith giggled, remembering her first time trying to remember all their names.

"Yeah, even for me, I'm just lucky I have good memory so I was able to remember their names pretty easily in the beginning. But I'm sure someone as smart as you will catch on to everyone's name very quickly," Claire agreed with the other two girls, making Ersa feel already comfortable around the others as they spoke, "And as for what we do now, well, we walk and talk. When ever we feel like going home, we can go home."

"Oh... Okay," Ersa said, never having done such a thing before, but seeing as the girls started to walk, she walked with them as well, staying right by Cynder's side as they did.

Now with the girls walking, the guys had to give them a couple of seconds of space before they started to walk with them. Now with everyone walking, Carith was the first one to speak as she had to know, "Alright, Ersa, we didn't jump into this right away with Claire, but you, I want to know exactly what you're thinking."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm talking about you, and Volteer. Long lost lover's finally reunited and you fell in love with him right then in there. I'm very surprised by that, which, congratulations to you for being able to do something like that after what's happened. Poor Claire over here is begging to lock lips with Ignitus but those two still haven't even gotten close. And to be honest, Claire, it's getting sadder then a rainy day."

"Well... Me and Ignitus made, some progress," Claire grumbled with a blush, still feeling bad she hadn't kissed him yet.

"Progress?"

"I... Wanted to go in for the kiss and, when I did, I... backed out and kissed the side of his lip. He then looked at me and, to my surprise... he kissed the side of my lip as well... and even though it was short lived I... I wanted him just to move closer to the center of my lips."

"Claire... How much more obvious do you need this to be? Ignitus went for your lip, come on girl, you can't let him tease you like that, tease him back, go for it."

"I know, I know, it's just... It's really difficult for me. It's just one of those things where I still wonder why he picked me. The Chronicler, a, above all Ancestor basically and yet... I'm also a little embarrassed, and I know this sounds weird but, it's both another reason I... want him, and other reason I am scared."

"Sounds a little... Wired when you say it like that."

"Not like that! What I mean is, he showed me him flexing out his muscles with the help of his Chronicler power and... Well..."

"Are you biting your lip?" Cynder giggled as the girls all watched as Claire bit her lip with a blush.

"I am...?" Claire said with confusion, and since she didn't realise she was, it only made her feel more into telling her love to him, "And this is something that just happens to me! I started to feel all happy inside just thinking about him and, I can't control what I do. I feel like I'm still under the control of the darkness that infected my mind and I just... Ugh... You are probably the luckiest, Ersa. As soon as you saw him, only minutes later, you were already locked into a kiss with him."

"It's... A little easier for me though. I've known him for about a mouth. And, through all that time, I still dedicated myself to him. If anything, I'm the least luckiest Dragoness here right now. Unlike you all, and you Claire, I'm sure you won't have to wait more then a decade to finally know what the feeling of a warm loving kiss from your lover is, or that feeling of just... sitting there... laying your head down on his shoulder while he protects you with his wing even as you sleep so peacefully... and... you start to feel all the trust again..." Feeling as that emotion started to kick in again, she felt a tear starting to form in her right eye, and feeling a wing over her back, she saw it was Cynder's, and she also saw the smiles on the girls faces which made her smile as well, "Don't worry, I'm fine... And, it's funny how I'm talking about Volteer and, here I am, with a tear in my once damaged eye... But even now... I hate myself because of how stupid, and irresponsible I was when I first came back."

"What do you mean?" Cynder asked, taking her wing back to her side and watching as Ersa's joyful face turned sadness as she frowned.

"I... I just... Ugh! Look, I... I trust you all. Even with you, Cynder, Volteer is who I still trust even to this day, and coming back, it took some time, but... I will never feel truly happy unless I, get this last emotion out, this, thing, that has been holding me back, and if I can't say it, it's going to put me in shut down because of all the emotions from the years, and the promise I made..."

"Ersa, clam down. Everything's fine. We promise that what ever it is, we keep it to ourselves as girls. I mean, today marks the one week anniversary of sorts of Claire telling us that she loved Ignitus but still hasn't told him. Which is actually funny to think about but, just a week ago, the whole thing with Claire happened for our girls day, and now with you."

"Cynder's right, Ersa. When I had first met him, all I wanted was to not make any emotional attachment. My, previous, self, wanted one of them died, and I wanted to leave. But when Ignitus help calm me down by walking into my room and, helping me through my tears, we ended up laying with one another that day. But even to this day, Cynder and Carith have kept their promise, and they haven't told Ignitus I love him, because they know that's my job. So what ever is bothering you, maybe something about Volteer, just tell us, we won't make fun of you," Claire assured her as well, and all the helpful words from the girls were helping her once again feel the confidence that she needed to say what she wanted to.

Taking a deep breath in, and then out, she blushed, and started to clench her teeth as she fought back the fears. Instead, she looked to what this could mean for her, and started to think more on the future as Ersa spoke, "I... Never got over Volteer. There was no way I could and, from the very beginning, when I lost him, I wanted nothing more then to love him, and that was a promise I made to myself... But over the years, that emotion grew, and I cried thinking that maybe my heart was drifting away from him or, I'd never see him again but... It wasn't any of that at all... It was the feeling that something would've changed. He would've changed, or, he wouldn't have cared about me because of everything that has happened over the years... After all, the war has left scars on all of us..."

"What scars? Last I checked, our bodies are as clean as a freshly new coat of scales," Cynder happily said, looking at her paw as she did so.

"So your telling me that, nothing happened during that war that forever changed you?"

"Well... there were a... couple of times but... Spyro's always been there for me when it came to what's happened... I guess the worst thing that happened was when the Dark Master forced me to attack Spyro. I did feel terrible about it, and it haunted me even when he said it wasn't my fault but... I slashed at his wing pretty badly, even knocking him to his side... But, he never blamed me for it. He always kept a smile when he thought about it, because he was proud I was able to fight it..."

"How did you fight it? The Dark Master always had control over you through the years."

"I grew feeling for Spyro very early on, even though I left him out of gilt for what I did, he still helped me. So, when I was forced into attacking him, the darkness in me wondered why he wasn't fighting back. And as he laid on the ground, he frowned, and sadly said... 'Because you've left me nothing to fight for'..."

"Aw," All the girls teased her in unison of the moment.

"You all are horrible," Cynder sighed with a smile as she had remembered the moment, "I hope this will always help and show you that Spyro really isn't a bad guy. He's just as normal as all of us, even though he's a legendary purple dragon with abilities and powers that can even challenge that of the Chronicler but... He has promised that he will always be my Purple Guardian... But if we start talking more about him then we would have to make a stop so I could make out with him for what he's done. So, we need to get back on track. This is about you, Ersa."

"Hehe, well, I will surely remember this moment for sure. It's crazy to think of someone who looks so manly such as himself to be such a sweetheart," Ersa giggled and seeing as the other girls giggled as well and seeing Cynder blush with a smile, she started to feel better and better, and knew that this was the time she would have to say what she wanted, "Alright, I guess I can't stall, not that I want to because... I need to know... I have to know from you all... This is about... my love for Volteer... But more."

"Yes!" Carith happily cried, feeling as though she knew what it was, which caused Ersa to giggled, "Oh, sorry... Ahem, continue."

"You're fine, Carith, I promise. But, going back to the decades where I felt terrible, I started to feel more and more, attached to him. Through the years I didn't see him, I felt that feeling grow more and more. I promised myself years ago that I would call him my lover but... When I finally made it to Warfang... I promised myself that... I would call him... my mate."

"What?!" The three other girls cried along with Ignitus, but since the girls cried over him, they didn't hear him.

"What what? Why are you yelling?" Malefor asked, putting a paw over the right side of his head from the sudden yell.

"Yeah, Ignitus. You need to take a chill pill," Terrador chuckled, putting a paw over the left side of his head.

"He's probably doing a little peaking on the girls conversation. That's a bad little Ignitus, you shouldn't invade a girls conversation like that, you should know better," Spyro chuckled, now just wanting to pick on him, but in a way, he was a little curious as to what was said, "But, just for the record, that doesn't apply for what Cynder says about me... please tell me I've been doing good and she gave me a really good complement."

"No trust for your lover, Spyro?" Cyril asked.

"No trust for your lover, Cyril? Oh, never mind."

"Whoa, what was that for?"

"Hehe, I don't know, just having fun."

"By punching him in the gut?" Volteer chuckled.

"He's not Malefor, I'd never do such a thing."

"But you would leave me on the ground while I die," Cyril chuckled.

"Oh not this again."

"To be fair, you did leave him to die," Terrador agreed, putting his paw back down to the ground.

"No, we all already established that was Ignitus's fault. He was going to heal him and didn't," Malefor helped in Spyro's defense, and as he spoke, he put his paw back down to the ground.

"You would defend him."

"Uh, Damn right. What would you do against two purple dragons? Win the fight, we win the battle baby."

"Don't ever say that again."

"Hehe, what are you going to do, stop me?"

"Do not try me. You may act high now, but Carith, Spyro, both those two, I could have you crying on the ground in minutes, begging for forgiveness."

"You're a bitch for trying something like that. How about you fight me like a man."

"Ladies, you're both pretty. Now are you done?" Cyril tried to break the two up but only made things worse.

"Shut up, Cyril," Both Malefor and Terrador growled at him.

"Don't you find it a little sad that we are all getting aggressive with one another while the girls are being so peaceful and giggling?" Spyro asked the others, and both Malefor and Terrador grumbled as they looked away from one another, "Look, I don't know why you two are so pissed with one another but, get over it. Lay it on the ground right now."

"Oh, I'm not upset. It's just funny seeing Terrador get upset," Malefor was honest.

"What about me being upset is so funny to you? It wasn't funny when you made me upset and I trapped you under earth for a good couple of hours back then," Terrador grumbled at him.

"Because, when I think Terrador, I think grumpy and never happy. Now I know how Spyro feels when I smile, because I feel the same way to you. Seeing you smile makes me feel... uncomfortable. You're like the grinch."

"Um, hehe, yeah, I already made that joke," Cyril chuckled.

"What?"

"Hehe, when we were playing rock paper scissors..."

"You said it didn't you?!" Malefor cried happily with a big smile on his face, "Alright, on three, lets say it at the same time."

"Hehe, Alright."

"One, Two, Three..."

"You're a mean one, Mister Terrador," Both Cyril and Malefor spoke in unison.

"Yes! Hahaha!" Malefor cried happily once again, still keeping the big smile on his face as tears of laughter started to form in his eyes, "Oh my goodness... Hehehe... Alright, this is officially one of the greatest days of my life, hehehe," Wiping away the tears in his eyes, he looked to see the grumpy look on Terrador's face, but then a small smile started to form as he looked away with a slight chuckle, "Oh, come on, you have to admit, that was pretty good."

"I admit nothing... But it's good to see these years haven't changed you a bit," Terrador was honest as it did feel good to him to see him in such a way as before.

"Hehe, neither have you my friend. Guess some things are as good as they are."

"Guess that means I shouldn't be your friend and we should stay enemies?" Spyro chuckled.

"No, no no, bad dragon. I said some things."

"Ah, you got me. Guess we still have to wait that week then?"

"Thank goodness."

"Call him your mate? Did I... hear you right?" Carith asked in complete disbelieve that she would say such a thing, but as she thought about it, it started to make more sense to her, "That would make sense though. I knew it, from both seeing Claire and the way Cynder acts when Spyro is off doing something else, us girls have the look, and I saw it in you... No no no, enough about me talking. I want to know more, so please... Even if you've already said it, when, where, and why... And I want to hear you say it again."

"You all don't really want to... hear all that..." Ersa blushed even just thinking about it, but she was surprised at the support the girls all had for her.

"Yes we do!" The girls all agreed in unison, making her smile and giggle, still having that feeling in her stomach that started to feel permanent.

"Ersa, this could be your chance after so long. You deserve him, and you deserve to be with him, as your mate, if you truly believe and know this is what you want!" Cynder agreed with her becoming Volteer's mate, and she pushed it a little more in hopes that her words would help as she didn't know they really did help as much as she had hoped, "Volteer has never been this happy before in his life. From the time me and Spyro came back to Warfang, he was always bummed out, always on edge, wanting to kill the Dark Master when ever he could, but now with you back, we haven't seen him so happy, we've never seen him want to laugh so much just in the day you've been back."

"I can definitely agree with Cynder," Claire stepped in to help as well, "When I came here, a couple of days later, Volteer went on and on about you, hoping you were alive, and because of this, it started to stress us all out when Volteer started to get a little forceful about if you were alive or not. But ever since you've come back, he's been nothing but a happy, smiling dragon. You've really helped him a lot more then you know."

"Yeah, well... He's helped me a lot more then he knows," Ersa sighed as she started to think about it now, and with her words out in the open, and the way she felt, she wanted to be as open and honest as she possibly could, "I need to know what to do. I want to make him my mate, I know I should, I know I will but... I can't go any longer. I should've already been his mate, I should've already had a Hatchling with him but..."

"Wh...!" The girls all gasped once again to hear her so open and honest about this situation, and just as before, Ignitus had gasped as well, but he was able to conceal it so the guys wouldn't say anything.

 _Even though I gained the information from her, it's crazy to hear her so desperate to become his mate even up till this point... I was also able to see what she went through when she came back, and the dedication that she had for him. I really hope you make him the happiest dragon, Ersa... I know you're scared, but I believe you can do it,_ Ignitus thought to himself on the situation, surprised and hopeful on what she was saying.

Seeing the girls reactions, she now started to feel as she should back out, now feeling a little unsure of herself form their sudden reactions, "Look... never mind it's..."

"No!" The girls all once again cried together.

"Ersa, remember what we've all said. Please, please, we are begging you to continue," Cynder begged, and seeing all the girls nod, she once again tried to hopefully continue her rant.

"Alright... Like I've said, those years without him were difficult for me, and even as I saw other males throughout my travels, there was always something about them that I didn't like, and even when I would make the mistake and think Volteer would've moved on, and I tried to do the same, I would run... I would curl myself into my wings and cry as I thought about him... I couldn't let go of him, and I couldn't forget him... Even as my body did, my mind fought stronger, and I was able to fight through it... I was always able to remember everything about him," Ersa started to feel a stabbing pain in her heart that ached at her, remembering and feeling the emotions that she once had back then, and it even made it a little difficult for her to breath, but she had looked past it as much as she could to continue her words, "Volteer was my driving force... And all I want to know, what I've thought about so much is... What would he do, how would he react... if I told him to be my mate...? That thought kept me awake for days when I came back to Warfang."

"So is that why you were awake a couple of days ago? When a clone of Ignitus's heard your conversation about how you'd kill Malefor and be with him again, was this because of your thoughts?" Claire asked as she remembered almost everything the clone had said that night.

"Yeah... It kept me awake for a long... long while... And all I want to do is rest my head on Volteer's shoulder like I did yesterday and today... I was so scared last night... I was so tired, so warn out from everything that my body started to shut down now that I was with him... But I was so scared... so scared he'd be gone in the morning... I tried to force myself to stay awake but... I couldn't..."

"Ersa, we've all been through that experience," Cynder assured her.

"You all have?"

"Of course. For me, after me and Spyro had supposedly defeated the Dark Master, that whole trip I was scared. When I kissed him on the cheek, I was scared, and even after I kissed his lips, and he said he loved me, I was afraid. You are not alone when it comes to such a feeling."

"My experience was when Malefor first came back after the whole War and everyone wanted him died. I, and just like him, were afraid Spyro would kill him. It kept us up for most of the nights, and Malefor was so afraid... it wasn't the greatest time for us, but it's thanks to Cynder's help that we were able to survive, along with Ignitus using his powers to keep us awake during those sleepless nights," Carith giggling as she tried to keep a smile, but remembering how bad those first couple of days were, she felt terrible to even think about it.

"And I was the same way," Claire spoke, causing the girls to all look at her as she did, "With my previous lover, I felt his warmth as he hugged me during the rainy night... and then he died... When Ignitus helped me, I was so afraid as I started to grow attached to him for his help. I was scared for a while because... I felt that warmth... and the rain when we first met and I... I held onto him. That night, I started to grow to love him more and more, and until I tell him a love him, I still fear even now."

Hearing everyone's stories, she was surprised she really wasn't as alone as she once thought she was with this feeling, and hearing everyone's words about everything that has happened, it made her feel like she was at home with how open everyone was. _I really was scared for no reason with these three... They are all just like me, experiencing the troubles of life as time has gone on... So now I need to know the truth,_ Ersa thought to herself, feeling the joyful feeling in her stomach, and she blatantly asked the three if they knew anything, "I'm still so very scared about losing him, and I know it's stupid for me to think he would leave but... Has he said anything about me and him becoming mates? I don't care if this ruins things for a, surprise but... Hearing that he has talked about us becoming mates... That's all the surprise I want."

"Are you sure you want to know because... the answer might disappoint you," Carith sadly said, playing Ersa to make her believe she was lying.

"He... He really hasn't... Has he...?"

"If by, hasn't, you mean a lot, then you'd be correct," Cynder smiled as she said, and seeing Ersa have wide eyes from her words, the girls all giggled as her smile grew wide as she thought about it, "Oh yeah, he's said it plenty of times. And you are right, the surprise for each of you will still very much be there if you tell him but... I believe all us girls wanted to tell you the truth just to make sure."

"Yeah, you've gone under enough pressure as it is, so I agree with Cynder. Telling you to help get some of the pressure off is much better then you having to worry about another fear," Claire agreed with telling her the truth as she's been in the situation before, "But now there is one thing that we are all wondering... What will you do now that you know he wants to be your mate just as badly?"

"What... Will I do...?" Ersa talked to herself, and looking down at the ground, she had to think about it, _What will I do... To know Volteer has talked about us becoming mates... And I trust the girls, and they wouldn't lie to me... No one is that cold hearted... especially not Carith from what Volteer had told me once before... Then I know what I should do._

Just as she had stopped, so did the other girls as they looked to see her with a somewhat serious face. The guys had also stopped as well, but since they didn't know why, Spyro and Malefor walked up just to make sure everything was okay. As the girls backed up as well to reconnect their line, they all looked at her as they wondered what she was thinking. Looking straight, then looking over at the other girls, she smiled as she thanked, "Thank you all for this... I know we could continue our time but, we must go back to the Chambers. I'm not waiting any longer... I need to tell Volteer... He needs to be my mate... he has to be..."

"What?!" Malefor and Spyro cried in unison, causing Ersa to jump as she turned her body completely around and saw the two.

"Spyro?! Malefor?! What are you two doing?"

"We were coming up to make sure everything was okay... and then we heard... well..." Spyro stumbled on his words as he was in disbelief as to what he had just heard.

"Please don't say anything! I... I want this to be a special moment for us two. Please, you would understand, wouldn't you?"

"Hehe, he would, but me..."

"Malefor," Carith murmured his name, making his scales stand up on end as he looked over at her, and seeing her point a claw at him, he cried.

"Not the claw."

"Keep your mouth shut then."

"Of course... Yes, my love."

"Don't worry, Ersa, you have my word that neither of us will say anything. Malefor's just being dumb," Spyro promised her, and while she smiled at him, Malefor grumbled at what he called him, "But hearing you say this now does give me high hopes that you will tell him. I don't know if the girls have told you this but... Well... I don't really know if I'd be appropriate to say but..."

"Is this about how he's said he'd be my mate?" Ersa asked as she believed that was what he was trying to say, and she was right.

"Oh, so you do know. You probably don't need to hear it from me then but, I also can back up the fact that he has said multiple times that he would make you his mate as soon as you returned. I'm guessing since he's seen you now, he's now more scared then ever to say something, or do something that might cause him to lose you. I hope you don't hold it against him."

"Of course not. I'm scared out of my mind to tell him even though I've heard what you all have said. But, I trust you all, and I will go off your words and hope that everything turns out the way I want it to," Turning her head a little to the side to face the girls, she continued, "And I do apologize for cutting this day short. We haven't really been out here for all that long and, I wish we could've left sooner but... I need to tell him... I have to tell him."

"Ersa, there is still hundreds of thousands of years for us to catch up," Cynder assured her.

"Yeah... except... we can't wait that long. There's always tomorrow, or the day after, and every day we end up in the Chambers with everyone so, we'll always be able to talk then too," Carith was next to comfort her, and she made the girls giggle a little as she wanted to correct Cynder's words about how long it'd take.

"And from how things have been, girls day has just been a way to help the new female into getting back or feeling the love for someone their with. First, it was me and Ignitus, now it's you and Volteer. And from the sounds of it, so far, we have a one hundred percent successful rate when it comes to these things," Claire felt good in saying as she knew she would soon be able to have the same feeling of love as everyone else.

Since everyone was so supportive of things, Ersa gave a nice sigh as she felt relieved to hear everyone's support. She wanted to think about how nice everyone was being to her, but instead, she said it out loud as to help them now their words were helping, "You know, back then... All I had was my mind to comfort me when things were bad... But now I have the support of you five, and I know the others would help as well but... Hearing helpful words from someone else either then my self is... a breath of fresh air and... I thank you all for your help," Seeing them all smile with nods, she smiled back at everyone, and since she felt happy, she joked, "Well, I guess I should say, four of you helped. All of you expect, Malefor. He was worthless."

"Wh..."

"The first thing you did was come over and say how you would snitch me out. Now try and change my mind," Ersa quickly interrupted him as she watched with a raised brow as he tried to defend himself.

Seeing how he couldn't think of something and could only frown, Spyro gave a nice chuckle as well, "I find it funny how you use to be feared by all, but now you're feared by no one and constantly picked on with nothing to do. That's pretty sad to think about."

"Can you blame me?!" Malefor cried out as if he finally had broken down, "I used to be feared! I had the respect of others in a way where it was like, hey, you don't want to die, then don't cross me! But now I keep taking this... Disrespect, from everyone! I'm like one of those dragons where, it's funny in the beginning, but just wait till I snap, we will see who's laughing then," Taking a deep sigh in, and then out, he tried to compose himself as he talked more about how he hated how life was now, "And I had all the power in the world, I could've done anything, or defeated anything I hated. But no. I can't mess with Claire because of Ignitus, I would never mess with my lover, Cynder would slap me across the face, and knowing Ersa, she would do a one two tap on my pressure points and kill me... I miss being feared."

"Are you being serious?" Ersa asked as she raised her tail blade to her side as she wondered.

Seeing this, he smiled as he was finally able to try and let lose for once without someone telling him not to, "You know what, why not! I'm not going to take anything anymore. Even though you're knowledge about dragon's pressure points, it wouldn't matter if... you can't touch me. So bring it! I'm done being a joke. I'm changing right here and now!"

"Maybe you shouldn't yell so loud about things like those out in public... especially since you're scaring a whole group of dragons behind us," Spyro whispered to him, making him shiver ever so quickly, "Yeah, they don't know you're Malefor so, if you start this now... others will start to get suspicious."

Slowly turning his head behind himself to see how many dragons were behind him, his face instantly turned to confusion as he saw only the confused looks on the other Guardians faces. Once again his scales turned cold as he felt a paw rest over his shoulder, and he knew very quickly who's it was. Swallowing hard and turning his head back around, he saw the smile on Ersa's face as she knew she had him. Looking at her paw, then back at her, he shrugged his shoulders and said, "Welp, I'm dead. See you all later. Give all my belongings to my cat. Oh, better yet, give it to that hunter guy from Avalar, he's close enough to a cat."

"We could be doing so much more with our lives, but instead, you want to do this? We could already be home if it wasn't for you," Spyro shook his head, letting out a slight sigh as he was already starting to feel tired.

"Well, sorry friend but, I'm either going to die here, or live on to be who I want to be."

"What if Carith leave you because of this."

"No! No, we aren't doing that. We've done that joke way too much. It's stressful and scary. Plus, Carith, I want you to look at everyone right now and tell them that you wouldn't want the Aggressive, tough, and fierce Malefor that would stand by and take nothing, but when it came to you, I'd be the opposite: Passive, Gentle, and Calm. And I would be all muscled up too."

Everyone wondered what she would say to it, and unfortunately, the way he spoke and smiled with a teasing raise of his brow, she bit her lip as she blushed. Spyro sighed to see she feel victim to his words so easily, and even more unfortunate for him, the more he spoke, the more everyone had to agree as it did seem right in his own way, "Claire, you know I would never hurt anyone you care or love anymore, so you're fine. Cynder, you are the same, and you do trust me. And as for you Ersa, you'll have your time with Volteer. As long as none of you cross me, we can all be friends, agreed?"

"Shut your Damn mouth," Spyro growled as he was starting to get a little flustered, "We could already be back in the Chambers, and me and Cynder could've have our time together while you kept being stupid with what ever the hell this faze is. So this is what's going to happen, we are going back now, or," His body quickly exploded into his dark form, and he even kept the white eyes as to intimidate him more, "I'm going to drag your crops up there myself. I won't hurt your feelings either way, and no matter what you choose, I will still stay true to my words and say you have one week to keep impressing me. So what will you do?"

"Mother F... You would bring that up... But... I don't know... I do kinda feel like fighting," He paused as he thought about it, and looking at Ersa, he saw she was getting a little worried as she wasn't completely sure as to what was happening, and for now, he admitted defeat, "Alright, let's not make this about us. This supposed to be Ersa's special moment! So, what do you say we put a pin on this fight for later? Maybe we could learn a thing or two. What do you say?"

Hearing him finally come to his senses, Spyro's body slowly let the darkness flow off his body and into the air, and with his eyes returning back to his purple color, he gave a nice sigh, "Thank you. Now you're coming back to your senses," As he spoke, Ersa took her paw from off of Malefor's shoulder while everyone listened to him speak, "But I think the worst part is... I'm kinda all for a battle. Fighting the apes yesterday, I haven't been put into a situation I couldn't handle for a good week. Last time was with Ignitus, and that was pretty fun too."

"Didn't you like, two days ago, push yourself to the point of nearly killing yourself in the training room?"

"Yeah but, that had nothing to do with someone I know and can talk to. When we fight, we learn, grow, and see what we need to improve on, and we talk about it which makes things a double the amount of what I'm learning. So, what do you say, maybe before the week ends for our, maybe friendship, we should have a massive fight? Friendly fight of course but, get all of that anger out one last time."

"I don't know... Sounds like we'd bring up some bad memories."

"Just guessing. Come on, let's talk about it while we walk up there..." Just as he turned his body to walk away, he very quickly stopped, and turned his body to his lover, "Hey, Cynder," Her head had been looking slightly down at the ground when he called her name, but hearing her name called, she picked her head up, wondering what he had to say, "I've talked enough with Malefor for one day. What do you say me and you get a head start to the Chambers so we can have some alone time?" His words worked quickly as her face lit up and she quickly ran over to him, and with her at his side already, he looked at Malefor as he opened his wings and said, "Make sure everyone gets back safely, okay."

"Hehe, can do. You two go have fun," Malefor promised with a nod as well.

Giving a nod back, Spyro then looked at his lover and asked, "Race you there?"

"Really? You call me going up against you a race? That's like saying you bet your life the sun will come up in the morning. You'd always win," Cynder giggled at him for the challenge as she knew no matter how fast she went, she'd lose.

"Hehe, I guess you're right. But, you know, us going up there together does sound like a way better idea."

"Then let's hurry before they do."

Opening her wings, she took to the skies as she flew up to the Guardians Building, and following very close to her side was Spyro as he flew up to the air. With the two flying towards the building, Carith walked up to her lover, and seeing him look at her, she asked with a raised brow, "So, the Dark Master is gonna to make a return?" Putting a claw on his chest and circling it around on his chest teasingly, she wondered, "And if this is true, what happened to, Master Malefor. He knew what the word Master meant, especially when he was able to Master the art of kissing me, and keeping me happy."

"Hehe, don't worry, I didn't forget that. Just wanted to feel open once again without having to worry. I feel bad for saying but, I feel like the Dark Master may make a return sooner or later," Malefor chuckled, but for Ersa, it made her face turn to fear very quickly as she took a step back from him, and seeing this, he quickly acknowledged her fears and apologized, "Oh, no no no, sorry Ersa, that sounds wrong and, I forgot you're still new. Don't worry, I will keep the promise I made to you and Volteer, and the Dark Master will never return. But at some point, I just feel like going all out against Spyro, and hopefully, I will have my Dark Powers mastered so we can go all out."

"Oh..." Ersa murmured, trying to forget it as she's been having such a good day so far, "But, you do know that... You promised me and Volteer, and probably everyone else but, one day... I will need you to promise to me and my mate's Hatchling."

"Whoa Ersa. That's predicting the future really, really, early. You haven't even seen his reaction to you asking him to be your mate."

"Malefor, let's get one thing straight. Me and Volteer will have a Hatchling, do you understand?"

"Um... Kinda... And by kinda I mean kinda uncomfortable... But your enthusiastic about it so... Go Ersa, you go... have fun with... Volteer... Uh Ancestor I hate myself..."

"Well, like you said, I do still want to see his reaction. So, the sooner we get back, the sooner I will ask him."

Watching as she walked past his left side, he turned his head around and asked, "When you mean sooner, you mean, get scared, and then wait another week before you say something?"

"Today! It's happening today Damn you!"

Hearing his lover randomly yell out of nowhere towards Malefor, Volteer chuckled as she walked up to him as he wondered what she was yelling for, "So, am I able to ask what that was about, or, are we going to find out some time later before the day ends."

"Oh, well, it's uh... _Damn you, Malefor... I'm going to prove you so wrong._ Don't worry my love, it's not really a we thing as it is a, us, thing," Ersa stayed cryptic as to what it could mean for the the two of them which worked as Volteer was still confused as to what it could be, "And before you say anything, no, it's nothing bad, I can assure you of that. Just... When we get up to the Chambers, I will tell you. It might not be the best place to say it here so, let's just wait a little bit longer."

"Hehe, alright. If it's about me and you, and it's not bad, I am a little excited... _Could she be thinking about asking me to be her mate?!"_

"This is either going to be really sad, or really, really sweet to see your reactions," Ignitus sighed as he could hear both of their thoughts.

The two could only look at him as they wondered what he could've meant by that, but thinking nothing if it, the two went back to talking with one another. While the two talked, Ignitus chuckled as he thought with a smile, _Smartest in the world? Yeah right. One of them is playing dumb, but it's only a matter of time before one of them says something._ Malefor walked up to the others with Carith by his side, and seeing the smile on his face, Terrador questioned his expression, "Someone seems happy even after he was about to be attacked by Spyro, dark form and everything. What was that about?"

"Oh, that? Don't worry about that. We were just having a, friendly, fight against one another," Malefor proudly said even though he knew his friend would see right through his lie.

"Uh huh. So do you mind if I ask Spyro about this friendship?"

"You can, but, only a week later. Which, technically, this counts as one day so, yeah, a week from now."

With everyone back, Ignitus saw that everyone seemed to be ready to go and asked, "Would you like me to teleport us all up there or, do you all feel like flying up there yourselves?"

"Definitely teleport. Mainly because I'm lazy."

"Yeah, I guess I'd agree to that as well. Sooner we get back, the sooner... well, Ignitus, it makes me a little mad that you already know what it is, so you should know I want to get back as soon as possible," Ersa also agreed to teleport, but it made her a little flustered as she saw a smirk on his face as she spoke as he knew why she'd want to go back as soon as they could.

"Hehe, alright then. Everyone, close your eyes."

"We sure haven't heard that a thousand times. You don't have to say it over and over again, we already know what to do," Malefor said to him as he did as he was told and closed his eyes.

"Malefor, how about you keep your eyes opened?"

"Uh, yeah, no. I'm not doing that again."

"Then shut up and be glad I'm warning you rather then just doing it."

Malefor made a couple of grumbling noises through his mouth as to mock his friend, and all while the two were arguing, everyone else had closed their eyes. With everyone ready, Ignitus used his powers and transported everyone into the Chambers.

* * *

 _So, Ersa's going to be Volteer's mate... I wonder how things will be in the future now. I'm trying to get use to this peace but, there is always that one moment where everything could go wrong, like when we first learned of her, when the past of someone was brought up, it still caused problems so... What if something like that happens again?_ Spyro thought to himself as he sat on the right side of the Chamber walls. As he was thinking to himself, he looked down at his sleeping lover as her body was slightly curved towards him as she slept, and his wing rested over her. _I feel like I'd be ready but... What about everyone else? I'd be ready for anything but, not if I lost someone._ Hearing what sounded like wind, he looked over to his left and saw that everyone had returned from their talk outside. Everyone was where they normally were with Malefor and Carith on the left wall and the Guardians all lined up in the back of the Chambers. Seeing they had appeared so suddenly, Spyro knew already what had happened, but wondered why, "That was fast. I'm surprised you all didn't just fly up here and come back normally. What was so important that you all wanted to teleport up here?"

"I'm just lazy," Malefor was honest.

"I think it was because of Ersa," Cyril responded as he had heard what the two were talking about.

Everyone looked at her as they wondered what exactly it could be, and at first, she started to feel a little shy, even blushing as everyone had focused on her. Looking to see Malefor's reaction, he had a raised brow as he smirked at her as to tell her that he knew she couldn't do it. _I really, really want to kill you,_ Ersa thought to herself as she looked at him with a glare. Giving off a sigh, she walked away from her lover's side and walked to the middle of the room. Moving her hips side to side as to hopefully make Volteer smile, she needed to stall a little for time, and she knew this was the best way. _Volteer couldn't help but look at my body, which will hopefully make him drift off for a couple of seconds to get me prepared._ Turning her body around and seeing her lover, he was already blushing, so she knew she had those couple of seconds. _Do I say it or don't I, do I say or don't I?! Ugh... I've already come this far, I'm already standing her... Ugh... What do I do...? It will haunt me if I don't. "Don't worry, Ersa. I will help you out by stalling. I will give you a way that you can chime in when ever you want."_ Hearing the voice in her mind, she knew who it was, and saw as Ignitus smiled at her. Looking at the other Guardians, he spoke, "Actually, before Ersa says anything, I would just like to say something to you all which you might not have known. When the attack on Warfang happened, if you all hadn't responded when you did, and they got too far into the city, there would've been at least one Hatchling death, but you all prevented it?"

They were all a little confused from this sudden fact, but Malefor was quick to call him out for what he was doing, "Stop stalling, Ignitus. Ersa has something she wants to say, and trying to interrupt her important moment for yours isn't very nice of you," Seeing the slight anger on his face towards him, Malefor knew that they must've talked with one another, but when they did was what he wondered, "You talked in her thoughts, didn't you? You did smile at her, and then turned to the Guardians, which means..."

"Well, if he is stalling, I'd like to help out," Spyro interrupted him which was lucky for the other two, just not Malefor, "Ignitus, we saved a Hatchling a while back. Is she still doing okay?"

"Or, you mean Cora?" Ignitus asked, but the name confused Spyro.

"Cora?"

"Yeah, the parents changed her name as to show they wanted to start a new. They've been the best parents they could possible be ever since then..."

"Speaking of being parents..." Ersa spoke out, and everyone stopped what they were saying or doing and focused on her very quickly, "I... I have a... q... question, Volteer," Seeing as her body started to trembling, Volteer wanted to stop what ever she was saying, but in a way, he knew what ever it must've been, she seemed very passionate about it, "When... _Damn it, grow up, Ersa! You've waited nearly two decades for this, now tell him like you mean it!_ " Taking a deep breath in, she softly let her breath go out her mouth as she stood up straight and asked as she normally would in her voice, "When we become parents, what do you think we should name our Hatchling?"

Some gasped while other looked at her with wide eyes as she actually went through with what she was saying. Ersa didn't see anyone else's reaction, only Volteer's, and her heart started to beat against her chest in fear as she saw the reaction on his face. His eyes were wide, but only for a couple of seconds as he started to tear up. Once again, he felt as though his world had been turned upside down, and just as Ersa, his body started to tremble as he felt like his life was all coming together, and it felt like a dream. Taking a step forward towards her, he stumbled as he asked, "W... what...?"

She started to tear up as well as she saw him start to smile as he took another step towards her. Ersa couldn't help but giggle as her emotions got the best of her, and she apologised to him, "Oh... Hehe... Sorry, I... I guess I missed a step... Volteer... Would you walk into the future with me? Would you continue to care and protect me through our lives together as more then lovers... but as mates...? Will you, Volteer... Take me to be your mate?"

Seeing his smile grow wide, she giggled once again as she went to wipe away her tears. Picking up her arm and moving it across her face, she wiped off most her tears, which proved to be useless as she only made more. Just as she had pulled down her arm, she saw the back of Volteer's body, but felt the warmth of his neck and wings. Her eyes once again grew wide as she felt his head over her shoulders, and with his wings wrapped around her, he cried, "Yes...! I... I do!" Taking his head back, he looked at her and tried to reenact his way of asking her, but he couldn't find the words and all he could do was ask her, "And does this mean... That Ersa... Will be my mate as well."

"Hehe... I... I do."

Hearing her words, he once again smiled wide and started to nuzzle the side of her neck for a couple of seconds. Once he stopped, he let his head rest over the side of her neck as he cried over her back with tears, chuckling from here to here as he thought more about it. Ersa started to do the same as she started to giggle with him, and putting her wings over his back, she held him tight as she couldn't even think straight. Malefor sighed as he was a actually impressed the two had when through with what they said they'd do, "Well I'd be damned. I never thought either of them would've had the guts to do it."

"It's a little sad to see that Cynder isn't seeing this moment though," Carith felt a little sad, but she couldn't help but keep her smile as she saw the two in the middle of the room hugging with a loving embrace.

"You think it'd be this emotional when those two ask one another to be mates?"

"None of my business... But, I don't know. Which one sounds more emotional; Lover's who were finally reunited after a more then a decade war, but enduring hardships along the way, or, a lover who saved his female from the Dark Master, saved her and the world, and kept being a symbol of peace for him, his lover, and the world?"

"I guess it just all depends on how you look at it. But, I'm proud of him. Seeing how far he's come... It's... it's a little sad to think about. I remember when we were training in the training rooms back then in the Temple... and now he's... he's now Ersa's mate... and... I feel like I've missed so much... I guess thinking about what you've missed isn't exactly healthy but... I don't know..."

"But you were there for him before this happened. You were able to talk and joke with Volteer for more then a week. I know that's nothing compared to how much of his life you've missed, but this has show us so much more, and it shows what we all can accomplish together as we move with one another. Him being her mate won't change him, and you can still hang out with him as you normally do."

"Thank you, Carith... I... I guess I just need to talk more about it with Spyro and Volteer because... I don't know... I won't let it get to me for now though. This is there moment, and I want to wish them the best, especially with everything they've had to go through... Hehe, I do wonder if this means that Volteer's going to, 'Catch some tail now'."

"Malefor," Carith blushed as she slightly elbowed him which made him chuckle.

"So, one of them had the guts to ask?" Terrador chuckled as he tried not to tear up as he watched the two cry with one another.

"Hehe, I'm surprised Volteer didn't ask her first but, what does that matter? At least they are finally as they should be," Cyril smiled as he spoke, and the same as Terrador, he tried not to tear up as he spoke, but he wasn't as strong as he had a tear going down his left eye as he watched the two.

Spyro watched as everyone smiled at the two as they had their moment, and just as everyone, he also had a smile. Seeing the two so happy, it made him think even more then before of things to come then ever before. _So, Volteer and Ersa are now mates... Hehe, just to think... they fell in love just yesterday and their already mates... Time flies by pretty quickly nowadays._ Pulling his paw up, he flipped his paw over so he could see the front of it and started to form a small ball of fire in his paw. _This means I need to be even more vigilant, and to stay on alert to make sure everyone stays safe._ The ball of fire started to spin in his paw very rapidly. The Guardians started to notice as they watched the fire spin, and Ignitus seemed a little worried as he watched his son. _I shouldn't let my training intervene, not like before. But how far have I come?_ The spinning ball of red fire started to get engulfed in a blue fire as it continued to spin in his paw. The heat started to fill the room even with how small it was, and it even started to catch the attention of the two new mates as they now looked over to see what he was doing, then soon followed Malefor and Carith as they looked past the two. The fire started to pulse outwards which made Spyro slightly struggle to contain it. _I can't use my dark form. I need to get use to this power myself. If I keep waiting, I might not have enough to use the purple version... but how._ Struggling to think about it, he saw a purple spark in the fire which gave him hope, but as he tried to do what he just did, nothing happened. _Damn._ Unable to hold the fire any longer, he squeezed his paw over the fire with a loud hissing sound as he tried to extinguish the fire. Opening his paw up, he had burned his paw with some black scorch marks on his paw. _Great._ The darkness from his body came from out of the scales in his body and circled around his paw before encasing it in darkness. As the darkness consumed his paw, it made it's way down his claws and to his wrist before disappearing back into his body. The darkness had completely healed his burn mark, and making sure his paw was fine, he opened and closed it a couple of times. Letting off a sigh, he put his paw back to the ground and picked his head back up. Seeing everyone staring at him, he quickly felt bad as he apologised, "Ersa?! I'm so sorry, I, I didn't mean to ruin your moment! Please tell me I didn't ruin your moment."

The two mates looked at one another, and their way of comforting him was by laughing at one another. The others all sighed to see they weren't mad, especially Spyro as he believed he had done something wrong. With the two's laughter dying die, Ersa looked at him with a face he had never seen her make before. Her head was slightly ducked with her eyes looking up at him with a smile, and she seemed flirty towards him. Now with the two being mates, she didn't feel a care in the world as she spoke so freely about the two, "Don't worry, Spyro, me and Volteer are doing just fine... But... now I feel like we should go back to our, Hatchling, question," She paused as she started to roll a claw around his chest, and even though she tried to whisper, everyone could hear, "When exactly is it going to happen?"

"Ersa..." Volteer blushed hard, but not as hard as everyone else as they even backed their heads up a little as she said that.

"Ahem... Wow... Ersa, it's not my relationship and all but uh..."

"I know I love him, and we are mates now. I'm not going to keep lying to myself and holding myself back from what I could and should be doing," Ersa quickly interrupted Malefor, and hearing how she talked made him quickly shut his mouth, "If I know we are mates, I know what's next, and I'm not going to fear my life with him. And I know for a fact that you, Volteer, can't look me in the eyes right now and tell me no. Now I understand that talking about it now may be inappropriate but, I'm not going to let that stop me."

"Hehe, well, in Malefor's defense, Ersa, you make it sound that at any point you'd just say out of nowhere how you'd want a Hatchling so... Saying that randomly, especially out in public... It could be a little uncomfortable for the others around you," Claire defended Malefor's words, and as Ersa calmed herself down and tried to get control over her emotions, she understood and apologised for the way she had acted.

"Oh... Yeah, that does make sense. I'm, sorry for saying that... and, I'm sorry to you as well, Volteer. I want us to be mates, and I don't want you to think that I only want... that, and then to be done with you. I really mean it when I say that I want us to be mates, and I want us to feel free to love one another without being afraid anymore... All I've known is fear... And... I don't want that anymore..."

"Ersa, it's okay. I understand what you're feeling. I wanted to ask you to be my mate because... I was afraid that the same thing would happen again. I was afraid that, I wasn't going to be able to say what I wanted to... and then I'd lose you... Hehe, and even though I'm supposed to be the male and tell you... you beat me to it... twice," Volteer chuckled as he felt bad for not saying something sooner, but he was still glad it had happened to begin with.

"It's almost like I cared about us being together more then you did."

Everyone gasped to hear her throw such a jab at her new mate, and even for him, his eyes grew wide. But he knew exactly how to get back at her as he gave a smirk, and whispered next to her, "Looks like your Hatchling dream is just going to have to wait then."

Now she was the one to gasp, but then she quickly giggled as she flirted with him, "Oh, is that so."

"Hey, clap clap to you all, but you have a room," Malefor suggested as he started to feel a little uncomfortable.

"Shut up, Malefor," Both Volteer and Ersa said in unison.

"He's not completely wrong," Spyro spoke, causing the two to look at him, "It is getting late so, maybe we should all just go to our rooms and call this a successful day before something happens."

The two did look at one another and had agreed as they both nodded at one another with smiles. Turning her back on him, she used her tail to grope his chest before making her way to his neck, and finally taking her tail blade off as it reached the top of his chin. Seeing him smile as she turned her head, she then cut the corner of the Chambers and ran to their room, and soon quickly followed Volteer as he chuckled with big smile, chasing after his lover. Seeing how Volteer was in that moment, Malefor shook as he started to joke, "That's the saddest thing I think I've ever seen him do, especially with that creepy, face, thing, he did. But does this mean I get to bring back the third base thing?"

"No!" Everyone disagreed very quickly.

"Fine! Sheesh..."

"Hehe, I do find it funny how you call him creepy, yet you're so quick to say someone did something, naughty. Naughty or nice, Malefor, none of your business," Spyro chuckled as it seemed a little wired to him that he was bringing things up like that constantly.

"Yeah but, let's be serious, that lightning joke about Ignitus and Claire was pretty funny."

"Malefor!" Both Ignitus and Claire yelled at him very quickly about it.

"I said let's end this day off on a good note, and you're making that quiet hard for us," Spyro said to himself as he shook his head, seeing as Malefor was already starting trouble for everyone, and he knew he needed to get him out of here quickly before something else was said, "Malefor, come walk and talk with me. And before you say something stupid about how you'd be alone, we are going up to the house, so clearly you'd want to bring Carith."

"Damn it," Malefor cursed, hoping he wouldn't have caught on to what he was thinking about, but he did.

 _"Thank you, Spyro,"_ Spyro heard in his thoughts as his father thanked him. _He's difficult, but not impossible._ While the two lovers walked out of the Chambers, Spyro turned to his lover and gently moved his wings under the side of her body. Feeling his wings move her body, she slightly grunted and opened one eye only a little to look to see who it was. Seeing it was her lover's, she grumbled, "Spyro...?"

"Don't worry my love, everything's fine. Go back to sleep," Spyro whispered to her as he was finally able to get his wings under her side.

It only took his words and she had already fallen back to sleep. Picking up her body with his wings, he looked back at the other Guardians and thanked them, "You know, it's been crazy but, I'm glad things have turned out the way they have. I'm glad I've been on this journey with you all and, I hope you all find mates as well. And in the future, we can all laugh about the adventures we've had. But don't rush it, but don't let me stop you from being happy."

The four all nodded at his words, and Claire watched as Spyro winked at her before turning his head and walking out of the Chambers. The three looked over at Claire to see that she was now looking down at the floor, wondering in her thoughts of what she should do as most of his message felt as though it was towards her. _I hope you all find mates, but don't rush it... I could be wrong but, in a way, it feels like that's what's going on with me. I do want to rush being his mate, but his lover... And what Ersa said, about being sure... If Ignitus didn't love me, he still wouldn't be with me._ Picking her head up and resting it sideways over Ignitus shoulder, she continued to think about it. _Then again, he does love to make sure everyone is okay... That's why he made sure I was okay first before he continued his search for someone he could live in love with... To hell with it. I've waited long enough. I just need to find a way to get us back into that dream world, which shouldn't be too difficult._ She didn't hear that the other two had talked with each other and had headed to the back room, but hearing her name called, she looked at Ignitus as he spoke, "Hey, Claire... Do you want to go in the back and sleep? Or, are you comfortable as you are right now? Hehe, I have no problem either way, just making sure you are happy."

" _Damn your kindness you handsome dragon..._ Oh, yeah, of course... The bed I meant... That sounded bad... or did that sound bed... What am I saying?"

"Hehe, I don't really know either. Well, aside from bed."

"Yes. That way."

"Oh, Spyro, real quick question," Malefor spoke as the three walked back up to their house, "You can have all the power in the world, but you can no longer set yourself on fire, would you do it?"

"Um... What kind of question is that?" Spyro asked, a little confused on what his question meant.

"Well, let's think about it from your perspective. You use your fire to set yourself on fire as a defense, like your fire armor. But, for others, setting yourself on fire would be pretty cool because of the cracking and popping sound it makes so most would want to be set on fire. Well, near water of course but, they look pretty funny when ever they run around like that... I'm sorry, I'm a horrible dragon. Long as it isn't happening to me, I feel like laughing."

"Well, let's see. Since that popping and crackling sound is made from the wood, the other possible thing that could make that sound is on my body, which would mean the thing cracking and popping would be my scales so, I'm pretty sure I'd take all the power in the world very quickly... And from the sounds of your question, sounds like something only the Dark Master would want to see."

"No, Spyro, we aren't..."

"Being serious, I know, calm down. But hey, it does sound pretty cool if your on fire with that crackling and popping sound. Doesn't have to have significance but, it would still sound pretty cool. Especially if I could figure out how to make my armor with blue fire, and maybe even purple fire. I can only hope."

"And I didn't even get to ask Volteer about his blue lightning. Oh well, I will let him have his fun today. There's always tomorrow."

"But, be honest with yourself. Do you really feel like getting up and doing anything tomorrow?"

"Ah, you got me there."

Even as the main doors opened, the two continued to talk with one another as Spyro was the main one who kept talking, "And being honest with myself, I don't really feel like doing anything either," He agreed, walking with the other three to the middle of the hallway, he continued, "I think I've had enough adventure for a week," Pausing once again, the other two had stopped near their door, and turning around as he walked a little more towards his door, he sighed, "But it was definitely well worth it... I really don't like that I put off so much time from Cynder but, now that everything is how it should be, we have no more surprises... At least, I hope."

"Well, hehe, even if we do, we'll be ready... right?" Malefor gave a slight cry at the end as he wished it to be true, and even as he thought about it, he smiled.

"I was hoping you'd smile," Spyro spoke, shocking the two as they didn't know he'd say something like that, "Hehe, don't get your hopes up too high. I'm only saying that because I'm glad all my efforts, and all your efforts, into making this soon to be friendship work... and I would... possibly... make you my friend now but... Maybe if I feel that you're some how improving more, I'd like to rush it but, I don't want you to feel that pressure so... Just forget it. Let's just all go to bed, nice and cuddled with our lovers."

"Thank you... Spyro. And, yeah, you're definitely right about one thing... Well, a lot of things for that matter but, mainly about how we should just do nothing tomorrow. Volteer and Ersa will hopefully spend time with one another, The Guardians will hopefully get some work done around Warfang for once, and we can all just sit back and relax on this week."

"Then, see you the day after tomorrow?"

"Oh no, you'll see me tomorrow. Trust me, we have how many dragons that can bother us... seven of them. One of them having the capability to literally read our minds... Sorry, just felt like using, complicated wording... Also I'm tired so, I'm acting dumb..."

"What ever happens happens. Long as it doesn't have to do with a heart shattering truth or, reveal or... Never mind. I will, talk to you in the morning, Malefor. And goodnight to you as well, Carith."

"Goodnight, Spyro," Carith spoke as she nodded at him while smiling, "And thank you again for all that you've done over the time we've been here. I will be sure to tell Cynder, as well as letting her know how nice and easy you were with your wings when you held her."

"Hehe, thanks Carith."

With the three now decided as to what they wanted, they all headed for their rooms and beds. Malefor and Carith were the first to go into their rooms, and then soon followed Spyro as he walked into his room. Shutting the door behind himself, he gave out a slight sigh as he felt comfort and relief, and walking up to his bed, he thought about it, _It sure does feel nice to not have a threat anymore. And today went, very well._ Carefully making his way onto the bed, he was successful in doing so, but just as he was about to get his back paws up onto the bed, his wings shifted to the left side of him. Cynder's body easily slipped right from his right wing, and just before her head could fall off his left wing, he repositioned himself up right on the bed and used his tail blade to support her head. With how fast he flung his tail blade around to her head, he gave another sigh as he was glad he didn't cut her. Laying her down gently over the bed, she laid on her right side with her wings a little sprawled out over her arms and legs. Laying himself down as well, he tried his best to get the most coverage over her using his right wing. He gave a little frown as he thought, _Wish I could cuddle with her, and I could wake her... but... she's happy, and so should I._ Closing his eyes, crossing his paws in front of him and laying his head down over them, he closed his eyes and went to sleep.

* * *

Rolling Ersa onto her back with his wings, the two giggled and laughed with one another as they continued to flirt with one another in bed. It went slightly silent as they only starred at one another, and as they did, their breathing started to kick back up again. Trying to get herself out of the trance that she felt he was putting her under, she blinked a couple of times before a huge smile crept across her face. Throwing her right wing up and hitting his side, he wasn't prepared, and didn't know she'd use so much force. His body hit the bed, and as he tried to roll over to his left to get up, but she was already on top of him, and he was surprised at her agility. Now on his back, he smiled, and raised a brow at her, wondering how he'd get out from underneath her. Thinking of an idea quick, he looked to her left and gasped, while also touching his tail on her back tail, "Ignitus?!"

She fell for his bait and looked to her back to see if he really was there. Seeing a glimpse of a yellow tail zip down underneath her stomach, she knew she was fooled. Feeling the sudden rush of wind on her side from the air, she was now on her side, almost in an instant. Looking from her right as that was where her head dangled to, she looked up to she her mate now standing above her. He saw the smirk on her face once again, and he knew how to stop her. Laying his body down over hers, her wing stopped with a twitch as she looked at him. Feeling his body slowly move down her chest and stomach made her shiver as the feeling was indescribable. Once he stopped, she watched as he laid his head down on her chest, making his lips quiver while also showing her how sad he was. Giving him a giggle, she put a paw over his head while also putting her wing back down on the bed, still sprawled out and ready for use. She watched as he started to blush for some reason, and taking her paw back as he stood up above her, she was now ready to use her wing. He moved a little forward so his chest now lined up with hers, and seeing him move his head down, she thought he was going in for a kiss. _I can handle a simple..._ Letting out a gasp, she felt his teeth cover her neck, and the sudden feeling made her claws curl. It only felt better for her as she could feel his tongue moving around both sides of her neck, and his tail wrapped around hers as to restrain her tail movement. _He's... He's not... but..._ Unable to agree with herself, it became hard for her as all she could think about was the feeling on her neck, with the urge to not do anything and to let it happen. His teeth backed off from her neck as she now felt as though as she was coming back to her senses, and she wanted to say something. But once again he was too quick for her, already locking lips and making her once again feel a sudden burst of pleasure to keep her from saying anything. _I... I... Must... fight it..._ Feeling as though she couldn't, she started to make her lips dance around his as she started to get into it. But as she stopped, fighting back with horrible memories as to stop herself, she felt his lips slide off hers, and quickly tried to cry out in a both pleasing, and desperate cry, "Volteer..."

To him, the cry sounded painful, so he immediately stopped himself, unwrapping his tail from hers and standing straight up while still looking down on her. Seeing her trying to catch her breath, he couldn't do anything as he believed he had taken it too far, and instead, awaited what he believed would've been his punishment. As she caught her breath, she looked to see a tear starting to form in his eyes, and now that she thought back to the sound of her voice, she understood why. But she was able to react as quickly as he once did, putting a paw up and over his cheek, he rested his head on her paw and Ersa was finally able to speak, "You listen here right now... I'm not afraid, nor am I scared to go through with this for any reason. I love you, and if it weren't for a single thought, then I would've been the one on top... Trust me. But, when Ignitus gave me the memories of you all when it came to his powers, I learned that he is able to tell of our lives, and to write them down and... that makes me... uncomfortable as... I feel like we're being watched."

"What?" Volteer asked her, a little bit in disbelief as he thought he gave her every memory that she needed, "So he gave you the fact he writes down of our history and life, but he didn't tell you what he could and couldn't write down, or even see?" Seeing her shake her head, it did make some sense to him as he pieced everything together, "I guess that makes sense. Ignitus didn't really need for you to now that he couldn't see such things since you were... not exactly in a great place for you to want to know something like that. Basically, the Ancestors, yes, I know this is crazy, but they write down things like that for him so he doesn't... well, you know... have to see or hear... But wait..."

"Yeah, wait. Doesn't that mean the, Ancestors are always watching... and listening...?"

"Yeah but, their dead so, what does it matter to them? And would you really want something dead to stop you from having a good time?"

"You're right..."

"Then, shall we, continue?"

"No!" Ersa quickly stopped him as she could feel his head slipping off her paw, and from her words he quickly stopped himself from his head going any further down, "Sorry, I..." Taking her paw back to her side, she looked at his body and the way they were, and it frustrated her as she bit her lip, begging to just continue, but she couldn't, "Look... I said I wasn't afraid or scared to go through with this. If it were up to me, you wouldn't be walking straight for the next week, and I'd make sure," Hearing how open and honest she was being, he had to give a chuckle as he did have a question.

"How would you do that?"

Using a claw and tapping him on the nose, she pulled her claw back as she knew what he was doing, "You're really not making this any easier on me, you know that right?"

"Hehe, Sorry. Continue, my mate."

"You're Damn right I want to continue..." Ersa grumbled, as seeing him blush with a chuckle, she give a giggle as well, "If not today, then tomorrow. I just want to make sure with Ignitus of such a thing just to be sure," She was almost cut off as she heard heard him blurt out a word, but she cut him off, "I know, what you said. I believe you, I do. I just want to make double sure so that way we can... continue but..." Her voice started to sound sad as she looked away from him, but only for a second, almost as though she was thinking, "Volteer," Calling his name, she looked back up at him and was honest, "If you really want to know what I want... There are books over on the shelf that I'm hoping Ignitus brought... I haven't had to use them since I got back but... I want you to read them... Can you, go get them for me?"

"Yeah, of course."

Getting off her body, he walked on the side of the bed as he got off her and later jumped off once he was clear of his mate. While he walked over to the mountains of books that laid on the book shelf, the floor, and books that laid in the racks, Ersa rolled herself back onto her belly and moved herself to face forward towards the door as she watched him look for the book, not knowing she didn't tell him which one. Putting a paw around her neck and circling it, she grumbled at herself as she thought, _Damn me... I should've just laid there... Even I was wanting to get into it._ She was broken from her thoughts as she looked at him and heard him ask, "Um, which book am I looking for? Or, like the title, I mean."

"Oh, yeah, kinda important... There's, three books, I want you to look for. Each one is titled... 'My Time Away And Alone'." Hearing the book title, Volteer stopped looking for the book all together and saw the sadness on her face as she said that, "Don't worry, my love. Like I said, I haven't had to read or write those books since I got back... And it's all thanks to you," Seeing her smile did make him feel better, and her words did stay true when she had said it the first time, "Now the main books I want you to grab is book one, book ten, and book fourteen. They have about a million words in them for each year, and when a new year rolled around, I would make another for each year I wasn't with you..." Hearing the depression in her own voice, she quickly stopped herself once again, "But like I said! I'm all fine now. When ever you find them, bring them back over."

Searching through the pile of books, he slowly started to disappear into all the books not even realising it. Ersa started to giggle as she watched him disappear and the only thing left for her to see was his tail. His head popped out from the middle of the pile, once again causing her to giggle as she watched him look for the books. Once again he disappeared, and as he popped his head back up from the books, a book laid on his head as he looked at her and asked, "I found books four, seven, eight, and nine... What the hell... I feel like if I wasn't looking for what I need, I'd find it the next day, but when I need it now, I can't ever find what I need."

"Giving up my love?"

"Absolutely not. I haven't barely scratched the surface of all the books we have."

"I wonder what else you'd find."

"What else is in here?"

"Well, hehe, aside from a yellow dragon, I'm assuming more books."

"Ha ha, very funny," Volteer chuckled as he pretended to laugh, once again disappearing into all the books in his search.

It took him a couple more seconds until he resurfaced with a big blush. Seeing him look at her then the book, she wondered what book it could've been that he found. Clearing his throat, he looked at her as he read the title of the book that he had found, "'Learning Everything I Can About Volteer'." He paused as he had only opened the book to the Table Of Contents, and she quickly gasped as she knew what that books was, "Chapter One: What I Like. Okay. What's this, Chapter Thirteen: Volteer's Underbelly?" Seeing her blush more and more as she ducked her head, he chuckled as he read one more, "Chapter Fourteen: I'm Going Mad... Hehehe... Was this when we were uh, together in the Dragon Temple?"

"Yes..." Ersa murmured, ducking her head down on the bed as she had forgotten about that book, "It's been so long I... I had forgotten I started to develop feelings for you so much so after you saved me from my own work that... I had to write something down about you or else I was going to blow my cover and kiss you... Or... you know."

"And what if I would've found this book?"

"I don't know, you're asking me who wouldn't have known, but you did. So what would you have done?"

"Oh, I don't know, hid you out back while I made out with you."

"Uh huh. Says the one who couldn't kiss my lips while I was awake. You wouldn't have been able to do it."

"Wh... I..."

Seeing him blush while she looked at him with a raised brow, he disappeared back into the pile of books as he searched for what he needed to find. She felt a sigh of relief, but felt a little bad as she thought about what she had done, _Making Chapters about his body?! Ugh... I feel like he feels wired about how I was so in love with him... He probably thinks I'm crazy for what I've done..._ Seeing him swim in the books, she let her smile take over as she believed it weren't true at all, _But then again, here I am now... And he doesn't have any complaints... and neither do I._ Coming out from the pile of books, she saw he had three books tucked under his wing, and as he walked closer to her, he chuckled at himself, "Not gonna lie, I'm a little pissed that Ignitus, tail blocked, me. But I guess, like you said, theirs always tomorrow."

"Aw, what's the matter? You sound like all you want is to get some and then leave," Ersa teased him as she watched him jump up onto the bed.

"Hehe, yeah right. You saw what happened when I couldn't be with you. Which I'm still pissed off about him showing you that memory as well."

"Why? It is another reason why it was so hard for me to stop you. Seeing how aggressive you got because of my life, but seeing how soft and smooth you can be when you love me," Her body shivered just thinking about it, and as he laid down next to her, she saw him blush with a chuckle, "So we can both agree that we're very much happy, but that shouldn't stop us from being happier?"

"I've definitely never suggested that. But from memory, it was you who stopped us from being happier."

"Don't push it. I'm going to hate myself for a while because I stopped you."

"Well I wouldn't think too much about it. If we keep thinking about it, we'll be up all night. And like you said, you can always ask Ignitus himself. Which, is also making me even more flustered because he knows we are talking about him and he isn't doing anything to comfort us about the truth!"

"Maybe he's taking some time off."

"Which means we could have some fun?"

"Would you rather have me feel awkward and not kiss you or do much else, or have me feel safe and do what ever we want? Remember, when you were kissing me, I joined in for a second. So would you rather have that feeling, or the one before?"

"That was you?! I was wondering why I felt like I was going to pass out."

"Foreshadowing about what I said early, about you not walking straight?"

"Hehe, we'll see. Which this makes perfect timing for me to trail off into what we should talk about, these books," Laying the books down off to his left side away from where she laid, he picked up the first book, being Book One, "So what did you want me to read from this one?" As he opened up the book, his eyes grew wide as he saw the hundreds and thousands of words just on one large page alone, and she thought that meant he didn't want to read it, but his words quickly made that not so, "Ersa, you really wrote all this?! I know it might be inappropriate for me to ask but, can I read all of it?"

"You... No... Volteer, you really do make me smile, you know that. I don't want to remember what I've been through, and I don't want you to know either. It would only make you feel as bad as I did, and I want to start a new Chapter in our lives. I only want you to read specific parts in the books to give you somewhat of an idea... and also to show you what I felt..." She started to shiver as she remembered what had happened, and felt like doubting that he should even read what's happened, and putting a paw over her right eye, she second guessed herself, "Never mind, maybe reading would be a bad idea..." Feeling a wing over her back, he pulled her as close as he could to her so they could cuddle, and taking her paw off her eye, she nuzzled his neck for a couple of seconds, and feeling slightly better as she did, she stopped and sighed, "Volteer... I'm..."

"Ersa, New Chapter, New Life, I get it. I will only read what you want me to, and that's it. If you really aren't comfortable with me reading, then I won't. Please tell me now if I shouldn't, and if you want me to, I'll get Spyro to burn these books so you'll never have to remember," Volteer suggested to her, making her wonder if she should have those books burnt, and it took her a little bit to really know what she wanted to do as her past started to come back to her, causing her to shiver more, "Ersa... It's okay... That life is over. I can just put the books away and we can just cuddle as we sleep."

"No... I... Well, yes... to the cuddling... Absolutely," Ersa agreed, nuzzling her body up against his to make sure she was as close as she could be to him, "Just... I'm going to say it quick, so I can get it out there in the opened so you can know... Page One in that book, Pages four thousand fifty four and fifty five in the other book, number ten. As for Book fourteen... the very last couple of pages... Book One is to show you my first day alone... Book Ten is to show you why I never healed my cut... And Fourteen... was the last book, and the last pages until I finally comforted you... And I'm glad you comforted me first... my plan probably would've taken me another day to get everything prepared to face you once again."

"Are you going to, stay awake with me and read?"

Shaking her head, she disagreed, "I do want to forget, but not completely. I want to understand that, what I went through wasn't for nothing. I want to know that, I can help anyone else who goes through such loss, even if it was a day or for years..." Laying her head down over the top of his paws, she let a tear run down her eyes and she spoke in a softer tone, "I want to feel the joy, love, and satisfaction of being with you... And now more then ever, I feel like I can understand what Cynder went through... and to have Spyro being with her... I understand why she is so happy... Which also helps me understand that... Spyro really is a good guy... And all I can hope for is that nothing goes back to the way it was."

"It never well... We all will make sure of that. Us as Guardians, and the other two as Purple Dragons... Hehe, but I do wonder, what do you think of Malefor now? He went through the same thing in a way?"

"Still wish I could've pushed a little harder on his pressure point."

"Why's that?"

"Oh, no reason. Side from the fact it would've paralyzed him and made his abilities useless for the next eight hours."

"Sweet Ancestors."

"Hehe, yeah. He didn't know how lucky he was."

"That's actually... pretty sexy for me to hear."

"Why?"

"For one, everyone hates Malefor."

"Really?"

"Hehe, no. We just like hating on him now because it's fun, and sometimes he's dumb. But, it's crazy to hear that you knew this kind of, move, that I wish we as the Guardians could've known. When did you learn to do such a thing?"

"I ran into a lot of, dragons who liked my beauty as they say. Of course, none of them succeeded in even trying to kiss me as each time I was able to knock them out. And I was lucky enough too as each time I did, the Dark Creatures would swarm my location and kill them off. With the ring, I was able to easily control some of them, and get out of any situation I needed to... That's even how I was able to control the Dark Creatures to grab our book from the Temple so easily."

"Oh yeah, I remembered you talking to us about that."

"It was all thanks to you... That ring saved my life so many times... So, hehe, I do feel even worse now that I think about how I stopped you."

"I'm still up and awake."

"Ugh, is that all you dragons care about?"

"Oh, no, Ersa, I..."

"Clam down, Handsome. I'm only playing with you. I just... Thank you... I would thank you a thousand times over for what you've done, and I will continue to do so because... It's all thanks to you... And I'm glad I was lucky enough to finally come back... with you..." Ersa started to cry more tears as she nuzzled his chest, and unfortunately for her, she started to feel that tired feeling once again, and cursed at herself for feeling it once again, "Damn it... Not again..."

"Ersa," Volteer softly spoke to her, moving his wing more up over her body as he tried to calm her down, "This is just like last night, but now, you have nothing to fear, I promise you. Sleep well, please. I will do exactly as you instructed me to do. You need this sleep. Even when you came back, you still feared... but you're safe now... Hehe, if you still feel bad that I didn't, get any, then help me by sleeping well. I will feel much better if you can do that."

"Hehe... Damn... I choose... The greatest dragon... in the... world..." Ersa slowly cried as she drifted off to sleep, now passed out over his claws.

He chuckled at himself as now he was stuck, _Now I can't read the Books... Then again, her head is rested all the way to my chest, so I can move my paws, just not very well. I am only turning pages after all._ Carefully moving his paws up and over the book, he pulled it towards him and started from the very top, but before he could read, he looked down at his lover to see her head laid down against his chest. Moving his head down, he kissed the top of her head which made her stir in her sleep. Her head turned sideways onto his paws, along with her body now laying out on her right with her legs and arms stretching. With her body now laid out on her side, he was now easily able to see both her body and head. Seeing her sleep with the soft sounds of breathing, it was comforting to him. _Thank you... Ancestors... even though you didn't know... thank you, for not taking her away... I will continue to protect you, my love... I promise... But I do still wonder what's going on with you, Ignitus...? Still not going to answer...?_ Since he still hadn't gotten an answer, it scared him a little as he was afraid something had happened, but he heard a voice speak to him in his head, _"Don't fear, Volteer. This is a clone in the Temple. Ignitus is occupied in a dream as of right now with Claire." With Claire? Is he! I mean, you! Are you going to ask her?! "I don't know. All I know is that she wanted to be in a dream very badly with him... or, me, or what ever. You get the point."_ Volteer sighed with a smile as he thought to himself once again, _Come on Claire. Ignitus doesn't have the guts to do it, but you do._ Coming out from his thoughts, he now focused his attention on the book and started to read.


	15. Chapter 15: Learning And Adapting

Chapter 15: Learning And Adapting

"My Time Away And Alone: Chapter One... Book One, Day One. I never thought I'd be making something like this, and, I guess I never thought something like this would even happen to me. I'm giving this book a number, that being one as, I don't know how long it will be until I find my way back to my... Lover, Volteer... It's funny how I can write this down but, could never tell him... Look at how pathetic I already am without him even now... Anyway, to get back on track, I'm writing this one week after the attack on the Dragon Temple. I've attempted to try and go back many times with no such luck as there are still plenty of Apes swarming around the area. I would attempt to go inside in hopes of finding one of the Guardians but... I know they aren't there... I saw at least two of them be dragged away which must mean they lost in their battle, but so far, I haven't seen Volteer or Ignitus but... I probably wasn't here for when they were dragged away as well. For now I'm using what I know about this ring that I've made with Volteer in hopes that I'd be able to retrieve something. One thing that I'm mainly after is my book. If I'm successful in retrieving this item, I'll be one step closer to finding out what else I can do to help get the other Guardians free of their captivity. It doesn't appear they are dead, at least... that's what my whole mind and body is hoping for... But I will not give up hope. One step at a time. After I retrieve my book, I will find out how I will be able to rescue the Guardians, we will find a way to push back the Apes and the Darkness, and everything will go back to how it should be, or at least, that's the hope. For right now, I'm writing this during the night, as I will all my other days that I will be counting. Hopefully it won't be too much longer, but for now, I just need to rest. Once I'm at full strength, I will begin my plan to save everyone, and hopefully, even the world."

Seeing as the page had ended at the very bottom of the first page, Volteer knew this meant he had to stop reading the first book that was given to him, and already he felt terrible as he could only image how she must already be feeling at that time, _She seemed so calm but, even I could understand and see those small hints in there that show she's struggling with what's happened... And that's only day one._ Closing the first book with his paw and moving it off to his left, he wrapped it around to the back of the other books beside him. Putting his paw over the next book, he slid it to the front of him. Opening up the book, he flipped through many of the pages as he remembered where she told him to go to in the book, _Pages four thousand fifty four and fifty five... To think how much she wrote just on the one page, and she was tired then... I can't imagine the pain she went through when writing all of this._ Reaching the numbered pages as he could see at the bottom, he pulled the book a little closer to himself and started to read.

"My Time Away And... Alone, of course. That's what I numbered my first book, then the one after that, and so on and so forth till we get to number ten... Ten years... Ten years, everything I've done, everything I've seen, been through and lost... it's like the world has forgotten about me... Just today I ran into a dragon who helped protect me against some Apes and Dark Creatures. After thanking him, he chuckled at me and asked, 'Is that all I get?'. I giggled at him, but I instantly knew what he meant by that. After a little bit of talking, he got forceful, and attacked me. Turned out the reward he wanted was me... When I fought back he... he clawed out my right eye... so... now I'm... blind... But, after being able to hit a pressure point and knocking him down for good, I was swarmed by Dark Creatures and Apes. More Creatures then apes as I was able to control a little of the hoard to help me. I flew away as quickly as I could, hoping I would be able to heal my eye in time. Unfortunately, every step of the way I tried to land and heal my wounded eye in hopes of recovering, there were always Apes upon Apes, swarming every location possible. I flew back to my cave and used what my lover once had used to help out a friend of his named Ignis. But, even with the instructions, it became difficult, and I either didn't have what I needed or, I failed to do something and wasted what resources I had... so... I guess for, now on and forever... I will... just have to be blind... I can't feel my eye anymore, I can't cry out of it and... It's just another reminded to me that... The world doesn't care about me anymore... I... Just... Volteer... Even when it went to save you, and when I saw that blood I... I don't understand... Please tell me you're alive... Please... Now more then ever, I need to know... I... I need to know..."

Reaching the bottom of the first page he was supposed to read, he felt a tight pain in his chest that stabbed at him, making him want to tear up just as badly as he thought about it, _Ersa's right... there's no way I could read all of what's happened to her. I'm only reading bits and pieces of her life here and here and... It's painful even for me now. The only thing that keeps my smile is knowing everything turns out right but, for her... she didn't know about that until fourteen years later... and neither did I._ Trying not to dwell on the horrible things he knew she had to endure, he continued to read on to the next page in the book.

"Well... I, did it again. Cutting short on the last page I, of course... held the book close to me, and cried out my one good eye in hopes everything was going to be okay... but I know it probably won't be. I've given up hope and trust in everyone... but even as I try to... thinking about Volteer's smile, the way he spoke, and comforted me I... I... Damn it... I'm... I'm not going to tear up. I need to stay strong. Until I see his body, I won't give up hope. I know he's alive. He's out there somewhere and as soon as I can find him, I will know what to do. It doesn't help that my dreams have been revolving around him so much as of late... Just imaging him, kissing me and my neck while I lay there and... I guess it is only a dream... But the dreams have become more... extreme as of late. Everything about me is begging to be back with him, and even after everything that's happened, I still trust him... As I've said before, I'm scared about what he could be now... Maybe this War would have changed him, maybe he's been scarred in such a way that I also have been that makes him not love anymore... I will never truly know until I meet him again... And what if he has found love...? After what the Dragon did to my eye, what if my beauty that he once saw in me is gone...? All I can think of a fall back plan is to kiss him... and if that doesn't work then... I guess I'd have to hope that my dreams would come true and we'd have a moment to ourselves, and I would try everything for him to stay with me... But it is his life... But that won't stop me, not until I know for sure, not until I hear him say no... And... I know he won't... he... He wouldn't... At least... that's the hope."

Giving himself a nice chuckle as he finished up reading the last page, he looked over at her and saw she had moved. Her head now laid down on the side of his right paw, and her back stayed up against his side as she laid on her own side. _If only I would've known sooner that she loved me, and if I would've told her sooner, would she be stronger in that moment then, knowing that I did love her? Would it have helped her through the years if she knew I loved her, our would it have pained her more._ Closing the book and sliding it off to the side on the bed once again, he sat it next to the first book, and then reached over to grab the last book. Sliding the book in front of him, he flipped to the page that he needed to read. _I guess I shouldn't think about it. She's here now. We're all alive, we're in love, and I'm her mate... Hehe, it's a little funny to me to hear that her dreams with me were getting a little... extreme... Oh, Ignitus... I hate you so much for not saying something to her so we could have some fun._ Giving a chuckle to himself, he looked down at the book and read the last page in it.

"One more day... One more day until I will finally know everything. The truth, the lies, the love and... The life I will have. I know I saw her with Volteer, I know they seemed to have had a Hatchling but... Damn it, that doesn't matter! I know for a fact that Ignitus came down here, that was surely him, but he seemed scared for some reason. Tomorrow, I'm going to test my potion, make sure I have everything necessary to win him over once again, and comfort everyone there. I have everything I need in case anyone tries anything, and I know it sounds bad to have to attack them but... I've come too far... It's been more then a decade, everything I've done, learned, and survived through up until this point I... I can't... I can't handle hearing him say no... But it's crazy to me. I've seen him a couple of other times and I haven't seen her with him. And that makes me scared, excited, confused and I... What do I do...? My emotions are fighting with me, and I'm so scared he would say no or move on or... or worse... he would've forgotten about me all together... Damn it... I... I can't tear up now though... I'm... I'm so close... I'm so, very close. Maybe Ignitus doesn't know it was me or else he would've told Volteer, and even if he did know it was me, maybe he's trying to protect him from the truth... And if that's the case, I'm for sure going to have to use what I've learned to hurt him for trying that... and hopefully... Volteer... My love... My Mate... we can all laugh... and we can love together... as a family... And maybe... Just maybe... Would you also have a family with me, Volteer? I guess I'm getting my hopes too high but... Me and Volteer... with a Hatchling... After everything that has happened... is that such a bad thing to dream about...?"

As he finished reading the last book, he shed a tear as he couldn't hold himself back any longer. Giving a chuckle as the tear went down his face, to his chin, and then falling down onto the book below him, Volteer smiled as he thought, _Damn you... Ignitus... I could've made her dream... Our, dream, a reality, but you just had to be the yourself for once, didn't you, my friend?_ Shutting the book in front of him, he looked down at the title of the book, grasping everything he had read and thought more about the past and present as he did. _Someone like you should've never had to go through something like that._ Moving the book over to his left, he then scooped up all three books in his wing and slowly stood up on the bed. Carefully making his way off the bed, he walked over to the pile of books and laid the three down on the side of the bookshelf away from most of the other books. Looking at all the books, he then focused his attention over to all the work that she had done on her work table. Walking over to the work tables, he saw many papers scattered around the tables and one such paper caught his eye. Sitting down in front of the table and picking up the piece of paper, he read it out loud, "'Things to look forward to with Volteer'. Okay, Ersa. Let's see what I can embarrass you on. 'Kissing, hugging, cuddling, loving, nuzzling, making out, and most importantly of all, mating'... Hehe, Oh, Ignitus. Right now the only thing I want to do is walk into our Sleeping Chambers and knock you out... if you weren't already asleep."

Turning his attention back over to the bed, he had a grin go across his face as he thought about it, _But, since me and Ersa aren't in the Sleeping Chambers, we are free to make our dreams come true._ Placing the piece of paper back down onto the table, he stood up and walked over to his sleeping mate. Standing at the front of the bed, he got as close to the bed as he could with his chest up against the front of the bed. Since her body laid down sideways facing the wall, he had to move his head around to face her, and he looked at her body as he did. Seeing her mouth slightly opened, he smiled and moved in to kiss her. Putting his lips over hers, he kissed her a couple of times before finally backing out of the kiss. Giving a slight moan, she stirred in her sleep before going right back to bed. Taking his head back away from her, he chuckled as he knew. _She wouldn't even care if I kissed her all night and she wouldn't know. Does sound like fun but... it's more fun when she's awake. And for right now, my mind is... else where._ Turning his body around and facing the door, he sat down in front of the bed and looked at the ground as he thought, _I kept doubting myself. I blamed myself for everything because it was true. I should've been strong enough to protect her, I should've told her I loved her, I should've done so much more but... I didn't._ Raising a paw and clenching his fist a couple of times, he couldn't tell if he was strong or not. _Compared to Spyro's power, I'm just a piece of dirt in the earth. Now I understand why he trains so much, why he pushed himself that one day. Even when he got stabbed, he took the blade right out and kept going and... I understand now._ Picking his head up while he placed his paw back to the ground, he looked behind himself as he saw her sleep, and he watched as her side went up and down from her breaths. Seeing her so peaceful and calm after everything that's happened, he couldn't shake the feeling of what he wanted to do. _I... I need to train with Spyro... I have to. I can't stay at the level I'm at now, not with us knowing there is a new Dark Master out there. I have to keep her safe. Spyro would understand... He... He would help me out... wouldn't he? I can't let her go through more suffering... I need to be strong so she doesn't have to be._ Looking straight at the door, he stood up and took one step forward before his body locked up on him, and he knew why. _Even though I want to train I... I can't just leave her here... I need someone to watch after her... Ignitus, I could really use your help right about now with your mind powers to watch over her... Ignitus?_

* * *

 _Taking a deep sigh in and holding that air for a couple of seconds, Claire released the air from her mouth and felt at peace. With her back laid down on the grass, the clouds covering up the sun only slightly to give the perfect shade for her as she laid there, and Ignitus sitting down next to her as he looked up into the sky with her. It felt so peaceful to be outside without worry, to lay down in the grass, and to have the real feel of everything she's ever wanted right there in front of her. Looking to see his smile as he looked up into the sky, she then checked out his body and bit her lip as she knew it was now or never. "I have to tell him. I'm not waiting any longer, and I'm not going to fear for his no... And if he does say no, goes I will have to use my assassin tactics on him." She thought, looking back up into the sky and now saying out loud, "You know... I will never understand why you chose me." Hearing her speak, he looked down at her laid out body and listened, "But when I think about it, I just laugh. Why should I question this life you've given me. The friends I've made, the time we've spent together, hehe... and me still wanting to kill Malefor." Giving a chuckle himself, Ignitus agreed, "Hehe, yeah. I think we all want to have that chance."_

 _"I thought I did... I really thought that, all I wanted to do was kill him and, I'd be happy. Everyone viewed him as a villain so, we all believed he was a villain. It's crazy to think that, maybe all villains really aren't villains. I mean, look at me for that example. I was a villain once. I was alone, used by the darkness, and I could've lost it all," Giving a smile and a blush from the memory, she gave off a soft voice as she spoke, "But you saved me... And, I think I now know how to thank you for that." Thinking she was going to roll over, she didn't, and instead watched as Ignitus stood up himself and walked around to back of her. His head looked down on her head as she looked up at him, and she giggled as she asked, "You know I'm on my back? Instead of standing behind me, you could always stand over me?"_

 _"Would you like me to stand over you?" His voice had suddenly turned very soft and smooth, somewhat in a teasing manner, and she had now idea what to say after that, and even if she wanted to, Ignitus spoke in his teasing voice once again, "You know, you say you know how to thank me for what I've done. But I'm a male, and I feel like I deserve to get the reward I know I deserve." Giving off a blush, she looked at him with wide eyes, wondering if he was telling the truth or not about what he was saying, and even as he tried mess with her, he apologized, "I know I'm trying to sound romantic but... I feel bad if I say that I, deserve a reward. Please know it's me and..."_

 _"Ignitus... What is the reward?" Seeing the hope in her eyes, he knew he shouldn't hold off on it any longer. "She wants this kiss just as badly as I do..." Ignitus thought to himself, giving a wide smile while also giving off a blush. He wasted no time and made sure there were no interruptions and pushed his lips against Claire's as quickly as he could while also being easy about it. Both their eyes shot open before both giving out their own moans, later closing their eyes as they continued to kiss one another. Putting both her paws over Ignitus's cheeks, she started to tear up as she kissed him. "Finally..." Claire cried in her thoughts, finally feeling the love that she had wanted for so long now. Getting into a more comfortable position, the two continued to kiss while Ignitus moved himself over top her as he remembered what she had told him to do, and she took her paws off his face as he moved over her. Finally needing to catch their breaths, they both pulled away, breathing heavily as they opened their eyes. Each now looked at one another with loving stares for one another, and both let a tear gone down their eyes as they smiled. "You should've... Asked for the reward... The day we first... Met... My love..." Claire giggle with her tears, and both their bodies shivered with joy to finally hear the word be said. "I... I didn't know you... You really loved me... So early on though." She gave a giggle as she knew he hadn't know about the talk she had with the others, "You remember way back in the hallway where Spyro talked with me? He then later told the Guardians to back off." Seeing him give a nod, she continued, "Hehe, well. One reason I believe that Spyro let me stay was because... I confessed that I loved you on that day to them."_

 _"What?!" Ignitus cried out in disbelief. "Hehe, yeah. You could only image how hard it was for me to continue to not be in love with you. When you helped me out I... Ignitus... I want to hear it from you... I love you... so, so much... But now the question is, even with all the pleasure I felt in that kiss, how badly I want to just make out with you... I want to hear you say it as well." Seeing the desperation in her eyes, he could tell she was a little frightened as to what his answered would be, even though she knew it was a yes. Giving it some thought as to how he would word his words perfectly, he was as romantic as he tried and hoped to be, "I love you, Claire. And that day when my mouth was iced over, I was so heartbroken because, I feel in love with you so quickly... and, after learning you were an assassin... I knew why. I know why I fell in love with you, and, I know why I chose you over everyone else." She smiled at him to hear he finally said the words, but she was now even more curious to know what he would say. "Why's that?" Claire asked, rubbing a claw around on his chest as to tease him some more, and to continue to hold the romantic tone. Giving a chuckle and a blush from her actions, he joked with her, "It's because, I knew if I didn't, you'd kill us and run away. And since you were so vulnerable at the time, it was easy for me to talk you down so you'd fall in love with me and not kill us. So, if I leave you now, you'd kill everyone, so, I'm just forced to be with you from here on out." Gasping hard with wide eyes from what he had said, while he chuckled, she was in complete disbelief that he would ever say something like that. Using her right wing, she flung it around and hit his side, knocking him off her and onto his back. Jumping up from the ground, she quickly jumped over on top of him and swung her tail blade around to his neck. With his paws slightly raised, she threatened him, "Take that back. You aren't telling the truth."_

 _"Are you sure? Because by me telling the truth, you are showing your true colors by attacking me," Ignitus chuckled, once again making her gasp, both by the fact that he was right and that he would even say something like that. Since he was playing her for a fool, she decided to play him for what he did, and thought about the plan very swiftly, "Alright, Ignitus. You think you can get me? I have a better way to get you." Her face turned sad immediately as she turned to get off him, taking her tail blade with her as she did. Walking away a couple of steps away from him, she sat down and looked to the ground. Already it showed signs of working as his face turned to fear, wondering if she was joking or not. Rolling onto his side and standing up, he walked over to her. Sitting down by her side, he put a paw on her shoulder, but she shrugged and murmured, "Just let us out of here... I just want to go to bed..." Hearing her murmur in such a way made his whole body shiver from sadness as he felt like he had screwed up. Taking his paw off her shoulder, he looked down at the ground with her, and she noticed this. "I'm... so sorry, Claire. Maybe I did take it a little too far," Hearing him talk, she looked over at him as he continued to speak, "There are a lot of reasons I chose you, and I swear on my life, I was just messing around. I did tell you the truth about one thing when I told you, I loved you," Looking over at her with a smile, she blushed slightly and was now feeling bad herself for making him feel bad, "Hehe, well, two things, I wanted to say... One of which was me loving you. Second... was how sad I was that you really could've been an assassin... I saw who you were the previous day and I... I wanted nothing more then to comfort you and..."_

 _"Alright! Fine..." Claire cried out as she started to tear up slightly from his words, and he was now confused as to why, and she couldn't hold the truth, "I was only messing with you when I got off you. Turns out my plan back fired on me and, instead of you feeling guilty, I felt guilty and terrible." Now knowing that was only just an act she put on, he let out a huge sigh as he thanked, "Oh, thank everything. I really thought I had messed up." With how big the sigh was, she couldn't help but giggle as it was nice to know he was still himself, and she called him out for his sigh, "And there you go again being amazing. A sigh that big, knowing that everything between you and me is perfect... It makes me want to kiss you." Moving both their heads straight up and looking at one another, they both smiled, and Ignitus asked, "Well... What's stopping us now?"_

 _"Hehe, well, nothing at all. After all, I am an assassin and could always just force you to kiss me but..." Biting her lip at the idea, he wondered what she could be thinking about to also cause her to blush, but he didn't have to ask as she told, "You remember... When you showed me what you can do with your power? That time you, flexed out your body?" He gave a chuckle as he remembered that from a while ago, "Of course I do. And you said you wanted me to take you to the White Isles." She grumbled at herself as she remembered she had said that but didn't get off track as she said, "Well, I was... Wondering if there was... some kinda power you had for us when we kiss... There definitely doesn't have to be and by me saying it makes me think to you that I didn't enjoy the kiss even though I really did and I..."_

 _"Whoa whoa whoa, Claire, Hehe, calm down, it's fine," Ignitus interrupted her long trailed off sentence and he took no offense to it as he understood, "Don't worry, I know what you mean by wanting to know more, I also know you enjoyed the kiss because... Um... Ahem, well... Your mouth was definitely watering for my lips," Seeing how quickly embarrassed she got, he gave a chuckle at her, "My mouth was watering too, don't worry. But going back, one power that I know I can use just from memory is a kiss so good that the pleasure from it would make you pass out for a couple of seconds. Sounds bad to pass out but, don't worry, it doesn't have any side effects or anything... Aside from possible wanting to kiss more." Swallowing hard, Claire sighed once again as she couldn't even imagine what that kind of feeling would be like. Even with what he's said, she hated to have to keep doubting his love for her, "Ignitus... We can't be... together... I'm not worthy."_

 _"Worthy? I sure wasn't worthy to be the Chronicler but it still happened," Seeing she was still a little down, he knew another easy way to try and comfort her, "Look at it this way. Carith controls Malefor, Cynder controls Spyro, and I know here soon, Ersa will control Volteer... She kinda already has but, I'm not going to say how. Everyone around here, the female controls the male. So even with how much power I have, you'll always be more important, and much more powerful, then I could ever be." His words did once again help her even if it was a little as she still thought about it, and he tried joking to also try and help her out, "And if you think I'm better then you, force me to not be. You're an assassin, put me in my place." The two both gave slight blushes, and she was the first to comment on that, "Sounds like if I forced you to kiss me, you'd be at my will."_

 _"Hehe, yeah. Kinda like with the darkness for the other two... Still not going to explain Volteer and Ersa's methods but, it happens." Feeling calmed and relived, she never thought she would want to leave this place, but she believed it would be time to do so, "Well... I guess I better... force you to get us out of here. I love kissing you in this dream world but... Feeling your body and lips in the real world is way more important to me." He gave a nod as he also agreed, along with smiling as to make her feel comfortable about what she was saying. Feeling like having a little fun, she raised her tail blade up to his neck to his surprise. He was caught off guard by her doing so and he could tell she wasn't really for what she was trying to do, but she tried her best, "When we leave, you will make out with me if you ever want to see your son again." An evil grin went across his face as she said that, and seeing him move his face closer to hers, she backed her tail blade off and blushed as he smiled at her, "Make out...? Hehehe... You won't even be able to remember your threat when I'm done with you." Her body locked up as her face went just as red as Ignitus's scales from the way he worded it, along with his body language and she couldn't tell if this meant he had more then just love feelings towards her, "O... Oh... I... Ignitus... We... We just... Became lovers... I..." The worst part for her was, he knew his mistake, and instead of calling himself out for it, he kept her thinking, "Are you ready to leave the dream and, have some fun." Her breathing grew faster, along with her heart and heat that grew all around her body. Even as she tried to use her ice to cool herself down, it failed. Seeing him close his eyes with a smile, she started to sweat, but knew she would have to close her eyes as well, and later did._

Coming out from the dream, all her emotions and feelings came out with her. Her body was already sweating, her breathing grew very quickly, and her heart was heard in her head. _If... If I open my eyes does... does that mean... Wait... It doesn't matter cause... He... He could hear my breathing! I... I have no choice._ Picking her head up very slowly, she opened her eyes and looked to her left side to see Ignitus laying down next to her with his head picked up and smiling. Feeling bad now to see just how embarrassed she must be feeling right about now, he finally gave her the truth as to calm her down, "Don't worry, Claire, I was talking about us kissing. Hehe, you should know I've never been very good at sounding romantic without accidentally making it sound like something else."

 _Just... us... kissing?_ Putting a paw over her chest, she gave a huge sigh of relief as she tried to calm every part of her down. Now knowing nothing was happening, she was able to get a hold of her breathing, as well as her racing heart. He felt a little bad to see her sigh so hugely when ever he had said that, and even as he tried not to let it show, a frown was still on his face. _It's fine... I wanted us to be lovers, not mates... At least... not yet... But it seemed like she sure doesn't want us to be._ While he was in his thoughts, she looked around at the other two Guardians to make sure they were still sleeping, and it didn't take her long as all she had to hear were their snoring for her to know. Turning her head back around to face her lover, she giggled now as she thought about it, "How bad can their snoring get?"

"Oh... Well, for Terrador, pretty bad. I would have to say I was the second loudest snoring dragon, and Volteer was the least one who snored the loudest."

"You use to snore?"

"Hehe, well, funny things is, ever since I met you, I haven't been snoring at all. I actually feel really good."

"Do you think that means the only way for us to shut the other two up is for them to find lovers?"

"Possibly... But, I've looked back at Terrador's past and, there was... another incident that I didn't know he ran Into during his life."

"What happened? Please tell me it wasn't scarring for him."

"It wasn't... Just to give you an idea, Terrador's been through two relationships so far."

"Two?"

"Yeah, and each time, the girls were the ones that dumped him. First girl, it was actually good she dumped him as she wasn't right in the head and was very abusive. Then, there was another female he kept a secret from us, and the only reason I know of course is because... I know of his past... But basically, he tried everything he could to love and impress her. They even did fall in love, exchanging a kiss here to here with them being lovers."

"Sounds a little fishy. If their relationship was going so well... Then... You said it was the females fault?"

"Yeah... One morning when Terrador left the building to find where his lover was staying in Warfang, he... he found her... making out with someone else. When he confronted her as easily as he could about it, she shrugged him off and said that he was taking too long to do with her what she wanted. And now that explains why on that day, he came back in such a, tense, mood. Terrador never use to be such a hard ass. Not that he is now but... he use to crack jokes a lot, and use to even smile more often."

"But she destroyed that side of him," Thinking about the emotional detachment he must've gone through, she felt terrible to think that someone like him who tired so hard had his life destroyed, "I don't understand why someone like him would have to suffer two break ups... Do you think he would ever try and be with someone ever again?"

"Not likely. Spyro once said something to him about getting a lover but, he rejected that under his breath."

"Then, if Cyril is also snoring, do you think he needs someone to love as well?"

"Maybe. Cyril's never really tried to love anyone before. There was so much going on back then that he would try to do his best just to forget about the pains of the world. We all have tried once or another but, we felt like we'd never find anyone so, we all kinda stopped trying after a while."

"Thank Ancestors. I wouldn't be here now if you kept trying."

"So you do like being here?"

"Don't make me think back to all the tears I shed so I could stay here."

"Well, from my calculations and memory, I shed more tears over you then you did of me."

Gasping from his words, she then quickly thought about it and caught him in his lie, "And how do you know that? You can't tell where I am, what I'm thinking or doing or anything like that. So how would you know the amount of tears I shed?"

"From the feeling of that kiss when we were in the dream world. I felt like I wanted it more then you did."

Gasping once again with wide eyes, she couldn't believe how evil he was being towards her and saying such things. Standing up on the bed and pushing his wing off her back with her wing, he was now a little scared as to what she might be planning. Reaching a paw over to his side, she pushed his side a couple of times, so he rolled over onto his back on purpose. With him on his back, she walked up and stood over him, looking down on him as she did. To add more tension between the two, she moved her tail blade to his neck once again, and he raised both paws in the air as she did so. Giving her own grin for once, she wanted to make him feel good as she whispered, "I don't need powers to make you pass out from the pleasure I'm about to give upon our lips. Even for the Chronicler, you're no match for an assassin."

He hadn't felt this feeling before, but for some reason, it was like his body was forcing him to play along, not that he cared to even try and hold himself back from doing so, "Fine then, do it! Show me want an assassin can do," His growls only made it sweeter for her as it did seem like the real thing was happening, and as she moved her lips down, he teased her some more, "You think you'll get away with this? Spyro's stronger then me, he will stop you, just watch!"

"Oh, hehe, Spyro. I sent my assassin, Cynder, after him. You won't be hearing from him either."

"No... You... You wouldn't... What about Malefor?"

"Hehe, obviously assassin Carith."

"Damn... Fine then... I... I submit."

"Too late."

 _"Even though I want to train I... I can't just leave her here... I need someone to watch after her... Ignitus, I could really use your help right about now with your mind powers to watch over her... Ignitus?"_ Hearing the desperate cries from his friend, he knew he couldn't ignore them even if it tried, but for the time being, he tried his best only for a couple of seconds while the two were so close to kissing. _Give me one second, Volteer,_ Ignitus said in his thoughts over to his friend's as her lips were right over his. _"Ignitus, please, this is urgent. I promise I'll leave you alone after I get your help."_ Giving out a loud and slightly annoyed sigh, she stopped, and very quickly backed up her head as she looked at him with a raise brow, wondering what that sigh was for. He apologized to her first as he knew it seemed bad, "Don't worry, that wasn't to you... Volteer needs my help real quick and, I know I could just do as he says right now but, he has a lot going on and, I know I can't just say a quick yes or no so... Ugh! Of all times, why now?!"

"Hehe, I guess you are now feeling the anger the others feel when you interrupt them."

"I wish I could he as calm as you right now."

"Oh I'm pissed. Like, on a scale of one to ten, I'm ten. But if Volteer is this worried and bugging you about what ever this is this badly, might as well help him out so he'll leave us alone for the night."

"Yeah... I guess I wouldn't have had such a problem if there wasn't so much build up to our kiss... I'm... I'm actually loving the fact that you were an assassin. I know it's probably a bad thing to say but... There's so much fun we could have with that fact."

"Hehehe, I didn't know being a possible murderer is so hot to you."

"Spyro doesn't like that word."

"Hot? Oh yeah."

"Hehe, Malefor also made that joke. It's pretty funny."

 _"Ignitus...? You still there?"_ Hearing his friend's thoughts once again, Ignitus sighed and said in his thoughts, _Come to the Chambers and leave your door open. I know one of your thoughts is for me to watch over Ersa and I can do that. We can talk more in the Chambers. "You sound upset... I hope I didn't interrupt anything, and my sincere apologies if I really did do something to upset you." Like I said, I will talk about it in the Chambers, meet me there._ Feeling a cool feeling over his lips for a second, it was Claire's as she kissed him. Backing up from the kiss as she could feel him pushing into it, she backed away and giggled at him. He chuckled at her and murmured, "That's pretty evil to back away when I'm about to kiss you back."

"We can talk about it later. For now, come on, my love, let's go to the Chambers."

"Yes, my love."

"I'm going to enjoy hearing that word for the rest of my life."

"Hehe, me too."

* * *

 _Meet you in the Chambers? Easier said then done,_ Volteer sighed at himself as he now sat in the doorway of his room and the hallway, and he couldn't seem to figure out whether or not it would be best to leave things alone or to try and push for it some more. Having clear view of the front of the Chambers, he looked away and over to his mate who still laid very peacefully on the bed as from what he could see. Since she seemed peaceful and everything was calmed down, it made him want to train even more then before as he knew this would be the best time. _Everyone should be asleep. Even this, Dark Master that we still have no idea of needs sleep. And maybe if I'm lucky enough, I could get Ignitus to use his awakening powers so I won't have to sleep tonight, then, me and Spyro could train all night... But then it also comes to what his lover would say about something like that._ Tapping his claws in a row on the floor, he grumbled at himself as he continued to think about it. There was more towards him going to train rather then not, so he finally sighed as he made a decision. Standing up and taking one step forward, he very suddenly stopped, and looked back over to his mate. Biting his lip, he turned away from her and thought, _She's fine... She's... Ignitus will watch over her... I trust him._ Walking to the Chambers, it only took him a couple of seconds before he rounded the corner of the Chamber walls and walked into the open space. Already standing there were the two new lovers, and Ignitus asked, a little upset at him as he did, "If you were going to take this long to get here, I could've been able to kiss Claire in the perfect moment."

"You two really are lover's now? Congratulations," Volteer congratulated the two as he was glad it had finally happened, but thinking about what his friend had said, he fired back on his words as he remembered when he had his first kiss, "And look, you can't get mad at me. Memory serves a purpose, and when me and Ersa first kissed, you interrupted us because you needed her memories," Seeing Ignitus have a slightly raised brow, it seemed as though he had somehow forgotten about that time, "So how about we just call it even between the two of us?"

Giving a defeated sigh, he now understood what it was like to have something you were looking forward to ruined so badly, "Then I guess I should apologize as well. And now I understand why those two got so mad at me when I interrupted them. And, you are always very scared as to what the future has in store for us so, I will also definitely forget what happened," Looking at his lover, he gave a slight frown as to tease her, along with a sigh, "But I definitely won't forget what my assassin forced me to do..."

Seeing the two lovers react with one another with different smiles and blushes, Volteer chuckled as he already knew what they could be talking about, "Really? Spyro and Malefor use the darkness for their lovers, and you two are using the fact that you, Claire, were an assassin? I wonder what me and Ersa would have fun with..." Thinking about her name now and the smile that flashed in his mind, he shuck his head and knew he shouldn't be wasting time with simple talk, "Never mind. Look, Ignitus, I need your help. I don't know if the Ancestors would say no or, if you couldn't do some of the things I'm asking but... I'm not going to sit here and make another mistake. I know I should train, I know I should be powerful and..."

"Volteer, breath. You're going to be fine. Just tell me what it is and I will see if my powers can help you. Obviously we can get Ersa out of your mind. Right now I can see her in a third dragon perspective and she's fine. Now, let's get the training out of the way. What is it you're looking for?"

"That I've had some thought on. What I'm at now, I'm not strong enough to go up against Spyro in his dark form... But I want to."

"You want to die? Maybe you should enjoy being with your mate before you try something like that."

"Ignitus, it's the only way I will get stronger faster, and to learn from my failure. There is a saying were; Would you fight a man who's practiced one move a thousand times, or a thousand moves one time. That's Spyro, and when it comes to logistics, strength, speed, and intelligence under pressure and in battle, he knows it all. I can learn from him, and pushing him to use his power is the only way."

Putting a claw up to his chin, Ignitus thought about something or another he could use to help his friend out as what he was asking for seemed out of his reach. _I guess I might have one idea,_ Ignitus thought, putting his claw back to the ground and giving a possibility as to what could help him, "Well, I helped Spyro at one point in a dream. He wanted to still gain the muscle he would even in a dream. So, maybe what I could do is modify the power in a way along with another, better, modification, which could help you out. Of course, it might take a little time, maybe an hour, and I could have a clone work on it but..."

"I can wait an hour. But it depends on what all it could do for me."

"Basically, I can give you the power similar to that of Spyro's dark form. Since you aren't fighting anything, and this is just a sparring match, I don't see why the Ancestors would have a problem. This will always show you what muscle form you could have compared to how you look now, while also giving you increased everything when it comes to what you said Spyro had in combat capability."

"Strength relative to that of his dark form? I can see what I can become, and also have everything grow within my body and mind to know where else I could be at?!" It sounded amazing for him to hear, and this is the exact kind of thing he was looking for when it came to his hopes, but it seemed all too well, and he didn't like the sound of everything going so perfectly, "Alright, but what's the catch. What's in it for you?"

"I get some Damn peace and quiet so me and Claire can make out in peace, that's what I'm getting from this," Ignitus chuckled as he gave his response, and his response did cause the other two to blush and he gave a slight apology for his outburst while also calling out Volteer for what his lover said, "Hehe, sorry. But, look, it isn't nearly as bad as how open and honest Ersa was when she was wondering when, it, would happen."

"Speaking of, it... you're also pretty lucky that you're being so helpful now after you tail blocked the hell out of me."

"What?!" Claire cried, and since she knew exactly what he was talking about, it was slightly embarrassing for her, and seeing the big blush on Ignitus's face, she knew she wasn't alone.

"Look, I didn't do nothing to, block, you, Alright. You could be in there right now with her but you're choosing to train, that's not my fault," Ignitus defended himself, and thinking about why he was defending himself, he gave a slight chuckle, "You know, I do find it funny. After what we went through, from all those years, I never thought that I would be able to say that my friend accused me of blocking him from having fun with his mate, especially not for you, Volteer."

"Yeah... And I never thought you'd finally own up and kiss Claire. Took you two long enough," Volteer chuckled.

"No kidding," Claire grumbled, "But it was most certainly worth the wait."

"Hehe, and we haven't even kissed all that much so we're still just getting started," Ignitus teased her as he started to nuzzle his cheek against hers, causing her to give off a slight excited moan, but he knew he couldn't get off track just yet, and so he pulled his head back and answered another one of his friend's questions that he knew he had, "Also, about your sleep... I could, maybe, help you out with that one. That a pretty big maybe though," Thinking about it now, it might be a no, but since his head wasn't hurting, he knew it might be a yes, "Well, I don't have a headache so, the Ancestors might have agreed, or they just don't care. But now the biggest challenge for you is, Cynder."

"Yeah, that was something I thought about as well," Volteer grumbled as he was feeling bad for constantly causing those two to split up from one another for the past week, "Every time those two have some alone time, I always take Spyro away from her because of his help... Hehe, what do you think the likelihood is that she'll just turn evil and kill me?"

"Oh, I would say, you're pretty close to death my friend. But who knows, maybe she'll fell generous and kill you quickly."

"Hehe, yeah... I guess I will just have to see."

"Oh yeah, just, when you do want to bulk out and use the form, I will tell you when my clone is done perfecting it. So, for the time being, just push yourself as hard as you can, because when I do give you the power, it will reset you completely, stamina and all. And also remember, it's good to push yourself twice here. Even in that form I will give you, you will gain muscle from it. This is a good opportunity for you to bulk up even a little."

"Thank you, Ignitus," Volteer nodded his head at all of his friend's help, and he apologized once again for interrupting the two while they were having a moment, "And, sorry again, for everything. Whether it came to what I have done or, messing up your special moment... I'm glad you all still stayed with me and protected me from myself that day," The two both gave smiles at him as he had said this, but his smile quickly turned to a little bit of a grin as he spoke in a little more of a serious tone, "But, Ignitus, you will tell her that you can't see us when we are, you know. And if you do interrupt us..."

"Do not worry about any of that!" Ignitus quickly cut him off, waving both paws in front of his face from embarrassment, and once he stopped, he spoke once again, "I will definitely be sure to tell her about that power. As for the uh, other, thing. Kinda like the darkness, I get a black image, only not shriveled and looking like an infection. So if I see that... I'm just gonna, let everyone know you're sleeping... Hehe, but that's never going to happen so."

"Wh...!" Putting a paw on his chest, Volteer felt offended that he would say something like that, "And who are you to say such things when it took you this long to finally become lovers. Don't you dare come at me with that."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry. Look, just, go train with Spyro. I will take care of everything, and if anything happens to Ersa, I'm watching over her so she's fine. And technically I have to do that anyway because of her book, I have to write down thoughts and actions so, I will know."

Taking his paw off his chest, he nodded at his friend, "Alright... I will trust you, Ignitus. Please watch over her. And I will put in a good word for you now because I trust you," Looking over at Claire, she wondered what he could have to say to her, "Claire, Ignitus has been such a good dragon as of late, I want you to promise me you'll reward him finely for everything he has done."

Smiling from his words, she felt very flirty now with what he had told her, and looking at her lover, she agreed, "You hear that, Ignitus? So what do you say we go to the back room and you can find out how good of a reward kiss you are going to feel will be?"

Giving a smile back, big enough to show his teeth, Ignitus already turned around and walked to the back room with a couple steeps faster then how he normally walked. She gave a giggle as she was happy to see he was just as excited as she was to have some alone time to kiss. Watching as the door shut, Volteer kept his smile as he felt happy to see those two were finally so happy with them being in love, _Things are looking up._ Turning and walking out of the Chambers, he walked over to his room and stopped as he looked inside. Her body appeared to still be laying there, alive and well, but thinking back to his previous thought, it got him scared, _Things are looking too much up. Even real life is like a story; Everyone has that peak in their lives, and then everything goes to hell before you have to recover, and the cycle continues. But I will be stronger, better, faster, smarter, and everything else I need to be to keep the cycle of hell from continuing. And I will do it all for you, Ersa, no matter the pain._ Focusing straight, he continued to finally make his way up to where the others rested. Making his way up the stairs and to the two big doors, they slowly opened inward into the hallway of the house. Now in the house, he made it to the middle of the hallway before the doors behind him started to close with a very light creaking sound. The first thing he wondered was who else he should bring into his battle, and his idea made him think he was crazy, _What if I fought both Spyro and Malefor at the same exact time? He is giving me the power similar to that of Spyro's Dark Form..._ Giving himself a chuckle as he continued to the room in front of him, even he knew something like that would be crazy. _I want to train and make back to my mate, kinda hard to do that if I was dead._ Standing in front of the door, he put his head side ways against the door and knocked very gently while whispering, "Hello?"

Nothing was heard, and no one seemed to have answered him, so he assumed the two were still sleeping. Backing away from the door, he grabbed the door knob and opened it. With the door opening, he peaked his way inside little by little as to make sure he wasn't interrupting the two if they were sleeping. Giving a sigh of relief to see the two were asleep now that he was fully in the room, he continued to be very careful with his steps and breathing as he made it over to the two. _Last thing I would've wanted was to interrupt their love for one another, or wake them up in a bad way, then I would really be screwed out on this training._ Looking down at the two as they slept with smiles on their faces, he felt a little bad now that he would have to wake the happy couple, but he trusted in his friend, and gave another short and careful sounding sigh to prepare if the worst was to happen. _Please understand where I'm coming from, Spyro._ He hoped that what he knew and trusted of his friend would stay true, so he tried as calmly as he could, and in the most soothing voice he could to wake him, "Hey... Spyro... Spyro, it's me, Volteer... Can you wake my friend?" Hearing a small grunt escape his mouth, Spyro opened one eye just to make sure, but even that one eye was very droopy and barely opened, almost as if he was already mad at him, "Oh, sorry, I just, was wondering if you would train me?"

His eyes closed to Volteer's dismay, and now all the hopes he had of training with what he believed to be the master at this point were crushed. _Spyro's the only one who could push me to new highs... He's strong... Strong enough to take on Malefor... And... I want that strength._ His hopes got a little high as he watched Spyro stretch out onto the bed, both front paws out and his back paws going out as well. His wings stretched up and outward with his tail curving a little away from his lover, and he seemed to tense it up as he stretched. The sounds of popping and crackling in his body was a little shivering to Volteer, but he knew what those kind of sounds meant in a body and didn't think much else of it. _Cavitation, the gas bubbles in your joints are just popping away. Hehe, but they'll be back any minute._ As Spyro moved and stretched his body, his lover repositioned herself a little bit while still laying on her side with her paws laid out on the bed and facing the opposite direction of her lover's. Seeing how wide open his eyes were, Volteer had high hopes that meant he was ready to help him train, but Spyro's response was seen by a mile away for him, "You want me, to train you, in the middle of the night?" Seeing Volteer give a quick nod, he could only shake his head as he knew what this was, "Alright, Volteer, if that's really you. I know it's you, Ignitus. I'm gonna kick your ass for putting me in a dream. Just you wait till I get down there, we'll see who's laughing then."

Giving a chuckle at his friend's words, it confused Spyro as he didn't understand why he was chuckling, but he didn't have to ask to get an answer from Volteer, "Spyro, this isn't a dream, I swear. Trust me, right now, I think him messing with you or Malefor is the last thing on his mind right now. Let's just say, his lips are sealed at the moment."

"His lips are sealed..." Giving out a small gasp as to not wake his lover, he couldn't believe what that must've meant, "You don't mean... Claire and Ignitus...?"

"Hehe, yep. This two finally told each other."

"So... Ignitus is finally in love with Claire."

"Still took them way to long to tell each other though."

"Oh absolutely. Any longer and I think Claire would've just assassinated him and moved on."

"Speaking of, assassinating..." Beating around the bush a little, he was scared that his answer would be no, but he had come this far and didn't want to break his chance of a yes, "I want to be strong enough to defend us from that, to know what kind of threat we are facing, past or future I... I don't want to stay at the level I'm at, not now or ever."

Having an idea as to why he must be feeling this way, Spyro murmured his words, "Is this because of... Ersa?"

Giving him a nod, he didn't want to hide the fact from him as he knew Spyro would understand most of all, "Spyro, you trained so much, and through all the pain, it didn't matter, because the only pain you'd ever feel is if your lover left you... Spyro... Me and Ersa... Us being mates I... I couldn't..." He struggled to think of a world where she really was gone now, and he couldn't dare to think of what would happen to her, and seeing his friend stand up to try and comfort him, he apologized, "Sorry, I just... I need your help. I understand you protect us all but, for me, that's not right. I don't want to rely on you to keep my mate safe, I don't want your strength when I should've gotten the strength to protect her so long ago... And I don't ever want to feel this, regret for what I haven't done... I need to protect her, I need to be the lover she wishes me to be even if she doesn't say it... I want you to push me, to attack me, to beat me up until I can't continue... no matter the pain."

Seeing where his friend was coming from with this, he made it seem like it was something so simple, but in reality, it was hell, "Volteer, you probably don't know what hell is like but, that training, is hell re-imagined. What I went through almost killed me so many times, whether I woke up and felt fatigued, I got sliced in my paws, cut, scrapes, and bruises all over my body and, you all saw what I was going through the day after Ignitus and Terrador basically said that everything I did was for nothing, they were going to die either way."

"Then let's prove them wrong!" Spyro's eyes went wide from his sudden outburst, and although he already understood exactly where he was coming from, he couldn't believe how much his heart was into this, "Me, You, and Malefor, all of us, we can be that powerful, we can prove them wrong, and we can show that we don't have to go back to such a time. You really think I care about the pain? I had to live through nearly fourteen years without my mate, and you think I'm going to shy away from the chance at protecting her because you think I'm scared of scrapes? I know what it feels like to go through that pain, especially because me and you were singled out when the Dark Master stabbed into our chests," Having to take a breather from all the words he was putting out, he even started to pant, but he was able to compose himself and once again apologized for being so up and in the open crazy about his words, "I'm sorry... I... Spyro..."

"Volteer," Spyro whispered to calm him down in his own soothing voice, and it already worked very well as his friend had taken a breather and listened to him, "You're right, the pain during your training is nothing compared to the pain of a lost one. Even seeing the one you love get hurt, you act. I haven't seen the drive in some one else other then Malefor, and seeing it from you as well, it's good to see I'm not the only one out there who is fighting to protect their lover, and for you, a mate."

"Does... Does that mean you'll really train me?"

"Hehe, Volteer, when you asked me to train you, I would've already said yes. And when you showed how much passion was in your words, how much heart you really had towards this... Hehe, I'm definitely going to be telling Ersa all about how her new mate is trying everything he can to make her happy, and make sure she's safe. Maybe she'll give you a reward for you heroic actions as well."

"She already tried and... Ignitus didn't give her some memories of his powers and..."

Seeing the huge red blush form very quickly on Spyro's face, Volteer chuckled as he blushed as well and apologized, "Oh yeah, sorry, guess I shouldn't really talk about that. I guess I'm still upset because things were going good and, then she was scared of being watched... Damn Ignitus, even when he isn't trying he still messes everything up for me. I also know Ersa is still pretty pissed about the situation as well."

"Well... Best of luck? I can't believe I'm saying this but, if you know it's gonna happen then, just, let it, happen, rather then pushing it..."

"Your entire sentence scares me."

"Shut up."

"Hehehe."

"I'm definitely going to enjoy beating you up now," Spyro chuckled as he took one step forward before a paw reached over and grabbed his paw.

Both of them stopped breathing all together and held their breathes as they knew who the paw belong to. It was especially scary to Spyro as he knew exactly why she had grabbed his paw, and instant regret for his words made it worse for him. He couldn't dare turn over and look to see her face of possible disappointment, but he could feel that Cynder was looking right at him. Volteer could only get a glimpse of her face, and as she turned to look at him, she looked upset, angry, and ready to attack the two. He whimpered and quickly looked straight at Spyro. Both looked at one another and Volteer shuck his head very slowly in fear. Spyro swallowed hard as he gave a nervous chuckle, trying to break the silence and hoping that he wouldn't get into too much trouble, "Hehe... H... He... Hey my... my love... How..."

"Look at me when you are talking," Cynder grumbled just on purpose to scare the two, and it worked like a charm as their scales stood up on end, and watching as Spyro turned to look at her, she smiled at him, and as he tried to smile back, she shuck her head, "Oh, no no no. You're not getting out of this one. You say you'll stay and love me all night, and that you'd focus on me more rather then the others. So now you're going to up and leave me all by myself because you want to train Volteer, and you weren't even going to tell me," Repositioning herself more up right so she laid on her belly, while still keeping her paw over his arm, none of them said anything and she wanted an answer, "I get where Volteer's coming from, and hearing that those two were mates and Ignitus is now lovers with Claire is a really big shocker... But... It seems like a lot of other dragoness's are getting a lot more love then I'm getting from one... once again."

"No no no! Cynder, it's not like that," Spyro tried to explain himself, and as he was, Volteer took a couple steps back in case anything happened, "I was going to kiss you of course and tell you where I was going before I left. You'd be able to have a kiss, you'd know where I was, and you would be able to see my body all flexed out from my training when I return so, I was hoping it would be a win win for the both of us."

"A win win? A win win for me would be you staying in bed, and while I sleep, you continue to kiss me, that's a win win. Right now for me, I'm at a loss lose because I'm losing my lover for a good portion of the night, and I won't have that feeling of you kissing my lips when I sleep. So from how I'm seeing it, it's a massive lose lose for me," She did feel a little bad for trying to scare the two as she saw that Volteer was now a little sad by the fact that all his hopes to train were being crushed, so she gave a sigh and had a little growl in her voice, "When we go to bed, together, once you're done with your training, I don't care how much of a hell is raised in earth, we are staying in this bed together whether you like it or not."

Now feeling a little flirty with his lover, Spyro smiled as he teased her, "You just want me to use my dark powers because you love being controlled by your lover," Hearing the two starting to flirt, and the blush that came over Cynder's face now, Volteer took another couple steps back as he was now feeling uncomfortable, "Admit it. You love when I take your powers, you love when I have free control over you, and there's nothing you can do to stop me," Moving his head closer to his lover's, he gave an evil chuckle as he knew his words were working, "What's the matter, My love, afraid? Or maybe, you biting your lips right now only proves my point."

 _I didn't know his dark powers can also read my mind,_ Cynder growled at herself as she knew there was nothing she could do, but this did prove the fact that she had wished he would lay in bed with her, "You do know this is only digging yourself deeper into staying in this bed with me, right? You're saying all this stuff and getting my hopes up but, then your just going to kiss me and leave. Not really seeing the fun in that."

"Then can I promise that we can have our love time tomorrow, and that no matter what happens, we will stay in bed together and I will just force Malefor to defend the world for once. Because me and you do deserve a break, so what do you say?" She already wanted to say yes so quickly as she wanted nothing more then to just lay down and love her lover, and she could tell he was only making it harder for her to think otherwise, "I mean, if you don't want me in my dark form giving you slight chills with my teeth on your neck, or the feeling of helplessness as I kiss you while you lay there yet I keep my wings around you then..."

"Fine!" Cynder finally gave into his words, as she could see and hear the chuckle that her lover gave out, "You're more controlling then the Dark Master, you now that."

"Hehe, I just now what you love and don't. So, is that a promise to stay in bed tomorrow?"

Giving a sigh and a smile, she was actually very hopeful for their night, and couldn't help herself but keep her smile as she spoke, "It's a date... I would definitely be lying if I didn't say I was excited for tomorrow now... Well, technically tonight but, you'll be there, won't you."

"Of course my love. It's a date. I won't let you down."

"You better not... But... I know you won't," Hearing how she said she trusted him, he gave a smile, but she turned against him as she couldn't have him stay with her or else they wouldn't go and train, "Now leave. I don't want the kiss just yet. If you kiss me now then you definitely won't be able to leave..." Giving her a nod with his smile as well, she took her paw off his arm and he crawled off the bed, and turning around to face her, she laid her head down into the bed and whispered to him as his face was right in front of hers, "Be careful... Please... I do still fear when you train... You know I will always fear for your health."

"It's because you love me, and I love you too. I'm going to go and get Malefor so he can have his door open and listen out when ever you need the two."

"It's fine... I'm probably not going back to bed anyway... This will give me time to think of what we can do now that we will have this time all to ourselves."

"Should I use our wish to make sure of that?"

"Hehe, you can just use your dark form against anyone who walks in... And, if they do walk in just as we're about to kiss or something... I may not be my evil self but, make sure you hurt them enough so they never do it again, agreed?"

"Of course, my love," Giving her a peck on the head, he then pulled away and whispered, "I love you."

"I love you too."

Turning towards the door and walking to the doorway, he waved his paw as he walked past his friend. Volteer was in shock that things had turned out so well, and giving a glance at Cynder, she still smiled even after he had walked out the door. Looking away from her and over at Spyro, he followed behind him and slowly shut the door behind the two with his tail. He didn't close the door all the way, he only cracked it, and saw that Spyro had already opened the door and made his way into the training room. Running over to the training room, he entered inside, and just as the same with the other door, he made sure to crack the training room door, _Just in case she wants to peak in and make sure everything is okay._ Spyro sat in the middle of the training room facing the door, and he watched as Volteer made his way to the middle of the training room as well. Now in front of his friend, Volteer sat down in front of him and chuckled, "You two really remind me of your parents."

"How so?" Spyro asked, curious as to why he would say that.

"Well, you might not know this but, we, The Guardians, know of your parents very well in fact. Cynder's father was always up and arms, never leaving us alone because he trusted us in the paws of his daughter... Hehe, it's, probably a good thing we got taken by the darkness rather then Zhen because... He would've surely killed us sooner and much, much slower," He started to feel the guilt once again the day, but he knew he should shake it off as he looked on the bright side and went back to his explanation, "But, your father was unlike any another. Warfang wasn't exactly filled with the nicest dragons around but, he was definitely one in a million. If it wasn't for your father, your mother surely could've been killed, and... I know this is horrible to say but, the scars this other dragon left on your mother, it... It could've driven anyone to suicide, and it almost did your mother."

"Wait wait wait. My mother wasn't my father's first choice? But why? And who was the other dragon? And what do you mean it almost did? What stopped her? And how did they end up together?!" Spyro was blurting out questions left and right, desperate to now know the story of his parents, and Volteer could only chuckle at him as he couldn't give all the details, but a smile went across Spyro's face as he pieced some of what he was saying together, "Wait a minute... You said she had scars on her, correct? And I know you can't give up all the information on my parents as you and Ignitus are all pretty tight lipped about it so... Just tell me this; Did you help my mother with her scars? That's all I want to know."

It was strange to him as he wondered why he wanted to know such a small detail. It seemed innocent to him, and since it was just a small favor after what he's done for him, he agreed, "I don't know where you are going with this but, I will agree. It's the least I can do for you jumping up out of bed and helping me out. The truth is, I am. Your father and I were actually good friends. Like I said, he was one and a million, and because of how nice he was, he got along with all of us very well. Hehe, just to make you guess a little more though, he came to us for almost a month, murmuring and sobbing because your mother left him. And the crazy past is, it wasn't her or her parents decision."

"What?!" Spyro cried out as he wished he could know more, and he started to rant off on all the questions he had even though he knew Volteer wouldn't answer any of them, "If it wasn't any of them then who? Someone else she knew or, maybe it was my father?! But why would it be him if he was so sad when she left?! Why would she go through with it and..." Seeing the big smile on Volteer's face, they both looked at each other, and Spyro glanced at him while his friend chuckled to see him so excited about his parents, but he was just as excited as he was able to get at least a piece of the puzzle, "Don't worry, Volteer, I will know all about my parents past. I don't know much about my mother, but I will now more about Ignis, my father, here soon."

Volteer's eyes grew wide as to how he would've known about his name, and even for him, he was stumped as to when he would've said his name, or anyone else, _But when could I have... Or was it one of the others._ Gasping for a second, he slapped himself in the face while dragging his paw down off his face as he realised where and when it was said. As his paw made it's way back to the ground, Volteer saw the smile, and hearing the chuckle from his friend, he grumbled at his smarts, "I can't believe you remember me saying that name."

"Hehe, how couldn't I have? You were so into the moment. I knew when you were talking about helping someone with their scars, and you mentioned Ignis, I was a little curious as to who that was, and now that I know... I want to know more," Spyro felt joy in his body to know about his parents past, and everything he could learn and understand about what they went through, but he felt a sense of guilt as he thought about it, "Now I know why Cynder wants to know so much of her parents. To know how they met, their first kiss, when they fell in love, who asked who to be mates and... The hardships they went through... With everything you've said, it's going to be tough not wanting to see of my parents past but, I would never put myself before her."

"As I said, just like your father. And since I've already spilled so much about your father, I won't get into how your mother was like but, just know that, your mother, and Cynder's, were one of the nicest, chill, and laid back Dragoness's out there. You two were definitely lucky to have the parents you did and, I hope that, I will be the same for Ersa, To be the mate she needs me to be, and to take care and watch over our Hatchling one day," Trailing off to what the future would hold for him, he knew he should get back on track as the two had been talking for a bit of time, so he shuck his head and got back to what they were there to do, "Alright, let's get back to business. I need a power up, no matter what. What's step one?"

"Getting back into the action? Okay, I like it. Alright, well, usually for me, I would train you to use your powers in a long range engagement. Do you know how to use your light through the ground?" Seeing him nod, it made it already easier for him to move on to step two, "Alright, well, next we should focus on armor for you. I'm going to train you differently then Malefor in hopes that maybe I can use this pattern for the other Guardians some day. So, step two, your ability as a protective armor. Can you do that?" Seeing him shake his head, he understood, so he stood up, took a couple steps back, and explained step by step, "Alright, first part should be easy. Feel the lightning in your body. When you channel it, you'll feel that spark in your paw. Instead of thinking only as a one way extension, or a way to bust out power like a shock wave, control it through your body," Watching as Spyro continued to train him, his eyes grew a little wide as he watched his purple body have yellow lightning travel in his body, showing form inside his scales, and it amazed him, "Now, like channelling a ball of lightning in your paws, you need to channel it outwards," The lightning from his body shot outwards, only centimeters away from his body while covering his body in lightning, "If you look closely enough, the lightning is extending out of my body while still touching my scales. This is also important because it's a double way to cushion an attack." Letting the lightning go back into his body, he took his couple of steps forward and finished his explanation, "So if someone were to hit you, they'd get shocked if course, and even if they made it past that, they would still hit your body. At that point though, your body is also electrified so, hehe, they'd be taking a hell of a lot of jolts into their fist."

Understanding everything that was said to him and taking all of the information in, he started to wonder and talk to himself as he went through about a dragon's body, along with how powerful the lightning could be, "Shocked, more like kill. A Dragon is definitely powerful, and a single bolt of lightning a dragon could walk off, assuming that the max voltage of the lightning was around a billion or so, and us lightning dragons have to channel lightning, so we could withstand nearly four billion volts, especially since our bodies are constantly having lightning move about in us basically." Spyro blinked a couple of times as he had no idea what he was talking about aside from some stuff here and here, but he didn't interrupt him as he knew his train of thought would help him in the long run, "And since a standard bolt of lightning from the sky hitting one of us is a billion, the lightning we contain is stronger, four times that in fact. So if a dragon was to punch us with the lightning armor on, four being our body, plus being both the output from our scales and armor which is two billion extra volts, which would mean that if they were to touch your scales, all at once, they would have to be able to get through six billion volts. Am I right?"

All Spyro could do was chuckle as he had no idea, "Dude... You're asking the wrong guy. I know two plus two equals fish so, I'm just gonna say yes."

"Two plus two doesn't equal fish. Also, how is it hard to know four plus two billion equals..."

"Volteer, it was a joke..."

"Oh... Sorry for that... But you also said jolts and not volts. they are two different things."

"You really make me feel dumb... Even when I'm joking with you, I feel dumb for doing it."

"You're not the first one. Anyway, going back; understanding exactly what you were saying and doing. I know more about the dragon body more then probably even the Chronicler. So, for time sake, let's just continue on to what I need to know next. If I do use the lightning shield now, it would use up some of my power, and I need all the power I can get when I fight you."

"You know, your being very suicidal to won't to go up against me all by yourself, you know that right."

"Yeah but, if I do die, Ersa's got a lot of things she can make to get her revenge."

"Not gonna lie, she does kinda scare me. I'm definitely glad she talked to me and didn't jump up and use what she was cooking up to hurt me."

"Another reason I love her... Well, not that she wanted to kill you but, her smarts are absolutely amazing."

"Uh huh. I'm gonna remember that when we have our match," Seeing Volteer swallow hard before giving a nervous chuckle, Spyro gave him a raised brow as he made sure to keep his eyes on him, "Anyway, guess the next thing we should talk about is your level two version of your power. I know of a way to use my blue fire, and you were able to use your blue lightning. So together, we could learn a thing or two on how to control our new versions of power. But let's see if you can use this, Lighting Shield."

* * *

 _You know, with how everything has been turning out, with how nice Spyro's been towards our hopeful future friendship.. Does he think maybe I don't care enough about it?_ Opening his eyes and waking himself up in his thoughts, Malefor couldn't get the idea out of his mind even though he knew it not to be true, and he knew everyone truly was happy. Picking his head up and giving off a small stretch both forward and back while he continued to rest on his stomach while he laid in bed next to his lover, he thought more about what he should do, _Would it be wrong for me to want to thank him? Feeling how tired I am, I feel, so calm, and it's a time like this where I know I should say it now before I don't have this feeling anymore... I need to thank him... but before I do that..._ Looking down at his lover, he moved his head down and nuzzled his lover on her cheek, and she could only murmur as she was too tired to even open her eyes, "Malefor...?"

"Sorry for waking you my love. I just wanted you to know that, I'm going to go talk to Spyro real quick. I really feel like I haven't thanked him for the help he really has been to us," As he thought about his words, he couldn't help but chuckle at himself as he knew exactly what Spyro would probably say, "But then again, I know he would probably think I'm just trying to push this and he would call me out for being the Dark Master but... I know it's all fun in games. And I know I'd never be the Dark Master again so... I know it's just a joke..." She didn't respond to him, so he tilted his head a little forward to see she still hadn't opened her eyes, and it looked as though she had gone back to bed, so he chuckled, "Yeah... Since we know things have calmed down... sleeping really does feel nice and wanted now more then ever... Sleep well my love."

As he stood up onto the bed, he very carefully made his way onto the ground, trying not to make too much noise, or have the bed shift suddenly form him getting off. Making it onto the ground, it seemed he was successful and didn't wake her up, but he knew he should be quick as he felt like laying back down and sleeping, _Just a real quick thank you. Then I'll head back to bed._ Walking over towards his door, he stopped, and looked over to his right as he made it halfway into his room, and he couldn't help but smile as he saw the items on his shelf. _Wonder what else I can put upon my shelf... Good memories though._ Continuing on with his walk, he made it over to the door, grabbed the knob, and opened the door. Pushing the door opened, he looked to his left and tilted his head slightly as he was confused to see two doors were opened, _Spyro's door is opened? And the training room? Oh ho ho, if Cynder doesn't know about this, I'm so gonna call him out right in front..._ Thinking about it now, he shuck his head as he actually disagreed with himself, _No, what am I thinking. I'm trying to be his friend, and trying to get him in trouble with his lover, and telling him I would is... I guess it's something I'd do after we are friends. I can hold my pranks for a little longer, I know I can... Probably._ Making his way first over to the training room, he pecked inside to see who was in there. As he looked inside, he saw Volteer's body first spark yellow, and then blue. His eyes were mesmerized by the color that his blue lightning gave off, but his thoughts and feelings of how it looked were cut off as he heard Volteer cry out, "I did it!"

Coming out from his Lightning Shield, Volteer gave a huge sigh of relief to know he's already come so far, and exclaimed everything about how happy he was, "First the blue lightning, now learning to use what I would call a Lightning Shield, and I already know so much and have learned a lot from just books alone so..." Taking a deep breath in, and then out, he got into a fighting stance and smiled, "I think I'm ready to fight you! Since you haven't practiced on using your blue fire at all, that means I should have a little bit of an advantage."

"Whoa, slow down there, Volteer. It is true that we could fight right now if we wanted to, but, I guess first thing we should take care of is our guest," Seeing the confusion on his face, Volteer turned around to see who it was, and he didn't have to turn far as just as he looked over his shoulder, Malefor was standing next to him, and while Volteer cried out in fear from the sudden appearance, Spyro chuckled, "Hehe, don't mind him, Malefor. So what's up? I'm surprised someone like you is awake at this time. Figured with how things have been going, you'd just want to sleep. Or, is this the time where you wake up and start making that dark army that I'm supposed to fight?"

He felt a little downed about him saying that, even though he remember he was the one who made the joke himself, and the way he felt now, he didn't want to joke about something like that for now as he seemed serious, "Spyro, I wasn't really telling the truth about that..."

"Hehe, Yeah, I know, that's kinda the whole joke. You, feeling okay? Usually you'd make a joke about how your dark army is almost ready to attack me or something like that. Did something happen with Carith?"

"Carith? No, of course not. It's just... We are so close to becoming friends and, to be honest, how I feel now, as joyful as I feel, I'm scared. I'm scared to even talk about the darkness or to joke about it because... What if on the off chance there is still darkness out there, like with those dragons who used the Dark Power... I don't want my jokes to then be taken seriously and used against me."

"Isn't that what we've trained for though?"

"What do you mean?"

"So what if there are some dragons who got a hold of some darkness. We can easily take care of them, and then we can get back to our lovers and go to bed. I am training you to protect your lover, am I not?"

"Of course but..."

"Malefor, you've changed my view of you over the time you've been here. Hell, to be honest, I feel really Damn good right now with how things have been. If you were still the Dark Master, I would still have a problem with what he did, but if you could control him, and the darkness or the, dark army your building doesn't hurt anyone or kill anyone, then... Why not, right?"

"But... It's the darkness."

"And if you had control over it then what else is left? The Apes? We have control over our dark form, dark creatures would now be allies, so what would stop us? And this isn't pushing for you to control your dark power as we are as strong as we should be, even if I will always want improvements but... You've done good, and you deserve to be with Carith. And I do trust you to leave the Building even now if you wanted to all by yourself..."

A couple of tears started to go down his eyes, but he quickly tried to stop himself as everything he was saying all seemed fake, and he doubted his words knowing he must be in a dream, "Alright, Ignitus. You really think you're clever putting me in a dream like this? Well jokes on you, I was able to catch on before you did," Sitting down on the floor, he decided to wait it out in his mind, "I will just sit here and not do anything until you wake me from this dream," He sat there for a couple of seconds and nothing happened, so instead of him waiting any longer, he just decided to ask, "Well, are you going to let me out of the dream or not?"

"Hehe, you know, Spyro thought the same thing because I asked him to train me," Volteer chuckled as he saw what felt like deja vu.

"That's why you're in here, and not with Ersa even though you two became mates? Alright, Ignitus, now you're not even trying to..."

 _"Can you shut the hell up, Malefor!"_ Everyone in the room heard as Ignitus yelled at him, and the others, through their thoughts for what he was saying, _"All of you, you're not in a dream! Stop calling my name and interrupting me and my time with Claire or else!"_ Malefor chuckled to see just how mad he was, and it took him a bit to realise what that really meant, "Ignitus hasn't ever been this mad before in his life, and what did he mean by his time with..." Realising one thing, his eyes grew wide as he looked at the two, and they both nodded at him, "Their actually in love?!" He put a paw on his head as now that everything was coming together, his breathing started to speed up, and he then pointed his claw at Spyro, in disbelief that his words were really true, "Wait but... that... that would mean... No... No no no, I'm not falling for your words, Spyro, I know you." Getting into an attacking position, he looked all around the room, then jumped around to see if anyone was behind him, and since no one was, he turned back around and looked at him, still keeping himself at the ready, "Come on, where is the attack? I know you're dying to paralyze me or, knock me out in the worst and most painful way possible so..."

"Malefor, there is no trick to my words," Spyro chuckled as he could understand where he's coming from with this, "This isn't the first time you haven't believed in my words but, I'm being serious." He made sure his voice really did feel sincere, and it worked as now Malefor's body eased up completely, but he was dumbfounded, standing there with almost a weak body as he continued to listen to Spyro's words, "And before you say, 'You're only saying this to keep the Dark Master away'... Well, not like last time. Before, I only tried to be something more then your enemy falsely to keep the Dark Master at bay. But now, you've really shown you could make a great friend to me, or, an ally or partner, how ever you want to see it," His words had gotten to him as tears started to run down his eyes only slightly as he tried to hold them back, and since a big smile went across his face, he knew what was next, "Absolutely dreadful. I can't even look at you now."

Malefor couldn't even feel the anger inside of him to fight back, so all he could do was give a weak chuckle in disbelief for what he was hearing, "Shut up, Spyro."

"How about you make me shut up later on when we fight it out on our last day? Thinking about it now, it would help us get out anymore anger that we have for one another, just in case of course," As he talked more about the future and what was to come of their friendship, he smiled some more as he continued to talk, "So, you know, looking forward to the day. Just, hey, tomorrow, or, I guess since it's already the next day, try with all your muscle to not interrupt me and Cynder. She's not exactly pleased that I'm out here now so, I'm making it up to her by just staying in bed the whole next day."

"Well, I know I can promise that, but anyone else that has to do with the others, I don't know about them."

"I was planning on using the wish Ignitus gave me to make sure of it but, even Cynder knows that all I need is my dark form and we will be fine."

"She's not wrong," Malefor chuckled, and since the two's conversation was dying down, it got him thinking a little more about what he's said before, and he looked over at Volteer and was honest with him, "When do you think we'd ever hang out?" Seeing the raised brow on his friends face, he understood and explained, "It's just that, you becoming mates with Ersa and, becoming all grown up basically it, it makes me realise that I've missed out on so much time when I wasn't with you all and... I want us all, as a family, to come together and hang out like we use to do."

"Hang out?" Volteer chuckled at those words, "Malefor, we hang out all the time in the Chambers."

"Yeah, but I mean like, doing stuff and not just sitting around. We use to always do something or another, whether it be pranks, training, competitions like, how we saw who could punch the biggest hole in a tree, and of course, Terrador won by breaking a healthy, and fat, tree, right through the middle."

"You remembered my words when I spoke about the tree?"

"Hehe, yeah. You went into so much detail about what this meant for him and, how the tree was healthy, along with how you can tell. You even started going into the thickness of the tree to calculate how much force would've been needed to break through the tree."

"We can always do stuff like that. Hell, I feel like the best way for all of us to spend time together us to continue playing your Dragons and Dungeons game. I would be fine with that."

"You enjoyed it that much?"

"Course I did. With so many guys, there are so many characters so we can have different reactions each time to each character. And if our lovers gets involved well, you're gonna need a book to keep track of all our items... Which, speaking of items... Uh... I don't have that damage reduction anymore, do I?"

"Hehe, no, of course you don't."

"Then when ever we have the time, let's all get together and play again. Then the girls can have their time to themselves as well so it works out for everyone. Well, if the girls join that's a different story but, you get the idea."

"I think I do," Malefor murmured with a smile as he was looking forward to it, and he could already see it in his mind of what they would do, and now that he felt better with his talk with Volteer, he focused his attention back over to Spyro, "So, this is it... After everything I've been through, what's happened and what I've... what he, forced me to do, to kill and take so many lives... you'll really make me your friend?" Spyro didn't want to use his words as he knew it would ruin the soft, silent moment of the room, so he only gave him a nod with a smile, which once again made Malefor give a small chuckle, "Damn... It feels like a lot is changing and, for the good I know but... Maybe we should all just lay in bed and chill out for a good second. Time is moving pretty fast and, I want to make sure I make the best of every moment," Thinking about what he should do now, he wondered if whether or not he should train with the two, but he remembered what he said to Carith and couldn't disobey his words, "I would stay and train with you all but, I told Carith I'd be right back after thanking you Spyro so, unfortunately, I do have to leave... Hehe, but, I am laying with my lover so, I guess their really isn't anything unfortunate about it."

"Then we'll see you in the next day or two?" Spyro asked.

"Hehe, don't worry, something will happen tomorrow to get you two out of bed, and when it does, I'm standing as far back and away from that fight as I can. But... Yeah, I will talk to you two later, but for now," Keeping the smile on his face, he was honest as everything felt right to him, "I... I feel really good. Ersa's alive so, that's nothing to worry about and... I feel as light as a feather... Well, good luck you two."

"Thanks, Malefor."

As he turned his body and walked away, Volteer called out as he didn't get to say his goodnight, "See you in the morning, Malefor."

Waving a paw behind his head at the two, Malefor kept his smile as he continued to walk to the entrance of the Training Room. _Hehe, Spyro, you really are crazy to think someone isn't going to do something. But, I have hopes I'm wrong,_ Exiting out from his thoughts and the training room, he only took one step forward before hearing his name called very faintly, "Malefor."

Looking to his right, he saw the other door to the other room was cracked opened, and since he knew the voice was coming from behind the door, he walked up to it and opened the door. He saw that Cynder was laid down on her belly still waiting for her lover to return, but her head was picked up as if she was worried, and seeing the worry in her face, he asked her, "Hey, Cynder. Is, everything okay? You seem worried about something."

"I... I just wanted to know if Spyro was still doing okay. He doesn't have any scars or, blood dripping down his body, does he," Cynder asked with a sped up heart rate as she was scared to know what kind of shape her lover was in right now.

"Don't worry, Cynder, he's doing just fine. When I walked in, the two were just sitting there talking about their powers."

"So they haven't started fighting yet... Ugh... Well, thank you anyway, Malefor."

"Of course."

As he turned his body the opposite way, he made sure to keep the door crack just as before as he only slightly cracked the door before going back to his room with his lover. Cynder was a little suspicious as to why he seemed so happy, but she had an idea as to why that might be, _Seems like Spyro must've finally told him about them being friends for sure in the future. He's definitely calmed down a lot since then... Ugh, why can't I go to bed._ Tossing and turning on the bed, she rolled from her left side to her right side before rolling back over to her left and laying there on her side with her arms, legs, and wings facing straight from her. Looking over at the door, she grumbled at herself, _I don't care who or what it is, if anyone interrupts us tomorrow, I will use my dark form to keep everyone anyway. Hehe, and who knows, maybe me and Spyro can have some fun with that._ As she thought about her dark form, she backed off of it very quickly and started to feel downed once again, _No... that form is what killed his parents and mine... I really wish you were here to comfort me, Spyro._

* * *

"Alright, Spyro, let's get back on track," Volteer was very blunt and up front with his words, and it did work as Spyro focused his attention back to his friend, "I said I wanted to fight you, and..." Taking a deep breath in, and then out, he walked a couple of steps back from him and once he was a good bit away from him, he got into a fighting stance and prepared himself, "You must not hold back against me!" Spyro gave him a raised brow as he could already see him shaking in fear to face him, but for Volteer, he didn't view it as fear towards himself, "Don't worry about me. This shaking is just my muscles preparing to rip, break, and to be molded into something more! Now, show me your dark form, use it against me and force me into a corner! I won't be able to learn or grow without it."

Giving off a sigh, Spyro didn't want to waste anymore time and let his body be consumed very slowly into darkness. With the darkness making it's way from his chest and in casing his body very slowly, he apologized in advance, but smiled as he was very impressed with his actions, "You know, Volteer, not gonna lie, this is going to hurt like hell. I respect your dedication, and I know, by you doing this, your lover will be very proud to see your dedication to her as mates," With his body now consumed in darkness, his eyes went white as well, making any sense of him being himself disappear, "I'm not holding back... You know I'm not the one to do that... So, you ready?"

Swallowing hard, Volteer shuck off the fear, clenched his teeth, flexed his mussels, and growled to signify he was ready. Seeing the smile from Spyro made every part of his body shiver as he knew this wasn't going to be something so simple, and that proved him right. Taking one step forward, Spyro disappeared from his sight, and feeling the rush of wind beside him, he looked to his left. All he had time to do was gasp with wide eyes before being punched underneath his jaw. The force behind the punch was enough to send him flying through the roof of the training building, along with the force of the punch being felt throughout the training room as it cracked in an instant. Looking at the hole in the ceiling, Spyro then looked at his paw. As he opened and closed it a couple of times, he thought, _Maybe I went a little over board... But, then again, he didn't exactly get to feel all the force in my punch as I didn't get a direct hit._

Already feeling as though he was knocked unconscious, his body made it's way to the ground with a hard slam as he made a hole in the ground where his body landed. Struggling to open his eyes, he growled in pain as he tried to stand up from his side, coughing up blood as he made his way to his paws. Staggering to stand, he looked up to see he was now behind Warfang and couldn't believe how far behind he really was compared to his competition, _Just from one punch?_ As that thought burned into his mind, he clenched his teeth from anger, but tried to keep his composure as he thought, _Doesn't matter!_ Pulling his paw up, a small ball of lightning formed in his paw before later being flatten out like a small disk in his paw. _Brains over Bronze for now. I've learned a lot from dragon history, and let's see if I can put that to the test._

* * *

Flying up and out of the Training Room, Spyro looked down at the hole in the Training Room and pointed a claw at it. _So, if I hit him there, and I follow where his body could've flown,_ Moving his paw in the path he believed his body would've taken off and landed, his paw directed him a little further out as to where his friend could've landed. _Let's try there._ Flying over to the supposed crash site, with his speed, he was able to make it over there in only a couple of seconds. Looking down from where he flew, he made his way down to the ground as he spotted where Volteer had crashed at. Landing down on the ground, he took a couple steps forward and stood above where his body use to be. Picking his head up and looking around the area, he wasn't able to tell where he could've gone. _Volteer wouldn't have wimped out already, would he?_ A rather loud snap from a tree branch caught his attention, and to him, it felt a little too obvious. Turning his head to his left where he heard the sound, he chuckled as he slowly made his way over to the sound, "Come on, Volteer. It's no fun if you're already this weak. If you want to give up, just say so."

Taking one more step forward, lighting shocked through his body violently, and for Spyro, the sudden shock of lightning was pain unlike any other. His body completely locked up on him as he yelled out in pain into the sky. Clenching his teeth and struggling to breath, he looked down with all his strength to see blue lightning was electrifying his body. Hearing the sounds of moving leafs to his right, he couldn't do anything to try and turn. As if the pain wasn't enough for him to go through, he was then punched in the side of his face, and unfortunately, the punch wasn't enough to even move him, only the side of his face. Now that anger started to surge through his body from the pain, Spyro pushed against the fist and moved his head to look towards the right of him while grunting and growling as he breathed through his teeth. Volteer backed away as he knew keeping his fist on his face would only be pointless now. He was lucky to have backed away as Spyro erupted with his own electrical output, destroying the blue lightning with his own blue lightning. Blocking himself with his wings, Volteer felt the surge of lightning go throughout his body as it passed by him, and even his body locked up on him for a second once it did. Falling to the ground, Spyro gasped for air, coughing from time to time as he struggled to stand. Volteer was able to peck through his wings to see he was still down and knew he should take the opportunity to knock him down right then and now. As his wings reached his side and he prepared to run forward in after him, Spyro slammed his paw into the ground, forcing a spear like rock to launch out from the ground and right at Volteer. He had to stop very quickly as to avoid being pierced by the spear, and just as he stopped, so did the spear. His breathing grew suddenly as he felt the spear touch his neck, and he knew, with just a little more pressure, it would pierce his neck. _I... Sure hope... Spyro isn't... that upset._ Volteer swallowed hard, and watching his friend stand up, he was frightened to move. His eyes grew wide as he watched Spyro already gain his composure back, and he seemed completely fine with his breathing and everything even after what he went through.

"Well, at least now I can tell Malefor for sure that you don't have to go through something emotional to get your powers," Spyro grumbled as he was still in some pain after that lightning attack, and moving his paw up and then down, the spear made of rock went back into the ground, giving Volteer a huge sigh of relief, "You're really Damn lucky, but let's try and refrain from using our powers, okay? Last thing we want to do is actually kill one another, and if I did use my powers, this fight would be over very quickly," Thinking about how he said that, he did disagree with himself a little bit, "Okay, not all powers. I'm still going to use my dark power. But, I do have to know, how did you do that with the lightning?"

"It... It was... A trick I read about... In the books I was reading back then..." Volteer struggled to say as he was already out of breath, and it once again frustrated him, "Damn... it! We've barely been fighting. One hit, a simple blue lightning mine and you using your power and I'm almost out of commission!"

"Whoa, Volteer, calm down. For one, that one hit nearly broke the Training Room, so, imagine the force that was put into you. Second, blue lightning, or, blue powers in general take up a lot of power. You have to have a really good stamina supply in order to use them, and that's another reason I believe it's so hard to even get the abilities to work; They are beyond the level we are even at. And third, you're not giving up, are you?"

 _Giving up... Hehe, yeah right. Spyro's about to be in for a big surprise. Ignitus, is it ready?_ It took a couple of seconds to get a response, and it made him a little worried, but he was happy to hear from Ignitus, _"Yes, Volteer, it is ready. Unfortunately, Ignitus is of course occupied at the moment and I'm, sure you understand why." Hehe, don't worry, I understand. "Are you sure you're ready to use this power?" Yeah, I think it's now or never, and he doesn't know about it so, it's time to give him a run for his money. "Alright just, try not to disturb anyone while you're fighting or else..." I will try my best._ Feeling the sudden surge of power, he couldn't believe what he was feeling. He felt as though he had grown, his mussels had grown, and as he looked at himself, he smiled wide as he looked at the new, more improved look he had for himself. Spyro raised a brow as he was confused as to where this sudden mussel form came from. _That's a little strange... Is this another reason he wanted to fight me so badly?_ Seeing as Volteer looked at him with a big smile, Spyro chuckled at him, "Alright, I'd admit, I'm sure Ersa would definitely never leave you with that kind of a form but, the question is; What's the point? I'm guessing the only way you could've gain mussel so easily is because of Ignitus so... Let's see what this strength has to offer you."

Walking up to him, Volteer smiled, and he was shaking anymore. With every step he took, even with his mussels, he felt light some how. He was calm, collected, and the pain he once felt was no longer there. Standing in front of Spyro, both could feel the power just from how the air was around one another. Both were teased, ready to attack at any moment, and with luck, Spyro attacked him first. The attack happened in the blink of an eye as his fist rounded the side of Volteer's face. Volteer was faster, and his reflexes to him felt unreal. Blocking the swinging punch with his wing, he then used his own fist to punch Spyro in his chest as the attack he tried to use left him wide open. The punch landed successfully, and just with what happened to him, Spyro was flown back with a huge gust of wind following. Volteer's eyes grew wide as he watched his friend hit tree after tree, snapping and breaking through each and everyone one as Spyro's body was sent flying. Even as he continued to watch what his strength had done, he couldn't believe the power, _Is... Could I... Am I really capable of... Of doing something like that? To be as powerful as I am now?_ Coming out from his thoughts, he was frightened. There were no sounds, no movements. Only his breathing, along with the soft sounds of wind moving the grass and leafs on the trees. Taking a couple of steps forward, still being careful, he called out, "Spyro...!" He waited for a response, but nothing, and now he started to fear, " Spyro!"

Running over to where his friend should be, he quickly jumped over the devastated wasteland of broken trees that had been caused by the punch. As he made his way, he was able to spot Spyro on his back against a slightly titled tree that had been cracked down the middle and rested on another tree. _Spyro?_ Volteer murmured in his thoughts as he stood close to the front of his friend and looked down on him. His eyes grew wide as he saw his reaction even after what had happened. Spyro had a massive grin on his face, and even as he coughed, he still kept the smile. Looking at his friend, breathing almost heavily as he did, his voice sent shivers down Volteer's spine as it sounded threatening, while also sounding playful, "You made my bleed..." As he stood up, Volteer jumped back away and prepared for a fight while Spyro staggered to stand, with his body swaying from left to right along with his head as he looked down at the ground, "Volteer, you better watch yourself. Let's count... One, Two, Three, Four..." Disappearing and reappearing in front of his friend, Volteer's heart almost stopped as his friend now stood right in front of him, evil grin and darkened, "Bloods gonna be spilled on the floor."

While Spyro seemed calm and collected, ready to fight at any moment, Volteer sat down very suddenly and called a time out, "Alright, time out," Putting one paw up and his other paw over his first one, he shuck his head as he was not having what Spyro was saying, "I'd rather die right now then fight you like that. Scary ass power, scary ass rhyme... Sorry dude but, this is a fight, not a Damn horror show."

"Hehehe," Spyro couldn't help but laugh at himself for the rhyme and patted himself on the back for it, "Oh, come oh, don't be like that. You have to give my props for coming up with that on the spot." Watching his friend put his paws back to the ground and shake his head, Spyro grumbled as he still believed he was right in thinking so, "What ever. I will just try it on someone else, and I can guarantee they'd congrats me before killing themselves."

"That's why I had to stop you from your... Nightmare act. So, before the adrenaline in my body goes away and I feel a charley horse from hell, should we continue?"

"Hehe... I will count us down. One, two..."

"No!"

* * *

 _Why even now does everything feel like a dream? The feeling is real to me, him being by my side, us flirting and loving and... becoming mates... It feels like everything I've wanted to happen, is happening... So is it wrong for me to think this is a dream?_ Ersa wondered in her thoughts as she slept, and with every thought made her come out from her sleep more and more as she started to wonder and fear more about her thoughts. _I know it's not a dream... But... Why do I feel so, alone, right now? Why do I feel cold?_ Moving her wings around all over the bed as she was able to wake herself up, her eyes shot open as she flung herself onto her stomach and quickly looked from her left to her right, "Volteer!" Jumping up from on the bed and looking behind herself, he wasn't there either, "No... no no no."

"Ersa, clam down," A voice suddenly called from within the room, and she turned her head forward to see Ignitus was standing at the door, "Before you go crazy and fear for no reason, Volteer's fine and you're not dreaming. While he is off doing other things, he asked me to watch over you. I'm not Ignitus himself of course, only a clone made on standby in the White Isle in case something..."

"Where's Volteer!"

"He's off training with Spyro. Reason being, I can't tell you because... Well, that's for him to tell you."

"Training...? Why would he..." Ersa thought about it a little bit, and with her quick thinking, it didn't take her long to understand why he could be training, "He feels terrible... doesn't he," Seeing as Ignitus gave her a small frown as he nodded, she came to the conclusion herself and broke down the reasoning even though Ignitus already knew himself, "It must've been my books that caused him to want to train... I knew I shouldn't have let him read them..." She murmured, laying back down on her belly and wondering what she should do now, "Should I stop the two now then? Or... Should I just lay here and wait for him... What would Volteer want?"

"That is up for you to decide," Ignitus gave his opinion, and she looked up at him, wondering what he meant by that, "To be honest, you know more about Volteer then even I do, and I'm the Chronicler. So, it's really up for you to decide as to what would make you happy. Do you want him to be happy, you yourself, or the both," Laying her head back down onto the bed, he chuckled and assured her as he knew what she must be thinking, "Don't worry about any injuries. Me and Spyro can heal almost any injury, along with your mate's amazing ability to do the same." Already having an idea in her mind, he heard the idea and decided to leave things at that, "Well, now that you are up and awake, I'm gonna head back to the White Isle." Turning around and taking a step towards the door, he stopped, turned around, and gave her a little more of an idea of how long it would take, "If you do wait though, it's going to be another hour or so. Those two are fighting it out pretty fiercely."

Hearing how bad things were, she put her paws over her head and grumbled more as now she was more desperate to stop the two now more then ever. She watched as he walked through the door and disappeared, leaving her to herself and her thoughts as she wondered what she should do, and she grumbled just thinking about it, _So, training is more important then my body, huh?_ Giving off a sigh as she moved her paws off from her head, she laid them back down on the side of her face and continued to wonder, _I understand why he's doing it but... It's only been two days and I... Having him not be here now... I still haven't gotten over what's happened... Not completely... And... I may never will._

* * *

Flying into the air at lightning speed, Volteer looked down as he flew and saw Spyro nearly right behind him no matter how fast he flew. Since speed wasn't working, he tried to land a punch. Stopping suddenly in the air as he flapped his wings outward with a loud snap, he predicted where his friend was going to be and knew he'd end up out of his sight, _Behind!_ Spinning his wings around, he was correct, and was able to hit Spyro before he could attack. But both were able to take a hit, and Volteer recovered from it quickly and went in for his own attack. His fists were fast, just like himself as he attacked. Trying to dodge if at all possible, he waited for an opening, but there was none. Just as he saw an opening, he lost track of himself and forgot to dodge. The punch that nailed him in the side of the face was enough to snap the air, similar to that of the sound his wings made. With his body traveling so fast towards the ground from the punch, he couldn't get the strength to open his wings, and instead, had to take the force of the impact. Hitting back first into the ground, he coughed up blood into the air, and for him, it felt like slow motion when it had happened. But he knew he couldn't stop and pulled himself from the concrete. Looking down at the floor, he looked around and said out loud, "Warfang...? How did we..."

Hearing the clicking of claws touching down in front of him, he looked straight and jumped back as he did, seeing his friend had landed right in front of him. Taking steps back away from him as he didn't think fighting now would be a good idea, Spyro continued to step closer and closer with no sign of stopping the fight or having a breather. Extending both his wings up and out while still having to back up from him, he unfortunately had to call off the spar, "Spyro, look, I'll admit defeat, okay. We can't fight in Warfang or else would could hurt someone, and or wake up the entire neighborhood."

It seemed his words weren't getting to him at all as Spyro continued to walk closer to him which made him fear whether or not he had lost control. Luckily, he didn't have to fear too long for that as Spyro spoke in his still normal voice, "Then we can have some fun," He smiled as the adrenaline in his body wasn't going away, and he welcomed the challenge, "Your speed, the strength, the intelligence... You're an even better sparing partner then Malefor right now," With him continuing his rant, Volteer's back had hit the walls of Warfang, so now he was cornered and Spyro knew this as he stopped a couple of steps away from him and continued, "Let's have some fun with this. New Mission: Attack me while causing the least amount of damage. Try to get me out of civilian paws before something happens. And even if we do cause some damage to the structures, Ignitus I'm sure would be more then happy to clean up the place."

"Spyro, you're talking crazy! Their are civilians around, we can't just turn this into a game! And what if a building does fall because of us? There are dragons sleeping in those buildings, maybe even Hatchlings," It seemed as though he had lost some control even though his voice sounded normal, and Volteer made sure to call him out on it to see how he'd react, "You may seem stable but your thoughts aren't yours. You've pushed yourself to the point where you lost control. We need to get you to Cynder so she'll help you."

"I don't need help, Volteer!" Spyro growled, putting a paw on his own head as he started to feel the anger himself, "I... I just..." Shaking his head, he put his paw down to the ground and pushed to keep the fight going, "I have the time power! If anything happens, I will fix it. I haven't trained the way I do just to do nothing with it." Getting into a fighting stance, Volteer unfortunately had to do the same as there was nothing he could do, "Plus, this area is big enough without buildings around us for a good couple of feet. Plenty of room for us."

 _Damn it, Spyro. I guess I will just have to knock you out and drag you back home... Or... I have a better idea._ His thoughts were interrupted as he watched Spyro take one step and launch off the ground and towards him. He was able to dodge, but even with his first dodge, Spyro kept the attack by spinning, jumping, or sliding on the ground as much as possible to try and attack him. _Without this speed... I'd already have lost._ Volteer thought, dodging as fast as he could and at unbelievable speeds. _I hope you're awake my love... All I need to do is wait for a..._

"UGH!"

While Volteer was deep in his thoughts, he missed a dodge and was punched in the chest, hard enough to send him right into the walls of Warfang. His body hit the wall and his back sunk into it, cracking most of the area of the wall around him. With how hard the punch was, he was now pinned into the wall. Struggling to pull his body out from the wall, there was no luck, and he clenched his teeth even as he tried, _Son of a... Bitch!_ His muscles flexed to what he believed to be his breaking point, and it worked even though the pain was nearly excruciating. Ripping his body from the wall, he first got his arms, then his back and head, and then finally his lower body. Landing on the ground and coughing, Spyro still stood ready, and he even yelled at him, "Come on! Get up!"

Coughing up some blood, Volteer put his paw on the ground and sent a small circle of blue electricity into the ground, chuckling as he did so, _You know, Spyro... I'm gonna enjoy this._ As he stood up, Volteer knew the easiest way to get him to come closer, "You really think a punch is going to hurt me? How about you say what you mean to my face!" Volteer chuckled with a small smirk, steeping back only a couple of steps as his back was already right against the wall, "Come on, Spyro! Do it!" His plan was working with ease as he saw him growl while walking towards him, and all he had to do was taunt for only a couple more seconds, "Sorry, you're training to protect Cynder? Please, I could put in more work then you in a day."

The darkness exploded from Spyro now from his words, and Volteer swallowed hard as he realised what he had said, _Maybe that was a little overboard._ Even with the strength and anger following through Spyro, he fell for the trap, and as he took one more step forward, the blue lightning ignited his body in electricity, forcing him to let out a painful cry. Once again, his body locked up on him completely, and it made it difficult for him to breath as even his lung felt as though they were clenching inwards and nothing more. Volteer watched as his friend glared at him, white teeth of anger and everything, and he apologized for using his powers, "Sorry, Spyro. But if you're not going to listen to me, and your too darkened up to want to see Cynder, you're just going to have to meet someone even more... convincing," Gearing up for his punch, he only had a limited amount of space, but it was enough to back his fist up and turn his wings to help give him momentum, "Sorry again, in advance."

Swinging his body as hard as he could into the attack, the punch connected, only, a little too well. Hearing the cracking of what sounded like his chest, he sent his friend flying back into the air and towards the Guardians Building. _Spyro!_ Quickly flying after him, he started to fear as he wondered if he had actually heard what he did, and started going crazy as he flew after his friend, _I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry, I'm so sorry!_ Spyro's body hit the second floor of the Guardians Building and he went rolling from one room and then out the room as his body destroyed the door. Rolling on the ground for a second, his back hit the wall, and he laid there for a couple seconds as even for him, the punch was a lot stronger then he anticipated. Flying through the hole in the wall, Volteer landed on the ground of the room and ran over towards the now broken door. Making it into the hallway, he looked down at his friend, and it seemed as though he had killed him, "Spyro!" Running to his side, he sat down beside him and put a paw to his neck, and to his luck, there was a pulse, "Oh, thank goodness... Spyro, I thought, Ugh!"

Unable to finish his sentence, Spyro was already back in action. His paw swung up from the ground, and he grabbed Volteer by the throat. _Has does he... still have more... power?_ Volteer wondered in amazement while also fear as he was started to lose up on his two back legs, Spyro pinned him up against the wall to the left of the door. Patting his claws on his arms, Volteer struggled to breath, and couldn't even make out a sentence to tell him to stop. Easing up his grip just a little bit, Spyro let him breath as he started to feel himself coming back at the sight of him nearly chocking his friend. Volteer saw this, and since it seemed Ersa wasn't awake, he knew he would have to try and gilt trip him to calm him down. Forcing out a couple of tears, he struggled to say his words, only making it more difficult for Spyro to stay in his darkened state, "Spyro... Please... It's... Me... It's... Volteer..."

To his luck, it was working, and the darkness started to leave Spyro's body as he watched his friend struggle with wide eyes. But at the same time his first plan was working, his second plan had also worked. Looking over to his right side, Volteer saw that Ersa was in horror, and her face showed it all. _Oh no... She's gonna think he's really killing me!_ He didn't have time to say anything or to warn Spyro of what was about to happen. Just as Spyro looked to his side as he could sense someone was next to him, it was already too late. Ersa put two fingers right in between his shoulder and neck, applying slight force as she did. Even with the small amount of force, Spyro yelped, and the pain, along with what Volteer had said, it made his darkness disappear.

"Wait wait wait!" Spyro cried as this pain he had felt seemed almost worse then that of the landmine Volteer used, "Ersa, Wait, Wait, it's me, it's , it's Spyro!" Clenching his teeth and letting out a tear, he couldn't believe how much pain he was actually in, "Malefor really wasn't lying... Ersa, please! Trust that it's me!"

She didn't know who to trust, and making sure with her mate, she looked to him. He decided it would be best to play along and put fear into his voice as he said, "It's not him, Ersa! Don't trust him!"

"What?!" Spyro cried, now fearing more for his life as he saw the reaction of Ersa's face, and he knew she was ready to apply more force to his shoulder, "Ersa Ersa Ersa, look, look, alright, I will put him down. The easier your grip is on my shoulder, the easier my grip will be on his neck... Deal?" He watched as she looked at her lover, and then back at Spyro, and even though she was struggling on what to do, she trusted him, and released some force on his shoulder, "Alright, now I will do the same." Letting him down onto the ground and letting more force go, her fingers later back away from his shoulder while his paw backed away from Volteer's neck, and he sighed hugely before falling down to the ground on his back, "Thank... Ancestors."

Volteer did the same as he let his back lay down on the ground, and as he did, his body slid down from the back wall and onto the floor. Pulling their heads up and looking at one another, they smiled at each other before laughing. While those two were sharing a laugh, Ersa's increased breathing was not subsiding as she didn't understand what had happened, and she wanted answers, "Volteer... What happened," As he looked up at her lover, he now once again feared as he could tell she wasn't exactly pleased, "I wake up without you, Ignitus told me you left to train, I rest in my bed waiting for your return, and then I hear a crash, run out here, and see that you were getting chocked and nearly killed by Spyro!"

"Hehe, well, technically..."

"Shut! It!" Ersa yelled as she looked at Spyro, and he quickly shut his mouth as he was too afraid to say anything with how she was acting.

Looking away from him and back at her lover, she backed away a bit as her lover tried to stand, grunting and growling in pain as he did. Her eyes grew slightly wide as she was now able to see his body from every side and angle. She couldn't believe how muscular he looked, but even with the muscles, his body was damage to a point that she was afraid would be permanent. His body was covered in scraps, blood, bruises, cuts, and she started to tear up herself, fearing for the worse. He gave a weak chuckle, and even though he tried smiling, he knew what he did and apologized, "Ersa... I'm... I'm sorry I left you by yourself... I... I..." His voice grew a little faint before his eyes closed and he couldn't speak anymore.

His body fell forward, right into Ersa's wings as she extended them out to catch his body.

"Volteer!"

Laying him down on the ground and making sure he was okay, she cried over his body as she frantically wondered what she should do. _He's... He's still breathing but... Faintly. No... No no no, I need... I need to run and get what I need as quickly as possible before... No._ Seeing her check his body and cry over him as she did so, Spyro struggled to stand as well, growling and grunting similar to that of Volteer. Walking up and standing over his body, she looked up at him, wondering what he was doing. Sitting down from behind his back, he grunted before speaking, "I should have enough energy for him and myself," Tapping a claw on Volteer's body, an hour glass appeared from what looked like inside his body, "You know, Ersa, he really is going to great lengths to protect you," She looked up at him, wondering what that meant before looking down and watching as he twisted the hour glass all the way around, "All this pain, the scars, the fighting, the blood... All of it... And he did it for you." Pushing the hour glass in his body, all of his wounds disappeared from his body, and her eyes grew wide to see that, "Crazy, right?"

She didn't have any words as to how he was able to do such a thing, but she still wanted to make sure that what she saw is really what happened, "Does that mean, he's healed? I... I have nothing to worry about?" She watched as he gave her a nod and a smile which made her put a paw on her chest as she sighed hugely, "Thank the Ancestors." Looking at his body, she blushed to see his muscles now, and couldn't stop herself from looking at his back side before making herself look straight back up to his head with a big red blush, "Oh... Volteer..." Still seeing the blood that surrounded his body, she had hopes that he would also be able to do something about that as well, "Is there, anything you can do for the blood on his body?"

"I will let Ignitus deal with that. It should be a simple fix. Isn't that right, Ignitus?" At first, they didn't get a response, so Spyro had some fun as he knew exactly what he was up to and how to interrupt them, "You know, Ersa," As he said her name, the two looked at one another and he joked, "Ignitus is a crazy guy. I mean, Ignitus was there for me when Ignitus didn't know it. He was always there for everyone. Whether Ignitus laughed, or, Ignitus joked..."

 _"Alright! I get it! Stop saying my name,"_ Both Ersa and Spyro were able to hear his voice as he yelled at his son in their thoughts, _"Yes, fine, I will clean up, your, damage. But I'm serious, keep this up, I'm just going to take that wish and you can just forget I even said something."_ Giving a chuckle to hear how mad he was, Spyro shrugged his shoulders as he knew that anger wouldn't last long, "I guarantee he's already forgotten the anger. But either way, Karma is a bitch and I'm it's brother. He can now understand the pain of when he interrupts me and Cynder." She gave a slight giggle to his words and watched as he looked down at her mates body and he started to poke at his side, "Hey, Volteer... You awake?" Knowing he wouldn't get a response, he still wanted to try, "Yeah, I'm not surprised," Standing up once again, still grunting from the pain as he wasn't healed, he asked her, "Do you want me to pick him up for you?"

"Oh, no, it's fine. I'm pretty sure I have the strength to pick him up," As she was mid sentence, she eased her wings underneath his body, trying to be as gentle as possible, "Rather you be knocked out then dead, that's for sure," With her wings underneath his body, she was able to pick him up with slight ease, and because of this, she was pretty proud of herself, "Wow... I guess I'm a lot stronger then I thought. Which, you know, isn't a bad thing."

He gave her a chuckle from her words and agreed, "I don't see why strengh would ever be considered a bad thing. But I know holding his body after a while would becoming a little difficult so, come on, let's walk back to your room and talk," She nodded at him and was the first to turn around as he knew she needed the space, and now that she was walking towards her room, he ran up to her side and walked with her, "I'm surprised you were even awake."

"I was surprised myself. Both by the fact that I was awake and by the fact Volteer had left somewhere," Already at the door as it wasn't very far, she turned into her room and was careful as to not hit his head on the side of the door, "Please Ancestors don't let me make a mistake," She was successful in making it into the room with him and walked over to her bed, and since she knew Spyro was right behind her, she continued the conversation, "After what I went through... I never really had a good nights rest in years..." Laying him down on the bed to have him lay on his side while facing the door, she pulled her wings back to her side and didn't look at Spyro as he stood in the middle of the room, "It was definitely tough for me to even get a minute of sleep. Some days I would spend all day and all night without sleeping at all... Hehe... Most I was able to get to was nearly six days... One hundred and forty four hours I wasn't able to sleep... Then after that day, I only slept for a couple of hours..."

"Why were times so bad? Well, that's a pretty dumb question for me to ask but, after knowing Volteer was alive, wouldn't you have slept better?"

"I... I unfortunately didn't. I would be lying if I said I didn't get some kind of better sleeping but, I wasn't with him, and it still kept me awake because of that fear that I would miss my chance," She had to pause for a second to help compose herself, and while she did that, she jumped up onto the bed, turned herself around to face straight, and laid down on her belly, "But... I guess all my fears were for nothing... Hehe, Spyro, I will tell you something funny about us females. Even with all the trust we have for our loved ones, we still will always worry... And... that's not a bad thing," Looking away from him and back to her mates body, she smiled to see the blood had disappeared while they were talking, and seeing how peacefully he was sleeping, it helped her keep that smile, "I did always have that trust in my heart for Volteer even back then. And even now, as we're mates, I worry. Whether it be his health or, what he does or, what he's upset about and... that's just because it shows we care," Hearing her explain what she was talking about, his eyes grew slightly wide as it made sense to him now.

"So then, what would you say a female feels when ever you joke about leaving them," It was a strange question for him to ask, and even Ersa looked at him with slightly widened eyes from the odd question, "Oh, no no no, I would never actually do something like that. Me and Cynder usually joke sometimes about it even though it scares both of us to death just hearing it and I..." He paused for a second and she didn't understand why, but before she could ask him, he spoke again, "I just wanted to know if I'm doing something right or wrong. I've spent so much of my time, trying to make sure that I understand her emotions of what she likes and doesn't and... I just wanted to know what a bad sign would be?"

She giggled at his determination and was honest when it came to his question, "Spyro, just like men, our emotions are completely sporadic. One thing could work for someone else and then that something wouldn't work for another. But you shouldn't worry, Cynder seemed very happy when it came to you. But just like me, I'm pretty sure having a loved one going off training when their should be some loving going on isn't the best thing to do," She saw as he gave a frown, now feeling even worse about what he had done but didn't know how to balance it out between the two, and luckily, she was able to read his emotions pretty easily and helped him out, "That doesn't mean you're a terrible dragon to your lover... Look, you're powerful, that's for sure, and seeing you as you were in that dark form fighting those apes, you deserve a break. All because you don't train for one day doesn't mean you'd lose everything you would learn," Her words were getting to him as he knew that she would know everything about how the dragon body works, "Our minds take a long time to forget something, and to lose the muscle you have would take weeks without training, maybe even months."

"So... I would be okay to take a day off?"

"Of course you would. Not everyone can train or, constantly do something every single day because, it's next to impossible. That's why, everyone once in a while needs some time to themselves, or, just a day to get away from it all and chill out," She watched as his mind started to connect everything together, and she watched as a big smile went across his face from his joy, "Also, believe it or not, you kissing your lover is a good thing. The kiss from your lover release a pheromone that goes into the brain, along with your body, calming you to a pretty high degree depending on how bad you are feeling." Seeing his lips start to quiver, she raised a brow at him and he apologized as he saw that.

"Oh, sorry, I just... I have been spending way too much time away from Cynder trying to help Volteer and, I know, even though she's trying to stay positive and joke, deep down, she feels bad, and... That does make me feel bad as well... But, Volteer wanted to train so badly, and he begged and begged because he wanted to become strong enough to protect you," Hearing how he said that, she glanced over at her lover and licked her lips slightly before focusing back over to him and listing more to what he had to say, "So I didn't know what to do... I couldn't think of her hating more... or even being disappointed..."

Putting her wing over Volteer's back, she assured him in hopes it would make him feel better, "Well, I will make sure he doesn't bother you two at all tomorrow. He's going to stay right where he needs to be," He nodded and thanked her for that, "And with your body all healed up and looking nice and new, I'm sure Cynder would be happy to see you're okay. So, I don't want to take up anymore of you're time. You go be with Cynder, Spyro," Seeing him nod once again, he turned and took a couple of steps towards the door, but before he could make it half way, she called his name, "Spyro..." He stopped and turned his head to look at her, "Thank you for helping him... And I'm glad you really are a good dragon to everyone around you... So... please continue to be you, and to laugh and smile... Hehe, or else I'm gonna push down on your pressure point."

A single drop of sweat went down his head as he gave a nervous chuckle, scared to even think about that pain, and even his body shivered just thinking about it. Turning his head back around, he continued to walk over towards the doorway, and as he walked out of the room, he forgot to shut the door. Turning his body around and grabbing the door knob with his paw, he chuckled as she looked at him, and he blushed a little bit as he joked, "I saw you looking at Volteer's back side," Just his couple of words alone were enough to get her to blush hard, and her head stuck straight up from his sudden words, "Try not to break him, okay."

"Spyro!"

"Alright alright, I'm leaving."

Watching him shut the door, she still held her blush as she couldn't believe what he had said. Looking at her lover's body and away from the door, her blush grew some more as she thought about it and could only growl at herself for thinking the way she did, _Damn him... Even I can't say he's wrong._ Laying her head down on the top of her paws, she picked up her head a little to focus over to his face before laying her head back down on her paws, and she wondered to herself, _Well... I mean... Everyone is asleep..._ Growling at herself, she shuck her head to get her mind off of it, and with her head now back up in the air, it became increasingly hard for her to sleep, both from thoughts of her lover and what she should do, _My mind is telling me no but..._ Getting a glimpse of his body once again, somewhat in a teasing manner as if she was going to be looked at by him, she heard him grumble which quickly made her look straight with a couple drops of sweat going down her face. She heard him stir in his sleep and watched at the corner of her eye as he stretched out his body. All the while, he also gave out a big yawn as his mouth opened wide, and all she could do was watch with wide eyes and a blush. Now that he had stretched and yawned, he appeared to have gone back to bed, and she let out a sigh, _If he would've woken up... I don't know if I could've stopped myself._ Shaking her head once again, she slapped both sides of her face and whispered out loud, "Calm down..."

Laying her head back down onto the bed, she made sure she had eyes on him at all times, and to make sure she knew where he went, she draped a wing over his back and thought, _This way, I will know if you go somewhere or not._ With her wing over his back, positioned in a comfortable sleeping position, and knowing she was unable to get the thought out of her mind, she agreed with herself on what she would do, _Simple... Just, wake up in the morning, ask Ignitus about the truth and then... And then... Damn it!_ Closing her eyes as tight as she could, she tried her best to sleep the night away, but even as she tried, her blush stayed on her face with the thoughts racing through her mind.

* * *

Dancing up towards his room, Spyro hummed himself a song as he smiled, glad he was able to help so much for his friend and his friend's mate. _Now, everything's as it should be. Volteer has his lover, well, mate. Ignitus fell in love, the other Guardians seem fine, and Malefor... Hehe, I can easily kill later, but as my friend..._ Stopping just at the door as he thought that, his eyes grew wide as he realised what he had just thought about, and he couldn't believe he did. _Wow... I'm... I must just be tried._ While he was in his thoughts, the doors had already opened, and he walked inside of the house and into the hallway. Going back to smiling and humming himself a song, he made his way towards his room that still stayed cracked open as no one had shut the door. Walking up to the door, he gently opened it as to not make a sound. While opening the door, he whispered his song as well and made it into the room. Shutting the door behind himself with his paw, he turned towards the bed and danced a little more as he made his way over. As he stood in front of the bed, he looked to see Cynder laid on her belly with her paws crossed in front of her while her chin rested over them. He gave a sigh and was glad to see she was asleep. Putting one paw on the bed, and then another, he pulled himself up onto the bed. Turning his body around as he made it to the back of the bed, he sat down near his lover's side and gave a sigh of relief, _What a day... Hehe, who am I kidding, what a week... Now there is just one more Dragoness I have to attended to as I should've._ Feeling a cold feeling as his neck, his body shot stiff as he kept his head straight and looked at the door. He could feel himself being stared at even as he tried not to look or say anything, but he knew he would have to swallow his pride and look down. Looking down at his lover, sweat formed quickly on his face as he saw the look on her face. She didn't seem happy, and with her raised brow and tail blade against his neck, he didn't know how to play it off, so for the time being, he acted normal, "H... Hey... My love... Wh... What are you doing awake?"

"Spyro... When I find out what female made you this happy, she's dead, and you might have to worry about my disappointment for you for the rest of your life..."

"What?! No no no, it's nothing like that!"

"You said you were going to train, but then end up coming from our main entrance with no scare, blood, nothing. Well, of course, aside from that smile and funny little dance."

"I know it sounds bad, but, please, trust me enough to hear me out," He begged that she would see the truth, and to his luck, it seemed she was going to hear him out as she wasn't saying anything, "Okay, so, long story made short, I punched Volteer hard enough to send him to the back of Warfang. We fought until we ended up in Warfang, then we ended up in the Guardian's Building Hallway. Ersa almost did that finger thing on my shoulder that she did to Malefor, Volteer and Ersa are now back together and I came up here," Taking a huge breath in and then out, he had to catch his breath after having to say everything he had done today, and he was glad to see she trusted him as she moved her tail blade away from his neck, but only slightly, "What, still don't believe me?" She raised a brow at him as if he was forgetting something, and he snapped his finger as he remembered, "Oh yeah. At first, I healed Volteer, but after bugging Ignitus, he said he would heal us of everything... including our blood... That blood we spilled, not our... actual blood."

"And as for your little dance?"

"Hehe, I'm just happy, Cynder," He chuckled with a smile which already made her smile a little as well, but she had to keep a straight face, "Everything is going right and I just... I don't know... Things haven't been better. And, best of all, tomorrow," Gently pushing her tail blade away from his neck and laying down next to her, he smirked as he continued, "We get to lay in bed together for the entire day, just me and you, and no one else," She pulled her tail blade back to her back and wondered if he was really saying the truth or not, but he was able to cut her thoughts, "Spyro Promise, My love."

Her smile grew, and she raised a brow from how he was able to get her, "Oh, a Spyro Promise?" Seeing him raise a brow of his own, she sighed, somewhat even blushing as she saw the smile on his face as he looked at her with his raised brow, "You're lucky your so damn handsome." Listening to him chuckle, she couldn't help but giggle as well, but she wanted to make sure this wasn't going to possibly not happen, "Alright, Spyro, I know you promised, but... If this really doesn't happen, and we get out of bed for any reason."

Putting both paws over hers, she was surprised as he was sudden about it and he apologized, "Sorry, I just... I keep putting you off for others because of what I've said before... I love you, and I promise, no matter what happens, we will not leave this bed unless you say so," She was happy to hear how passionate he was in keeping her happy, and she could only smile more as he assured her more and more, "I mean, if I were you, I'd get pretty excited for tomorrow," Starting to flirt with her, he rolled onto his back with his side rubbing up against her side and he teased her, "To know you'll be kissed so well you'll pass out from pleasure, to feel protect on a cool or hot day," Moving his mouth up to hers, he continued to tease her as he could see and use her blush to his advantage, "What's the matter, Cynder... Speechless? Maybe... Hopeful?"

Growling at him, she couldn't believe how well he was able to change her mood so quickly, and to get her hopes so high in only a couple of minutes. Growling with her blush, she couldn't even stop her smile, and looking down on him as he smiled up on her, she couldn't help herself and kissed his lips. Since neither had kissed one another for the whole night, for both, they let out a small moan as the pleasure from the kiss was pretty intense. _Finally,_ The two both thought in unison in their own ways. With both pulling away from the kiss, they had to catch their breaths, and with slight increase in breaths, all they wanted to do was go back to making out, and it was most difficult for Cynder, "You know... You don't know this but... I never went back to bed."

Even as she kept her smile, he frowned and apologised as he rolled onto his belly, "You... Didn't go back to bed?" Now laying on his belly, he felt terrible and cuddle up with his lover, draping his wing over her as he did so, "Cynder I... I'm sorry, I... I shouldn't have trained Volteer..." Even as bad as he felt, he didn't understand what he could've done to make both parties happy, but hearing his lover giggle, he was confused as to why, and still kept his frown as he asked, "But... I messed up..."

"Spyro, how many times do I have to tell you that I'm already happy?"

"You're... happy?"

"All because you were away doesn't mean I was alone. True I was just laying in bed waiting for you for the longest time but, I knew you'd come back and fulfil your promise," Laying her head down over his paws, she yawned for a couple of seconds before smacking her lips a couple of times and saying, "Now calm down and protect me as you always do. And don't comment on me smacking my lips... just getting ready for my Purple Guardian in the morning."

"Hehe," Spyro chuckled, smiling once again to hear that she wasn't really mad, and laying his head down on his lover's, he smacked his lips and teased her, "Guess I should get ready to, conquer, the Beauty of the Skies lips in the morning."

"You know what's sad, even as romantic as that sounds, I think of Malefor saying that to Carith with, 'little miss cutie blue', thing."

"Hehe, leave it to Malefor to ruin something else for us."

Sharing a nice laugh with her lover, Cynder closed her eyes, and with the two's laughter dying down, she had to ask one more time to be sure, "Well, joking aside, you still going to make Malefor you're friend?"

"Where did this come from?"

"I don't know... Malefor has definitely shown he isn't the Dark Master of course and, when he came out of the training room, it was nice to talk to him. He's dedication to his lover is amazing, just as your dedication to me and... Having him as your friend, it would be nice to see you all get along, and me and Carith don't have to worry about you two killing each other."

"Well, even when we become friends, let's be honest, everyone still wants to kill Malefor."

"Yeah... I can agree on that."

"But... Yeah... He hasn't harmed you, and he's kept his promise so... When the time rolls around and his days are over... I can say for a fact that he's my friend... Crazy enough, I was thinking about how things were and... I called him my friend in my thoughts so... Even I'm already confirming the fact."

"Good to hear... I... I really do look forward to the future the way things are going."

"Me too, my love," Letting out a yawn, he later closed his mouth, then his eyes, and whispered, "Goodnight, My love."

"Goodnight, Spyro... See you in the morning?"

"Hehe, don't worry, you'll see me all day, as it should be."

"Thank you."

 _Malefor... I'm putting a lot of trust in you for this day. I trust you one hundred percent, and, I do hope that, if there is a threat, my training for you wouldn't be for nothing._ Already drifting off to sleep with his lover, he still had a thought in his mind which helped ease him of any fear he had, _The passion in your voice to have a Hatchling with Carith... You really do care for her... And I... I hope the best... for the two of you._ Drifting off to bed, he smiled with his lover as he, along with his lover, were hopeful for tomorrow.


	16. Chapter 16: Mixed Up And Made

Chapter 16: Mixed Up And Made

"Mister... Sir," A small, scared sounding voice broke Flint from his thoughts as he sat down on his bed, looking at the cave walls, still resting in his own room.

Turning his body around to see a frightened blue dragon, not even close to his twenties, stood at his doorway. Snarling a little from him being frighten by the blue dragon, Flint waved a paw and growled, "Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you, that's not what I'm here for." Even with his words that were supposed to be helpful to him, the dragon still seemed frightened which already made his anger grow, "Alright, I'm not here to comfort you on your problems of fear against me. Tell me what you came in here to tell me and get out."

"Y...Yes... Sir," The blue dragon stuttered, steeping a little closer, near the middle of the room to talk in a lower voice since he wouldn't have to talk too loudly, "I just came in here to tell you that, The Destroyer is almost completely dug up..." Seeing the smile on Flint's face, he could see that he was already planning what he would want to do, but something didn't feel right to him, "But..." Hearing somewhat of a doubtful voice from the blue dragon, Flint looked at him with a raised brow, wondering what he could've meant by that, "Is this really worth the trouble?"

His teeth showed from his doubts against his plan and stood in an almost attacking position as he asked, "Are you saying that you think what I'm doing is wrong?"

"What?! No no no, I just... To go through all this trouble, I mean... We all know of your plan and are ready to act but, we've lost several dragons in the volcano, and even with some darkness you've given to help us move it a little here to here, is calling all the Dark forces to help really a good thing while the apes hold the line out there?" Now with the dragon ranting off about his plan, he did start to doubt him, and Flint could see this, and he knew he would probably have to do something, "With the dragons we've lost, all the Dark forces that have been lost by doing this, we could've easily been able to defeat Spyro and Malefor," As he was talking, he made sure never to make eye contact with him, which proved to be his mistake.

While he spoke, Flint had carefully moved off his smoothed out rock bed and made his way up to the dragon. Still hearing the blue dragon go on about what they should be doing, he snarled and nearly snapped, pulling his tail blade to his side and wanting to finish his life now. As he stood in front of him, he grabbed the dragons neck, causing him to let out a violet cough as his paw was held tightly around his neck. Pulling the dragon up off the ground while he struggled to breath, Flint stood to his back two paws and made his point clear while putting the fear of everything into him as he looked in his eyes, "You really don't understand, do you! Taking them on now wouldn't do anything!" Throwing his body to the floor, the dragon gasped for air and coughed on the ground while he tried to stand, and standing back on four paws, Flint continued, "The power they have is unimaginable, and walking in there with mindless, Creatures! It wouldn't do anything. Just the four Guardians alone were able to hold off the army when they were attacked, and even with all our forces, Spyro would win with Malefor, we'd lose, and lose our trump card if we fail, and that's where the Destroyer comes into play," Chuckling at himself as he could see the future now, he then smiled as he spoke, "I can threaten Ignitus, and if he doesn't tell Spyro to give Cynder up to me," Snapping his fingers with an evil grin, the blue dragon shivered as he understood what he meant, "Classic way to go out. If I can't have her... No one can."

 _I only came here because I was told I could get revenge on Malefor for what he's done as the Dark Master... Not to destroy the entire planet... I... I can't do this... I... I can't!_ Seeing Flint take a step towards him, he quickly got to his paws and backed away from him, knowing he could kill him at any point if he wanted to. Instead, and to his luck, Flint waved a paw and growled at him, "Now leave! I need to gain as much dark power as I can to make sure I can control the behemoth. Just get back to work and wait for the show to start, okay?" He watched as the blue dragon nodded before turning around and bolting out the door as quickly as he could, "Scared little one, aren't you." A couple of dark creatures appeared from within the shadows of his room, and he smiled as he gave the order, "Make sure he doesn't reach sanctuary... He's become a... Liability." The Dark Creatures laughed before running towards the door in search of the blue dragon, "Run while you still can. You'll end up like your loved ones real soon." Giving an evil chuckle, he walked over to his bed to lay back down.

Climbing up onto his bed, he circled around it a couple of times before laying down on the bed in a curved ball shaped. _We're so close to being to where we need to be. Only a couple more days, and soon, very, very soon, it's either I will have her in this life, or the after life,_ Grabbing his head with his paw and growling at himself, his voice called out to him in a way, almost like it was telling him the opposite, _We shouldn't do this... this isn't what she would've wanted._ Slapping the side of his head, he growled at his own thoughts, _Shut up! We will die one way or another!_ Clenching his eyes shut as he laid down, he tried not to think about it to get some rest.

* * *

"What's the matter, my love, you finshed for the night?" Ignitus teasingly asked his new lover as he stood above her on their bed, and with her on her back, head to the side and tongue hanging out of her mouth, he chuckled at her and knew that was probably a yes, "Oh come on my love, we haven't been kissing for that long..."

"Yes! Yes you have!" A voice yelled in the sleeping Chambers, and looking over at the voice, Ignitus saw Terrador looking at him with watery eyes, almost as if he hadn't gotten any sleep at all, " I swear to the Ancestors, if I hear, 'My love', The word kiss, or exhausted one more damn time, I will stab myself in the heart with my own tail blade."

"I thought I used my power to mute the world around me and Claire?"

"You did..." Hearing another voice, he looked to his right and saw Cyril had the same face of tiredness and anger as his paws rested over his head, "The power stopped working half way through the night. All through the night, we heard the smacking of lips, dirty talk, and... Ugh... Dirty talk for you of all dragons and I... I'm up to do the same with Terrador and just end it all."

"Oh it wasn't that bad."

"Oh really? How about the part where you brought up that she was an assassin and if you didn't make out with her, she'd kill you?"

"Well... I..."

"Or how about the part where she pretend to cry and you took advantage of her and made out with her?" Terrador also spoke as to what they heard.

"Ahem... That was..."

"Painful? How about when you roll played that you were the assassin and she was the victim?" Cyril also spoke once again on what they had heard, and each time, Ignitus blushed more and more as he couldn't believe they had heard most of what they were talking about, "And all in one night... You give her, and you, the power to stay up all night without needing sleep, but us... I have envy for Volteer... Knowing him, he probably got the best sleep of his life..." Feeling the anger coming back to him even as he tried to calm him down, he called him out, "How does your power just stop working?! Isn't it supposed to be permanent until you say otherwise?"

"Well... I do kinda have to focus when using some of my powers and..."

"Is this about how Claire's kiss was infecting you with darkness so you couldn't use the Chronicler power?" Terrador grumbled at him as he blushed with his teeth showing, wishing he could've never had to hear him say what he had did.

"Hehe... You're... You're not going to say anything to..."

"Malefor?" Terrador and Cyril both asked in unison, "Oh yeah."

"Come on, guys! You know he will never shut up about what I said!"

"Then do us a favor. Number one, whisper more instead of opening your wings and yelling, 'I am your protector!'" Cyril picked on him some more about his words, and once again, Ignitus blushed now to a point that his face felt hotter then fire, "And second, give us that sleep power thing again. So you better chose who you'd rather deal with, The Ancestors to give us sleep, or Malefor once we tell him everything you've said..."

"Already done," Ignitus spoke with a huge sigh, and the two looked at one another and then back at him as they wondered what he had done, "I already had a talk and they gave me the okay to give you all the sleep you should've gotten. They didn't really expect me to be really into loving Claire as much as I did so... Hehe... No hard feelings?" Looking to his left and then his right, he could see they were still upset with him and he was understanding as he felt bad, "Sorry, guys," Snapping his fingers, both of their eyes grew wide before returning back to normal as they got the sleep power.

"Thank goodness... Now I feel a whole lot better," Cyril smiled as he said, "But now I'm going to need to jump in the ocean and hope that my brain fills up with water and cleans out every memory of what you said to her..." He himself chuckled along with Ignitus as he gave a weak chuckle as well, now feeling a little awkward for standing above Claire, "But I'm serious, do that again, we will snitch to Malefor."

"I won't... Knowing what could happen, I've never been more scared about anything in my life."

"Are you sure about that?" Terrador asked, seeing as Ignitus looked at him, he already knew what he was going to say, "Because another thing you did with Claire is she joked to leave, and then you had to ask if she was telling the truth or not and said the same exact thing when she said no; 'I've never been so scared of anything in my entire life." Ignitus grumbled and didn't even want to say anything anymore, and instead, he just laid down on his lover's stomach while looking down at the side of her face as she laid there, "This is why I'd never find love," He mumbled to himself, looking behind him and covering up his eyes with his paws as he looked outside the glass and saw the sun light, he looked at his friend and asked, "Hey, Cyril, want to get out to the Chambers and wait for everyone else... And also try to forget all that happened last night."

"Hehe, Oh yeah," Cyril agreed, already getting out of bed as he was all for forgetting the night, "But I mean, let's be honest..." Pausing as he walked up next to his friend and towards the door, he elbowed his shoulder gently as he messed with him, "You know you'd do the same with the one you love." Seeing Terrador growl and look away as he had already opened the door and walked out, Cyril called him out as he ran into the Chambers, closing the door behind him we his tail blade, "Don't lie to yourself! Terrador... Look at me!"

Grumbling as he laid down on his lover's chest, he thought with a little bit of anger and embarrassment on his face, _I can't believe I lost concentration... Now those two know everything and there's nothing I can do to erase their memories of what I've said. Speaking of saying,_ Picking his head up off his lover's chest, he looked down at her body, tilting his head as he did as he was a little confused, _Claire... Are... Are you asleep?_ Seeing as her mouth was now closed, and her head rested side ways on the bed, it seemed so as even her breathing had slowed to a steady pace. Using a claw he moved it up and down her neck in a teasing manner to try and wake her. Almost immediately, it worked as her body shivered from the feeling of his claw, and stretching with a smile, she opened one eye to look at him. He chuckled and pulled his claw back, apologizing for waking her, "Sorry, I was just, making sure you were okay. The entire time those two were talking, I thought you would've said something but, you didn't."

Picking her head up to look at him, she opened her other eye and asked, "You really think I'm gonna care about what they heard?" He was surprised at her words, wondering why she wasn't as upset and embarrassed as he was, "I'm an assassin, and your The Chronicler. Let them have their fun and embarrass us, we can hurt them. And if Malefor does find out, I will just have a talk with Carith." He couldn't help but chuckle as she was true in her words, and even for herself, she gave herself credit for the idea, "Came up with that just now too. But..." Stretching out once again, she rolled from her back and onto her right side, and closing her eyes once again, she whispered, "What can you do... And now that they are out there, what's stopping you now?"

He raised a brow, both as she was able to see the bright side of things so quickly and a little confused as to what she meant, "Stopping me from what? What was I stopped from...?" Feeling a little confused as to what it was, it clicked in his mind as he remembered, and she raised a brow as well at him, still eyes closed, "Oh... That... I'm mean, I'm down to role play of course but uh, who's the victim?"

"Well, I am laying here with nothing to do, and," Opening up her eye to look up at him, she gave a smirk as she continued, "I feel pretty powerless down here so... Why don't we start there?" Rolling onto her back and opening up her other eye, she was still a little frightened of their moment being ruined and made sure it wouldn't happen, "But I'm being serious, if someone walks in or jokes about us, their dead. You're going to have to choose between their life or my love."

"Hehe, that's a pretty easy decision... It would be their lives," Hearing her gasp as she put a paw on her chest, he smirked as he lowered his head to her, making his lips line up with hers, "Because there's an easy way for me to change your mind... And also because, you know, I would choose you over them just, not, take their lives..." Hearing her clear her throat, he chuckled and apologized as he realised that wasn't the point, "Oh... Hehe, right... sorry." Clearing his throat as well, he got back into character for his lover, "Seems the darkness that rest inside of your mind still controls your thoughts. I must rid of it, and save you... My love." Just hearing the words that she desperately loved to hear now sent shivers through her spine, and he could tell she was intrigued with the story he was making up, "I won't let it take you... I can save you, I know I will!" With his final words, he locked lips with his lover's, and with the kiss being so well only for the first one, he already forgotten the story and continued to kiss his lover.

* * *

"Carith... Come on... Get up," Malefor grumbled as he stood on his bed, pushing the side of his lover's body as she laid on her belly, "This is probably the only day were I get to be the Master of Darkness without consequence," Hearing that he was going to cause some trouble made her open one eye as to look at him, but hearing her grumble at him, he chuckled and stopped pushing his lover, "Hehe, well, you know, it's not like Spyro will stop me," Seeing her raise a brow, pick up her head, and open her other eye, he forgot he hadn't told her, "Oh yeah, that's right, I didn't tell you. Spyro wants one day to his lover, so, I agreed. He wants no distraction and if anything happened, I'd have to deal with it. So... That basically means I could do what ever I wanted to today without consequence."

"Uh huh... And what exactly are you planning on doing? Because so far, you've been pretty Damn evil," Now seeing him raise a brow, she couldn't help but giggle as she knew he didn't see what happened, "Well, first, you wake up and sit a bit away from me. Then you push and push me awake, and you still haven't kissed me," Hearing him open his mouth and try and say something, she cut him off before he could say something, "A kiss while I sleep isn't a kiss for me! You're already walking on thin ice right now, so before you break that ice and fall, alone, I suggest you fix what you've done."

"Then can I go and mess with everyone?"

"You know if it has anything to do with literally anyone, you're going to die, you know that right?"

"And who would... Ersa would... But what about Ignitus... Oh... But Terrador and Cyril, there's still them. And even still, what could they really do to me that I couldn't walk away from. Plus, I will just use the excuse that I was using my dark power and it corrupted me a little bit and made me crazy, simple."

* * *

"Very simple in fact," Ersa explained to Volteer as she stood by her work table, showing him what she's done while he rested on the bed, still in pain, "So, since I still have trust issues, and after what happened in the hallway yesterday, I prepared for many things, one of such would be your pain," He raised a brow at her, wondering what she meant by that, and looking at her as she grabbed a glass bottle and brought it over to him, she explained, "Simple pain relief without much effort while still giving off the strongest of effects," Handing him the bottle, he grabbed it from her and looked at it, and she could see he wasn't too excited for the color, "Oh, don't worry about the color. The red and black may look like mold and taste like slug, but, I made sure to make it the best flavor possible."

"And what might that have been?" Volteer asked, slightly shaking the bottle around to make sure the liquid would actually move, and he smiled to see that it did as least move around.

"Well, I was trying to think of the flavor as I couldn't exactly get it down, but, I know what I will call the flavor," Clearing her throat, she prepared for the big reveal, and said with passion and she even expanded her paws in the air as she said, "Bubble Gum flavor."

"Bubble Gum?"

"Hehe, Oh yeah. It's amazingly tasty, especially compared to some other stuff out there. Luckily for you, your mate might not know who to treat a wound, but she knows how to make some tasty medicine. As a matter of fact, that's mainly how I survived so well is because of my experience in making stuff to help me when I couldn't get to a red gem patch. So, you still scared to try it or do you want more back story."

"Oh, Hehe... I'm not scared at all to taste it, just wondering what else my mate has for me later on in the day."

"Oh," Giving a blush and a giggle, he chuckled as well, and she teased him a little, "Well, you'll know my lips definitely taste better then that Bubble Gum," Moving a little closer to him, almost with her lips touching his, she teased him a little more, "But I know it's not my lips you're after," Hearing him give a nervous chuckle as he blushed, she giggled at him as she backed away, "You're not the only one who's after some loving. Now, drink up. I got some more stuff I want to show you before we go out there."

Nodding at her, he looked at the glass bottle one last time before giving out a sigh, still a little scared as he didn't know what Bubble Gum flavor tasted like, _Well, it sounds good... I trust she wouldn't give me something that would kill me so... Bottoms up!_ Drinking the liquid in the bottle, he was surprised how easily the liquid was to drink, almost like water. His eyes grew a little wide once he was done with the entire bottle, and pulling it down from his lips, he licked his lips to make sure he drank all of it. Looking at his lover, completely surprised by the taste, she smiled and asked, "Well, how does Bubble Gum taste?" Hearing he was at a lost for words, she giggled at him as she was glad to see he really did enjoy what she made, "Hehe... It did take me a while to make as well, both from what we had and also trying to make such a nice and easy going flavor."

"Ersa... I..." Stretch out his arm, his eyes grew wide once again as what she had given him had already taken affect, "I'm... I'm already healed pretty well! But... How... I looked into medicine a lot but... you... How...?" Hearing her giggle, he was desperate to hear how she was able to do it so well, but he had a better idea, "Actually, before you say anything, what's at the bottom of the glass bottle?" Seeing her raise a brow, he looked in the bottle and continued to lie, "Yeah, look down at the bottom of the bottle." She moved closer and looked down at the bottom of the bottle but didn't see anything, "Do you see it?"

"I see... Glass... Maybe," Picking up her head and looking at her lover wondering if maybe there was something she did wrong, her lips were quickly covered by her mate's, and just as quickly as her eyes grew wide, so did the sudden feeling of pleasure.

Since it was easy for her to tell that he was very happy with what she's done, she couldn't help but she'd a tear and smile as they kissed, getting into the kiss a little more as she started to make out with him. Unfortunately, she knew there was some of her work that she had to get done before something happened, _Damn it! I should've moved some of work so I didn't have to worry... Sometimes my work is a curse._ Pulling away from the kiss, both had to catch their breaths a little bit, and Volteer was a little sad she pulled away from the kiss, "No, I'm not crazy. I was just trying to get you close enough to kiss you. But, why did you back away?"

Growling at herself, she bit her lip and was honest about her feelings for him, "Because... Would you rather have that, or what you've been wanting?" He once again blushed with a smile and he was glad to hear that she was so open and honest with him, and it made him feel good to hear, "Yeah, Spyro called me out before he left. I was looking at your back, but anyway! Bottle please," He chuckled to see she was feeling a little embarrassed herself and to get her mind off it, he did as he was told and gave her the bottle, "Thank you," She thanked as she grabbed the bottle.

As she was walking over to her work station once again, he asked her as he saw her work," So, how did you do this? The medicine that you gave me... I know a lot about what to mix and what not to, kinda like chemical imbalances, some power works, and deadly works of art but, you... How...?"

"You know creation must come before destruction."

"I'm glad I'm not the only one who likes references."

"I'm glad you actually understood the reference. But going back, some chemicals that react faster to others, it's very simple science to be honest. Like fighting a virus with a virus of the same or weaker so after the main virus is destroyed, our white blood cells can take over and kill the other virus, it's kinda like that."

"Oh, so basically you mix bad chemicals, turn them from destructive to creative with use of other chemicals which makes them safe, which works better and faster then others, and it has a much stronger effect to help you get back on your paws faster?" Her eyes grew slightly wide as she was amazed to hear how well he was able to deduce everything she had said with the little information she had given him, "Hehe, you know me my love, smart minds think alike."

"Then you should know I want to put my work down, walk out there, ask Ignitus, come back and make sure you don't walk tomorrow?"

"Hehe, what's stopping you?"

"Ugh... The fact that you're also hopeful for what's to come makes this even more difficult for me to stand here and not just take you out now!"

"I'm not going to say anything. I don't want to push it as I want you to feel comfortable."

"Which you know I will, Top or Bottom."

Seeing her lover chuckle once again, blushing with his usual smile, she smiled back at him, biting her lip once again and she went back to working, trying to get her mind off of it, but it proved to do no good, _Just work... Just keep working... You gotta do what you gotta do... Do... Volteer...? Damn it!_ He could see her moving quickly for some reason, and Volteer could see she was trying to finish up her work quickly, and he already had an idea as to why, but he wanted to warn her, "Ersa, make sure you're prepared to hurt Malefor though. When he comes down, and since we just told him that Ignitus and Claire are now in love, he will not... I'm not even joking, he will not shut up."

"He's really going to pick on those two? How bad does it get?"

"Well... He might call them out and say what's next, Mate wise or Hatchling and when it gets to that, it all goes down hill from there. So if you do still have some of that stuff left over from what you were going to use on Spyro, you might want to use it on Malefor if he tries anything."

"I wouldn't worry. My claws and pressure points have proven to work just fine. Now, what's next, is up to you," She seemed to be a lot calmer as she turned towards him, and she asked in a teasing manner, "Do we, go out there and let the day go by, or... Do we stay in here together and fulfil the promise I made to you?" She moved her body around a couple of times to show herself off, and she could tell it was working as every time she looked at him, his blush seemed to get more and more red, "What's the matter, Volteer? You seem a bit distracted."

Biting his lip, he made the worst decision of his life, and declined, "I'm... Sorry... Ersa... But I'm going to say... We wait."

"What?!" Ersa gasped, completely dumbfounded that he would decline her offer, especially after what she promised him, "Volteer, you're fine, I know your not ever going to be and never have been like those other males. I'm a hundred and ten percent yes to you all the time..." Gasping once again, she wondered if she had done something, or hadn't done something, "Was there something I should've done yesterday?! You... You tried to wake me up but I was too tired, didn't you?!"

"Ersa, breath, it's still me and your still fine," Standing up on the bed, he walked off of it and over to his mate, assuring her as he made his way to her, "One, I know you're still scared of being watched of course because of Ignitus's power. Second, I know Malefor is coming down to the Chambers, and he isn't really a knocker so, he'd just walk on in. And thirdly," Standing in front of her, he made sure to give her a heart warming smile, and very smooth voice to make sure she knew he was sincere, "Just so you know, I'm not the only one who wrote my feelings about you while you were gone."

"You... You did...?"

"Yeah... I... Had to uh... Burn it..."

"What?"

"Ahem... It was uh... very... specific... So uh... Yeah... Hehe."

"Hehe, well, that's funny... When I got to Warfang for the first time I uh, had plenty of books like that for you as well."

"You did?"

"Oh yeah... I burned my books as well for the same reasons you did."

"I still have the thoughts though."

"I do too."

Standing in front of one another now, they both blushed as they couldn't believe they were sharing this with one another. It became increasingly difficult to say no now as he was looking forward to the future now, and it took Ersa saying something to break them from their thoughts and ignoring the problems, "We should probably go out there before we... ignore what could happen." Hearing him chuckle, he opened his mouth to say something, but once again, she was already able to know exactly what he was going to say, "How do I do it? One, you'll learn later on," She giggled while he chuckled and she was glad he was having as much fun as she was, "And second, I've waited this long. I would rather make sure everything is perfect rather then it be amazing yet be ruined. Because then it would be ruined for us, and... Yeah."

Giving a sigh, he knew she was right, and looking behind her to see the door wasn't open and no one seemed to be coming over, he knew he needed to at least kiss her, "Well, since we probably still have time to at least kiss, do you... um!"

In a matter of seconds, he was on his back, making out with his lover who stood above him. Putting his wings over her back, she started to feel herself laying down on his body, and both could feel their eyes closing, but she fought back, Standing straight up off from his chest and pulling away from his lips. Volteer extended his wings out onto the ground very quickly as he looked at her with wide eyes from her sudden movement, and he made sure he didn't move. Growling now with more anger in her voice, she looked at him and murmured, "I can't even kiss you know without looking towards the future."

"Hehe, don't worry, we will think of something."

"Fast hopefully?"

"Is that what you want in the future of me?"

"Damn you..."

"Hehe, we better get out to the Chambers before something happens though."

"As much as I want to say no... Yeah... We better go."

* * *

"You know what I hate most about waking up in the morning?" Cyril paused for a second as he looked over at Terrador, and both said in unison as they were both thinking the same thing, "Malefor," The two laughed at one another as they agreed, "I mean, I know for a fact, when he comes down here, he's going to do something dumb that I'm going to want to hurt him for."

"And it happens in the morning too when we are just waking up, and yet, he has all the energy in the world to mess with us," Terrador chuckled as he didn't have anything good to say about his purple friend, "You know, maybe training with Spyro some more wouldn't be so bad. If we're stronger then Malefor, do you know how fun it would be to be able to mess with him they way he does with us?" Thinking about it for a second, he saw Cyril raise a brow at him and he knew what he was thinking, "Oh yeah... he lives up by Spyro... And worse come to worse, he would let his darkness take over and kill us... Okay maybe not the best idea, but..."

"You try it, and you're dead," A voice called out the two from the entrance, and both Cyril and Terrador looked to the entrance and saw it was Malefor walking in the Chambers with his lover by his side, "Plus, grow up, it's a simple joke or, a simple prank, there is no need to be butt hurt about it. And it's not like I've ever caused you all pain," Just as he sat down on the side of the wall he normally did, he saw them both look at him with a raised brow, and even as he looked at his lover, she even had a raised brow which made him chuckle, "Alright, Alright, look, going back, grow up. You cry more about your problems then Spyro and Cynder does."

"Hehe, says the one balling his eyes out in the hallways of those two's house when you first came back," Terrador chuckled, but he did feel a little bad as he still knew why that was, and Malefor called him out on it.

"Oh wow, Terrador, that's a pretty deep blow to the gut, especially since that was a reason to be sad. Thinking back, I should've gone for your heart instead of Volteer's for being such an ass as you are now."

"You're Damn right you should've," Volteer said as everyone saw him walking into the Chambers with his mate, "Do you know how painful that was?" Walking over to where he usually sits by the other Guardians, he sat down with Ersa and draped his wing over her back, "But I mean, let's be honest, if anyone should've been attacked, it should've been Ignitus since he sat and watched everything that happened, and didn't even help. I mean, can you believe he would do such a thing?"

"Shut up, Volteer," Ignitus spoke, and as everyone now look over to him, he had just sat down with his lover next to him, "Number one, grow up, Alright. Second, if you wanted the world to end rather then you take a couple of hits, you could just have said something."

"How would he have known?" Cyril asked.

"Exactly, he didn't, so get over it, Volteer."

"To be honest, it was probably a good thing it happened," Ersa agreed, and everyone looked at her with wide eyes, especially her mate as he was most confused out of all of them, "Well, just think about it, he almost took your life, so that means I can almost do the same for you as revenge," Seeing Malefor open his mouth, she shut him up quick, "Say a word when I'm talking, Malefor, and I will make sure, the next pressure point I hit, will cancel out your abilities," Swallowing hard, he shut up quick and was now wanting to be cautious on what he said.

"But... You wouldn't, would you?" Carith stepped in as she was a little scared that something would actually happen.

"Don't worry, Carith. After that girls night out we had, I hold all of the females here as a true friend of mine," Looking at the two other girls, she smiled to see they had smiled at her, "Malefor I just hate and always will, and as for Spyro... Well, he is definitely a strange one... Speaking about him now, where is he? I would love to talk more with him about his views on his lover and all, mainly to still see if he's trust worthy."

"He is to not be disturbed," Malefor answered for her, "After what your mate pulled, Cynder wasn't too happy that he was woken up and taken from her, and I don't even have to have seen it all to know that much. So, for the entire day, those two are to be with themselves, and because of that," Chuckling with an evil grin, he rubbed his paws together in an evil manner as he said, "He's left all of your lives in my paws, and with that, Master Malefor is going to make his first day known. So who will be the first to go?"

"Go?" Terrador asked, somewhat already knowing the answer.

"You mean kill?" Volteer asked, and seeing Malefor smirk, everyone then looked over at Cyril as they knew he would be the first to die.

Looking at everyone form left to right, he grew angry and growled at everyone, "Oh screw off! If anyone would be first to go, it would be Ignitus. And when I say Ignitus, I mean him himself, not him as a Chronicler," Everyone still wasn't convinced that he was telling the truth, and he growled once again before sighing, "I wish Spyro was here... He definitely would've agreed. If anything, he knows more about our power then any of us know about ourselves."

"But you know he would just call himself better then everyone," Malefor said as he tried to turn everyone against him, and it failed.

"He's cocky, but can you blame him? If he's going to say something, he's going to have a way to back it up."

"Well, let's learn some more about Spyro then," Ersa said, and everyone was a little confused as to why she wanted to know, and she explained, "Let's get one thing straight, I'm Volteer's mate. Spyro is just, intriguing to me in a science kind of manner. The way he acts, the way he speaks, his dark power, and how well he treats his lover... To be honest, I even have a lot of potions I've been making for him to try out as I know his body would be able to handle sorts of transformations."

"Transformations?" Everyone asked in unison.

"Simple of course. Transformations such as making his body rubber, solid, and or make him float without having to move. I've also made more when it comes to combat, whether it be health, strength, stamina, increase in power, speed, vision upgrades such as night vision, solar protection so if you fight, you would be able to look up at the sun and not be blinded, as well as..."

"Whoa whoa whoa, Ersa, calm down... Have you even gotten any sleep?" Malefor asked, having to call a time out as she was talking so fast.

"Of course I have... Well... Maybe only a couple of hours... I usually bury myself into my work to keep... certain thoughts out of my mind..."

"Thoughts? Like what?"

"Don't ask," Ignitus warned, but it proved to make Malefor's interest peak even more.

"No no no, we need to finish what we are talking about before we move on," Slapping a paw on his face, Ignitus growled at him for not listening once again, and because of this, Malefor continued to ask, "It's okay, Ersa, we are all friends here, you can tell us."

"You really, really don't want to know," Ersa declined to tell him.

"I'm asking, aren't I... Is it about... Volteer?" Seeing her swallow hard and blush, his eyes grew slightly wide as he knew exactly what it must've been, "Oh, My, Goodness... Volteer, brother, I've got to congrats you for making it this far."

"Malefor, shut the hell up, or we're going to have a problem," Volteer threatened him, and even for Malefor, he backed up pretty quickly from it, "None of your business, alright. She's already talked to me, and no, nothing has happened, and even if it did, why you are asking makes you more of a creep then Ignitus with his powers." Before Ignitus had a chance to defend himself, Volteer looked at him and asked, "By the way, Ignitus, can you give Ersa the memories or tell her that if something does happen, we are free to do what ever."

"So you can say it out loud but I can't."

"Because she's my lover, my mate!"

"You're growing up too fast!"

"To answer your question!" Ignitus broke the two up from them yelling at each other and answered, "No, Ersa, I can't see such things. The Ancestors are the ones that write that down and if you're still afraid of that, their dead so, it really doesn't matter, nor does it matter to them."

Giving a sigh of relief, she was happy to hear that she really would be safe in the comfort of their room. Feeling a little bad for being so aggressive to his friend, Volteer sighed as he looked at Malefor and apologized, "Look... Sorry I yelled, alright. I remember what you told me in the Training Room but, even if I do go the extra step, I'm not changing and I'm not going anywhere. I will always be me, as you will always be you." Seeing Malefor frown at his words, he then picked his head up and smiled, opening his mouth to thank him, but Volteer cut him off as he was serious with his warning, "But I'm serious, keep joking about love or mate stuff, and I will make sure Ersa makes something that'll kick your ass for weeks."

"So... You're gonna call Spyro on me?" Seeing Volteer open his mouth to say something, he raised a paw up as well, but realised he was right and closed his mouth while putting his paw back to the ground, "Don't worry. I know I just need to cut back on some of the stuff I do, especially if I want to completely make up for what I've done... I still do apologize even after how long it's been... Especially once again of an apology to you, Ersa... The darkness will never return..."

"Help!" A voice yelled from the hallway, and everyone shivered to hear the cry.

Raising his wing up in front of his lover, Malefor walked in the middle of the Chamber and whispered, "Carith, go stand with the others, quickly." Doing as she was told, she ran over to the other Guardians and stood right beside Claire as she was the furthest down the line of all the others, and while she sat there, Malefor took a step forward and heard someone running towards them, so he called out, "Who's there?" A couple of seconds later, a blue dragon ran into the Chambers, slipping and falling onto his side, cut up and bleeding from his wounds, "What the hell?!"

Trying to stand up, the blue dragon looked up and starred in shock to see Malefor was standing right in front of him, but looking down the hallway, he saw he was still being perused and took his chances. Standing up from the ground and running behind Malefor, he cried out as he still took a couple of steps back, "There... There coming for me! They... They want me dead!"

"What? Who's they?" Malefor asked before looking to the entrance and locking up in fear.

Now standing in front of him were a couple of dark creatures, but with the two that stood at the entrance, two more ran up and stood with the other two. Everyone was at a lost for words, unable to understand why there were dark creatures in Warfang, and it scared Ersa almost as much as Malefor as she thought, _But... No... No, he... Because Spyro's not down here, he wouldn't..._ She couldn't tell who's side he was on, all she could gather was what his body did, the way it shivered and sweat. _You're... You're supposed to be gone!_ Malefor growled in his thoughts, clenching his paws in anger, now ready to fight more then ever, "You're all supposed to be gone! Now leave!" The Dark Creatures ignored his command which gave Ersa hope that maybe he wasn't the Dark Master, but as the creatures walked forward, they ignored him all together, walking around him as if he were an ally.

Turning around and watching as the four creatures now stood behind him, it didn't look good for him, especially with the way he was. Everyone could see it aside from him as Malefor stood behind the dark creatures, and with the face of fear aside, everyone felt horrible memories flooding back into the heads, and it was especially traumatic for Ersa as she took a couple of steps back, now fearing for her life. Putting a wing up to cover his lover, Volteer growled as he knew it wasn't true, "He's on our side, Ersa," Looking at her lover, she still didn't know if she should trust it or not, but she was given a good amount of information, "We know there's a Dark Master out there, somewhere, controlling these things. Malefor isn't the Dark Master."

Jumping in front of the blue dragon to protect it, Terrador spread his wings out, ready for a fight. Unfortunately, Malefor wasn't himself upon seeing the Dark Creatures and couldn't barely bring himself to move. Raising a paw forward to touch one of the creatures, a swoosh of wind went right past his face. Tears started to form in Malefor's eyes as he heard the grunt of his green friend, followed by a small slash, and blood going down his check. Turning his head quickly behind him, he saw it was another dark creatures with a bow, and just as before, the creatures ran in front of Malefor, ignoring him completely and already charging up another arrow to shoot. Now with his friend caused harm upon, Malefor couldn't stand there and take it any longer. Letting his anger take over, he grabbed the back of the Dark Creatures head and crushed it with as much force as he had. As the creatures head broke in his paw, the other creatures looked back at him, like they were surprised. Dropping the creatures body to the ground, it exploded into a dark cloud, and now the creatures seemed to feel the need to attack. Each was met with a quick end each time they tried to attack. As one jumped forward at him, another jumped to his left, and another went to his right. As they all jumped at him, he slammed his paw into the ground, causing three cement spheres to come out from the ground and stab the three right in the head. The cement went back into the ground and reformed itself perfectly while the Dark Creatures that were stabbed on it fell to the ground and dissipated. Now with one creature left, all it could do was attack head on, and so it did. But just with the first creature, Malefor grabbed his head, but with two paws instead. With one on the right and another on his left, he squeezed his paws together before breaking through it's skull and clapping his paws. Breathing a little heavier then normal, he looked down at the ground to see the creatures body fall and disappear. Looking at his paws, he started to shiver from his act of violence, and even for the others, they were hesitant to say something. Now looking up at the others, he watched as Terrador put his wings back to his sides, but from everyone's reactions, he knew they were scared of him. _I... I can't... Trust myself..._ Taking one step back, Carith took a step forward and yelled at him for that, "Malefor!" Even with her voice, he couldn't step forward, but from her voice, he know he shouldn't dare take a step back, "You're fine, my love, everything's okay... Everything is okay..." Taking careful steps towards him, she could tell what he was thinking and cut him off before he could do or say anything, "I'm not walking towards you carefully because I'm afraid of you... I know you're scared, and I don't want to frighten you." Making it in front of her lover, she put a paw over his, and she could tell that he wanted to take his paw back from fear, but she held on tight to his paw and dared him, "Malefor... You need to talk to us. Talking to us well help us understand better... But I dare you to take one more step away from me." Giving a smirk as to show she wasn't really upset at him and just trying to calm him down, it was working, so she tried some more to keep him from making a mistake, "We know there's another Dark Master out there, and you know that the darkness is tricky. They easily could've moved around you just to mess with us... But you're you, okay... You should know that best of all..." Feeling his paw ease up, she knew how to get him to smile by making a joke, "And you know it wasn't you because..."

"Hehe, I would've gone for the head?" Malefor chuckled with his reference, and she shuck her head with a smile as she didn't know that one, "But... Carith..." Looking past her head, he looked back at Terrador who had moved back to his spot, and Carith did the same as she looked at him as well, "Terrador... I... I never wanted you... Any of you, to be hurt by the darkness ever again and yet..."

"Grow up, you Hatchling," Everyone was surprised by his words, especially Malefor himself as he didn't understand why he would say that, "So I took a cut, big Damn deal. I've gotten so many of these over the years that I've lost count." Terrador chuckled, trying to brighten him up a bit after what's happened, "Look, you got scared, alright. We're your friends, and not even the Dark Master could break us up. This just confirmed our theory and already known knowledge that there is another Dark Master out there... So now the question is, who?"

"I... It's a... Red Dragon," The blue dragon answered him, causing everyone to immediately look at him as he stood up, "I... I don't know his name, he, he keeps it a secret for some reason. Because I was there helping him, he... started talking about how he views the world and what he wants to do but I... I... I didn't want to be there to kill I just... I don't know... I just wanted revenge against Malefor for what he did to my loved ones," The blue dragon looked at Malefor, and once again, he frowned as his past was brought up, but he was surprised at the blue dragon's words, "But you aren't like him... You're not the Malefor I know, the one everyone in the world knows... Why would you defend a life... Why... Why do you seem to... have a heart?"

Chuckling at himself as the dragon asked that question, Malefor still frowned as he knew he could never get over what happened to him and what he did, "Well... Long long story made very short, my friend betrayed me, caused my lover to die and... I lost all my friends... I even lost my parents before all that and... I was corrupted by the darkness at a young age..." Giving a sigh as he felt the feelings back then almost like he was reliving it, he shuck his head slightly before looking back at the dragon and apologising, "I'm sorry about your loved ones... I was..."

"You were corrupted, the same way he is," The blue dragon asked with widened eyes, and Malefor picked up his head a little from hearing what the dragon said, "So... The stories were a lie... Before, the red dragon that has been commanding us to do things was pretty... well, he wasn't nice. But now, it's like, after the last couple of days, he's changed into something he wasn't, changing his mind and ideas on the things he wants to do."

"And what is it that he wants to do?" Terrador asked him, but Ignitus had to cut him off before the blue dragon could answer.

"Don't answer that!" Ignitus yelled, scaring everyone from the sudden outburst, and he knew he would have to make up an excuse for the others, "You don't need to know about what the Dark Master is planning or doing... _Might as well give them the real reason..._ " Walking over to the blue dragon, he explained, "You shouldn't know of the future," Standing in front of the blue dragon, he placed a paw on top of his head, closing his eyes and gathering all the information he could while still explaining, "If you know what he's planning and it's bad, you'll want to stop him immediately."

"That's kinda the whole point! Know what's he's doing so we can stop it," Malefor growled at him, and Carith moved over to his side as to not be in the way of the two.

"That's the problem!" Ignitus growled, taking his paw off the blue dragon's head and focusing his attention to Malefor, "When Spyro came to me for the first time, he wanted nothing more then to kill you quick, no matter how. He didn't want Cynder involved and he wanted to take you on himself," Everyone could see him shaking which made them all shake as they didn't understand why he was seeming to fear, and Ignitus couldn't hide that fact either, but tried to ignore it, "If you know what he's going to do, you'll want to rush In, unprepared for what's out there. You know the darkness is smart, and will find the weakest leak and kill it, and that's permanent..." Seeing that he was scaring the others, he sighed as he walked back over to his lover summing up what he was trying to say, "This isn't something we can just deal with. I get you are becoming close friends with Spyro, but even for someone like me, I don't know who he will turn on. Will he kill you, or fight by your side... Even with him being my son I... I don't know." Everyone didn't know what to say, nor what to do as everything that would be suggested would be shot down, but Ignitus gave the run down of what was to happen, "Terrador, your cut and blood is gone. Blue Dragon sir, you are free to stay in Warfang of course, and as for me, I need to talk with Spyro while you all stay here."

"What?!" Malefor cried, and he could tell that Ignitus wasn't in the mood but he put his paw down and declined, "Absolutely not! You just bashed me for not being Spyro's friend, I want to give him time to his lover like he wanted, and I'm not going to disappoint him!"

"Malefor, this is bigger then your friendship with Spyro. The whole world is in trouble and already we have to prepare for the worse."

"And what are you going to tell him?!"

"That there is still a threat out there that he should be looking out for."

"So you're going to force him to leave his lover and train some more, forcing him into more stress then he already has," Malefor growled, making a valid point to his argument, and even though Ignitus wanted to say something, he knew it was true, "I know what Spyro's been through because it's my fault. He's never been able to chill out for once in his life, and it doesn't help, sorry for calling out names, that Volteer also pushed him away from his lover."

"What is your... Oh... Well... Okay, yeah, you're not wrong," Volteer chuckled as he realised it was his fault as well.

"Spyro's trained up well enough that me and him can take on almost anything. So what if it's a new Dark Master. Spyro has his new Dark Form, he was able to easily destroy the Dark Master, and even now that he's all trained up and knows how to use it with some power upgrades, what's the problem here?" Hearing and seeing Ignitus sigh, Malefor tried just a little more in hope that he could cheer him up, along with the Guardians, "Just like what happened before, Spyro takes on the Dark Master, The Guardians take on the army, with some help from your boy of course, Malefor, and we will all be fine. We've trained for this, and if you go up there now and tell him he's not strong enough... We just... Can't."

He got silent as he couldn't say anything about what was to come, but could only think about it in his thoughts, _And how would we be able to defend against the Destroyer? We didn't win against that thing last time so... What would make a difference...? Malefor is strong, and so is Spyro... Maybe... Maybe this is another headache that I should just... Just forget... And breath... We... we should be... fine._ Walking over and to his side, the blue dragon sighed and asked in a murmur for no one else to hear, "If I find love... Will the darkness take that away from me too?"

Taking a paw up and patting him on the shoulder, Malefor assured him, "Of course not. I'm never going back to that, and... I'm sorry for your loss... I hope that your search for love will be successful."

The blue dragon nodded at him and as Malefor took his paw off his shoulder, the dragon walked away and out of the Chambers, dragging his tail across the floor. Now that everything had settled down, Ersa stepped back up to where she was before, and once Volteer took his wing down, she looked at Malefor and chuckled, "That's actually why I didn't really trust you right away when I got back. I saw dark creatures roaming around even after you were defeated so I, didn't know if you could be trusted."

"But... You do trust me... Right...? No pressure point in the shoulder?" Malefor chuckled a little before seeing a smirk form on Ersa's face, and she decided it would be best not to answer, "Ersa... Ersa, please..."

"Yeah, I'm not going to answer that," Hearing him whimper, he really did fear, but she ignored him and looked over at Ignitus as she had an idea, "Well, since the darkness and his friendship for Malefor is still an issue, why don't we go and talk to him," Before she could finish, Malefor opened his mouth wide to say something, but she treated him, "Don't interrupt me or else!" He quickly shut his mouth and backed his head up a bit, never knowing he could be so scared of someone in his life, "Think about it, it works out for everyone including them. You and Malefor get to see how Spyro's friendship is with him, I get to see how Spyro reacts to my tests, and, Cynder gets to know about how Claire and you fell in love, which is something I'm also interested about."

"Hehe, me too," Carith agreed as she was also wanting to know what had happened.

Both Cyril and Terrador chuckled at one another as they had an idea of how it might've happened since they heard most of it, and since those two chuckled, Malefor smiled as he knew they must've heard, "What are you two chuckling for?" They both looked at him, then looked at Ignitus, and everyone saw him wave a paw in front of his neck with a blush and a face of anger, "Oh man... Now I have to know. Come on, Ignitus, tell me..."

"Malefor, zip it," Ignitus growled as he looked at him, and looking away from him, he looked at Ersa and agreed to her plan, "I guess we can try that. Don't think Spyro's going to be too happy but, It would be nice to talk to him and figure it out from there," Seeing Malefor take careful steps towards the two Guardians, he whispered something to Cyril with a smile, and Ignitus was able to hear, so he yelled at him again, "Malefor! Damn it!"

Backing away from Cyril and walking back to the middle of the room, Malefor chuckled, "What? There's nothing wrong with me being curious. Plus, if you are going to know about our past and what we had to do to fall in love with our lover's, I want to know as well so we can all gossip about it," Turning around and facing the door, he didn't see Ignitus raise his tail blade to his side, and it took Claire putting her tail over his to calm him, "Oh yeah, Ersa," Turning his head around, she looked at him as he said, "I'm in no way shape or form apart of this. If he attacks, just say Terrador did it, or, Cyril, he's been close to death before."

"Wow," Cyril said with a sigh.

"Yeah, you're really going to throw us under the house with that?" Ersa giggled, but now she also raised a tail blade up, and it took Volteer's tail to rest over hers to calm her down.

"I said no! I know my friendship with Spyro would be fine, especially if we don't interrupt him, but no one listens to Malefor, because when is he right?" Malefor grumbled as he turned his head and walked out of the Chambers and to the left side, "Malefor is never right! Why would he be..." His voice stopped suddenly and no one knew why until they heard him running back to the Chambers, and poking his head around the corner, he asked, "My love... Are you, coming with me?" She raised a brow as she wondered if he had forgotten about her, and he chuckled with a nervous smile, "I thought you were going to walk with me... Right...?" All she did was turn her body to face him, and he chuckled as he slowly took his head away while saying, "I guess us being alone while we walk up there so we can kiss doesn't mean anything then."

It worked on her as all she could do was growl before running up and chasing after him. As Ersa stood up, she told the others what she'd do, "Alright, I guess while you all head up there, me and Volteer will work on getting what we need up there as well. It won't take us that long," Walking towards the entrance, she was followed close to her side by Volteer, and while she walked, she spoke, "It should only take us about seven minutes, so be up there before we are," Walking out of the Chambers with her lover, they walked over to their door, and could see Volteer raised a brow at her, wondering why she would say things in such an order, "Seven minutes isn't long enough, is it?"

"Don't try that on me," He teased as he knew what she was trying to imply, and as she opened their door and walked inside, he followed behind her, closing the door behind them as they entered, "'Be up there before we are', and, 'It should take us about seven minutes'. Sounds to me like you're trying to rush them," He could tell this were true as he watched her walk back and forth collecting stuff, but now with more and more of a blush, "I guess to answer what you said before, no, Seven minutes isn't that long, and if we need time to ourselves, I think everyone is going to be a little suspicious that we are taking longer then we should."

"I didn't say we'd do anything. I just said I needed time to do stuff, that's it."

"Uh huh. And what is it that you're going to do?"

"You know it's just me collecting my potions, nothing else..." Both paused as they heard steps outside their door, followed by some mumbled voices as they couldn't hear what was being said, and as the mumbling and sound of steps went away, she was now honest on she took a huge sigh, "You know what I want to do. And now that they are gone," Setting down her glass bottles onto the table, she looked at him, and then looked at the bottles, wondering what she should do, "And now that I know we can have some privacy..."

He could tell she was struggling with her options, and all he could do was sit back and wait for her to make the choice, "This is up to you my love, or, sorry, mate," She growled at him as she knew what he was trying to pull, and he chuckled as he apologised for not making it easy, "Sorry, I guess I shouldn't say anything. But everyone is already up there, and, let's be honest... Seven minutes?"

"I know I know... Ugh!" Grabbing a satchel from the left side of the table, she put it around herself, and popping open the the top of the satchel, she continued to grumble as put the glass bottles in her bag, "It's fine, it's fine. I've waited this long, I've waited for years on years, I know what you said, and I know what I said, But!" With everything in her bag, she turned towards him with a slightly puffed out chest as she said, "That doesn't make me saying no anymore easy. And the fact that your so for it, makes it even more frustrating!"

Volteer couldn't help himself but chuckle as she walked over to him, and he assured her as he did feel a little bad, "Ersa... One reason I guess I can say I want to rush it is because... I am scared, and I know you are too, of something to happen to break us up once again," As she stood in front of him, she gave a slight frown as he was right, but he smiled and assured her, "But you saw how Malefor reacted to the darkness. I've been training up as well so... Let's go have some fun!"

Her eyes grew wide and her smile did as well, and with her tail wagging, she cried happily, "Really?! B... But what if... I mean..."

"Oh, Ersa I..." He could tell that she thought he meant something different, so he had to unfortunately tell her the truth behind his words, "When I meant fun, I meant seeing the effects your potions have on Spyro, not.. Me and you..." She took a deep sigh in before releasing all the air she had built up, and he gave a nervous chuckle as now he could tell she was furious, "I... I love you though... I really do," She couldn't respond to him, now all she did was walk past him and towards the door, opening it and walking out it, and Volteer cried as he felt terrible, "Ersa!" Running after her, he cried once again, "There's always tonight!"

* * *

"You know, the more and more I think about it, the more and more I realise, maybe this isn't such a good idea," Cyril declined the idea now more then before, and compared to the others, he sat in the middle of the house's hallway while the others stood a couple of steps away from the door to not be completely heard, "I mean, I know Ersa is smart and, getting Cynder on her good side would make Spyro still smile as well but... maybe we should just back out now while we still can."

"We can't, Cyril," Ignitus declined, and everyone could already tell that something was on his mind about what's happened, and he tried to be honest with everyone, "To be honest, being the Chronicler is nothing more then a chore. I'm always worrying or, seeing others for what they aren't and... it's messing with me trying to be the father for Spyro that I should be."

"What do you mean?"

"Because of what's been happening, my mind is clouded by how I think or know on how someone should act. I don't go off of feelings or ideas as much anymore, mainly because I can read minds. I'm not... myself... I'm not like how I should be. And... I guess that why I love my relationship with Claire so much because it isn't ruined by me reading her thoughts or past to just instantly know something... I need to just know what I did before, about you all, rather then knowing everything and not feeling... as bad..." They all tried their best to understand where he was coming from as they didn't really understand exactly what he was going through, and Ignitus started to feel worse as he thought about it, letting his head look down at the ground, "I feel like Malefor knows how Spyro would react better then I would... And..."

"Cheer up, man," Malefor said, throwing his arm around the back of his friend's neck and over his shoulder, "This is another good thing we can talk to Spyro about. And maybe you can find a way to shut off your powers from here to here. Spyro's your son, and that will never change. Don't believe me, ask him yourself. But you know, deep down, you already know the truth, and it doesn't take the power of the Chronicler to know he will always love you."

Everyone's eyes grew wide to hear what Malefor had just said, and everyone believed he was just joking, and they were waiting for him to jab at Ignitus for something. Malefor didn't see anyone's reaction as he was looking at Ignitus's frown slowly turn into a smile as his words were very helpful to his friend. Carith was especially surprised to see the help he gave to his friend, and made sure to reward him later on, _If he doesn't make a joke, I will give him a little kiss._ Picking his head up as Ignitus felt a lot better from his words, he looked over at Malefor and went to thank him, but he chuckled as he knew there was some kind of joke he was holding back, "Alright... Why so helpful all the sudden?"

"Because your feeling... down?"

"Exactly. Normally you'd make someone feel better, and then make a joke to get them to cheer up... Well, that's your plan anyway. So why no joke now?"

"Well, when you put it like that I sound like an ass. There's no joke to my words," Taking his arm off from his friend, he was honest with him, "Just felt like you need some cheering up. And with Spyro usually being the one to cheer everyone up, he entrusted your lives with me, so, I'm not going to let him down."

 _Okay... maybe a full on make out session when he's done,_ Carith promised herself, biting her lip as she looked at him. While everyone else was on board, somewhat hopeful that he wouldn't say anything else and things would stay the way they are, Terrador called him out on it as well, "Yeah, Malefor, what ever your pulling, it ain't working." Looking over at his green friend, Malefor gave a raised brow as he wondered what he meant as well, "Just before in the Chamber, you were attacking both Ignitus and Ersa, and now your being a... friend? You just don't want to get your ass beat because of what you said."

"I mean, if you want me to make a joke I..."

"No!" Everyone cried in unison, and this time, Ignitus looked at Terrador and told him the same thing he told Malefor, "Zip it."

"What are you all yelling for?" Volteer asked as he walked into the Chambers with his lover by his side.

"Don't ask. You'll get yelled at for it," Terrador grumbled, but he could understand the reason behind it, "I wouldn't be surprised if those two knew we were all in there house for sure now."

"That's where the girls come into play," Claire said, turning around and facing the door, "Like Ersa said, if Cynder sees the girls, all we have to do is make sure she's happy, and then Spyro will follow as well. So, guys, make sure you are out of view while we talk to her, as to not get her suspicions up," Everyone did as they were told, and while the guys backed up towards the entrance door, the girls all got together in front of the door of Spyro and Cynder's room, "You girls all ready?"

"Ready to have another girls night," Ersa grumbled and the other girls looked at her, wondering why she had said that, "Don't worry, nothing bad happened between me and Volteer... I'm just... Forget it."

"No no no, it's completely fine, Ersa. What happened?" Carith asked as now the girls all wondered.

"I... Let's just, get Cynder first and then I will... probably... talk about it."

"Hehe, sweet. Something else to look forward to today."

Walking up to the door, Claire gave light knocks and said, "Cynder? Are you in there?" She didn't hear a response, and didn't even know if the two were in the room, so she made sure by opening the door and saying again, "Cynder, it's the girls. Are you..."

As the door opened, the girls all gasped and looked with wide eyes. On the right side of the bed was Cynder, on her back with wings sprawled out and looking straight. On the left side of the bed was Spyro, standing up and in an attack position, almost like he was ready to jump on her and attack. Both of the lovers stood where they were, looking at one another with wide eyes as they didn't expect to be interrupted. As the girls all carefully walked into the room, Spyro was the first one to react from the sudden walk in. Puffing out his chest, closing his eyes and inhaling deeply with anger clearly showing on his face, Carith quickly defended her lover, "This wasn't Malefor's idea!" Opening one eye to look at her, he held in his breath while still keeping a puffed out chest, "Malefor warned us constantly, afraid that you'd be angry at him. He tried his best, I swear, but... We really, really wanted to talk with Cynder."

Letting out all the air in his body to finally breath, he gave out a huge sigh as he un-puffed his chest. Since the girls were looking for her, Cynder looked at them and asked as she wondered, "What do you all need me for?"

"Well, I was wondering if you wanted to know how me and Ignitus fell in love?" Claire asked and almost instantly, she was able to get a reaction out of Cynder.

"I'm listening."

"Well I can't tell you in here, girls only stuff. Also, sometimes happened with Ersa so, more stuff for us to talk about," Already, Cynder had rolled onto her belly and made sure her body was facing straight as she was intrigued by what the girls were saying, "And Ersa also has some potions for Spyro to try, which I'm assuming should be nothing bad so, you won't have to worry about him being in pain or anything like that, so it works out for the both of you."

Cynder was already on board with everything the girls were saying, and as all the girls looked over to Spyro to hear what he had to say, they were all shocked, "I'm sorry but... It's going to be a no," All the girls gasped as they thought this would've been the perfect idea for all of them to have fun with, and he had his reasons, "I promised Cynder we aren't going to leave this bed today no matter what," Taking a couple of steps before laying down on his belly next to his lover, he made sure he kept his promise, "I promised her this day was for her. Malefor can be the test dummy for you Ersa, and Cynder will have all the time to talk tomorrow. I'm sorry but... Maybe tomorrow."

Now the girls didn't know what to do as they really did have high hopes to talk with Cynder, and Ersa had hopes to test out her potions. All the girls frowned knowing that there wasn't anything they could do, but Cynder stepped in to their surprise, "Now hold on just a minute, girls," Everyone looked at her, wondering what she was going to say, especially since Spyro had already said no, they wondered how she would change his mind, "Spyro, you do remember the promise you made to me by exact words, don't you?" He nodded his head, wondering what she meant by that, and she repeated exactly what he had told her yesterday, "'I love you, and I promise, no matter what happens, we will not leave this bed unless you say so'. That you, was me, so if i say we should get up for any reason, we have to," All the girls looked at her with wide eyes, and Spyro gave a slight chuckle as he did remember himself saying that but didn't want to say anything, and she caught onto that, "So why didn't you say anything, my love."

He frowned as he didn't want to admit it, but he hoped by him admitting it, she would stay, "Because I promised you this day... I don't want us to leave this bed because... I want you to know that, no matter what, I will never forget, and make the same mistake I have been in the past couple of days..." Draping a wing over her back and putting his tail over hers, he didn't know if he had done everything he should've and still didn't want her to leave, "There is always tomorrow my love. I want to make sure this day is a day to remember, just like any other... Just like how you wanted it from the past."

"Spyro," Putting a paw over his, he looked at her to see her smile, while also giving off a little blush, "This day has already been as amazing as I'd hope it would've been. So why don't we go and have some fun now? We still have the night, and, this day has also shown that Malefor really did try and keep his promise to you. And be honest, he isn't going to attack the girls, you know that as much as I do."

"Hehe, yeah... that's because of Ersa's pressure point technique."

The two lover's shared a nice laugh, and same for Ersa as she understood as well, and the other girls smiled to see how well they were getting along, which wasn't really a surprise to them. Giving a sigh, he looked at the girls, and then looked back at her lover before asking, "If you go with the girls... Will you promise to have a good time, and make sure to keep a smile?"

"Of course I will. I promise... I've had an amazing time with you, and it's made up for everything that's happened."

Giving a sigh, the girls all waited for what he would say, and with his lover's help, he changed his mind, "Alright..." Taking his wing off her back along with his tail, he felt bad for what he did and apologised for it, "I want you to be happy, and, keeping you here when you don't want to isn't exactly something I should do, I just..."

"Spyro... The girls are right here, and I don't want to get into too much detail about how amazing you making out with me was."

While she giggled, he also chuckled and gave another sigh, knowing that she really was happy with how well things have gone for her. Giving a smile, he agreed, "You can hang out with the girls."

"Really?!" Cynder cried happily while all the other girls smiled wide with wide eyes as well, completely appalled that she was able to convince him, "Thank you, Spyro!"

Wrapping her wings around his back, he chuckled once again at her excitement, and he couldn't get the smile off his face, "Like I said, doesn't sound good when you want to do something and I tried to keep you away from it," As she pulled away from the hug, he explained a little further, still apologising, "I'm sorry... I..."

"Spyro, you wanted to fulfil your promise to me and you did. Everything is fine my love, I swear."

"Hehe, yeah... It really is..." The girls were all looking at him smiling, and he could tell they were all looking at him, and he gave a blush too but tried to change his attitude, "Now where's Malefor so I can kick his ass for not doing his job," Even as he tried to joke, the smile on his face never faded and they all giggled to see that which made him sigh, "Alright, fine... Yes, I'm happy, is that a problem?"

Cynder giggled at him as she stood up on the bed, and while the girls backed away, she made sure to crawl off the bed, making her tail grope along his neck as she did. His head stood up as to give her room for her tail, and as it got to her tail blade, she used the flat top of her tail to go past his neck as well, not causing him harm in the process. With her now off the bed, he looked at her while her back was to him, and turning her head back to look at him, just as Spyro, she kept her smile and thanked, "Thank you... my love."

Giving a pleased sigh, he laid his head down on his paws and watched as she turned her head around and walked with the girls towards the door. Seeing them go to the left, he knew they were headed to the training room, and just as they got out of his field of view, he saw the guys all sitting against the back wall of his house. _What the...?_ Standing up, he jumped off the bed and walked towards his door. Sitting in his doorway, he looked over to see the training room door was cracked open just a little. Looking back ahead, the guys were still all standing there, and he rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't dreaming. As he did that, he pulled his paws down from his eyes and blinked a couple of times. Once he made sure his vision was clear, the guys were all gone, and he felt like he was tripping out, "Am I dreaming?"

"Absolutely not," A voice called from behind him, and feeling a paw swing around the back of his neck and over his shoulder, he looked to his right and saw Malefor, "What's sup man. Things went really well for you in there, don't you think."

"Malefor?! What the..." Looking around, to his left first, he saw Ignitus and Volteer, and looking to his other side was Malefor, Terrador, and Cyril, "Wh... What are you all doing in my house?"

"Well, I live here," Malefor chuckled.

"And I needed to ask you something," Ignitus was honest, giving a little frown as he said that.

"And I followed because you know I wouldn't leave Ersa," Volteer said, but he realised what happened yesterday and defended himself, "Okay, in my defense, I had Ignitus watch over her so she was fine. And to answer why the other two are here, just like with the last girls day out, they are lonely and don't want to sit down there by themselves." The two opened their mouths to say something, but they knew he was right and both closed their mouths, "So, how's it going, Spyro?"

"Well, first, I'm not buying that bull excuse that it was only the girls who wanted to see us, otherwise you all wouldn't be here," Seeing as everyone opened their mouths to say something, Spyro cut them off before they were able to say anything as he didn't want to hear it, "Nope. Don't care what other excuse it was. You all were in the back out of our view for a reason, which does make me think it could have been one of you guys," Now hearing someone else open their mouth, he knew it was from his right, and could guess well enough as he looked over to know it was Malefor, "Calm down, Malefor, I know it wasn't you." Closing his mouth after sighing, he was glad to hear he was trusted, "Now, going back over to Ignitus, what is it you need to ask me? If it's world ending, give me a break for at least a day. Literally just got done with helping Volteer and Ersa and I just... Ahem... What is it?"

Giving his son a chuckle as he could understand everything he's been going through, he assured him while also trying to answer his question, "Don't worry, Spyro, you're safe from saving the world, for now at least..."

"Uh... What...?"

"Oh, don't worry, you're fine. Apes are everywhere and them attacking from here and here is to be expected, but nothing major," Ignitus chuckled as he didn't mean to say what he had did, and since he made Spyro's suspicions grow, he knew he had to change the subject quick, "But, anyway, going back. I... I wanted to know from you if I was a good... father, to you?" Seeing him raise a brow, Ignitus understood that the question did seem random, so he explained a little more in-depth, "It's just, over that last weeks I... I feel like I haven't been the father I should be to you. Whether it be after Malefor was back or, the whole thing with Ersa and yet, I come to you for help and I... I could've at least talked to you in your mind after you saved Malefor... and I didn't... and..."

"Ignitus," Spyro spoke in a soft tone, making his father feel a sense of calmness to him, and he looked towards his son, angry at himself as he was scared to know what he'd say, but he knew he shouldn't be, "You really think you're a terrible parent because you made mistakes, and, this is your first time even being a father?" Immediately his son's words were able to brighten his face up a bit, and he even chuckled at his joke that he made about Malefor, "Although, you did have to take care of a Hatchling back in the day named Malefor so, I guess you can't use that excuse."

"I was a grown man, Thank you very much," Malefor defend his pride.

"Yeah, such a grown up that, instead of talking out the problem with his lover and her dad, he just went straight to his roam and threw a fit. Total man right there," Spyro raised a brow as he looked at him, and he watched as Malefor scuffed and made a couple of noises, trying to fight back with him, but he just crossed his arms and grumbled, "Anyway," Looking back at his father, he made sure his words did make him smile, "What happened back then was stressful for everyone, and if you would've interrupted me and Cynder when we first fell in love... Probably would've killed you, or I would've let Malefor do it when you first came back, so, it's a good thing you didn't."

"Hehe, yeah, I... I guess you're right... I just, I'm trying to change back to myself and limit my powers. Constantly knowing what everyone is thinking is messing with me and I can't respond with emotion anymore, and that's why my relationship with Claire works out so well, because I don't know her thoughts, I go off emotions... Which I should be doing for you all, especially you since you're my son, and... A father should know how to help."

"I mean, when you put it like that... I would definitely appreciate you stepping up and making a change for the better," Hearing the girls giggle in the Chambers, Spyro stopped for a second and looked to the door, raising a brow as he wondered what they were talking about, and so did Malefor, he just didn't see, "Look, Ignitus," Looking back at his father he assured him one last time, "You'll always be my father. I've made mistakes, and so has everyone else that's lived. I'm glad you've made mistakes with how you've handle things here and here. Some turned out good, and even when things turn bad, you still learn from them and grow. And even now, you want to grow to be a better father to me. That makes you just like any other dragon, so don't ever think you're not someone I care for." He was able to catch a glimpse of his father smiling before looking back at the door and hearing the girls giggle once again, "So, uh... Yeah... I will... Be right back."

Seeing as both Spyro and Malefor walked over towards the door to peak on what the girls were talking about, Volteer shuck his head and told them to come back, "What are you two doing? Give the girls some privacy."

"About Volteer though..."

"What?"

Hearing his name be called, he walked right up towards the door with the other two and now wanted to hear what the girls had to say. The other three Guardians shuck their heads to see him go against his words so quickly, but they decided not to say anything in hopes something would happen, or they'd get caught. _Hopefully by them peaking in, one of the girls will get scared and use their abilities,_ Terrador chuckled lightly to himself with an evil grin.

* * *

"Alright, Alright, fine, I will... Tell you all why I've been feeling down," Letting out a sigh and a blush, she saw all the girls in front of her sit there with anticipation, and since they were on the right side of the wall, close to the door, Ersa's body blocked their view of the guys as they peaked in, "You all know that, I've been... Talking to Volteer about the next step, aside from you of course Cynder since you were asleep."

"Why couldn't you all wake me up? I would've love to see what had happened."

"Because Spyro was there. And since you were sleeping pretty peacefully, I would've felt bad myself just trying to wake you up," Carith answered for Claire as well as neither of them wanted to interrupt her sleep.

"Hehe, yeah, and, plus... There was mainly just crying... A lot... of crying," The girls eyes got wide as they saw Ersa frown, starting to want to shed a tear for some reason, and she was able to catch on fast enough and straighten herself up, "Ahem! Getting back on subject. This is a little hard to say since, none of you girls are to this level yet but... I actually got a little... angry..." All the girls gasped as they thought that was how she felt towards Volteer, and she quickly shut that idea down, "No no no, not towards him, I just..." Letting out a huge sigh, she started to mumble and murmur, feeling a little uncomfortable now talking about it, "It's just... A girl has needs and... It's been years and... Now that he's back I... OH!"

Feeling something touch her left back-end, she shivered as her whole body jumped from the random feeling. Looking to her left, there was no one, so she looked to her right and saw it was Volteer, and he teased her even though the other females were right there, "I said we should stay in the room. I have my ways to seal off a door. Sorry about scaring you, just got a little uh... Excited."

The girls blushed to hear what Volteer said, and Ersa blushed just as hard as the other girls, lightly slapping his chest with her paw with a smile as she heard him laugh. With the other guys walking in, the girls walked to Ersa's left side, and everyone focused their attention to Malefor as he made what seemed like a joke, "We tried to get him to stay but he said, and I quote him, "Got to go grab me my girl by the back end'." No one believed him, so they focused their attention to Spyro, and when he nodded with a blush, the girls all gasped, "Yeah... Dude got issues."

"Well... We are slowly but surely getting there..." Ersa sighed as she lowered her head, once again completely saying stuff out loud rather then in her mind, and picking back up her head she looked to her left and seeing the guys, and the girls, were all looking at her with wide eyes, "Oh... whoops... did I, say that out loud?" Giving off a giggle as she realised she had, she turned back over to Volteer and saw that he had puffed out his chest for some reason to make him more manly, and it was working, "Volteer..." Ersa tried to whisper as best she could, "Calm down or else I won't be able to, understand?"

"So, uh... Ersa... We going to uh... Test out those potions or... do we all need to leave?" Spyro asked as everyone could see the two flirting with one another even though Ersa tried to fight back, and looking back behind him to see the other had entered the roam, he elbowed Malefor gently in his shoulder and got his attention, "I don't like where this is going. Want to go and meet up with the..." Hearing a huge sigh, both the guys looked over at Ersa, and everyone had wide eyes from the sigh, "Oh hell... That's not good."

"I'll make a promise to make it up to you. It's going to happen tomorrow, I promise. And unlike Malefor, you, can definitely quote me on that," She had closed her eyes and listened to him talk about his promise, and opening one eye to look at him, he smiled at her and knew she couldn't resist, "Now matter what. And like I said, I could always seal the door off with some of my expert skills in chemical mixing."

"Volteer," Hearing her growl, he watched as she looked at him and opened her other eye, threatening him in ways, "If it doesn't, I have my own ways of making sure it happens, understand?" She could see he was now rethinking his plan for reasons she already understood, "That doesn't mean you should force me to do what I have in mind..." Giving a deep sigh, she controlled her breathing afterwards and did smile as she grateful that he was at least trying, "At least I know you still love me... I would say let's kiss now but... let's just wait till we are back in our rooms." Walking away from her lover, everyone saw Volteer smiling so they knew it must've been good news, and since Ersa seemed to be in a good mood, that was another clear indication, "Alright, Spyro. Let's see what these potions can do."

Running up to her lover, Cynder stood next to him and called out as she did have a little fear, "Can any of these cause any kind of harm to him? I know what you said in our roam but... Just making sure."

"Well... That's the hope is that they, shouldn't, cause harm but uh... They are a test so... Who really knows," Ersa giggled while everyone looked at both Spyro and Cynder's face as now they were both worried.

Putting a wing over her lover, Spyro chuckled as he wondered why she was the one doing that, and he didn't have to ask for an answer, "Okay, now I'm rethinking this idea. Things have been going good so far, and last thing I want is for this day to take a turn for the worse. We could just go back to our room now if you wanted to."

"Cynder, I'll be fine," Spyro assured her, even though he had no idea what was to come from her potion testes, "I will just test these out, then she'll be happy, and so will Volteer, so then we can go back to our room and continue our love story," Seeing her blush a little from him bringing that up, he chuckled and flirted with her as he was still a little upset, "Just sucks because we were getting to the best part. A jump, a struggle, and then a bite."

"What?!" She cried, now sad that they were interrupted, and she bit her lip, a little sad that they weren't able to continue, "What's stopping the bite now?"

"Spyro?! You going to try these out or not?" Ersa called out as she was waiting a little bit back from the middle of the training room near the door with everyone else already by her side and waiting, and while Spyro giggled, Cynder grumbled.

"Hehe, well, I can give you two guesses," He chuckled.

"I guess I can't be mad... I'm really glad Ersa lived through all of what she went through... Just... Please... If you feel anything wrong then just, back out, Okay?"

"I promise," Kissing her forehead, she gave a small frown as she took off her wing from his back and watched him pull away, "Come on, my love, it's me. I've fought through worse," As he started to walk over to the middle, she followed and he joked, "And I'm sure a potion kicking me in the gut wouldn't be nearly as bad as the Dark Master so, I should be fine."

"Should be... More like need to be," As he walked in front of Ersa, he and his lover stopped in front of her, and Cynder warned her just to make sure they were on the right page, "Ersa, we girls here love having you around. Please just... make sure nothing happens."

"Hehe, don't worry, Cynder. I've already tested these a little bit. I just wanted to mess with you," Ersa giggled and knew it would be best to tell her the truth.

"Well... Hehe... At least you're honest."

Walking away from her lover, Spyro could see her tail dragging on the floor, and knew he needed to cheer her up, "Ersa, give me one sec," As she sat next to Carith at the far end of the crowd, Spyro called out to her name, "Hey, Cynder," She picked up her head and blushed rather quickly to see him flexing his muscles, "Didn't get these muscles cause they were given to me, just my usual work out to keep you safe."

"Alright Mister Flexer, chill out before those muscles pop," Malefor chuckled, and Cynder giggled as well.

"Alright then, let's get this party started!" Ersa happily called out while clapping her paws, and everyone smiled to see how excited she was, "Now, the question is..." Looking down to her right side and opening her satchel, she moved bottles around with small clanking noises as one bottle hit another one, "Which one should you try first?" Grabbing one of the bottles and taking it out of her bag, she inspected it as the color turned from green, then blue, and back to green, "Let's see what this one does," Giving the bottle over to Spyro, he grabbed it from her paws and she explained, "Now, you can either drink it, or, you can just break the glass and let the liquid go into your scales. The glass is special in a way where it won't pierce your body, and it holds up against the stuff I work on so, your choice."

Inspecting the bottle for himself, Spyro backed his head away for a second as the bottle once again turned from green, then blue, and back to green. Chuckling as he was a little afraid, he decided to go with the safer option, "Yeah... I think I will just drink it..." Taking the cork off the top of the bottle, he hesitated for a second and didn't even dare try and smell the bottle, "Well... Bottoms up!" Drinking the liquid as quick as he could, he swallowed all of the bottle and let out a sigh of relief, not having tasted the liquid at all, "Weird..." Pulling the bottle away from his lips, he put the cork back on the bottles and gave it back to her, "Was there supposed to be a taste to it? Then again, I did drink the whole bottle but..." As he had given her the bottle, he started to feel weird, and everything started to get further away, and he was able to see everyone looking at him with wide eyes from up above, "Um... Ersa...? Am I... AH!" Looking down underneath him, he realised he was floating towards the ceiling and away from everyone, and trying to use his wings, it was like there was no gravity at all, no wind for him to go against and move, "Ersa! Help!" Looking behind him, his back hit the top of the ceiling while everyone continued to stare in amazement, but Spyro wasn't having a good time, and he rolled onto his paws, now standing upside down on the ceiling, shivering as he asked, "Um, Ersa... How long will this take to... Stop working?"

"Hey... Ignitus," Malefor whispered over to his red friend and was able to get his attention, "I won't mess with you, your lover, or any of the other Guardians for a whole week if you open the roof and let Spyro fly out."

"No! Don't do that! Malefor!" Spyro yelled out at him as Malefor wasn't quiet when he had asked him, and it only made it more scary for him as he could see his father thinking about it, and he cried out, "Ignitus! Dad! You said you would be a better parent to me, did you not?! Don't do this to me," Seeing his dad smile at him, and giving him a nod, Spyro had a huge sigh of relief as he put a paw on his chest, and now his anger was directed towards Malefor, "When I get down there, I swear to everything that you stand for, Malefor."

"I wasn't actually going to do it... Maybe..."

"So, how long will it take to wear off?" Volteer asked his lover as he was standing right next to her.

"Well, the type of gem that I've used for most of my creations don't last that long, so he should be coming down in... It's been a couple of minutes or so... I would say a couple more seconds," Everyone heard her words and waited the couple of seconds, and she was right in her words as he started to slowly descend off the ceiling and back down to the ground, "Hey, Spyro, you should be fine now to use your wings..." Just as she had said that, he turned his body back over and whipped his wings, sending him flying towards the ground, and as he made it, he laid on the ground, claws dug into it and still shaking, "Hehe, Sorry, I will, try and make sure I don't have anything else like that in here... Anyway, next up."

"Already?" Spyro cried, not wanting to even move his claws from the ground.

"Oh don't worry. That was probably the only one that could've ended badly..." Looking over to her lover, Ersa put a paw beside her mouth and told her lover, "I'm very surprised how well that worked out. Worst comes to worse, the wind would've crushed him and became too power, or the gravity would've so... Success." His eyes grew wide as he didn't know that was one of the side effects, and seeing how wide his eyes got, Spyro got suspicious, and she didn't want that to happen, "So, next up on the list is going to be one that I'm hoping I packed," Putting the glass bottle from her paw back into the back, she searched for the next bottled, "There you are," Picking up a bottle from her bag, the liquid inside was pink, and it seemed pretty smooth as she shuck it around, "Alright, Spyro, this one right here should be nothing of a problem."

Spyro grumbled slightly as he didn't really trust in her words, but he knew he had to get it over with, and seeing as Cynder was watching him coward in fear, he had to stand up. _I can't let my fear show in front of Cynder,_ he thought, giving a sigh as he took his claws from the ground. Standing up and once again grabbing another bottle from her paw, he took the cork off the top and instantly smelt something he had never smelt before. Instantly his body started to sweat, and he couldn't figure out why, but he shrugged it off and got it over with. Once again drinking the liquid, he swallowed it all and was pleased with the taste. _At least it has taste compared to the other one._ Taking the bottle from his lips and putting the cork back over it, he gave it back to Ersa and asked, "So what's this one?"

She first put the bottle back in the bag before turning back to face him and answering, "Well, technically, it actually wasn't anything. I just really wanted you to try out this new bubble gum flavor medicine I've been working on, so you should be feeling pretty good right now." Seeing him sweat, something was off, and he started to blush, shaking his head as if he couldn't get thoughts off his mind, and he even started to growl at himself, and with Ersa getting worried, so did everyone else, "Spyro... Are you... Okay?"

"No..." He growled back, and turning to his lover, his voice changed to something smoother, "But I can be..." Walking over to Cynder, she didn't understand what was happening, and neither did Ersa and she tried to get an idea of what she had given him to make him act this way, "Cynder..." Standing in front of her, she opened her mouth to ask something, but her lips were sealed with his, and even with the other right there, he started to make out with his lover, and even she knew something was off and pushed him away, even backing away as she did, "Cynder, my love, what's wrong."

"Oh hell," Ersa growled as she started to dig back in her bag, "I really hope I brought something for this."

"Spyro, I'm all down for kissing and all but, you weren't exactly easy when you kissed me," Cynder was honest, and it didn't seem to faze him at all from her words.

"You know we can't be easy when it's fun, Cynder," Now everyone knew something was wrong with him, and even with them knowing that, hearing him flirt in such a way made everyone else feel uncomfortable, "You didn't even let me get to the best part. Come on, let's go back to our rooms and then I can show you fun..." Taking another step towards her, he grinned as he teased, "Just lay back and I will do all the work."

"Alright, Carith, we are just going to switch places real quick," Moving from the right of Carith to her left, Malefor squeezed in between his lover and Terrador, giving a sigh of relief and apologizing as well, "Sorry, my love but... I don't know what I can do to help."

 _Here we go! This should work perfectly,_ Ersa thought,pulling out a bottle with black and green coloring inside of it, _It's a shame I only brought two but... I didn't expect to bring this potion anyway, and now I will have to make another._ Walking over towards Spyro, she could still hear him trying to flirt with her, and before she could even get to his side, Cynder yelled out at him as to why she wasn't having how he was acting, " _Maybe if I lie, it will calm him down?_ You hurt me, Spyro!"

Nearly automatically, it had effect on him as Spyro's face turned to fear, and he took his paws back away from her. Ersa saw this as a perfect opportunity to get him to drink the antidote as she ran up to his side. Standing beside him, she showed the bottle in front of his face and said, "Spyro, drink this. This well help get rid of all of the effects."

It took him a bit to even respond, but clenching his eyes shut and letting a couple of tears go down his eyes, he grabbed the bottle, popped off the cork, and drank as much of the weird liquid as he could. Swallowing all of the liquid, his head looked down at the ground with his paws hitting the ground, trying to catch his breath as he didn't feel right at all, but he could feel himself coming back. Ersa apologized for everything that had happened and explained, "Sorry for the mix up, Spyro... That was meant for... Volteer..."

"Me?" Volteer asked, and seeing her lover blush slightly, she sighed as she turned her head to look at him.

"Look, I said if you weren't going to go for it, I had to ways to make you," She saw his blush, and he even gave a little smirk from her words, and then explained a little further for everyone else, "Lets just say it makes you more... Ahem... Sexually attracted to your lover so... I guess I need to do some more work. I didn't know it would make the love for someone aggressive enough to hurt them."

"It didn't," Cynder said, walking up to Spyro and sitting down in front of him, she assured him, "I only lied about that to get my lover under control of what he was going through," She couldn't really tell if she was making progress or not because his head was still ducked, so she knew she had to keep trying, "I know my Spyro... and he knows I'm the one that takes the lead," The girls couldn't help but giggle, and it seemed to work for Spyro as well as she could see his smile even as he tried to fight it, "Well, that is a pretty big lie but... My point is..." Putting her paw over his left paw, she assured him as she ducked her head down to see him, "Just like the neck bite thing, I'm not hurt."

Giving out a sigh of sadness, Spyro put the cork on the bottle and handed it over to Ersa. Ersa grabbed the bottle from his paw and as she put it back into her bag, she backed away and let the two talk it out. He was still afraid to face her after what he had done, but knew it was better then trying anything else. Picking up his head to say something, his lips were sealed with hers pretty quickly and suddenly. But unlike last time, she enjoyed every second of how smooth and nice he was with his lips against hers. Gently taking her lips away from his, she smiled, and it seemed to work as he even smiled back, "That's way better," He chuckled as he definitely agreed, but as his frown was slowly coming back from what happened, she wasn't going to allow it, "Spyro... I already told you that you didn't hurt me, and I'm fine. So the only reason you should be frowning is because you just want another kiss." Almost immediately, he frowned as much as he could, and she giggled at him, "I don't mind remembering how smooth and easy you are."

With the two kissing lovingly after what had happened, Ersa went through her satchel and made sure she had everything that she needed while she stood next to her lover, "Okay, so, I got that one, got that one... What's this one...? Oh yeah," While digging through her satchel, she felt something touch her left back side, and her head focused away from the bag and to her left, seeing that what touched her back end was Volteer's, "What?"

"What do you mean what? When did you make that potion?"

"Oh..." Giving off a giggle and a blush, she was honest with him even as embarrassing as it was, "Well, I technically made two different versions. One messes with memory so you'd think that your lover is really me. I was going to use that one against you in case you were with someone else another then me... Which... Sounds terrible when I say it out loud but... If you were with someone else, you would... I won't go into deep detail but, who ever you were with would've broken up with you."

"Damn... So why do I deserve someone as sexy as you?"

"Uh huh? And how do you now that?"

"Been checking you out if course."

"What are you after?"

Hitting his back side against hers once again, she giggled while blushing along with him as he teased her, "Oh you know what I'm after."

Now catching their breaths from their kissing, Spyro felt much better to continue on with the day now, and Cynder made sure if it, "You even fought against it, despite how powerful it was," Rolling a claw on his chest, he chuckled while she flirted, "I think we can have a little, adventure, with that story," Seeing everyone look over at them with blushes, she growled and had to call it for now, "Now go back and have some fun... I guess you're not having fun but, you know."

Chuckling at her, he nodded and made sure he nuzzled underneath her neck for how understanding she was. Taking his head back from her neck, he gave a very quick sigh as he felt a whole lot better, "Thank you, my love... And... Are you sure I didn't hurt you...?"

"Spyro..." Cynder gave a raised brow at him, and he immediately dropped what he was saying and chuckled before turning and running back to Ersa, "You handsome dragon you..." Giving a pleased sigh herself, she proceeded to walk back to where she was sitting as well, and as she sat down, she realized she was sitting next to Carith, and asked her friend, "Wait, Carith, why did Malefor move? I mean, not complaining, I much prefer it this way."

"I definitely don't," Terrador growled as he looked at Malefor, and even though he was growling, his friend just tried to chuckle even with him balling up a fist.

"It's better this way," Carith whispered as she looked at Cynder, "Now we can have girl talk without my lover in the way." Both the girls giggled, and Carith was the first to ask even though it was on Cynder's mind as well, "You think we can get all the girls over here, like Claire, and then have Ersa just sit where I'm sitting so Volteer can sit next to her and we can sit in a row?"

"I was thinking the same thing."

With everyone else talking and getting into position with all girls on the right and the guys on the left, Spyro stood in front of Ersa as she was now prepared him for what was next, "Alright, next up is going to be a little bit... Difficult," Seeing him already take a step back, she assured him and thought it could be fun, "Don't worry, not like that. What I mean is..." Reaching into her bag, she pulled out a bottle of green liquid, and she explained, "So, this is from a green gem patch actually, melted down and mixed with a couple other chemicals such as flavored enhancements to get rid of the bad taste, while keeping the purpose of what it's suppose to do, but now, here's the fun part for you... You're going to need to get rid of all of your energy."

"Even my dark form?"

"All of your energy," She could see him smile a little, and even his tail started to wag a bit from her saying what she did, "I think I found a way to give more energy then a normal green gem, and it'll give you the power of an entire patch. So, I need to see by how much or how little..." Unable to finish her sentence, he already exploded into his dark form, not knowing it darkened up the entire training room for a second as a wave of darkness washed over the area, "Oh... Well, I guess your ready. Just remember, use all of your power, don't hold back."

"Hehe, Now this is something I can definitely do! Saving the best for last I see, Ersa," Turning away from her, he turned his body away from everyone and faced straight at the other wall, "I can finally let loss, and for an experimental reason," Tuning his head around, he first spoke to his lover as he looked over his right shoulder, "Don't worry, my love, I won't kill myself trying," She smiled at him a little weakly as she was still scared, and now looking over his left shoulder, he looked to his dad and asked, "Hey, Ignitus, in case something does happen, are you able to uh... make sure everyone is safe?"

"I can definitely try. What I will do is reinforce the wall in front of you with my power, and I will protect everyone else from back here," Ignitus told him.

"Sweet. Thanks."

Turning his head back around and facing the wall, he stretched out his body, extending his wings, stretching out his arms and legs while also popping his neck from one side to the next. With his body all loosened up, he jumped up a couple of times before concentrating as hard as he could. _Hehe, this is gonna be sweet._ Spyro thought. Ducking his head back while charging up as much fire in his mouth as he could, everyone could see from his mouth the fire that formed from how hot it was. The fire went slow before spending up, swirling and being consumed by blue fire and spinning at and unbelievable speed. Closing his mouth, picking his head up, then taking his head back, the blue fired showed from his scales as it lit up from in his body, showing through the darkness. The fire traveled from his stomach, to his neck, and then his mouth. With all the fire built up, he released all the fire from his mouth as he opened it. The blue fire shot out his mouth with enough force to push him back, cracking the ground at his paws, so he had to dig his paws into the ground to hold his ground. With the blue flames hitting the wall, the entire back wall was engulfed in blue fire, almost like a tsunami of fire hitting the wall. Everyone watched in awe as the blue fire lit up the room in a calming and peaceful feel of both warmth and color. Ersa almost dropped her bottle as she saw the fire, and how powerful it was. Even as amazing as it was to everyone, Spyro wanted to try harder. _Damn... It...! Only... Blue...! Not... Good enough...!_ Shutting his mouth, everyone thought it was over even with the blue fire still igniting the wall in front of everyone. But they saw he wasn't done. Taking his front right paw from the ground, he slammed it down in front of him, exploded into a darker form from the looks, letting his eyes go white and flexing his muscles too as far as they could go. Even with the intensity of the first blue fire, he shot the blue fire from his mouth with even more force, amazing everyone once again from the sight and power. Ignitus was even surprised himself as he could see sparks of purple fire in the blue fire, and he was stunned, _Purple fire already?! Then again, he hasn't mastered it, and it will drain his power very quickly... And it was the first power his ever used so... I guess it makes sense but..._ Looking at his son melting the wall, he chuckled to himself, _You truly are amazing, young one._ Feeling himself running out of power, his darkness slowly started to fade away, starting from his back and making it's way to the front of his mouth. With the fire dying down, so did the darkness as it made it's way to his mouth and disappeared. The wall was completely melted away with blue and some purple flames still remaining on and around the burned and scorched wall. With the fire now gone, everyone looked over to Spyro, and just in time as he collapsed onto his side.

"Spyro!" Cynder cried, running over to his side while Ersa also did the same, and making it over his body, he seemed to have passed out completely, not responding to anything she was saying, "Spyro...? Spyro, wake up."

"Don't worry yourself too much, Cynder, " Ersa assured her as she sat down in front of his face, picking his head up and moving the bottle down to his mouth, "What you should be worried about is who ever is on the wrong side of Spyro's power," Taking the cork off the bottle with her claw and carefully pouring the liquid down his mouth, he was at least able to drink the liquid which was a good thing, "His power is... Unreal... It's unlike anything I've ever seen before in my life... You sure are lucky Cynder," Couching off to his side away from where the girls were sitting, she patted Cynder on the back and said, "Try not to take too long with him. Still have one more thing I want him to try." Putting the cork back on the bottle, she walked over to her lover while putting the bottle back in her bag, and as she made it over to her lover, she giggled at Volteer, "Oh yeah, I think it's going to be a little before Cynder gets back over here, well, Spyro for the matter."

"Why?" Volteer asked, a little confused as to why, but he saw her raise a brow and he already pieced two and two together, "Oh... You think if I get that strong..."

"You're never going to leave our room, and I would make every male in the world jealous."

"Hehe, Damn. Gives me something to look forward to when I am done."

After coughing off to his side, Spyro rolled his body onto his back and looked up at his lover. Seeing her give a sigh as she shuck her head, he chuckled with a small blush and apologised, "So... Hehe... Did you like the... UM!" He wasn't even able to finish his sentence before she pushed her lips against his, and unfortunately, it wasn't a long kiss as she pulled away, and he grumbled, "Damn... It's because I pushed myself too far that that kiss was short?" Seeing her nod before placing her head on his chest and closing her eyes, he chuckled as he put a paw over the back of her head and apologised, Sorry, my love. The good news though, the green gem liquid did actually work, and I feel pretty good..." Seeing her open one eye to look at him, almost in a disappointed manner, his eyes grew slightly wide and he made sure to shut up about what happened, "That was stupid of me and I deserve punishment."

"You're Damn right," Picking her head up off his chest and kissing him once again, it was just as short as the first one, and as she pulled her head away, she growled at herself with a blush as she was a little honest, "That doesn't mean your show of strength and power wasn't... the..." Whispering the last part, she didn't really want him to her, "Sexiest thing in the world..." Seeing him raise a brow at her as her blush got bigger, she growled and said, "Look, when this is over, promise me we will only spend time in our bed again, okay."

"Hehe, Oh yeah, I can definitely promise you that."

"Alright then," Cynder sighed, "Go back to Ersa and finish your last test."

"Alright," As he stood up, Cynder's eyes grew wide as his body was still flexed out and everything about him she couldn't look away from, "Hopefully it's nothing..." Once again, it was a very quick kiss to the lips before she pulled away and gave a huge sigh, and he chuckled as he wondered what the kiss was for, "I didn't even do anything..." Seeing her blush as she looked a little away from him, he chuckled and said, "Awwww..." Moving his head to the side of her head, he whispered as he teased her, "Does someone want me all to themselves?" She could only growl as her blush got bigger, and he chuckled at that, "I love you, you know that..." She didn't respond and instead, walked away from him and back over to the end of the row of girls, "Oh, come on, Cynder."

Sitting down next to Carith, she nudged Cynder in the shoulder as she saw her looking straight with a blush, "So, uh... What was that all about?"

"He's teasing me and he knows it..." Watching as Spyro walked back to the front of Ersa, the two looked at one another and both smiled, but her smile was a little more evil, "He knows I want to make out with him and he's avoiding it. But don't worry, I will get him sooner or later."

"Oh, and how will you do that?"

"Well, even after this, he's going to be trapped in our room for the entire night for sure. But once he's done with Ersa's last bottle of whatever, I'm going to take him by the horn, and he's coming with me back to our room."

"Whoa, Cynder. Are you sure you weren't affected by that one potion that Spyro was affected by because you seem a little... Loving towards him, and a lot more then usual."

"We were having the best time by ourselves, and I'm still wanting to get back to what we were doing. And plus, that wasn't how Spyro acts at all. There's a difference between just a kiss, and a reason behind the kiss that makes it so much better."

"Oh, I know exactly what you're talking about," Carith giggled as she looked down the line to see Malefor sitting straight and watching to see what could happen next, "Me and Malefor are the same way." Looking back to Cynder, she did want her to feel better and assured her, "But don't worry, after this is over, I'm sure we will all be taking our lovers back to our rooms."

"I'm glad you all can," Claire sighed, and the other girls looked over at her, wondering what she meant, "The other males in the room, Cyril and Terrador, Me and Ignitus were having the best time of our lives with our, story kisses and... We accidentally kept the other two awake the entire night..."

"Did Ignitus not use a power to help like, keeping you all quiet or something?" Cynder asked.

"We did but... Ignitus wasn't able to concentrate so..."

"Ah... Makes scenes."

"So, hey, Ignitus," Spyro called out to his father as he sat down in front of Ersa, so he had to move his head a little to the side to see his son as he spoke, "I thought you said you reinforced the wall with your powers, or did you just make the power weak so it would make me feel better when I melted it?"

"Of course not," Ignitus declined the thought, "You really went beyond my expectations on this one. I was very surprised at how much power you really had and I guess this will be a lesson learned for me," Reaching up a paw and snapping his fingers, the wall behind his son started to glow a white color, and sounds of rock and rubble moving all around filled the room as it fixed itself, "It definitely brings a smile on my face to know you're this strong."

As his father smiled at him, Spyro smiled back and went to talking with Ersa about what was next. And while they were having an adult conversation, Malefor let out a huge sigh, confusing everyone, but he let them all know as he even chuckled, "You know, Ignitus, you scare the hell out of me when you do that. Every time you snap your fingers, I think that half of all life would disappear."

"Really...? You're really going to make that joke and that reference?"

"Oh come on, it's a hilarious reference."

"How does half of all life going away seem funny to... You're the Dark Master aren't you."

"Hehe, yeah, no. I'm new and improved baby. Name's Master Malefor. Careful because, these looks and this body, all the girls are after me."

"Call me baby again, I will break your neck. Second, 'all the girls', and yet you only have one."

"One is enough. And it's a joke. Obviously my heart belongs to Carith."

"Then why don't you do us all a favor and rip that heart out and give it to her since you said that?" Terrador growled at him as he wanted to hear what the other two were talking about, but Malefor wouldn't shut up.

"It's call grumpy cat, not grumpy dragon. Keep your chin up little one. Okay... Grumpy dragon? Who's a grumpy little dragon?"

"I can't wait till you go to sleep tonight. Me and my tail blade are going to have fun with your neck."

"I have to injury myself?" Spyro asked as he listened to what Ersa was saying while the other two continued to complain in the back, "Hehe, yeah, I don't know if I can. Cynder's pretty upset with me when it came to me using my power, and I also stressed her out with that love potion of yours. And now if I have to cut myself..."

"Oh yeah... I guess she would be pretty upset to see you bleed," Putting a claw on her chin as she thought of an idea, she had the perfect idea with many more if need be, "I got it. I have a total of eight possible ways we can try and use this potion without her being upset," Seeing Spyro's eyes grew wide, she giggled as she already knew why, "My head hurts from how big my brain is sometimes. Anyway, what we should try and do is say that this potion is really a metal scale potion."

"Metal scale?"

"Yes... Now that I'm thinking about it, something for me to look forward to in future research. But basically we will say that you have to be attacked, only, with the potion, you'll take nearly no damage once you drink the bottle," Seeing him open his mouth to ask, she had an idea already as to what it could be, "I will bring up an empty bottle and say you already drank it so she will think we've used it," He closed his mouth and was impressed at how well she was able to figure out what he was going to say before he could say it, "Now, the real question is, are you going to go along with it? We can stop for the day if you want, I just..."

"No," Spyro interrupted her, and she saw he was a little serious, and he even gave out a sigh while he looked to the ground, and looking back up at her, he knew this was for the best, "If this works just like the green gem liquid you gave me, then this could work and help so much in the future in case anything happens to us and we aren't near gems or, worse, I don't have the power to heal. We have to know if this works," Looking over to the other door on the right side of the training room, she looked over as well and gasped as she never noticed it before, "The Guardians put gems in there in case something happened while training. So we have an endless supply if you ever need to get more."

"Fascinating!" Both Ersa and Volteer said in unison, and she looked away from the door and over to him as he gave a chuckle, "Are you surprised?" She bit her lip seeing him, and he knew that they would have to get to there room sooner rather then later, "Hey, Spyro, if you don't want Cynder to be suspicious or anything, I could always just cut my arm or something to see if it works," Seeing as Spyro gave Volteer a raised brow for the sudden suggestion, he explained, "Well, Me and Ersa are getting a little... Loving since we haven't been able to kiss at all since we've been here, and..."

"Ah... Say no more, Volteer... Honestly, say no more because you'll gross me out," He made the couple chuckle with his joke, and this gave him an idea on something he's been wanting to test out for a little bit, "You know what, this could actually work though. Four or five days ago, I was trying to help Malefor train to control his dark power. I was able to help after he helped me because I went over board trying to control mine, and at that time, I was able to make a ball of my power, and I wonder if I can do it again, only smaller." As he started to think about it, he also remembered how destructive it looked from afar and started to mumble to himself, "Then again, the size of the explosion especially in here would level all of Warfang and probably kill us all."

"Uhhhhhh... What?" Both Volteer and Ersa asked, looking at one another with fear before looking back at Spyro.

Seeing and hearing their reactions, he chuckled at them, "Hehe, don't worry, there is only a slight chance of that happening, so let's try it!" Walking past the two, they looked at one another again with wide eyes, unable to tell if he was joking or not, and while they were trying to figure it out, Spyro stood in front of Malefor and asked him, "How would you like to destroy the Training Room again?" Same as the other two mate's, everyone looked at him with wide eyes, scared as they didn't know what he was talking about, "Hehe, don't worry, we aren't actually going to. Are last test involves making my scales steel, so we should see if it really does work."

"Uh huh... And, what exactly do you want me to do?" Malefor asked, a little scared as to what he would want him to do.

"Well, not to bring up bad memories but, do you remember when I was helping you train to control your dark power and I wasn't exactly smart?" Seeing him already frown, he knew he should quickly move on as to not bring up any other bad memories, "Point is, I was able to make this, ball of darkness, somewhat in a way combining all of my elements together along with my darkness."

"You want me to hit you with that?! I didn't see much of it but, you threw it so far and we still felt the shock wave from miles!"

"He's not joking," Ersa fearfully said to herself, and now that it really did seem like Spyro was all for it, she turned her body to look at him and declined the idea now, "On second thought, Spyro, maybe we should just, hold off on this for another day."

"What's a better time then now?" Spyro said with a big smile as he was already getting excited, and now no one knew if they could stop him, "All I have to do is remember that feeling, channel it to as small of a ball as I can, and then we can see what kind of power it will hold! And plus..." Looking at his lover, it pained him to have to lie, but he didn't want her to worry, "I'm already pretty strong, and making my scales feel like steel, while also making the ball of elements as small as I can to reduce recoil... What could go wrong?" Everyone looked at one another as they weren't sure, and most even looked at Ignitus as he seemed a little scared, and as his son looked at him, Spyro smiled, "Just make sure to protect everyone if something does happen."

"Then I'm going to call this off now," Cynder declined as she wasn't liking what was happening one bit, "I saw what the power was, and I get that you want to control it but... Not at a risk. Ersa said we could just call it and... I want to agree with her," Spyro smiled at his lover, stepping closer and closer to her with a loving intent and she didn't want to fall for it, "Don't try me! I said no." Standing in front of her, he sat down and raised a brow at her, and she shuck her head at him, "There's nothing you can say or do that will make me change my mind."

"I can't?" Spyro asked, and everyone looked with wide eyes to see Cynder raise a brow as he said that, and looking at his father, he asked, "Hey, Ignitus, do you think you can do that muscle thing you did for Volteer?" Ignitus sighed as he knew what he was talking about, but he was curious about how he could control his power and agreed with a nod, "Let's see where my training would put me," As he said that his muscles flexed and showed as if he was in his dark form, and immediately, his lover blushed to see he had even grow a little bit taller to adjust to his muscle gain.

Backing away from her, he looked all around his body to see how smoothed out his body looked with his muscles, along with his slight height gain. Everyone was surprised as well to see how his body looked, and seeing his lover bite her lip, she looked away from him, and he chuckled at her, "It's alright, Cynder, I guess I shouldn't train for this body."

"I guess I should bring this up, Cynder," Ignitus grumbled as he said as he knew he shouldn't say it, but he was curious more and more about Spyro's power, "That's still his body in a teen form, and adjusted to him being a teen. That's not even it adjusting to his adult form with adult looks, so for all we know, Spyro could actually look even more better then he does now."

Everyone saw her body jump for some reason, but they could tell what was being said and seen was getting to her. As his body smoothed back out to his normal body, making his muscles go back down along with a little bit of his height. Walking up and sitting down in front of his lover, she growled as she turned her head around to face him. Putting a claw on his chest, she threatened him, "If you get yourself injured and we have to heal you with the time power..." Giving out a sigh, she couldn't even really joke about leaving him, so instead, she took her claw off his chest and put her paw over his, "Please don't do anything scary."

Raising his wing over to their right to block everyone's view, he kissed her lips which was sudden, but soothing to her as she knew he had good intent. To her surprise, he pulled away and kissed her lips a couple more times which was a little of a scary sign for her. Now pulling away from the kiss, he backed his head up, put his wing back to his side and joked, "The funny thing though is, if I do get hurt, it's Malefor's fault like back then," While he chuckled, it was now confirmed for her that he was going to get hurt in some way, and he apologized for the joke, "Sorry, that wasn't what I should've said..." Reaching a paw up and placing it on her cheek, she laid her head on his paw and he promised, "I will be fine. No hourglass will be needed."

She gave a sigh as she didn't want this to happen, and taking her head off his paw, she made him promise, "No training or anything of the sort for the rest of the day afterwards and the day after, understood?"

"Yes," Spyro celebrated, and seeing her raised brow, he chuckled, "What I meant was, yes, my love, I promise." Turning his body and running to the middle of the room, he stopped and then ran over towards Ersa as he had forgotten to get the fake bottle.

Cynder sighed as she walked back over to the other girls and later sat down next to Carith once again. Seeing how sacred she was of what was about to happen, Carith tried to make her feel better, "Spyro's strong, Cynder, I don't have to tell you that. And to get your mind off of it, think of what will happen when you get out of the training room. What will you and Spyro do and..."

"That's the problem," Cynder interrupted her, and she even giggled a little as she blushed, "I already have a really good idea of what we're going to do," Her blush went away as she then growled a little as she was thinking how the day has gone so far, "I am a little upset though. Me and Spyro were supposed to stay in bed all day today and now, all this has happened and... I won't say it's not romantic but... Ugh..."

"So you didn't like spending time with us girls for the little bit of time?"

"Are you kidding me? The morning and talking with you all was the best, it was just Spyro having to go through stuff that made me a little sad for toady."

"You could talk to Ersa about this."

"It's just one more potion, and then we are done. Or, at least, Spyro is."

"Alright, you all ready to go, Spyro?" Ersa asked as she put an empty bottle back in her satchel.

"Oh yeah," Spyro happily smiled as he shuck his body up and prepared himself, and while he did that, he warned the two, "But in case something does happen, go stand by Ignitus. I don't know what will happen when I try or when it's used so..." The two didn't say anything and chuckled as they backed away and did as they were told, and with the two turning and walking to Ignitus, Spyro asked his father, "Are we all set?"

"Be careful, son," Ignitus pleaded as he was a little scared and wanted to stop what could happen, but he trusted everything would be okay.

"I've trained my life on concentration, and I'm not going to fail," Standing in the middle of the room, he raised a paw up to chest level and said to Malefor while still looking at his paw, "Malefor, be ready. If this works, I'm going to give the power over to you," He swallowed hard as he was afraid along with everyone else, and they once again looked at one another, especially Malefor as they could see the fear on his face, "Hehe, alright, Let's do this."

Almost immediately, the air that surrounded the training room grew heavy. Spyro's body grew a little dark as he used his power, and his face turned serious. Even without anything showing in his paw yet, his arm flexed as his body prepared to control the power. One ability after another grew into a medium sized sphere in his paw, each rotating in a different degree angle. First was fire, then lightning, earth, and finally ice. He started to struggle and even sweat, with his breathing getting a little intense as he tried to gasp for air as using all the power started to put strain on his whole body. _Cynder will... kill me if I... Knock myself out... I... I have to do this!_ Yelling at himself in his head to push forward, he did, and proceeded to use his dark power now. The darkness around his paw circled inward like a tornado funneling in on its self. The darkness circled around all the elements, trying to push them down to something smaller. The ground beneath him cracked from the pressure of the elements being sustained, and the same feeling went for his body. _Almost... Got... It...!_ Everyone watched in amazement as the darkness slowly went away from his body and into the dark sphere that still spun at a high rate of speed. With all the darkness leavening his body, he coughed and nearly messed up, staggering to his side and making the black sphere bigger.

"Spyro!" Everyone cried out.

"I'm fine...!" Spyro yelled out, coughing up blood as he did.

 _Damn it... It feels like... My lungs and... Body are being... Crushed!_ Clenching his paw as hard as he could, the dark sphere slowly grew smaller and smaller, now making it's size smaller then the tip of his claw. He was successful in keeping the power suppressed, but nearly at the cost of his entire body. Looking down at the ground and coughing as he tried to breath, everyone wondered if he had done it. He could hear that no one was saying anything, and he couldn't hold the truth as he picked up his head, "Not gonna lie... I'm... In a lot of pain right now." He chuckled at himself while everyone else saw that as a bad sigh, and he knew with how the power was, and what it takes to control it, he knew Malefor wouldn't be able to handle it, "Malefor... Looks like you're safe... There's... Too much for you to control... It's even a little too much for me... So... I'm going to use it on myself."

"Or you could just stop!" Malefor suggested, scared with how this might turn out for him.

"I need to know what this power will do, and now... Now is the best time."

"Just use it on something else rather then yourself then! You can still use the power!"

"I can't...! I won't know how powerful this is unless I... Understand what it's capable of..."

"Spyro..." Cynder cried softly, taking a step forward and immediately, Spyro saw this.

"Don't worry, Cynder, I'll be fine... And I will keep my promise to you... I swear," She couldn't tell what she should do as even with his promise, she was scared he didn't even know, but Spyro was still determined to find out and looked over at Ignitus as he asked, "Is everyone protected by your power, Ignitus...?" Seeing his father give a hesitant nod, Spyro chuckled as he knew that definitely wasn't a good sign, "Alright then... _If even Ignitus is scared then... I could be in for some right trouble..._ Then it's time to commit!"

Swinging his paw around the front of him and hitting his chest with the darkened ball, everything went white for a second. No sound, no vision, nothing. The crack of an explosion, the training room being the same, and the force of the explosion whipping air throughout the entire training room caused everyone to dig there claws to the ground to keep themselves from flying back. While everyone else was protected, Spyro's body hit the back upper wall, breaking deep into it and making an imprint with his body. His back dug into the wall along with his wings, head, arms, and legs. His eyes went wide and nearly lost color, but he clenched his eyes shut and coughed up blood. _Spyro!_ Ignitus cried in his thoughts, slapping his paw to the ground, causing wind of his own to fight against the power of the other wind, and the two canceled each other out. Everyone was now able to see, and they all first looked for Spyro, and we're all in shock as they saw him in the wall, lifeless, and looking down at the ground. Before anyone could say anything, his body peeled itself off the wall from the angle and weight. With his body making it's way to the ground, everyone tried their best to make it over there before he fell, but they failed. As he hit the ground, he came back to his senses which proved to be a bad thing. As everyone stood in front of him, they were all in fear as they watched him struggling to both breath and stand. Every time he tried to stand, he would fall back down over as his other paw was over his chest, grasping and grabbing at his chest as he couldn't breath. Hearing his violent breaths getting worse as he took deep inhale and exhaled violently, Cynder cried out to Ignitus as she hoped he would know what to do, "Ignitus! Are you able to use your hour glass?!"

"I... I can't," Ignitus stuttered to say as his paw was on his head as he was thinking of something to do, "There's... There's nothing an hour glass can do because he isn't injured and..."

"Less explaining! More help!"

"Cynder, come here!" Ersa cried out as she ran over towards Spyro, and hearing her name be called, she quickly followed as she hoped her friend would have an answer, "Okay..." Putting a paw over the top of Spyro as he was gasping for air on his side, Cynder ran up and stood next to her and in front of her lover, and Ersa explained quickly, "Long story short, the wind was knocked out of him and I will explain more later, but right now, only you can help him," As quickly as she was going to ask how, Ersa was already ready to answer as she looked down on Spyro's body, "Wind dragons like you have much more advanced lungs. Long story short again, focus on breathing into his mouth as much as you can and give him air. Make sure to use your wind power at all times as to access that secondary set of lungs you have. No matter what you're doing, you'll only breath in and out oxygen."

"How did you know..." Shaking her head as she knew that wasn't important, she moved over to the front of her lover and did as she was told, and picking up his head as she placed her paw on his left cheek, she whispered, "Don't worry my love, it'll be over soon."

Pushing her lips against his, she did as she was told and focused on using her wind power. To her surprise, she could feel as if there was a secondary set of lungs working in her body. _This feel... Crazy! I'm able to breath out oxygen while also breathing in oxygen! And, yet, it feels like I'm still breathing normally._ She could tell it was working as he eased his lips up on her and started to very smoothly and gently kiss his lover's lips. Even after he had all the oxygen he needed, she moved over his body and started to make out with him, not even realizing it, and Ersa backed up with a blush and a giggle. Turning her head around to face everyone, she sighed hugely and she saw everyone was looking at her with wide eyes, and she didn't understand why, "What?"

"H... How did you know what to do?" Ignitus asked as even he was surprised.

"And how did you know Cynder had the power of wind? I'm... Pretty sure we've never talked about that before," Malefor also asked as he was in awe, "I know I said I had wind to you before but..."

"Hehe, well, Volteer's such a nice dragon when it comes to me asking about strength, weaknesses, and abilities," Seeing everyone look at Volteer with anger, he chuckled with a nervous look as he knew they weren't happy, but she tried to defend him as she explained, "We woke up pretty early in the morning and, I asked him so many questions, with a reward of course."

"You're such a sucker for love, Volteer, and it's sad," Malefor grumbled, slowly shaking his head as he couldn't believe his friend.

"Oh Malefor, if only you knew."

"Uh... What the hell does that mean... WAIT!"

"Calm down, I meant me and Ersa kissing," Volteer said to him before he got the wrong idea

"Anyway," Ersa said, getting everyone's attention to get back on track, and she continued, "I've learned a lot on all dragons of course, and one of which is wind dragons. While they don't actually have a secondary set of lungs, they work differently compared to our lungs. While we breath in and out as we have to, Wind dragons have both slightly bigger lungs, and a sort of storage in there bodies to keep harmful gases, like carbon dioxide of course."

"What?" Everyone asked in unison aside from Volteer as he chuckled at the others.

"Elementary," Both Ersa and Volteer said at the same time, and while the two laughed with one another, the others grumbled with small blushes, and Ersa continued her explanation, "With this storage in there lungs, it holds the gas, and could only be used when the user is using there wind power. While the user is also using there wind power, air goes into their scales, through the body and into the lungs."

"But wouldn't that mean you would have to have a hole in your lungs for the air to get in?" Cyril asked.

"And where does the Carbon Dioxide go?" Terrador asked as well.

"Let the lady finish," Volteer said to the two, trying to calm them down.

"You better, Volteer," Everyone was quick to blush on Ersa's words and Malefor nearly threw up as he covered his mouth, and she quickly got back onto subject, "Anyway, the air that travels into the body makes it's way to the mouth, where it then goes back down the lungs, refueling the air. Once the wind dragon is done using all the air, there body then works normally and lets out more carbon dioxide then normal. Which, funny thing, is why some of us yawn, to balance out our Carbon dioxide intake and Oxygen intake so there isn't more of one or the other." She giggled at herself as she went more and more into detail, "It's just one of many theories of course as no one knows for sure why we yawn, but wind dragon's scales are fascinating in the way they work."

"UM!" Hearing a loud moan, mainly for attention, everyone looked over to the two who had been still kissing the entire time, and Cynder pulled her head away as she asked her, "Is there some way we could make our kisses last longer then? I mean, this... Knowing I can kiss for almost forever until my power runs out is amazing! And I thank you so much for it."

"You're very welcome."

"But after a while, our lips get dry and we have to wait so... What do we do about that?" Looking away from her and seeing Spyro lay his head down on the ground with his tongue hanging out, she pointed a claw at him and growled, "Me and you aren't done."

"Well... Volteer did tell me that your lover knows how to use water so, if he, I'm assuming, melts his ice at the right temperature with his fire to make the water, then that would fix the dry mouth problem."

Gasping at the realisation, she spoke out loud, "So, with my wind power, Me and Spyro basically have unlimited air, and if he uses his power to keep our lips wet the entire time we kiss then... We could kiss forever!"

With this realisation as well now that his lover spoke, he picked up his head and looked at his lover once he pulled in his tongue, and as she looked at him, he asked with a chuckle, "Will I be able to make it up to you then? Me and you, for the rest of the day, go back to our room and we kiss the night away? I was stupid today and I..." Before he could finish, she had already bolted off of his body, running past everyone and over to the training room door, and rolling onto his side and standing up, he ran beside Carith, and as he reached her side, he asked, "Cynder, is, everything okay?"

"I will forgive everything if you get your purple butt into our room right now and make this kiss happen!" Cynder agreed to what he was going to say as she called out at the training room door, and once she was done talking, she ran past and out the door of the training room.

"Hehehe, well, I'm going to have a good time... Not as good of a time as Cynder is going to have though," He forget he was talking out loud and saw everyone was looking past Carith's back and looking at him with raised brows, "Damn... Think to yourself more." Racing to the door, he made it to the door before stopping, turning around, and asking his father who was already looking at him, "You think you could fix up the training room for me?"

"I always have to clean up after you destroy the world."

"Wasn't me the first time, that was Malefor. Speaking of which," With his name being spoken about, Malefor turned his body around and faced him, and seeing Spyro growl, he knew it was something good, "Malefor... Smile and... I'll be happy for you but... I just... Wanted to thank you for, watching after everyone while I was with Cynder. I... I enjoyed our time together, and with you watching everyone for me... Thanks."

Nodding his head, he only gave a small smirk as to not let his true smile show, "Anytime. We are supposed to work together as friends in the future anyway so, got to start somewhere." Seeing Spyro smile at him, he then watched as he walked out the door and to his room, and now with him out of sight, he yelled out, "YES!" Getting slapped in the back of the head, Malefor's joy turned to anger as he looked to see it was Terrador who slapped him, and he growled at him for doing that, "The hell is your problem!"

"How about you screaming while you are right next to me!" Terrador growled at him, turning to face him as he was wondering if he would've wanted to fight.

"Ladies, please, let's breath," Ersa tried to calm the two down, and as the two looked at her, she wanted to explain a little bit about what happened to hope it would get their minds off of them fighting, "Ignitus wanted to know why Spyro was nearly killing himself to breath without really being injured. Simple answer, the wind was knocked out of him. Long answer, he had a diaphragm spasm that occurs when sudden force is applied to the abdomen which puts pressure on the solar plexus, which results in a temporary paralysis of the diaphragm that makes it difficult to breathe."

"So all I have to do is punch Terrador so hard in his chest to make his diaphragm spas so I can kick him while he's paralyzed on the ground," Malefor growled at him, puffing out his chest a little as he was prepared for a fight as well.

"I would love to see you try," Terrador smirked as he puffed out his chest as well, now wanting to actually fight him.

"Malefor, you have bigger problems to handle," Carith said, making Malefor turn his attention away from his friend and over to his lover, "We aren't going to kiss anymore from here on out."

"What?!" Malefor cried, now focused on his lover entirely as he ran over to her, and as he made it to the front of her body, he already had tears forming, "But... I... I don't understand... My love...?" She looked away from him with a face of disappointment and immediately, he got desperate to know what he could do, or maybe something he had missed, "Is it because I yelled? Because I smiled? Or maybe I should be doing something else..." Putting a paw over hers, he begged for an answer, "Carith, please... I have to to know..."

As she turned her head back to look at him, a tear went down his face, and she growled a little as she knew what he was doing, and it was working, "Alright, stop with the tears. I was hoping you would've figured out yourself but..." Giving a sigh, she blushed while Malefor's sad tactic went away from her request, and now he was curious as to what she was thinking, "I don't want Cynder to one up me with her lover, so... I want to one up her with you, and by that, I mean... Well, you have the wind power, and the power of fire and ice so..."

"That would mean I would be able to do the same with you as the other two are," Malefor finshed her sentence for her, and while she blushed a little more and had hope on her face, he felt terrible as he didn't know if he would be able to manage so much, "Carith, that would take a lot of energy. I have to have my wind power going almost at all time and my other two abilities, making three abilities used at once and I would run out of energy pretty quickly, and what if we are attacked and I don't have enough stamina to..." He didn't want her to frown, but she knew what he was saying true, and he apologized for it, "Sorry... Carith... But, maybe, if you want to, I could still learn how to make water?" She picked her head up a little from his words and heard what he had to say, "We can't stay in the kiss, but we can at least kiss for a long time. Ersa did already tell me how to make water with my abilities so... I will definitely try for you if you want me to?"

"I... Wouldn't mind..."

"Then... I will try..." Malefor tried to concentrate and remember back to what Ersa had said, but he chuckled as he looked over at her knowing he forgot, "Ersa... Hehe... what did you say again?"

"Oh Ancestors..." Everyone sighed.

"Well, to make it simple, use your ice, hold the ice in your mouth, then melt it with fire. You just have to make sure the ice is cold enough so when you do melt it, the water isn't boiling hot, and make sure you don't fill your mouth with nothing but steam," Ersa explained, and she was at least a little happy to see that he was taking her words to heart, and he really was trying.

"Thank you," Malefor thanked, now looking back at his lover and wanted to attempt it before he tried to kiss his lover, "Just to make sure I don't mess up while kissing you, I'm gonna attempt this."

She smiled and nodded that he said that, and everyone watched as he attempted it. But it was weird for everyone as he just stood there, mouth closed, and looking so seriously at his lover. After a couple of seconds went by, water started falling out his mouth, but he wasn't opening his mouth, and everyone looked at him with confusion. His cheeks puffed up while more water started to spill from his lips, and he couldn't hold in the water any longer. Turning his head, moving his body a bit away from his lover, and covering his head with his wing, he hoped no one could see him throwing up all the water on the ground. But the sound of him gurgling up the water and coughing on the ground still filled the room and made everyone shiver. Coughing a little bit more to get some more water from his lungs, he chuckled as he looked back at his lover, "I didn't know how big or small the ice needed to be so... when I melted it... My mouth was... Hehe, filled with water. But I think I have the idea of what I need to do, so, what do you say?"

"You're not going to drown my lungs in water, are you?" Carith asked as she was a little hesitant, especially with how bad he was coughing and the amount of water he coughed up.

"Wouldn't be asking if I wasn't sure."

"You're not wrong..." Carith sighed.

Pulling up his right wing to block everyone's view, they knew they were going to be there for a while if this did work. And while the two kissed from behind Malefor's wing, Ersa gave a sigh as she still wasn't able to try out her health potion, and looked at her arm as she wondered if she should do it herself, "Well, I got plenty of results today, and, unfortunately, I still need to do one more, so," Picking up her arm and reaching her tail blade around to cut herself, another yellow paw was placed over her arm, and looking over, she giggled as she knew what he was doing, "I'm not going to hurt you. So it's either me, or Malefor."

"Well, since you said his name," Volteer chuckled while his lover giggled, and raising his tail blade over and around to his paw, he couldn't let his lover be the one to do it, "You know I can't have you bleeding. I would fail at my job to protect you. So, I will be the one to do it."

"But then I will feel bad because my work got you hurt... Ancestors knows my work has done enough to stress you out."

"But this work will save many of us if anything happens in the future. I have no trouble causing a slight cut in my arm."

"Of for the love of!" Terrador growled at the two, watching as they were moving there heads closer to kiss, and from his sudden outburst, everyone looked at him, "I will do it," Pulling up his arm, he used a claw from his other paw and stabbed himself in the arm, clenching his eyes and growling as he did so, but with the wound there, he pulled his claw out from his arm and said, "There... Now what exactly am I supposed to do again after this?"

"Well, this one, we have to break over you," Ersa explained as she reached into her satchel, grabbing out the red bottle and explaining, "To make sure this works and since it is faster, just break the bottle onto your body, and it should act like a red gem patch and heal your wounds. And as I explained with Spyro, you'll be fine to break the glass over you as this isn't normal glass so you shouldn't even feel any pain."

As she was going to give him the bottle, Malefor heard the conversation and immediately took his wing down and backed away from his kiss with his lover. Running over to Ersa as quickly as he could, the two looked over to see he was already right in front of them. Snatching the bottle from her paw, Malefor looked at Terrador with a big smile. Raising the glass bottle over his head, he slammed it down on the back of his friend's head. The force of the hit was strong enough to make Terrador's head duck down. The glass shattered all onto the ground, and a piece even went down the back of Terrador. The liquid became a group of solid gems, and each, one by one, bounced off the ground and into Terrador's wound, even cleaning the blood from his claw and arm. Malefor smiled and said, "That's what you get for smacking me in the back of the head. Your lucky it didn't hurt as bad as you hit me."

"Uh... Malefor," Ersa whispered over to him, wanting to back up as she saw Terrador's teeth showing as he growled, "It doesn't require that much outside force to break. If you hit someone with a rock at a small speed, it's not going to do much, but if you put more force into it, it's either going to kill you, or knock you out so... Imagine that glass as a rock, and imagine how much momentum you had when you hit him."

"Hehehe... Hehe..." Malefor realized his mistake and started to take small steps away from his friend as he realized he did mess up, "Now come on, Terrador, we are all gentlemen here. I use that because we are supposed to be..." Slamming his paw down the ground and looking at Malefor with killer intent, he cried out and immediately apologized, "Terrador, I'm sorry!" Putting his wings in front of him with his head sticking out the top of both his wings, and he was a little confused about something and called him out for it, "Is this about those dark creatures we saw? Because ever since that happened, you've been nothing but grumpy... You don't trust me, do you?"

"I didn't say that," Terrador growled, but he knew if he didn't ease up, then his friend would make up accusations to find what the truth was, "I'm just... Keeping you in check from doing something stupid... I'm being difficult for a reason, and I don't want a mistake from you put us back to where we were."

"What mistake? My mistakes never caused a war, that was the Chronicler."

"That's not my point..." Giving a sigh as he knew he probably wouldn't understand even if he tried, he gave up, and turning towards the door, he walked away, "I'm going to bed..."

"He doesn't want you to change, Malefor," Ignitus spoke for him, and with his words, Terrador stopped, still looking straight while the explanation continued, "Terrador isn't one to be mushy, but he's being more... Aggressive towards you because that's how he was back then. He enjoys the time now, he enjoyed the time then, but not the time in the middle."

"So... You're being difficult with me because you're trying to teach me a lesson in a way that only you know how?" Malefor asked Terrador as he looked over at him, and since he still wasn't moving or saying anything, he smiled as he knew he had gotten it right, "Well now would you look at me," While he said that, he was also walking over to his friend to help him out, and making it over to him, he rested his arm on his shoulder and assured him, "Well, I won't be mushy with you either, I'll just tell you straight up. We're fine, and I'm not going to mess up. So, the only reason you should be mad is because that dark creature hurt you and no one else which... I... Shouldn't have let happen."

"You let your fear lock you up..." Terrador finally spoke as this was what he was referring to, "How would you feel if there was more, and Spyro turned against you, would you lock up then? Would you let us die before you were to attack?" His words were getting to him, and Malefor even took his arm off his shoulder as knew he wasn't all that happy, "I know it isn't easy to look past mistakes, especially difficult ones, but... If you let that mistake control you, it will only drag you down more, and it'll destroy the life you could be living... That's why I... try to look past all mine... even as they haunt me," Realising he could feel a sharp pain in his gut, he tried to move past it and joked a little to him, "But, I guess you can say I'm a little pissed I was hurt and not Cyril," Chuckling at his own joke, Malefor gave a weak chuckle, but a chuckle nonetheless, "Just remember who your friends are, okay?"

Giving a sigh from the lesson he was just given, he joked with him, "Well, you wanted it to be like that past and here we are, you lecturing me again," Terrador chuckled from his words which made Malefor now give a better chuckle himself, and to make sure he didn't end things off bad, he agreed, "I know who my friends are..." Gasping as he put his two paws over his cheeks, Volteer slapped a paw on his face as he knew what he was going to say before he did it, "Okay, Terrador, wait wait wait, this is something that will probably only happen once... Ahem..." He changed his voice to a deep, menacing growl as he spoke in a spooky tone, "I know who my friends are, and you are not one of them," Changing back to his normal voice, he looked over at Volteer and asked, "Get it! Remember from the..."

"Yes, Malefor, and you deserve to die for it," Volteer shuck his head as he called back at him.

"What was the reference?" Cyril asked.

"I'm not answering."

"So now can I go to bed?" Terrador asked his friend.

"Are you still upset?" Malefor asked him back.

"Guess you'll know tomorrow if you are able to open your eyes or not."

"Please, you're too lazy to wake up, walk all the way up here, open our door, kill me, walk out..."

"Alright alright, I get it... And also if I did, Carith would be upset, and then so would all the other girls so... You're lucky. Don't blow this chance at breaking the cycle of death."

"Well, since I'm good now, and Cynder is also good, and the ape king being dead... I'm sure me and Spyro can handle things."

"I hope."

With their conversation now done with, Terrador smiled a little as he walked away, very hopeful for the future. Now with him walking out the Training Room and to the Chambers, all the other Guardians knew they should do the same, and Ignitus was the first one to say something as he sighed, "Great... Now I have to repair this entire training room again while everyone sleeps... Which means I have to make two clones tonight."

"Two clones?" Claire asked, "What for?"

"Well, of course, one to repair this place, and the other one to concentrate on keeping a sound barrier around us so me and Claire can kiss without being interrupted."

"Are you... Able to do that as soon as we get down there?"

"I already have both clones ready."

"Race you down there!" Claire excitedly said, running to the front door as fast as she could to get to the Chambers.

"Hehe, if you say so," Ignitus agreed to the race, quickly catching up to her as the two ran out the Training Room.

"Yeah, I'm going to go too. Last thing I want is to almost die in here again," Cyril said, a little lonely as he walked to the exit by himself.

With everyone exiting the room, Malefor walked by over to his lover and waited for the other two mates to leave the training room. It didn't take long as the two were up on there paws and talking to one another as they made there way out of the training room, slowly but surely. Now that everyone was gone, he chuckled as he sat down in front of his lover and joked, "Hehe, you know..." Seeing her sitting down as well, arms crossed and tapping a claw on her arm, his stomach felt like it had just twisted as he knew what he had done, "Carith... I..."

"So you stop kissing me, so you can run off and break a bottle over someone's head?" Carith asked her lover, and while he chuckled, she sucked her teeth as she continued, "You better hope you have a lot of energy in that body of yours because if you pass out while we kiss before I do, I'm going to be very, very... Disappointed."

An evil grin appeared across his face as he viewed this as a challenge, a fun challenge especially for how bad he messed up, "Challenge accepted my love... But don't come crying to me when your lips beg for more even after you pass out. After all, your body still remembered the warm feeling of my body, and that's one of many reasons you couldn't stay away," Blushing already as he knew her all too well, it once again became easy for him to get what he wanted while she was as well, "And a gentleman like me always makes sure the female is satisfied first."

His face was close enough to hers so she could fell the air coming from his nose, along with the evil grin and close look up on both his eyes and teeth. Carith sighed with a smile, unable to do anything, and she had high hopes for the night, "I like the evil in you some days... But let's see if, Master Malefor can hold up his title."

"Hehe... Oh, I think he can."

* * *

"I would say that was a pretty successful day," Volteer happily said out loud as he entered his room with his lover, stretching out his body as he walked in, "Well, aside from the dark creature attack but, we already knew there was still dark creatures and a Dark Master, and while that's a bad thing, I know those two can take on anything," Jumping up onto the bed, his mate closed the door behind the two while he was talking, and she placed her satchel on the table to the left of the room once she had walked over and reached the it while her mate continued to talk on and on, "Now I kinda wish I had more power to me, more abilities. Of course, I am training to protect you so, I will get my training in slowly but surely, and then I can fight on the front line with the others no problem. But now..."

"Volteer..." Ersa murmured, catching his attention even though her voice was really low, and even after she called his name, she didn't say anything for a bit as she was taking the empty glass bottles from her satchel and placing them on the table, "What are my chances now?" He was a little confused on what she had meant, but now with all the bottles placed back on the table, she turned to look at him, and with the blush on her face, he knew what she was referring to before she even explained, "I now know we are safe to do what ever, and since this was a, better day for sure, why not... end it off even better?"

"Hehe... Well, I mean... We could. The thing is, I can't say no because your more near the door and could run out at any point, but I also can't say yes because... Well, there isn't really a reason for me not to," Volteer hinted a little to her as he laid down on his belly facing her, and with his words, he had gotten her hopes up as she smiled a bit, taking a couple of steps towards him, "The only problem is, with those three using their abilities, Malefor, Spyro, and Cynder might be down for the count if something happens, and... Knowing how Malefor is with his lover, Carith might also be so... I have to be ready," Now that he was leaning more towards a no, she took her steps back, and he chuckled as he knew what she was doing, "Come on my love, I'm trying my best... I mean... I'm sure Spyro should be ready to go at some point so... We... Could...?" Her face once again lit up with a smile as she took a couple of steps towards him, and he chuckled again as he didn't really know what to do, "Ersa... It's really up to you. I'm sure we won't be bothered but..."

"Volteer... You're killing me," Ersa sighed, feeling tired anyway so she made her way over towards the bed, and as she jumped up on it, she twirled herself around to face forward, "We are all alone and without worry," Laying down a little bit away from his right, she curved her body a little so he could see all of her as she raised a brow, "You're telling me that you would hesitate the minute I walk up to you and ask for the... tail?"

"Hehe, Well, I have my own tail so..."

"You know what I mean!"

"Like I said, Ersa, it's all up to you. I know how much this does mean to you and, it means a lot to me. I just don't want to rush if we're not sure."

"I know, I know, I just... I have a bad feeling that, something will happen... And... I'm scared."

Shuffling his way over to her side, he pushed the side of his body against hers, and while draping a wing over her back, she laid her head down on her paws with a sad, fearful look on her face. He felt bad for her, and understood where she was coming from with her fears, "We don't, have to make our first time special if you don't want to. It's just, Well, now if we were, you would have fear on your mind. And after seeing how powerful Spyro was, the way he burned the wall and nearly destroyed the Training Room and himself with a fraction of his power... Why do you fear?"

"I... I guess it's because, part of me will always be afraid. Spyro's strength was an amazingly, and comforting site to see that we are pretty safe but..." Picking her head up and moving it onto her mate's paws, he looked down at her as she continued, "I keep thinking back to when we waited to tell each other that we loved one another. And then we finally did and, now we're mates but... Ignitus trained a lot, Terrador, trained a lot, and yet... We all still lost... What if Spyro's training, even with Malefor, isn't enough? What if we're just... destined to fail in life?"

How soft her voice was when she spoke, and how sad and scared she sounded as she spoke, he felt cold on the inside to know he could've prevented her from ever feeling this way. Wondering how he could help better sooth her, he remembered what he came up with while he was away from her, but first tried the normal approach, "You could always roll over right now and let me take the lead?" She giggled for a second, but he was surprised that she didn't move, and instead snuggled up to him more, so with that out of the way, he went with his second approach, "I can tell you a joke? One I know is, there are three guys, each with a brink, and they wondered who could throw a brink in the air the highest..."

"Is this about the bird having the last brink from the three guys?"

He went silent for a second before later chuckling as she had already caught on, "Well, there goes my second attempt," All though it was a failed attempt, he still got her to giggle, which was a good sign for him, so he tried one last time in hopes that he would be able to cheer her up, "I guess all that's left for me to do is, get you excited for the future," Moving his head down and around to hers, she looked at him with one eye while her left one was closed, "Tell you what. If you know the names of our future Hatchlings right now, then I'm all for it."

"Look at you getting me all excited for the future."

"Hehe, that was my hope."

"Let's just wait till tomorrow. Hopefully we can just lay in bed all day and get as much energy together as we can."

"You're the one saying to wait, not me, so.."

She silenced him with a kiss, knowing what he was going to say, and both closed their eyes as they kissed, but what Volteer had said to her, it got her thinking, _What would our future Hatchlings be called, and how many would we have? One or two, boy or girl... I... Never really thought this far ahead... I... never knew I would make it this far._ Thinking about it more in-depth, along with her lover's warmth from both the kiss and his body, she let a tear go down her eye, and just as they were pulling away from the kiss, Volteer saw the tear drip off her chin and onto the bed. Seeing the sadness on his face as he looked at her, she smiled at him as she was actually happy, "I'm, fine, Volteer... I just... You're right... I should know the names and I..." Snuggling her head underneath his neck, she let another tear go out her other eye, and laying her head on his paws again, only this time, with the side of her head against his chest, she thanked him, "Thank you... Volteer... And I know you know me well enough to know that... I am fine... I just... I will never get over the fact that I made it here... Thanks to you in my mind."

"Hehe, yeah, Well... I couldn't stop thinking about you either..."

Yawning with a big open mouth, Ersa closed her other eye, and with her mouth coming back down, she closed it and went into her thoughts as she slept, thinking of the future. Moving his head over his lover's and laying it down on top of hers, he closed his eyes as he also had thoughts about what he said, _What would we name our Hatchlings?_ Chuckling at himself, he knew he should stop stalling for the right moment as he thought about it, _I feel bad, as if she thinks I don't want to take the extra step with her... I guess only time will tell... But I should just say yes next time it's brought up._


	17. Chapter 17: The Deadly Disease

Chapter 17: The Deadly Disease

 _Think about names... Names names names..._ Throughout all of the night, Ersa's mind was once again everywhere when it came to almost everything, especially when it has come to the past couple of days, _My mind has never been to some many places before. Back then it was just, survive survive survive, but now it's... It's all about forming this... family._ Since she wasn't going back to bed anytime soon, she gave into her thoughts and woke up, opening her eyes as she did, but even though she had woken up, the rest of her body hadn't, so she wasn't really able to move at all. _First it was everyone I was afraid of, then Spyro and his strength, Malefor, the other females but... Slowly and surely... It hasn't been fears but... Excitement._ Nuzzling her head a little forward to look out to the window on her left, she was surprised to see it was still dark outside, and even for her, she grumbled, _But now the problem I'm facing is learning when to calm down._ Feeling the cold air around the room touch her face, she shivered with slightly widened eyes and nuzzled her head back underneath her mate's. _Is it really that cold?_ Using her wing, she pushed up Volteer's wing only a little before the cold air went underneath the now exposed area, once again making her shiver and letting his wing come back down over her body while she pulled her wing back. _Well, great. I'm cold and awake, and I know Volteer's probably pretty tired so... I don't want to wake him._ She had trailed off from what she was originally thinking about, and it didn't take long for her to remember what she was thinking about. _Oh yeah... the excitement._ Now that she was back on track, her body let out a chill as she tried to contain herself, _That was only a few of the hundreds that I wanted to test. I might run low on minerals here soon but... Maybe I can get Spyro to fetch them for me, then I can work even more on the things I want to. But the question is, would he help me?_ It was another thought that made her go two ways as to what could happen, whether it be a yes or a no from him. _I guess if he said yes then, done deal, and if he said no then... Maybe Cynder would help me out by convincing him herself._ Her paws started to move a little on their own, moving up and down as if they wanted to move so badly, and even her back paws started to do the same. _And now I really want to work, and even while I'm working, I have to think of names for me and Volteer's future Hatchling. Like, what if we had a boy or a girl, what if we had two boys or, two girls._ Trying to whisper in her gasp as her eyes grew slightly wide, she then growled in a low tone while trying to look at what she could of Volteer as she realized, _They're not going to have energy he said. Everyone's asleep but we still can't do it he said. This is such a simple fix!_ Taking her paws up and underneath her mate's head, she pushed against the underneath of his jaw while backing her own head up. With her head out the way and from out of his paws, she lowered his head down onto his own paws, and once she was done, she eased her paws out from underneath him and put them in front of herself. _Spyro pointed out that gem room, so clearly they could just use that if they run out of power..._ Shivering as she had forgotten the cold, she tried to ignore it even as her neck and face started to feel cold. _Damn this temperature... Just, try and ignore it and get back on track. I know that I can mess with the gems and melt them down but, what about combining them, or fussing them in a way?_ Looking over at her work bench, her body moved forward on it's own once again, so she had to stop herself and growl lowly once again. Looking to her left side, she gave a sad sigh and she also called him out for his other words, _I have months to figure out what our Hatchling names could be... I don't think I can handle another no from him, especially since I still keep also thinking about the day he trained with Spyro..._ Moving her head down to his face, she smiled to see him doing the same as he rested, and she whispered to him even while he slept, "You'd make a great dad... You know that, Volteer?"

Taking her head back away from him, she wanted to shed a tear as she now had hundreds of thoughts of what it would look like when they did have a Hatchling, but she stopped herself as she shuck her head, now knowing exactly what she was going to do. _Let's make this easy, Volteer. I'm going to figure out a way to improve upon the green gems, so that way, I will give it to the four, they will all be fine, and then we can just tell everyone that we are tired from trying to make this improvement and go back to bed._ Having the plan in her mind, she smiled and went to stand up. Just as her body left from Volteer's side, and his wing slid down her back and off of her, her body froze in place as she had forgotten how cold it was once again. _Trying... not to think about it... Worked a little... too well._ Shivering and letting out a sigh, she could even see her breath which made it even worse for her as she didn't realize just how bad it was until now. _I would have all the body heat in the world if only Volteer would lay on top of me..._ Blushing hard, she had to slap both sides of her face to keep herself on track of what she wanted to do. _Remember the plan, remember the plan!_ Making her way off the bed was a little difficult as she knew what it being night time really meant for her, _The worse part, no one would even be awake this early either._ Making it onto the ground, she looked behind herself before looking straight and knowing if she looked back one last time, it would be over, _Don't look back... Just, don't look back._ Making her way over to the door, she reached it, and grabbing the door knob, she opened the door. As the door opened, she looked to her left, then her right to make sure no one was out and about, and to her luck, no one was. Taking a couple of steps into the hallway, she shut the door behind herself, and hearing the door shut behind her, she turned to her right and growled as she walked up to the house, _Why do you have to be too nice, Volteer! You know what, it's, it's fine, it's fine. Maybe I just scared him when I said he wouldn't be able to walk... Or maybe he is just teasing me for some sick reason. But it's fine. My plan is going to work one way or another, and I would love to see him try and get out of this one._ Walking up the steps, she stood at the door and waited for it to open, but for some reason, the door didn't open for her. _That's a little... weird. The door opened the last time we all approached it._ Taking a couple of steps up to the door, she put a single paw on it and tried to push it open, but nothing happened. Putting her other paw on the door, she pushed as hard as she could, but once again, nothing. Now turning around and pushing with her back, she growled as she tried with all her power, "Open you... Son of a bitch!"

Sliding down the door on her back, she gave up as she didn't know why the door wasn't opening. _Why won't this door... open? "Because it was only built for the others in the Building."_ A voice told her in her thoughts, and she immediately knew whose voice that was and asked what that meant, _What does that mean, Ignitus? "When the door was built, Volteer was smart of course and was able to program the door in short so that everyone at that time would be able to access it. That being the Guardians, Spyro and Cynder. Along with a hole above the door for a dragon fly named Sparks." He... programmed it? "I would have to wake the others up for you..."_ Putting two fingers over her lips, she kissed them, and then turned her fingers to place them on the door. For a second, nothing happened, but then the doors had suddenly opened up inward into the house, and she giggled as she heard Ignitus in her thoughts, _"Wh... How... How did you do that?!" The door recognises Volteer, so, my lips have his lips slathered all over mine. "That's... disgusting... I'm never touching that door... But how did you know?"_ Walking into the hallway, she was confused as she asked him, _Aren't you supposed to know all? I made this idea to Volteer way back then to hope we would have privacy if we even wanted to kiss, and when he asked why, I lied and said it would be cool as a reinforced door idea. "You both surprise... and disgust me." Don't you have a lover you're supposed to be making out with? "I'm the Ignitus from the White Isles... I didn't know if you needed help or not." Do you ever get lonely over there?_ Ersa asked in her thoughts while still continuing the conversation while she made her way to the Training Room. _"Not really. Ignitus rotates clones since even we can get bored after a while."_ Walking up to the training room door, she grabbed the door knob and opened it, and walking inside, she giggled as she asked, _Is your time almost up or something cause you're really chatty. Not being rude in saying. "No no no, you're right. It actually is almost time for me to leave anyway. I will let you get back to uh... Your plan."_ Standing in front of the gem room and looking at all the gems, she growled at him as she wasn't too happy he knew about that, _It's kinda hard to keep what I want to do a secret if someone like you knows. "Don't worry. Another clone is working on that as well."_ Walking into the room, she smiled at all the green gems in the room, along with the red ones, but she wasn't focused on those. _"I will let you get back to what you were doing." Thanks for at least trying to help,_ Ersa thanked in her thoughts, and now with the two done talking, she rubbed her paws together and asked herself, "So, how many should I grab? They will only last around six hours when they are broken from their source, so, let's grab at least a paw full."

Walking up to a gem patch, she ripped gem after gem off of the patches and started to tuck them underneath her wing to carry them. Walking over to another gem patch, she picked more gems off the patch and tucked them underneath her wing. _Alright, how many is that? Ten, eleven, twelve... Yeah, I guess that should be enough. I only messed up a couple of times when I was making the first advancement for the green gems so, hopefully this will work._ With the gems underneath her wings, she turned to the door and walked out of it. Making her way to the front of the Training Room, she looked around a good bit to see it had all been repaired, _I wonder if Ignitus was also the one who repairs destroyed areas, or, the Chronicler for that matter._ Walking out of the room, she shut the door behind herself and gave a pleased sigh that everything was going so well. _Now to get back..._

 _"Spyro! It's me, it's, it's Cynder! Don't do this!"_

Hearing what sounded like cries coming from the room behind her, Ersa's heart skipped a beat as she knew who's room that was, _What the hell was that?!_ Running up to the door, she quickly grabbed the door knob and threw the door open. As the door flung open, she dropped all the green gems at the door, got into a fighting stance with a sped up pace in breaths, and saw that Spyro was in his dark form on the left side of the bed, while Cynder was cowering in fear on the right side of the bed away from him. Seeing that it really did seem like something had happen, Ersa started to shake, especially with the fact that he seemed to be wanting to attack his lover. _No... No no no. You're not about to screw this up now._ Seeing her take a step, Spyro's darkness disappeared suddenly and quickly as it went into his body, and he backed up as he cried, "Wait wait wait! Ersa, it's not what it looks like! Me and Cynder were just messing around," Ersa looked over at Cynder for confirmation, and the fear on Cynder's face went away while she nodded at her, and this only angered Ersa a little more while Spyro still feared, "No need for the pressure point, please."

The fear was definitely still there as she was shaking for what she had heard and saw, and she yelled at him, taking another step forward to scare him even more, "What the hell is wrong with you!" Putting both his wings up, he backed up against the wall, but realising that wouldn't work, he ran over to his lover as quickly as he could and hid behind her, but that still didn't stop her from taking another step forward with killer intent, "Everything is fine and nothing is happening, and all the sudden, I hear, 'Don't do this'! What the hell happened?!"

Poking his head over Cynder's back and chuckling, he apologized as he realized how bad it sounded, "Me and Cynder were having a little fun and... I guess we didn't realize how much fun we were having. Sorry that we, scared you," Ersa's teeth clenched before letting out a huge sigh, even putting a paw over her chest as she could feel her heart pounding away at her chest, "We didn't expect to even have a visitor up here in the first place. Wait a minute, how did you get passed our main door?"

"Oh, that... I used Volteer."

"You did?" Moving from behind Cynder, he walked to the front of her and looked around Ersa to see where he was, but he didn't see him, "All I see are green gems behind you, which, why do you have those as well?"

"I couldn't sleep so, I thought I would mess around and see if I couldn't improve upon them. As to what I mean when it comes to me using Volteer well... Hehe, you are going to find this gross but, let's just say I kissed my fingers and put my fingers on the door for it to open, and that's how I... used Volteer."

Both Spyro and Cynder looked at one another, wondering what exactly she meant, and unfortunately, their minds clicked both at the same time as they realized what she had meant when she said that, and they both blushed hard. Ersa giggled as she did feel a little embarrassed about telling the two, but Cynder got everyone's mind off of it as she was a little surprised she wasn't with Volteer for real, "You know, your smarts are definitely amazing but, why aren't you really with Volteer?"

Blushing a little as she walked back to the front of the door to grab all the dropped green gems, she giggled as it was another embarrassing thing she would have to talk about, "Well, that's uh... That's another story that's a little... revealing." Picking up the gems from off of the ground and tucking them underneath her wing, she turned around to face her female friend and made another long story made short, "Let's just say that he keeps... stalling and I'm... Not smiling because of it, that's for sure."

"What does that mean?" Spyro asked, a little confused.

But to make sure he didn't say anything to embarrass her, Cynder threw her paw up and covered her lover's mouth, while also assuring Ersa, "Don't worry, he will man up sooner or later. Just, I don't know how you would do it but, if you're for sure then uh, just, maybe warn so none of us interrupt, okay?" Hearing her lover grumble from behind her paw that covered her mouth, she looked at him and saw the sadness in his eyes for some reason, and she could tell he was already wanting to go back and have some alone time, "No way you are enjoying the time we are having more then me." Seeing him raise a brow while just barely able to see his smile at the corner of her paw, she growled at him with a smile, "Oh game on, my love." Looking back at her friend, she gave her some words of advice, "You told him you loved him basically, and told him to be your mate. I don't see what's wrong in doing the same. Maybe Volteer's just as hopeful but doesn't show it cause he's scared."

"Yeah..." Ersa only agreed as she didn't know what else to think or say, she just knew she was going to find out sooner or later and decided to not let it bother her the best she could, "Well, I didn't mean to interrupt the two of you. Just wanted to make sure nothing was actually happening... Threatening wise I mean."

"Hehe, don't worry, everything is fine," Nodding at her friend's words, she smiled a little as she turned to the door and walked out of the room, and with her shutting the door, Cynder took her paw off her lover's mouth and asked him as she looked at her paw, "You're really going to lick my paw? I'm surprised you can even do that after how much we kissed."

"Hehe, yeah, well, you know your lover is prepared for anything."

"And how is you licking my paw going to accomplish anything?"

"You took your paw off my mouth, didn't you? Anyway, now with her gone, do you want to continue? We could always jump to the you saving me part."

"You just want my wings around you when we kiss, don't you," Seeing him smile, it easily confirmed her theory, and all she could do was roll her eyes with a smile herself, "Goodness you're desperate. But, then again, so am I. When ever you're ready."

Standing outside of their door, Ersa shuck her head as she tried not to think about what she had seen, _So those two really do mess with the darkness aspect... That's definitely... different._ Walking away from the door, she got back onto track as she made her way over to the main doors, _Alright, going back to what I was doing, I have the gems and..._

 _"No... Malefor, please! It's me, Carith!_

 _Son of a bitch, Malefor, I swear to everything! I will kill you!_ Ersa yelled in her thoughts from frustration as she heard the cry coming from the other room, and while she wanted to leave it alone, she knew she would have to check to at least make sure, _Maybe something is going on, but if it's not... I'm hurting someone._ Turning her attention away from the main door, she looked to her right and walked to the door. Grabbing the door knob with a tensed paw from both frustration and a little fear, she opened the door. As the door opened, she let out a sigh as she knew that she was right. Malefor stood on the left side of the bed, similar to Spyro, while Carith stood on the other side, and now Ersa thought she had walked into the same room. The two lover's looked at her with slightly widened eyes, not expecting a visitor, and while they didn't know what to say, Ersa did, shaking her head as she did, "Let me guess, you two are just messing around and there isn't a threat?" While the two chuckled, she on the other paw tensed up a little from frustration before looking at Malefor and letting her anger out on him, "Malefor, come here."

"What?! Why?" Malefor cried, backing up a little as he was already afraid of her, and she didn't exactly disapprove his point.

"Because I'm going to show you what happens when I put all my pressure into that pressure point of yours."

"But I didn't do anything!"

"You scared the hell out of me!" Putting two fingers in between the top of her nose, Ersa tried to calm herself down, and she couldn't believe the two were doing the same thing, "First Spyro and his lover are yelling out, and Cynder is begging to not be attacked, and now you two are doing the same thing?"

"Hehe, I mean, we have nothing else to do... Wait, Spyro's awake?"

"How are you awake? I thought you would've passed out from the amount of power you would've had to use?"

"Well, me and Carith are kinda doing this thing here where we play around so I can gain my power back. I'm definitely tired but, I'm having fun."

"Sorry he scared you, Ersa," Carith stepped in a she could see that Ersa was still a little shaken up, and it was easy for her to tell why, "Me and Malefor were just playing around, so you have no need to fear about anything that has to do with the Dark Master," Hearing it from her friend, she did trust her which it helped her calm down a little more, but seeing the green gems she held underneath her wings, Carith smiled with a blush as she asked, "Whoa, Ersa. What are the green gems for? Is Volteer already down for the count that quickly?"

"Wh...?!" Ersa blushed hard, and Carith giggled to see her reaction.

"I'm just messing with you," Carith assured her, but that still didn't get rid of the blush that turned her face from yellow to red, "Anyway, if it's okay with you, I want to continue my time with Malefor before the day really starts. We haven't gotten that much sleep really and... It was definitely my fault," Ersa gave another sigh as she couldn't believe how much was already happening in just the couple of minutes she was awake, but she nodded at her friend for a yes, "Sorry again, Ersa. And a word of advice as you probably already know this but, you should definitely spend time with Volteer before everyone wakes up."

 _Yeah... I really do._ Turning away from the two, Ersa walked out of the room and shut the door behind herself with her tail blade. Standing outside the door, she looked down at the floor for a little bit as she didn't understand why her mind was still going crazy even with the plan she had, _First Cynder's words, and now Carith's and... Why is it making me think twice, and what is it making me think? Is it more of a yes, or a no?_

 _"But... I can't let you turn to the dark side because... I love you, Malefor, please!"_

 _Alright, I need to get out of here,_ Ersa thought, walking away from the door and over towards the main doors, _I may not know what is going on with me, but I know I don't want to be here._ Pulling up two fingers, she kissed the two, and then placed them on the door. As she did, the doors took a second before opening up, and with the doors opening, she put her paw back to the ground and thought about it, _I guess I'm getting frustrated because... I'm jealous of the others. They are having all this fun and yet, the fun I want, keeps getting shut down._ Walking forward and out of the house, she made her way down the steps and back over to her room, and on her way, she continued her rant as to what she should do, _Great, even with my previous plan, I don't even know if I should go through with it today.. But then again, what should I fear?_ _Knowing the names of our Hatchlings? I have thousands of names I can think of, millions if I really thought for more then an hour on it!_ Now that she was feeling more towards a yes, she agreed with herself, _Yeah, I have nothing to worry about... But, one thing I do wonder is, why is Volteer trying to dodge it so badly?_ Making it over to her door, she went to reach for the door knob, but the door flung open, and she moved her head back with wide eyes to see it was Volteer. He was sweating fiercely, and his breathing was hard enough to make his whole body go up and down. With her now being right in front of him, he put a paw on his chest and sighed hugely, "You scared me, my love."

"What do you have to be afraid of?" Ersa asked him with a slight smirk and raised brow as she walked forward and he backed away for her to enter their room, but she was surprised the books had been scattered, and she giggled as she saw that, "What, did you think I had possibly suffocated in our mountain of books?"

"Hehe, no I just, didn't know where you had gone," Watching as she put the green gems from underneath her wing down on the floor beside her as she sat down at her work table, he gave a frown as he walked up to her, "Hey, my love," Standing next to her, she looked at him, wondering why he was frowning, but he tried to brighten up as he asked her, "Do you think we could just go back to bed together? For all the nights you've been here, you've always been hard at work and, we never really have the time to spend with one another, at night of course."

She did stop what she was doing for a second, and saw his smile get a little bigger to see she was stopping, but she shuck her head and went back to work, "Sorry, Volteer but, not tonight. I have a lot of work to get done today. You told me you were scared those two wouldn't have energy so," Grabbing one of the gems from the floor, she smashed it into two pieces, putting one in a bottle while putting the other one on the ground, "I'm just going to have to work my hardest to make sure those four have the energy to make it through the day," Picking up a red looking gem, she placed it in the bottle along with another blue looking gem, and the two melted in the bottle fairly quickly, "Then you can tell me the truth as to why you keep avoiding what I want," He frowned some as he watched her work and work, almost like she was ignoring him, so he turned away from her with a frown and walked back over to his bed with his tail dragging on the floor.

Ersa saw this at the corner of her eye and sighed as she watched him jump up onto the bed and lay down in a curved motion. Stopping what she was doing, she was looking at the work she was doing and did realise that her work was messing with what she could be doing. Placing her work on the table, she looked down at the ground before looking over at her mate and seeing him lay there. She couldn't even tell how he really looked as his head curved like his head as he laid it a little side ways on his paws, and he had even closed his eyes as if he was going back to bed. _Me being this pushy I guess could be a good reason,_ Ersa thought, knowing she should do something, and walked over to her mate. Making it to the front of the bed, she sat down and placed her head at the edge of the bed and whispered to him to get his attention, "Volteer... I'm... I'm sorry." He had opened his eyes back up, and he had even turned his head to look at her as she spoke, but he still kept his frown, and she tried her best to apologize, "I guess it really doesn't help that I'm being very pushy, and I haven't even kissed you at all today. I've been so far into my work that... I've been putting it before you."

He smiled a little to see that she was seeing what he was seeing, and he even apologized himself as he gave her the truth as to why he wanted to wait, "I'm sorry too. I've been, putting off this whole thing because..." Giving a sigh, she made sure she listened as closely as possible to understand what it was and what needed to be changed, "I didn't know if you'd be able to handle all these emotions so much and so quickly. I wanted to wait for you to be in good health, to not be all over the place because... I don't think jumping up and down, sliding back and forth trying to make potions would be good for the Hatchling." Now that he was saying it out loud, it did make sense to her, and she did feel horrible now as she thought more and more about it.

"I was always waking up so early, barely getting any sleep, working with some chemicals I shouldn't inhale, while also being all over the place and not resting or controlling my own emotions," Volteer didn't even have to say anything as she was able to nail exactly what his worries were, and her eyes grew wide as she was now surprised at how well of a dad he would actually make, "You saw all of this and yet... I didn't... And now that I'm thinking about it... Maybe... Maybe I'm not meant to be a mother."

"Ersa..." Volteer whispered to her, "I definitely should've just said something sooner, I just, didn't know how since you were all over the place. I'm not saying to stop the things that you're doing but, it's okay to slow down. You're like Spyro right now; scared, and jumping at the chance to protect everyone, but we're fine," He could see her body was starting to rest now as her chin sunk into the bed, and he chuckled, "If work needs to be done, then I should be the one to do it. But that's of course if we do have a Hatchling. And I guess the question is now is, now that you know the truth, what will you do?"

Thinking about what she was going to do now that she understood what she needed to do, she looked at him with a smile and giggled, "Alright, I have a plan," He chuckled and had high hopes that her plan wouldn't involve too much work, "I do need to work on this real quick because those four I'm sure didn't get much sleep, and then I will come to bed and make sure to... Breath," He smiled to see she was taking a small breath in, and a small breath out as she tried to calm herself, but she was still a little confused about one thing, "So you didn't know when else to tell me? How about when you were talking all that time last night about why we shouldn't?"

"Oh... Hehe... I got a little carried away as I was... Really wanting to, so, I just tried to make up excuses that you'd be able to easily look past."

"So... If I do change then..."

Nodding at her, he pushed a little as he was now pretty excited, "Now with that out in the open and you know, I wouldn't really mind. I mean, I will even roll over right now," She immediately picked up her head from the bed as her tail wagged with excitement, but just as she was smiling, he destroyed all hope of it happening, "But, you have to work, and the chemicals you put in there have to be attended to so, if you didn't start working and just came in here then..." Moving his head closer to hers, he smirked at her as she teased her, "It would've been a yes."

She growled at him, but seeing him so close to her with his smirk, she knew should could still have her way. Pushing her lips against his, she let out a slight moan along with her mate as it felt like they hadn't kissed in forever, and they both closed their eyes to enjoy the moment. _He's right... and I didn't see it... I need to change, I need to separate myself with my war self._ Dragging her lips away from his lips, she watched as his body shivered, and she giggled at him as he asked, "Please tell me you won't take long."

"I promise... You showed me what I was wrong in doing, but just know that, if I'm seeing what's wrong in me, you better do the same," He wondered what she meant by that, and she giggled at this, "Telling someone like me no is a very bad idea, so when I change and ask again, I expect a yes," She wondered what he would say to that, but all he did was smile and wink at her for a sure fire yes to her, but with that, she growled at herself, "Damn it!" His eyes grew wide to see her anger had taken over, and she stormed over to her work table and started to growl at herself, "It could've happened! We could be having fun right now, but no, you had to work! You just couldn't let things be as they are!"

"Hey, my love," Volteer knew he had to say something as to not make her too upset, and as she looked at him, he smiled at her as he said, "You know, I'm pretty sure those potions aren't going to take all day to make... so... I didn't say it wouldn't happen today."

"Oh!" Ersa had completely forgotten, and she had to grab back her composure as she knew her anger wasn't good either for her, "Being this frustrated isn't going to be good for the Hatchling either. I know you're right, and you're protecting me and our Hatchling, so I will, change," Just the same as when she was over by the bed, she took a small breath in, and then out, which helped compose herself, and felt good as she now knew things were changing for the better, "You are right, my love. I need to take my time, and slow down. I need to focus on safety equipment for my work so if I do work, just a little, then the Hatchling would be fine..." Looking at Volteer, she asked to make sure she was right in her thinking, "Right?"

"Ersa, I'm not saying for you to change who you are. I just want you to be cautious, that's all."

His words were helpful each and every time she needed them to be, and she wanted to know what she could do for his help, "Volteer... You really are an amazing dragon... And, I want to know what I can do to make that up to you," He only smiled and winked at her once again which made her giggle and growl at herself once again, only a little smoother as she remembered what not to do, "Of course you're all for it now when I can't... Just you wait, Volteer... But at least you know your place and said you'd roll on your back so."

"Oh no no no, that's going to be a battle for sure."

"I look forward to it," Ersa smiled, looking back to her work and dropping a single bit of liquid from one bottle to another.

* * *

"Now, my love, hear me out on this," Now hearing that Spyro was awake, Malefor wanted to talk with him some more, but he knew his lover wouldn't be too happy with him leaving her, so he needed to think of something, "I know you want to stay in bed and all, and I would as well, but just like the past, it's a win win. I get to talk with Spyro, and you get to talk with Cynder, which then leads us down into the Chambers," Seeing his lover lay down and just listen to him made him feel like it was a no, but she wasn't saying anything so he was confused as to what she was thinking, "Maybe we could, rock paper scissors it to see what we would do? Or, maybe I can make it up to you..." Once again, she said nothing, and now he shivered, "Carith... You're not giving me much to work with here. If you hate me then say it," Ducking his head down in shame, he frowned as he said, "I would understand."

Putting her elbow on the bed to her right, she rested her face on her paw and rolled her eyes with a smile as she watched him try and gilt trip her, and he even looked up from time to time to see if it was working, but it wasn't, not that he needed to gilt trip her as she finally spoke to him, "I'm not stopping you, am I?" Now that she had spoken to him, he picked his head up and wondered what she meant, "Malefor, do you remember when we first came to our room and you almost chocked on your water because of all the elements you were using."

"Hehe, yeah, that was... That was bad."

"Exactly, but you tried your best, and after awhile, you were getting better and better at it, because you cared, and you really did want to try," Putting her paw back down in front of her and supporting her own head once again, she smiled at him the entire time she had talked, and she was impressed with what he had done, "I was very surprised to see you do that, so... As a reward for almost making you choke on water, and... Giving me a wonderful night once you had nearly mastered using the three elements at once... I'm going to let you do what ever you want, for the time being at least."

"Really?" Malefor asked, a little surprised that she was letting him off so easily, and even though she did tell him why, it was still a surprise to him, "I... I don't know what to say."

"You know I'm going to want the same night tonight though to make up for it. Well, more of you kissing me, less of you almost dying."

"Please, a little water wouldn't stop me... Then again, it depends on how cold it is and..."

"You going to analyze what I said like Volteer, or are you going to go talk to him."

"Oh, right."

Turning his attention away from his lover and towards the door, he walked off the bed, and as his four paws touched down on the ground, he started to sneak for some reason. Carith watched as his body was close to the ground along with his tail, but nothing touched the floor, and even as he approached the door, he reached up instead of just standing up and opening the door. As he opened the door, he looked to his right, then his left before slithering out the door and over to his left. _I'm definitely in love with Malefor, that's for sure,_ Carith shuck her head with a giggle before following behind. Getting off the bed and onto the floor, she made her way over to the door normally compared to her lover. Exiting out of the room and looking to her left, she looked at him with a raised brow as now she didn't understand what he was doing. His back was against the right side of the other's door with his wings spread out and standing up on two paws. Carith couldn't help but blush to see his body in all it's glory, and while she was checking him out, Malefor looked to his lover and made some paw signals. Having one paw out, he used his other paw and placed two claws in his other paw. Watching him play out what he was going to do in paw form made her shake her head as she wondered, _Why does someone with such an amazing body have to be so weird._ Hearing a whistling sound, she watched as his paw slowly came down to his other paw, and just as it hit, he made an explosion sound, and then came back down to his four paws and stood at the front of the door. Looking over his shoulder to see if she would follow, he nudged his head at the door before looking back straight at the door and waiting for her. Walking up to him and next to his left side, she saw the smile on his face, and while she looked at him, he looked at her as well and asked her, "You ready?"

 _Then again... Him being weird is so much fun,_ Carith giggled, and looking at the door with his lover, she was honest, "No idea what you were doing but, I'm pretty sure it's not going to work."

 _"Malefor, would you just open the door,"_ A voice called behind the door, and hearing what sounded like a manly voice, they knew it was Spyro. Reaching over and grabbing the door knob, he pushed open the door and entered into the room with his lover. As they entered the room, the two other lover's were sitting in the middle of the bed together, and while Malefor chuckled as he looked at his friend, Carith raised a brow at Cynder to see that she was a little shinier around her neck and mouth, which meant water was reflecting off her body. _Oh ho ho ho, Cynder, you aren't going to like me when I tell the girls about this._ Just as Malefor opened his mouth to ask, Spyro cut him off and chuckled as he said how he knew, "You do know you aren't exactly... skinny. When you slammed your body against our wall, you weren't exactly easy when you did so."

"Ohhhhh... Yeah... I guess that makes sense."

"And you also making a threat to bomb me... You got something to say it, then say it."

"No no no, that was a joke! That was a joke."

"Hey, Spyro, while you are talking with Malefor for this time being, can I have a little talk with Cynder," The way she had phrased it made it seem like something had happened, and to Cynder, this meant something happened between her and her lover, so she was interested, "Don't worry, it's nothing bad. Just wanted to ask her something real quick."

"Oh do I wonder," Getting off the bed and following Carith to the hallway as they walked out, Spyro and Malefor continued to talk about what was on their mind.

"Speaking of Cynder, which leads into me talking about Ersa, crazy how she knew how to get up here, right?"

"Malefor, how, I mean... How do you expect me to respond to that? She already said why she was up here and how so, where is this conversation going?"

"I don't know... I just don't know what to talk about... Do you want to go train in the Training Room?"

* * *

Standing in the middle of the hallway, Carith turned herself around to face straight, and just as she had done that, Cynder was already sitting down in front of her, and she was the first to speak, "So, what's up?"

"Hehe, you know what this is about," Carith said to her, hoping she would know what this was about, but Cynder only looked at her with confusion, so she knew she would have to explain, "Oh, come on, Cynder, it's pretty obvious the minute I walked into your room," Now she was having fun with the fact that Cynder didn't know, so she just tried to hint a little here and there for her to find out herself, "You've been looking a little shinier when we walked in, did you know that. It's like you washed you body, but mainly your lips... And apparently your neck as well," Now that she knew what her friend was talking about, she watched as Cynder's face went red as she didn't realize there was still water to be shown, "Hehe, seems like you had a good time."

Wiping off her neck and lips, Cynder growled at her for pointing that out, but a playful one, "How dare you call me out on what me and Spyro were doing. The water on my neck, unfortunately, is just because the water went down my neck, if you should know," Now that she was talking about it, she noticed her lips were also shinier, so she called her out on her lover as well, "And how you going to embarrass me if you and Malefor were doing the exact same thing?"

"Hehe, you got me there. And, funny story about that, he almost choked while he was trying to kiss at one point."

"What?!"

"Yeah, that's a story for another time. Or at least when we are with the other females."

"Damn, I'm interested too."

Hearing the other guys walk out from the room, they looked over to see they were opening the Training Room door, and immediately, both of the two females said no, "Whoa whoa whoa," Both Cynder and Carith said in unison, and both of them stopped at the door, looking at their lovers with slightly opened eyes, and Cynder was the first one to speak, "And what do you think you're going? After how much power you just used with me, you're not serious that you're going to train?"

"Especially you, Malefor. You used a lot of power and we got barely any sleep. Are you sure you're even up to be training?" Carith asked, hoping that the answer would've been a no, but she knew it would've been too good to be true, "I know I said you're free and we could have a nice night tonight but..."

"Carith, don't worry, I'm fine," Malefor assured her, and she gave a sigh as she knew that meant he was going to go through with the training, "Since hopefully nothing will happen today, me and Spyro can train up without a problem, and although those green gems can't help with sleep, when you're running out of power, they still help a good bit, so I'll be fine," Since it seemed like Carith was agreeing now, she gave another sigh and decided to back down, and now all that's left, was Cynder, and Malefor nudged him in the shoulder as he said, "Now it's your turn, Spyro."

"Malefor, shut up," Cynder threatened him, and while he shut his mouth, she pointed a claw at her lover as she said, "Nothing serious, understand? No dark power training, and neither of you need to be fighting one another, is that understood by the both of you?" Both swallowed hard and nodded at her words, and she gave a sigh as well as she wasn't exactly pleased with them training, but she was thankful for the night she had with Spyro, and she told him that, "You're lucky, my love, that you gave me such a good night. Keep that up... And you can believe I'm on my way to only smiling."

"Hehe, well, I also know with a nice body when I grow up to an adult, then I'd be fine. Kinda like how your body is very smooth, curved, and perfectly fine. Which makes me wonder how both of us will look as adults," Realising he was getting of track and seeing his lover blush with a slight smile, he chuckled as he got back on track, "But, I promise we will obey your wishes my love. You have nothing to worry about."

Giving a sigh, she waved a paw to tell them to leave, and so they did. Both Malefor and Spyro looked at one another as they chuckled, then they turned to the Training Room and ran into it. As Spyro ran in, he stopped a little in front of the door as he realized something wasn't right. While Malefor ran into the room and made it to the middle, he was ready to train, and turning around to Spyro, he called out at him as he was ready to train, "Come on Spyro! What we waiting for?"

"Hold up... I'll... I'll be right back," Turning around and running out of the Training Room, he quickly looked to his left to see the girls were standing by the door, watching as it opened, "Cynder, wait!" Running over to her, the two girls looked at him, wondering why he came from out of the room, and as he stood in front of her, he explained, "While I do trust Ignitus to tell us if something happens with us not near you two, I... I wanted to know if you... Trust me."

Both the girls were confused about what he meant, and Cynder giggled as she viewed it as a obvious question, "Of course I trust you. Now my question is, why do you ask?"

"Because, I've been thinking about the past while we were in our room and, it got me thinking, how else could I protect you and keep the good time rolling," Picking up his paw, it started to radiate with dark power, and he explained further, "Back then, we were able to synchronize with our dark power to control and use it, but now that's it's been so long since we have, you're dark power has weakened, which is a good thing for sure. And, I know this sounds crazy but... Is it okay if I... Put some of the darkness I have in your body."

Once again, the girls looked at him with wide eyes, now completely confusing both of the girls, especially his lover as now Cynder didn't understand what he was doing, "You want to, infect me, with your darkness? Alright, Spyro, now you're confusing me."

"With this darkness inside your body, since it's mine, I will know when something is wrong, or at least, that's the hope. I wasn't able to really test it since you kissing me destroyers me using the darkness but, my hope is that, if anything is wrong, we can synchronize as we did before. If you put some of your darkness in me and I do the same to you, then we will be able to call upon each other as such if something happens and I'm not near you, like a warning sign for me."

"Are... Are you sure, about this... I trust you, Spyro, I don't trust the darkness."

"Don't worry, my love, I won't let anything happen to you, I just need to know if you honestly do trust me," She was a little hesitant at first as she wasn't sure, and his next words made it even more of a reason to think about it then just jumping up and saying yes, "I'm asking because, you're putting your life in my paws. With this darkness I give, when you use your dark power, mine will react, which will then react to mine, like how we did back then. Only... I can control the darkness I give you. Which means that, this darkness I control, will be near your heart."

"So what... You're going to kill me if I say something wrong?" Cynder murmured, and she knew this wasn't true, but wanted confirmation from her lover, "I know you'd never do that but, you're saying that, you could kill me with the darkness if you wanted to, couldn't you."

He gave a frown as she was right in saying, "That's why... I wondered if you really did trust me that close to your heart. It could help in case anything happens, and since I can control it, I would be able to know if your heart is beating smoothly or if it's sped up, but you'll also have your darkness near my heart as well," She had to sit down even after how long of an explanation this was turning out to be, but she understood how everything was sounding, and it did scare her, "I... Wanted to make sure with you, of course. You would have to focus on using your dark power a little though to activate my darkness for a warning which... I definitely don't agree to..." Everyone went quiet for a second as both of them were thinking about it, and with Spyro's realization, he didn't want to take this risk as he thought about it quick, "Actually, forget I even said anything... I..."

"I'll do it," Cynder growled as her body teased up for a second before easing up a couple of seconds after.

"No, Cynder, it's..."

"You really think I don't trust you with my life?" Cynder asked him, and hearing her say that, his eyes grew a little wide, even smiling a little to hear her say that, "This... Will just show me that I can trust you even further," Taking a step closer to him so they stood nearly face to face, she smiled at him and was honest, "This really would help us. Compared to back then when I needed you and I couldn't reach you, this will help. Like if you're almost dying, I can know... After we had fought the Dark Master, and the first day we woke up after the Volcano... I wanted to give up.. but with this, I will know, and I can act faster, and feel even safer then before."

Just as a tear went down his lover's eye, Spyro also shed a tear for how she trusted him, and he smiled with thanks, "Thank you... Cynder. And, you are definitely right. When I was dying on the floor, I wondered if you were dead too... And... I cried for a while... That's just one of many times it would've been helpful to know," Both smiled at one another, shedding another tear as they were both happy to see how much one another trusted the other, and raising a paw up, he asked, "Are you..."

"Sure?" Before he could even ask, she had already put her paw over his paw, and moving her fingers between his to hold his paw, she nodded her head and whispered, "I trust you."

 _I will not mess this up,_ Spyro said to himself in his thoughts, and he made sure to talk with her the entire time so she didn't scare herself, "Alright, first, I'm going to transfer my darkness over to you," She waited a couple of seconds once he had said this, and she shivered as she could feel the darkness only slightly going down from her paw, into her arm and to her chest before finally going away, "To make this easier for you, I'm just going to take a little bit of your darkness so you don't have to do anything just yet," Once again she braced herself, and just as before, she felt the darkness go in reverse from her chest, to her arm, and to her paw before it finally disappeared, "Okay... Now, we should be good. The only thing left to test out is if it actually worked."

"Can... Can we just... Test me first," Cynder pleaded as she was shaking from everything that had happened, even if it did go well, she had no idea aside from how she felt, "And... please keep holding my paw."

"Don't worry, I'm not letting go, I promise," Spyro assured her in a low tone to help sooth her, "So for this, just simple think about the darkness to bring it out. You don't have to worry about a balance or anything like that since it's just a small amount. Once your darkness starts going, mine will react, so I should start radiating darkness as well."

"But, wait, wouldn't that mean that, when you use your dark form then, my darkness will also react?"

"I'm able to control the darkness inside my body whether it's mine or not, especially since you gave me a small amount of your dark power, I can easily control it so it's not used. If I ever did use your darkness, I would have to get more from you, at least, that makes the most sense on how things would work, since only I can regenerate my own dark power," Seeing her start to sweat as she knew she was going to have to use her dark power, he once again gave her the chance to back out, "Cynder... You've already done a lot for me... Especially trusting me the way you did. You don't have to do this."

Shaking her head as she tried to ignore the no in her head, she still wanted to go through with it, "It's now or never," Preparing herself, she closed her eyes and sat straight up, but opening one eye back up to look at her lover, she needed to know he was there, "If anything goes wrong... You'll help me... Right...?"

"Won't even hesitate to save you. I can cancel out your darkness if I have to by absorbing more, like how I did with Malefor."

Shedding a tear, she closed her eyes and whispered, "I trust you."

Now, all the three could do is hold there breaths and wait, but no one even knew that Malefor had also poked his head out from the Training Room to watch as well, and his eyes were looked to Cynder, waiting to see if she would actually go through with it, _Hopefully she can easily call upon it, and not control it... Definitely two different difficulties when it come to the two._ It took a couple of seconds of silence, and unfortunately, that silence started to get to Cynder. It was bad enough she was already sweating and shaking, but now having to think about the darkness and what it did, whilst the room was quiet, she tightened her hold on Spyro's paw, and he knew he should break the silence, "It's okay, Cynder, I'm still here, I haven't left, and you're still okay. Everything is okay."

Now hearing his voice again, she eased up her grip on his paw and went back to thinking about the darkness. It was strange to her as she understood what he meant, but couldn't understand why there were two feelings to the darkness, _It feels like there is a hot and cold to the darkness in my body... It's like, the hot is my darkness, and the cold is his, like it's... calming my darkness... It is also controlled though._ Focusing on the cold side of the dark power, darkness slowly came out from all around her body, and just as hers went off, so did Spyro's, and both of the lover's gasped with wide eyes. Both Carith and Malefor feared that something had happened, but they didn't seem to be changing, they only stood there, looking at one another. Spyro was the first one to speak as he was the one who wasn't as stressed as his lover was, "Is... Is that you're... Heartbeat?"

"What?" Both Malefor and Carith asked in unison.

"I... I feel your heartbeat too," Cynder said in awe, completely surprised at the sudden realisation, and she giggled with a smile as she didn't know how to react, "This... This is... Insane!" Smiling wide as she knew what that meant, she looked at herself, and then her lover, and kept her wide smile as she said, "That means I did it! I... I didn't know it would've been that easy I..." Putting her other paw on her chest and sighing hugely, she put her paw back to the ground and knew it was all because of her lover's help, "Then again... I definitely wouldn't have been able to do this without you."

Blushing to see her smile, and hearing how soft her tone of voice was when she spoke to him, he chuckled, "Oh, yeah well... It's just my kind of thing..."

She couldn't help it anymore as the fear did still swirl around in her mind, so pulling his paw down suddenly, it caused him to jerk forward and land his lips right on his lover's. Taking her paw out from Spyro's, she placed it over his right cheek before closing her eyes along with him to enjoy the kiss. And lucky for her, the kiss took away the darkness as it went back to her body, now concealing itself near her heart. Hearing how helpful there plan actually was, Malefor thought about it when it came to his lover as well, _If that's... really how that works then... What if I put some of my darkness with Carith... But... Then again, Cynder already has darkness within her which means, if I did do the same to Carith then... There's a possibility it could infect her... and then... I would never be able to live with myself._ With a small smack from one another's lips as they pulled away, Cynder gave a sigh as she now felt better then she did before, and Spyro warned her ahead of time so she didn't have to fear, "Just to make sure everything did work out, I am going to be using your side of the darkness. But don't worry, nothing will happen. All you have to do is sit there, that's it."

She made sure not to move as she was still scared of the darkness and only watched. His body radiated the darkness that she had given him, and just as the same with her, the darkness her lover had given her started to come out from her body, and once again, the two were able to hear one another's heartbeat, while also some how being able to almost feel one another's heart. Coming out from the darkness, Spyro had an idea as to what that might be for what their feeling, "I... I guess because the darkness is so close to our hearts, we are able to hear it, and feel it since... We are controlling that darkness, and... I did say that... we hold each other's lives now..."

It was still scary for her to hear him say it, and while he gave a small frown, she smiled at him and made him feel better instead of the other way around, "You try and kill me, you lose out on this body you were talking so much about," Giving a giggle to her own words, it also made him chuckle as he was glad to hear she was making light of how serious this was, "I said I trusted you, and... I wouldn't have done this if it wasn't for all you've done for me... This is just another time where... I know I should trust you," He gave off a small blush and finally smiled at her as he could feel his heart racing, and using the power he had given her, she giggled to feel how fast his heart was racing, "What's with the fast heartbeat my love?"

Giving off a sigh with his blush still very visible, he smiled, "Now we will now each other's heartbeats, and... since you know mine... I now just want to go back to our room and kiss the day away... Especially since your words were... I... I don't know what to say, Cynder... Thank you."

"As much as I would love for that to happen, I do need you to recharge your energy with those gems either way. And it's best to just do as we said we would because, if I did go through all this just to go back to bed... Not going to be super happy."

"Definitely don't go back to bed, got it."

"Hehe, you better not, especially not without me later tonight. So, go have fun training and I will hang out with the girls. We will treat this like a normal day."

"As you wish."

Nodding at his lover as he gave off his last words, he slowly backed away from her and same as her, kept the smile on his face even as they were separating. Turning himself around and walking to the training room door, he passed by Malefor and slapped him on the chest with his backpaw as he entered the room, "Let's get this done," Malefor looked at him, surprised, more surprised then he ever thought he would be in his life, and making sure everything was okay, he looked at Cynder, then back at Spyro, wondering what just happened, and as Spyro sat in the middle of the training room waiting for him, he asked, "Well, are we going to train or not?" Malefor swallowed hard a little as he didn't know what to think, but shut the door to the Training Room anyway as he walked over to him, knowing they were going to train either way, but the confusion was still very much on his face, and Spyro saw this, "You doing okay? You seem confused."

It took Malefor a couple of seconds to respond even after he had sat down in front of him, "I... I just... That was... definitely not something I thought I've would've ever seen... Like," Shedding a couple of tears as he put a paw to his chest, he pretended like he was sad after seeing what had happened, "First Ignitus, then Volteer, and now you... You're all growing up so fast... Won't be long before you ask her to be your mate I'm assuming?"

"How about you shut your damn mouth about that," Spyro growled, hearing him bring up something that he didn't want his lover to hear even though she wasn't in the room, "Like I said, I remembered a lot when me and Cynder were together, so I knew this was just something I could do in case we ever split."

"Well... If you were to split... You'd be dead."

"Not that kind of split... Just, don't worry about it. At least now, this way, she can warn me when ever she needs me. So, let's train up some," Pausing for a second, the Training Room filled with dark enemies, and as Malefor looked around, he looked back at Spyro to see he had also turned dark to prepare for the training, "Man you're lucky Cynder said I couldn't hurt you but, Oh well... But then again," The dark enemies suddenly exploded into darkness once again, and Malefor swallowed hard once again as he realized what that could've meant, and Spyro just confirmed his suspicion, "I can't hurt you... but they can. So I'm going to put them on the same level as me, and not your level."

"Then... Shouldn't we at least work together?"

"I don't know... Not really feeling like teamwork is going to help."

"If we're going to save the world together, we should know how each other moves so we can properly react to one another."

"Pretty smart in you saying, Malefor. Almost like your trying to use this as an advantage to kill me later on."

"No, I..."

"Relax!" Slapping a paw down on his shoulder, Spyro smiled devilishly as it did seem that his idea was a good one, "I agree with you. This also works out for the bloody side of my darkness. The more we kill, the better, and if we do synchronise, that means we can also get it done faster and realize what we need to fix," Taking his paw off of his shoulder, he also assured him of something else before they got started, "Plus, I know you take training very serious because of what you have to protect," Seeing a small smile go across his face, Spyro smiled back, and walking to his side as he got into a fighting stance, Malefor did the same thing, and each other's heads were just across the back of one another's neck, making the two laugh as they both realized it, "I know we talk about this a lot but... Never thought I'd be standing side by side with you when training."

"Hehe, yeah, no kidding. But... I'm not complaining. I like it this way."

"Then you ready to battle."

"Ready when you are, friend."

"Hehe, not just yet."

"Damn."

* * *

Making their way to the Chambers, Cynder, very similar to Carith, stayed a little quiet as they were both in shock of what had just happened. For Cynder, it was crazy for her take such a huge step when it came to their relationship and trust, _everything Spyro had said... he really did pay a lot of attention to detail... And..._ Picking up her right paw, she looked at it as she walked and couldn't stop thinking about the feeling, _The way he held my paw... If he didn't, I... I'm sure I wouldn't have been able to do what I did._ Carith saw this, watching as she put her paw back down to the ground, even looking more to the ground then straight, and she knew it was bothering her, so she wanted to say something about what had happened to break the silence, "So... About what happened back there... Do you want to..."

"Why am I shaking even after what had happened?" Cynder asked her straight out, and Carith was a little confused by the question as she didn't really understand anything beyond what she had said, so she clarified, "For some reason, it feels like I have two sides to me, and not the light and dark kind. I have this, doubt, but also this feeling of hope, and I can't understand why. When I think of the doubt, I feel terrible for even doubting him, but then the doubt also makes me think I should be worried in case of something, especially since it has to do with my heart. And then the same goes for hope, and I split off into more and more as to what is and isn't good!" Taking a breather as she realized she had dumped so much information on Carith, she shuck her head, even shivering as she apologized, "Sorry, I just... I'm so shaken up... And now I'm thinking, should I have waited? But if I did, then I would've made him feel bad, and..."

"Whoa, Cynder, calm down. Take another breath," Taking a nice breath with her friend, Carith now took over so Cynder wouldn't scare herself anymore then she already had, "I will admit that, I was on the wall about what was happening as well and, if I'm telling you the truth... I don't know what I would've done either, and I would probably be in the same situation as you," Thinking about what she could do, she thought of an idea as to what she could do, "Maybe you can just tell him that you're having second thoughts or something, any way to just get the darkness out of you."

"Yeah but," Putting a paw on her chest, she sighed as this was something she was stuck on, "If I do that, he knows I don't trust him, and he'd feel bad... No matter what I think to do, there's always two sides as to what I should do," Seeing as the Chambers were to their right, they turned into the room, and at the back were the Guardians and Claire, aside from Volteer and Ersa, but while they entered, Cynder didn't notice as she just walked over to the wall to her left and sat down, and to her surprise, Carith sat down next to her in support, "Thank you, Carith."

"What's going on?" Claire asked, seeing that something had happened and wondered accurately, "Does this have something to do with your lover's?"

The two stayed a little quiet as they didn't know who should be the one to speak up, but Cynder knew she should just out right say what had happened to get it out in the open and hope for help, "Spyro put some of his darkness inside of me, and could kill me at any point if he wanted to."

"What?!" Everyone cried out in unison aside from Carith as she already knew.

"Okay, whoa whoa whoa, time out," Cyril said, looking over at Ignitus as he believed he had realized something, "So that's why we got such good sleep, because we never woke up and you just put us into a dream. No way Spyro would do something like that."

"Cyril does have a pretty big point, especially since Cynder said Spyro could kill her. If you're going to give us nightmares, be a little better at it," Terrador also agreed as nothing about what she had said seemed right, and even for someone such as himself, he was a little scared to hear Cynder say such a thing.

"This isn't a dream," Cynder spoke on behalf of Ignitus before he could even say anything, and everyone looked over to her as they were desperate to know more about what had happened, "Spyro and Malefor wanted to train, and we wanted to come down here and talk with Ersa and you, Claire. But since the guys weren't with us, Spyro had the idea to... put some of his darkness in me. Long story short, the darkness rest near my heart and he can control and kill me if he wanted to, and even though I can do the same, it's supposed to act as a warning beacon," Everyone once again was surprised to hear what had happened but looked back at her as she had once again put a paw to her chest as her heart hurt every time she thought about, "I was... Scared... Very scared at the idea. And even after I said yes, I keep doubting myself. So, another long story made short, I can't figure out if I should've said yes or no, if I should or shouldn't keep this darkness he gave me, and it's just..." Giving a huge sigh as she didn't even want to think about, it still came back to her as she knew she had to do something about what had happened and hoped anyone would have an answer, "So... What do you all think I should've done?"

The men didn't know how to answer as they didn't know if what they would say would've helped, but Claire had a very clever idea as she smiled just at the thought, "Why don't we, me, you, and Carith, go into Volteer's room, kick him out, and we can all discuss what had happened amongst all of us. I'm sure the guys don't know what to say, and since Ersa is very smart, she will know exactly what we should do." Carith was immediately aboard as she smiled quickly, and now the two girls wondered if Cynder would join, and it took a little more convincing, "I know you're struggling to even think about it, the emotions are eating at you and you can't stop thinking about it. Am I right?" Cynder's eyes grew a little wide as she was surprised that she was able to easily understand what was happening with her without much effort, "Being an assassin has its perks. And since you know what's going on, I'm sure Ersa has something to help calm you down."

Cynder giggled as she was a little happy that was true, "I never thought I would say this... But I'm glad you were an assassin, especially on days like these."

"I was piecing it together... slowly," Carith frowned as she wasn't able to help and felt bad for it.

"You listened to me rant all about what I was feeling which was nice."

"Thanks, Cynder," Carith gave a smile to her friend's words.

Kissing her lover on the lips, Ignitus was surprised by Claire's kiss which made it feel even better for her, but to his dismay, she didn't kiss him for long. Sliding her lips off his, he tried to move his head more forward to keep the kiss going, but she had pulled too far back. Pulling his head back and sighing, Ignitus saw the smile on her face and he chuckled, "I never knew I would like the cold so much in my life."

"And I never knew I'd even be able to kiss my lover before in my life so, life is strange," Giving a giggle, he gave her a chuckle, and smiling as she was happy that her lover was happy, she walked away from him and looked at the girls as she waved a paw over to her, "Alright, come on girls. Let's go figure out the mysterious of life, starring, Cynder," The two girls got up and followed after her, and since they didn't have to walk far, Claire was already sitting at the door that the two were staying, and as the other two females approached, Claire was honest with Cynder, "You know, that was pretty brave of you, and I do understand why you feel the way you do. That was definitely a huge step, and if Ignitus had dark powers and said what Spyro said to you... I..."

"Would've had to think about it." Carith finshed her sentence for her, and all the girls frowned, "Yeah... I said the same thing about Malefor."

"Well, we all have our reasons. Me, I would've had to think about it because of what's happened with my other... Dragon. When it comes to you, Carith, I'm assuming it's because you know that darkness has no mercy, and if Malefor doesn't control it right, he could kill you on accident, or even on purpose," Carith frowned as she knew that was one of the possibilities that Claire had brought up, "And I'm guessing with you, Cynder, it could also be similar. It's hard not to think about when one second, you could be laughing with Spyro, but then... Your life goes dark... So, I understand."

"But then I know... Spyro would never do something that would put me in danger... He never would," Cynder said to herself as she didn't want to believe it, and there was silence amongst the girls as they didn't know what to say, but she broke the silence as she walked up to the door, "Let's just see what Ersa has to say."

"Told you it would be a battle," Volteer chuckled, standing over Ersa as she laid down on her back on the bed, and she was unable to do anything as her wings had been sprawled out on the bed, but his paws were over his wings, and she couldn't use her tail as his tail wrapped around hers, so there wasn't much for her to do, "Even with your paws, you're not strong enough to throw me off, and if you think I'm going to pass out from some kind of surprise kiss, you're going to be surprised when I don't."

* * *

 _Damn him,_ Ersa growled in her thoughts, biting down on her lip a little as she loved everything about what he was doing. His smirk, his body, his gentleness even when he held her down, but she had to think of something, _No way I'm going to be on bottom... I had to wait a while to finish my work, and during that time, I read some things that could help me._ Looking at underneath his body, she looked at his chest and his right arm before looking at his arm and remembered what she had read, _so there should be a special little spot I can hit to get him off._ Reaching a claw up, he prepared for her to go for the shoulder, but she didn't, instead, she started to grope his arm, and he was a little confused as to why. Moving down to his elbow, she apologized in advance, "Sorry, my love, but I'm not staying bottom," Pushing two claws into his elbow in a sweat spot, his arm completely gave out and he feel to his right, and because of this, she was able to get her wing out, wrap it around his back, and threw him over and onto his back, "Got you!" Rolling over her left, she jumped up on the bed and quickly jumped over and on top of her mate, and he growled with a chuckle as he couldn't believe she had done something like that, "Sorry, who's going to be on bottom again?"

"Hehe," Volteer chuckled, sweating a little as they had been playing around for a while now as she had never done something like that before, "When did you learn to do that?"

"I was reading up some when I was working about self defense tactics, pressure points, and books on... How to pleasure," Her voice was low, very low and teasing, and immediately, Volteer's smile went wide, but his face also burned with a fierce red blush, and now he didn't know what to do, "I know you're going to like what comes next."

Moving back a little as to tease him, she feel down onto his chest as she had lost balance, and even as he tried to catch her, it surprised him as he asked, a little concerned, "Whoa... Ersa, are you okay?"

"Yeah... Yeah, I'm... I'm fine," Trying to act like it was nothing, she struggled to get to her balance, but once again, she feel down onto his chest, and she growled, "No... No Damn it... Not now."

Putting his wings around her back and holding her close to his chest, he was careful as he rolled her over, and now as they were before, she laid on her back while he stood above her. His face turned to fear as he saw her face starting to sweat, and she had even started to breath more rapidly. Putting a paw on her chest, her heart was beating rapidly, and even for her, she had to put a paw over her head and growl as she started to feel sick. Seeing how bad she was getting, Volteer started to feel his heart speed up as he didn't understand why she was feeling and looking so bad, "Ersa! What's... What's wrong?"

"No... Nothing... Please... I want to... continue," Ersa fought as hard as she could but didn't even have the strength to really move all that much.

"Ersa... If you really are sick, and we are trying to have a Hatchling, you know we can't," Volteer cried, shaking his head and clenching his eyes as he let a couple of tears go down his eyes as he watched her getting worse, "Please. We need to figure out what's wrong with you before we continue you."

"You're... Right..."

Seeing as the door had started to open, Volteer got of his lover and quickly tried to make it over to the work bench to try and figure out what was going on. The girls saw him jump off the bed and over to the bench so they were wondering if something had happened, but they could tell something didn't seem right. As they walked in, they watched as Ersa struggled to turn herself around to face straight and was only barely able to turn her body on the bed so she laid on her right as she faced straight, and her back facing the right of the wall. She smiled to see the girls had entered and walked over to her, but she saw the frowns on their faces, and she had hoped the others wouldn't know what was going on, but they still asked either way.

"Please tell us that your looking like this because you and Volteer... Did it," Carith asked, and even as it was an open question, they were all fearing to see her look so drained of energy.

She didn't respond, but her smile disappearing only proved their point. Giving out a sigh, Ersa was honest with the girls as she wasn't feeling great at all, and couldn't even yell as she started to speak, "We... We were going to... But, for some reason... I started to feel, sick, and sluggish, falling on his chest a couple of times and... That was it..." The girls all looked at one another, wondering how they would be able to help, and it seemed serious as she talked about it more, "Hehe... I pretty much have, all the symptoms: Headache, sweat, increased heart rate, irregular breathing... It looks bad but, I can help Volteer..." Moving her paw to try and push herself, Volteer stopped his work and watched as she struggled to stand, and everything she tried to do was pointless as she wasn't even able to get off the bed and fell right back down, and while everyone feared, she giggled even as scared as she was now, "Well that's... that's definitely not good."

"Radiation," Volteer murmured in fear, and all the girls looked over to see he started to pick up the pace on his work.

"Radiation?" Claire asked, and now that she had said it, it clicked for Ersa.

"Well... That's... Most certainly not good," Ersa giggled, but a couple of tears started to roll down her eyes as she knew it was probably more serious.

"From all the work she's been doing, most, if not all of our work, has some kind of radiation to it, and we were working on safety equipment before the Temple was attacked," Running to another table, he moved a bunch of paper and books trying to find what he needed, and seeing a flower like plant, he grabbed it, ran back over to the other table, and explained more as he kept working, "It doesn't help that, combined with Radiation, and fatigue, Ersa's body was easily able to be attacked, and with what she was working on, if the mixture is rushed, the chemicals could work in the opposite way, making it toxic. These toxic chemicals work in a way that, once breathed in, they work fast, like a cancer, and even once they are detected by our white blood cells, the toxic chemicals already become a strong enough virus to fight off anything the body throws at it."

"Hehe..." Hearing Ersa giggle once again, the girls feared for her as well as they heard his explanation, and she knew this never would've happened if she had taken a break, "All this rushing... Making and planning... When I should've spent with Volteer... I still have my life at risk for my own mistakes... Cynder... Carith... Claire... I'm not going to lie to you all... This is... Very serious... And I don't know if... if I will even live through this."

"You'll live!" Volteer cried out, clenching his paws as he looked at a page in a book with a glass bottle of liquid next to him.

The girls looked at him when he had yelled, and now their hearts were racing as it seemed everything was happening so fast, and they didn't know what to do, what to say, but Ersa was the one who kept talking, and they looked back at her as they did, and she made sure to speak lowly this time, "I've read about this before... No dragon has ever been able to... cure or save anyone who... has what I have... And I tried my best... through the years to make sure it didn't happen to me... But... I got relaxed being here... I wasn't careful... and now... Hehe... I might even die for my mistakes."

"No... No no no, this... This isn't right," Cynder cried as her, along with the other girls who started to tear up, "This... This has to be a nightmare... This can't be real... First, Spyro and the darkness, and now... You're telling us that you're going to die..." Clenching her paws, the other girls tried to think of anything, something, that they could do, and Cynder cried, "That won't happen!" Ersa smiled to see she had the support of those around her, and Cynder's kind words helped her as well, "You're stronger then this, you have a smart and supporting mate! You can't let this virus take away the family that you deserve to have... You deserve it... After what you went through..."

Shedding more tears, it now made Ersa frown even more as she didn't want to die, and she feared about what could happen more then ever as everything started to flash in her mind of what she could lose. _Friends... family... my mate and Hatchling... I just got back on my paws, everything was going good and now... I'm about to lose it all... And there's nothing I can do_ , Ersa cried in her thoughts, so for now, the best she could do was try and get her mind off of what was happening with Cynder, "For now... All I can do is hope that... Volteer can do something... But to get our minds off of it... What happened with Spyro...?"

She understood what she was trying to do, and Cynder did have hopes that it would help her, so she explained, "I will try to shorten the explanation as I have before but... Spyro gave me his darkness and I gave him mine. He could kill me at any point and I can do the same. It was... so scary... and I don't know if I should've or shouldn't have done what I did... And even thinking about it, I feel bad. And as Claire described... What if the darkness just kills me without control. What if, one day I wake up, but I really don't... and it turned out, I was dead."

"Wow... That is pretty serious."

"He did it because he wanted to protect me, and he remembered our past when we use to use our darkness together. And since he wanted to train with Malefor, he wanted to use this as a warning signal... And I even had to use his darkness at one point and..." Pausing, she put her paw on her chest once again as she knew the pain was going to come back, and it did, "Every time I think back, to me holding his paw... How protective and supportive he was... What should I think, Ersa? I'm so confused if what I said or did was the right thing."

"Cynder... You remember when I first got here, and I was so scared of Spyro and his strength?" Cynder nodded at Ersa's words, as so, she continued, "I made sure he wasn't who I thought he was, and he proved me that... I should've just trusted him... It was you all who convinced me to trust him and Malefor... I've seen it... Spyro loves and cares for you... And if I can see that even in his eyes... Why shouldn't you trust him?" Cynder gasped a little as she had never asked herself that question before, and Ersa giggled as she knew she hadn't, "I said the same thing to myself with Volteer. Why shouldn't I trust him? He cared for me, protected me, saved me, and so much more, and because of this, he's never given me a reason not to trust him. It's what helped me when I thought he had moved on to that other dragon. I knew I could trust him even when part of me said no..."

"Like how part of me saying no but... I should trust him because... He's never done wrong by me before," Cynder started to slowly realize herself more and more now as she had thought about it, and now with how she was feeling, it made it a lot easier for her to agree on something, "My heart does hurt, and not because of him, but it really is because of my doubts! He trusts me enough for my, unstable darkness to be near his heart! He gave me his darkness which had been controlled and tamed so I would be safe!" The girls all smiled to hear her realisation, along with how big of a smile she gave as she realized it, "He... He... Damn it," Cynder giggled, as now she needed help with something else, "Well, Ersa... Hehe... One problem down... but here's another one; Why do I deserve someone like Spyro?"

"Hehe... I may know the meaning of life... But knowing why our lovers choose us out of hundreds will always be a mystery," Seeing Volteer still work as quickly as possible as he could, it made her smile, and looking back at the girls, she giggled, crying more as she thought about it, "Right now, Volteer could just leave me for dead... Rather then trying to help, and cure... A virus that has killed thousands of... the smartest minds... But I will never understand why... even if he told me..."

"Because then you'll always have more questions," All three of the girls said in unison, and the four all giggled as they had all been there before

"Damn it!" Hearing Volteer yell out as he cursed once again, everyone looked over at him, but they didn't have to look far as he ran up beside the girls and asked his mate, "Ersa, didn't we have an Esper Plant?"

"I used it... when I was working... why...?"

Seeing him freeze stiff as he gasped, he eyes went cold, and more tears started to rain out of his eyes as his chest went up and down faster and faster as if he was about to have a heart attack, "No... No no no...! I... I need that plant! Do we have any other location other then all the way over at the Dragon Temple?! Any that you saw around Warfang?! I... I know it could be one of the biggest deciding ingredients no one has done before, and it all makes sense why! It all makes sense why it didn't work before!" Seeing her frown as she tried to shake her head, Volteer's eyes once again went cold as he fell onto his butt, not knowing what to do now, "I'm not fast enough to make it over there and back in time."

Sitting there for a bit, everyone wondered what they were going to do now, especially Ersa as she knew there was nothing that could be done, "Volteer... You tired your best... I don't want you to suffer through this virus as well and then we both die..."

"I would rather kill myself to save you then to sit by and watch you die!" Volteer cried, and everyone was surprised to hear his passion, and it only made it more emotional for everyone, "If trading my life means I can save you... so be it...! I've have a good life, but yours was ruined, and it's my fault... This is all... my fault."

"Volteer..." Ersa cried, and he watched as she shivered violently, and everyone felt shivers as she cried in a soft whisper, "I don't want to die... I don't want to leave you..."

His eyes went wide, and he clenched his teeth tight along with his eyes as his body struggled to even stand with what he was feeling, but he had to think of something. Seeing as no one had an idea, Cynder tried to think of something on her own, but every time she did, she kept thinking of Spyro and his smile. But with the smile came a realisation as she gasped, and everyone looked at her as they wondered what she knew, "Volteer, how long do you have?"

"We only have... another hour at max," Volteer grumbled as he was feeling drained with what was going on, and taking it much worse then everyone thought he would, "And once again... I'm not strong enough to save her..."

"You aren't, but Spyro is," Cynder suggested, and Volteer picked his head up and listened to her as she explained, "Spyro's speed is unreal. Yes, it's true he is getting the things to save her, but! You are the one making it, you are the one making something that's never been made before to cure something that's never been cured before. So in all aspects except one, you are saving your mate," Her words was enough to make him pick back up his head and smile as he realized she was right about everything.

"I, I need to quickly run up and get Spyro then! He... He can...!"

"Wait!" Cynder cried out, stopping him just as he turned, and he didn't want to wait, but she was able to speak quickly, "I... I want to try this..."

"You're not talking about," The three girls asked as they realized what it was she was going to do rather quickly.

"I... I trust him," Looking at Ersa, they smiled at one another as Cynder said, "After all... He's never given me a reason not to trust him," Looking away from her and closing her eyes as she looked to the floor, she admitted, "I'm definitely... scared. But if I remember what he told me, and trust him as I did... I will be safe, and I will have nothing to fear... I know I won't," The girls and Volteer made sure to stay quiet, and it took a couple of seconds before something happened, but as it did, her body started to have darkness radiate from it, and dripping tears from her eyes, she whispered to herself, "Please work... Please... Spyro..." Hearing his heartbeat, she gasped as her eyes shot open, and she almost fell back as she came to.

"Cynder!" Everyone cried.

"I'm fine... I'm fine," Shaking her head, the darkness went away, and she looked at her paw to see it was true, "Now..." Putting her paw down to the ground, she sat down with her friends in a row in front of Ersa and whispered, "We hope... And put our trust into Spyro that he got the warning."

* * *

Spinning on the ground into a ball of fire, Spyro took out most of the dark enemies around him, but as he came out from the fire, he had to get his balance. This was an opening for a dark creature to attack. Rushing quickly with his sword, Spyro saw him at the corner of his eye, but was still regaining his balance. To his luck, Malefor dashed to her right, took out the creature, and went back to the air. Smiling from his help, he was glad he did it this way, _Malefor attacks in the air because of his wind power, and I attack the ground because of my strengh in fire. You're not as dumb as you think, Malefor._ Looking in front of him, another army of enemies had spawned which Spyro smiled, and smacking a fist into his other paw as he sat there, he yelled at them, "Who's next?!" His eyes grew wide as his body shot stiff, hearing the heartbeat from his lover, and the feeling of her darkness being active, "Cynder...! Malefor! Something's wrong! We need to go!" All the dark enemies quickly disappeared as Spyro ran to the door, and Malefor quickly followed behind as he flew out the sky and to the ground, and as they exited the Training Room and made it over to the main doors, Spyro explained as Malefor stood next to him, "Cynder activated her darkness."

"You don't think," Malefor wondered as he was still trying to catch his breath, along with Spyro.

"I don't know," As the doors opened, he kicked off the ground and ran down as quick as he could with Malefor at his side, "Listen, if there is anything, quickly get everyone rounded up and I will take care of the enemies. Once everyone is safe, join in on the battle, understood," Seeing him nod, they both knew how serious this was, and with the speed they were running, they were able to make it to th Chambers in no time flat.

* * *

 _Please... Spyro... We need you,_ As everyone sat and waited, everyone heard what sounded like claws hitting the ground, but much louder then normal claws. As they looked to the door, all they saw was two purple blurs before they disappeared, and the speed of how fast they were going filled the room with a cool breeze that flew into the room, making papers fly all over the place, and causing books to flip through pages. Everyone looked at one another for only a second before hearing the sounds of claws once again, and in a second, they were running into the room. Both Malefor and Spyro stood at the ready, looking around to see if there was a threat, but everything seemed normal. Walking up to her slowly, Spyro looked around to make sure there wasn't someone around holding them hostage and asked "We got here as quickly as I could... I got your signal that..."

To his surprise, as he stood in front of her, his lips were sealed by his lover's, and Spyro's eyes grew wide while she closed hers. Getting a little too into the kiss, everyone blushed a little as they heard the smacking of their lips against one another's. But Cynder knew she couldn't let it get to her and pulled away from the kiss very suddenly, and he didn't know what was going on, and she knew this, "We need to talk when this is over, but right now, Volteer needs your help."

"Hehe, again, Volteer? I thought..."

"Spyro," Hearing the seriousness in her voice, Spyro looked as she moved out of his way, and looking on the bed to see Ersa looking like she was going to visit death soon, he gasped, "He needs you to help get some things to save her... If you can't... she will die..."

"Hehe... Spyro... It's okay if you don't... I... I know what I've done... What I was going to do... to kill you... And..."

"What do I need," Spyro asked with a serious tone and face as he turned away from Ersa and to Volteer, trying to ignore her and get that idea out her mind.

"There's two things I need. A red looking flower with some black dots on it called an Esper Flower. Another thing I need is a special gem in the Lithosphere, or, technically the first layer in the earth," Seeing the confusion on his face, Volteer explained a little better, "There is a dig near the Temple in the front. If you head straight for a little, then look right, there is a dig where me and Ersa got our gems. Go there and get a gem that looks purple and blue. As for the flower, it should grow nearest to the Temple, somewhere around it."

"A red flower with black dots, and a purple and blue gem," Making a note as to where it was and where he needed to be, he turned to Malefor and said, "Change of plans. Watch after everyone here. I'm going to be a good ways away so I'm trusting you to keep everyone safe while I'm so far out," Walking up to Malefor, he needed his word as this was the first time he's ever trusted him with something like this, "The furthest I went was outside the walls during the attack, but I will be miles away, so I need your word, as my future friend."

Putting a paw on his chest, sitting down, and raising his other paw up in the air, he gave him his word, "You have my word, friend. I was going to do the tail blade thing but, I don't know how much time you have."

"About forty minutes," Volteer shivered to say as he realized how much time was left.

"Forty minutes? I can be back in ten," Spyro happily said, making everyone smile at his words, and running to the door, he ran out into the hallway and said, "Time me if you have to!" Dashing as quickly as he could, he made it to the stairs in no time flat, and the same as when he ran to the main doors, "Hehe... I, am, speed... Or wait, maybe... Gotta go fast," Chuckling as he made it to the door, he busted the doors open and made it outside, "Now then," Looking over the surrounding area to see that clouds were starting to roll in and cover up the sun, he knew he needed to be quick, "Let's put my speed to the test then," Looking to the top of the building, he opened his wings and flew up to the top of the Guardians Building, and as he landed down on top of it, he looked straight and shuck his entire body, "Alright," Grabbing onto the ledge, the stone cracked, even breaking as pieces fell down onto Warfang, and using his back paw, he kicked himself off the building.

While everyone still felt downed even with the good news, no one really knew what to talk about, but Malefor knew he should be the one to make the mood a little better. Walking over to the girls, they looked at him as he sat down in front of them and he opened his mouth to say something. Just as he opened his mouth, a crack and explosion was heard outside, and it was loud enough to make everyone jump, especially since the force was enough to shake the whole building.

* * *

"What the hell was that?!" Malefor asked, looking to Volteer and seeing him chuckle.

"That was Spyro breaking the sound barrier," Volteer smiled as he chuckled again, and everyone looked at him with wide eyes, "What a guy... And that probably wasn't even his top speed."

* * *

 _Damn it... I kicked off the building wrong, and my wings weren't even fully ready for take off,_ Spyro growled at himself for his failure, and knew he needed to make up lost time for his failure. _He said forty minutes, but that at most is an estimate._ Flapping his wings as much and as fast as he could, the wind was hitting against his body at such speed that it felt like he was being whipped from here and there. _I just need to remember what he said, get there, and leave, and hope I don't run into any issues._ Looking at where he was at, he knew he was getting close already, but knew he should pick up the pace. _Damn, going full speed got me here in seconds... But I need to get there now, so..._ Using his dark power, the darkness started to consume his wings in darkness, and with this, he hoped it would help his speed. _Alright, let's try this._ Taking his wings up, he stopped flying, and flew down to the ground at tremendous speed. Just before reaching the ground, he snapped his wings forward with the power of his darkness just above the trees. The sheer power of his wings hitting close to the ground cracked the ground around the trees, while also knocking and slashing some other trees around him. Unable to stay in the air for long after that, he sent his body through the trees and fell to the ground. _OH HELL!_ Hitting down on the ground below and unable to stop his speed, he slammed to the ground hard enough to make him skip off the ground. Bouncing off the ground for the second time, his back slammed against a tree, causing him to spin out and hit another tree, breaking both of the trees before finally hitting back on the ground once again. Sliding in the dirt for a couple of feet, steam hissed from out of his body as he laid there. The darkness from his wings had disappeared as he growled to stand to his paws. _Damn... That hurt like a bitch._ Standing up and looking behind himself to see the path of destruction he had made, he hissed through his teeth as he tried to look at his back. _I don't know who to feel more bad for; My back, or the trees._ Getting back on track, he opened his wings, looked up and flew up to the sky. Stopping in the air, he looked around, and just as he turned to his right, the Dragon Temple and all of it's glory was right in front of him. _Hehe, damn... that was quick._ Flying over to the building, he went back in his mind as to what he needed. _An Esper Flower around the Temple, and a Purple and Blue gem near a dig site._ Landing down around the Temple, he looked all around the area to hope in his search of the flower. Seeing a flower sticking out from the dirt around the building, he ran up and picked it. inspecting the flower, it looked red with black dots on it, and he cried out loud to have found it, "Nice! Now, for the next thing on my shopping list."

Putting the flower side ways in his mouth, he lightly bit down on the flowers stem and once again looked up to the sky, opened his wings, and took off to the air. Hovering just above the Temple, he looked around and remembered what Volteer had said to him about the location of the next item, _Near the front of the Temple._ Flying over to the patio of the outside, he then once again thought back to himself, _Head straight a little._ Flying a couple of feet away from the Temple, he looked to his right and said to himself one last time, _Then look right._ Flying down to the ground, he made it passed the trees, and just as he did, the dig site was right in front of him to his luck. _Wow... Volteer sure knows what he's talking about._ Jumping into the small crater, he slid down the dirt and made it into the site. Looking around the area, he had to do a little digging of his own to find what he was looking for. As he dug through the dirt on the sides of the site, his claws tapped something, and knowing what it could be, he dug as much as he could. Seeing the gem more clearly as he dug, he used both his paws to pull it from the dirt. Yanking it out from the dirt, he almost fell down onto his back, but got his balance. Looking at the gem that was nearly the size of his paw, it shined a purple and black color, exactly what he was looking for. _Nice. Now to get back to Volteer._ Climbing up the dig site with the gem in his paw, he made it to the top of the dirt and chuckled at himself while trying to keep the flower in his mouth, "I wonder how many points Volteer will give me, and then tell Cynder..."

His smile as his chuckling quickly disappeared as he turned serious. Something didn't feel right to him, and even his own darkness started to feel as though it sensed something around him too. Looking to his left, his teeth started to show as he saw what looked like a dark creature watching him from behind a tree. Taking a step towards it, it backed up and disappeared in the darkness of the trees. With his teeth still showing, he tried to shake it off as he wanted to believe it was nothing. _No... I'm... I'm probably just seeing things._

"Spyro?" Hearing a voice talk from behind him, Spyro jumped forward and spun around, getting into an attacking position, but his eyes grew a little wide as he saw who it was.

"Sparks?" Saying his name, his brother smiled at him as he flew in front of his face.

"I was wondering what that sound was so I came out here to investigate. Hehe, and what are the odds that it's you causing the destruction," Seeing a single tear be shed, Sparks chuckled and knew he had missed him as much as he missed him, but knew he should keep it chill, "Missed you too man. But, hey, things are going great at home and... Hehe... I think I might have a chance with this girl I met."

"You, with a girl? Hehe, yeah, okay man."

"I'm serious. And since we are on the subject of girls," Seeing the flower in his mouth and the gem, Sparks smiled as he was surprised things had been going so well since he left, "Wow, Spyro. It hasn't even been a couple of weeks since I left and you and Cynder and becoming mates?" Spyro was a little confused in him saying this, and since his brother saw his confusion, it made him a little confused, but he still tired to call him out for it, "Oh, come on. A flower in the mouth is the smoothest move for a women. And a gem to propose to her. Maybe you should wait a couple more years before you do something like... you know..."

"That's right!" Spyro said to himself, and taking the flower out of his mouth with his other paw, he told his brother what was happening, "This isn't for Cynder. You don't know her, but Volteer's long lost Mate is in trouble and about to die."

"What?! Volteer has a mate? When and how?"

"I can't tell you everything. Listen, I don't trust being out here. I'm going to help you safely get home and just can't stay for long, then I have to head back as quickly as possible."

"I guess that would help us catch up just a little."

* * *

With Ersa still laying on the bed, still in a dangerous state, everyone stayed quiet, even Malefor as he had forgotten what he was going to say. Volteer couldn't stay just sitting there and doing nothing though, and tapping his claws in a row on the ground wasn't going to help anything, so he knew he needed to keep working on something, anything to help ease his mate's pain. Turning away from his mate and going back to his work table, he sat in front of it and looked at all the notes and paper that laid across the table. Seeing a piece of paper that he didn't believe he had seen before, he slid a book off of it and moved some of the papers off of it as well. Picking up the paper and looking at it, he shed a tear as he read what it was, _'My plans with Volteer: Simple list now that I'm with him; Become his lover, prove that I deserve to be his mate, have tons of friends, and be the best parent I can be for my and Volteer's future Hatchling. What could get in the way? Losing it all is all I can think of. But I can push through. After all, I've made it this far so... Hopefully nothing can stop me now'._ Putting the sheet of paper back down on the table, his body teased as he put his paw back to the ground. _Think... Think! What else can you do?_ His mind went everywhere as to what he could do, so much in fact that he started to get a massive headache from how much he was trying to over work his brain. Growling and putting a paw on his head, the others looked over to see him struggling for what to do. With the girls being with Ersa, Malefor knew it would be best to go over and comfort his friend. Walking behind the girls and over to Volteer, he sat down beside him, and for a second, the two just sat there, but Volteer chuckled sadly as he looked to the ground, "Ignitus says that the world works in mysterious ways... But it's for a reason. After what I went through, after what Ersa's, gone through... Why... Why does this, need, to happen...?"

Malefor himself didn't even know the answer to his question either as he had wondered the same thing as well, "Kinda like with what happened with me and Carith... Why did I have to kill millions before finally coming back... Why didn't certain things play out how they should've rather then being lied to..." Looking back at Ersa and seeing she was getting worse, he looked back over at his friend and was honest with him as he thought about it, "The only thing I can say that came from the War that was... good... Was that we made it... And, if it wasn't for the War, a lot of the things that happened wouldn't have changed us to learn from it... But... It's hard to learn from a mistake if you're dead..." The two went quiet once again as he mentioned death, but Malefor had high hopes he would be able to save her, and putting a paw on his shoulder, he assured him, "But the smartest mind in the world has never been brought down. You know what you need, you know you can trust Spyro, so the only thing we can do is just hope she gets better soon. So, for the time being, maybe you should, talk to her more rather then not."

As his friend took his paw off his shoulder, Malefor backed away from him, turned his body, and walked over to the right side of the girls over near the bed. Volteer sat there for a little while longer, and knew one thing was for sure, Malefor was right. _We need to keep her awake and active as much as possible. If she closes her eyes, her body will follow and..._ Shivers went down his spine and he didn't dare think about it. Ignoring those thoughts, he turned away from the table and walked over to the other girls, sitting down on the left of them as he made it over to her. Seeing her condition already made it difficult for him to even say anything. She was pale, barley breathing with any strengh, and her eyes wanted to close so badly. The girls backed away from the bed along with Malefor to give Volteer some space, and he used the space to stand up and walk right in front of her. Sitting down and watching her try to give a weak smile, he tried his best to smile back, and said to her as he wanted to give himself hope as well, "Don't worry, my love... Spyro will be back soon... He... He will make it... You... Will make it."

 _I need to make sure everything is going okay, and... Hope that Spyro gets my warning,_ Cynder thought to herself, and she closed her eyes to concentrate. Focusing on his darkness, her body slowly showed the darkness, and the girls along with Malefor shivered a little as they didn't know for a second what she was doing. Hearing his heartbeat for a couple of beats, she took a deep sigh out, opening her eyes and coming out from her darkness. Looking straight at the two mates over by the bed, Cynder said to the others as she had hopes, "Spyro should know that he needs to hurry. His heartbeat is a little sped up but, he is pushing himself to hurry... I just hope... that he does hurry."

"Hehe..." Hearing a weak chuckle from his mate, Volteer picked his head up and shed tears as he listened to her trying her hardest to speak, "You... Want to know something funny...? I actually for saw something like this... way back then. I knew that... because of how much I worked... I was going to get this virus... And the only way I was saved... was by you..." Watching as her mate dug his head into the bed, crying as he heard her talk, she once again gave a weak chuckle as she continued, "I had countless dreams about it... Even though it was still scary... Seeing you there... the way you spoke... Everything about that nightmare... turned into a dream..."

"I'm... Trying... I swear on my life, I'm trying everything I can," Volteer cried, picking up his head and looking into his lover's eyes.

"I know... I know, Volteer... And, speaking of trying... You remember how you told me to... Think of names for our Hatchling...? It's crazy that, some one as smart as me... Can't figure out a name. I know thousands, millions of names... yet... I can't find one that fits for our little one... One I thought of was... if it was a girl, name her Erva after me... And if it was a boy... I would let you decide... But, who knows, maybe you'll just have to decide... With someone else."

"No..." His voice cracked a little as he begged and pleaded for her words of dead to not be true.

"Volteer!" Hearing his name yelled behind him, he spun around, and his eyes grew wide with a smile to see Spyro had returned sooner then he thought, "I have the Flower and the gem," Running over to his purple friend, Volteer grabbed the flower steam from the side of his mouth, and Spyro gave over the gem, "Sorry it took me a little longer then I thought," Watching as Volteer ran over to his work table and started to make the cure as quickly as he could, he explained a little more, "It was easy for me to find but... I thought I saw a dark creature out and about," Malefor let out a small gasp with wide eyes, but tried to hide it, and even the girls were a little scared to hear he almost encounter a dark creature, "Sparks saw me crash land and I had to help him get home safely. I was going to just crash through your window but... Ersa was on the bed so, i knew getting glass on your mate wouldn't exactly be... Helpful."

Volteer didn't respond as he was too into his work, but Spyro understood and let him do his work. Turning away from him and going to walk to the others, Volteer cried out, "Spyro, wait!" Immediately, Spyro stopped, turned around, and wondered what he needed, "I need the power of your blue flames," Once again confusing him, Volteer shivered more and more as he thought about it, but grabbing the glass bottle he was working on, he ran over to Spyro and as he stood in front of him, he explained, "Your blue flames gave me the idea and I figured out many reasons as to why the previous scientist haven't figure this out! It's because you're the only one who's ever had the blue fire before and been able to control it! The melting point for everything in here needs to be super heated as everything mixed together would just give a solid, destroying the cure inside of it. I need you to heat this up by Ten thousand degrees."

"What..." Ersa weakly said, and even she knew that was next to impossible, "Volteer... That's hotter then... The surface of the sun depending on the area... And even hotter... Then the core in the earth."

"What?!" The girls and Malefor now cried as her words gave them clarity as to how hot it needed to be.

"Spyro, please, it's the only way," Volteer begged him, but it didn't have to take much to convince him.

"I'm able to use my power and you think I'm going to say no?" Spyro's words made everyone smile as he was already on bored, but he did have a little hope for something, "But, hey, do you think you could, you know, talk to Cynder about how great of a help I was?"

Both his lover and Volteer laughed a little, and immediately after, he agreed, "Absolutely."

"Alright then, let me see the bottle," Giving the bottle of to him, Spyro held it over his head and looked up at it from underneath the bottle, "So, ten thousand degrees?" Turning into his dark form as it quickly surrounded his body, he prepared himself as he took a sigh, and prepared for the heat, "Thank goodness for the blue fire. Now, make sure to back up a bit Volteer."

Doing as he was told, Volteer already knew he needed to back up, but still went off his words. As he backed away, Spyro controlled his blue flames and burned the bottom of the bottle as much as he could. While he was burning the bottom of the bottle, he watched as it started to bubble rather quickly which was a good thing to see, and he explained some more to make sure this wasn't a failure, "You're going to need to use as much of your air as you can! Keep blowing out fire until I say stop. Cynder, be prepared to give him air as I'm sure he might pass out," Running over to his work bench, he picked up what looked like a glove and put it on his paw, "Thank you Ersa for safety ideas." Running back a little in front of Spyro, he could see that he was running out of air, but the bottle was just about to turn the color he needed it to, "The liquid should turn from a mixed to a single pink color if everything works. At least, that's the hope." His face started to turn purple as he couldn't breath anymore blue flames, and just as he was about to fall with the bottle, Volteer grabbed it from his paw and saw that it had turned pink, "It worked!"

Running over to his table, Cynder ran over to her lover just as he fell to the ground. Putting his lips over his, she gave him air, and as much as she could, knowing he had passed out from lack there of. While Cynder helped Spyro, Volteer snapped the purple and blue gem he was given in half by slamming it against the side of the table, and he put the gem inside of the bottle. The pink color of chemicals hissed loudly as the bottle color itself went from a steamy red to a cool blue. The liquid inside the bottle turned from pink to a dim blue, and with this, he put the bottle down on the table, took the glove off, picked the bottle back up, and ran over to his mate. As he made it towards the bed, he smiled at her as he believed it had done it, "Ersa... You're, you're going to be okay... I... I promise. I just need for you to lay on your back so I can give this to you." She was a little weak to do so, and they both knew this, but he was able to help her roll on her back with the help of his wings, "There we go," Using his other paw, he slid it underneath his mate's head, and very carefully picked her head up just a little, "It's probably going to taste a little... abnormal but, I did try my best to also make it with your bubble gum flavor." She smiled to see he was trying to make sure everything was as it should be, and seeing him move the bottle in front of her lips, she put her lips on the bottle, and he, little by little, poured the liquid into her mouth, "Almost done," Watching as she drank the liquid, and seeing the last drop of it go into her mouth, he took the bottle away from her as she swallowed the last of the hopeful cure, "But now comes the worse part... We have to hope... And wait for it to work."

Helping Spyro up, Cynder used her wing as support, and now with the two back on their paws and him having air, they all looked to see Volteer sitting at the front of the bed, watching, and hoping everything would be okay. He placed the bottle down beside himself, and using his wings, he rolled her back into her left side. Laying his head down in front of hers, he laid both his wings over her back, and neither of them said anything. The others knew there was nothing else they could do, so Spyro turned at the others and whispered, "Let's... Leave them be."

They all nodded, and Claire was the first one to turn and walk to the door. As she left, so did the other two girls, then Malefor, and finally, Spyro and Cynder. While they all walked to the Chambers, Spyro stopped at the door with his lover, grabbed the door knob, and very carefully shut the door behind himself. As the door shut, Spyro sighed, and seeing the worry on his lover's face, he shuck his head as he didn't know what to say, "We just have to hope that Volteer's smarts will pull through."

Walking with his lover over to the Chambers, they entered and saw everyone was still as they should be, and with Malefor and Carith sitting by there right wall, Spyro and Cynder went over to where they normally sat, which was over on the other wall. Claire sat down beside her lover and faced straight with everyone else. Nuzzling the side of his neck, she rested her head on his shoulder, scared, just as everyone else was as to what was going to happen. Knowing he was going to get in trouble, it didn't matter to Ignitus as he knew he had to do something, "Do not worry, everyone," Breaking the silence for everyone, they all looked at him, wondering what he had to say, "If worse comes to worse and he... didn't do it... I will use my power to make sure she makes it... Ugh!" Putting a paw on his head, everyone gave worried looks, and he apologized, "Sorry... The Ancestors aren't agreeing with me but... I don't care... I really don't."

* * *

Laying at the front of the bed and in silence, Volteer waited for any sign of her getting better, and it felt like he had sat there for hours, waiting and waiting for something, anything to happen. Since it was so silent, he was able to keep track of how her breathing was and monitor if there was something he should keep an eye out for. He was ready to do anything he could to save her life no matter the cost, and he begged the Ancestors for that chance, _If I have to trade my life for hers... Just say how... Ancestors... please... Don't take her._ The silence was broken as he thought about it, and he started to sniffle, shedding more tears as his mind was thinking of a life without her once again. Closing his eyes, he begged once again, _Please... don't do this._ Feeling something warm on his face, he opened his eyes and gasped to see it was Ersa's. She was finally able to move her paw, and Volteer smiled wide, not knowing what to say. Nuzzling his cheek with one claw, she smiled at him to see his smile as well, and it was surprising to the both of them that she was even able to move. Giggling now, it made him chuckle to see she was able to move, and she whispered to him, now feeling a little better then she had before, "I'm not feeling... A hundred percent yet, but... I am feeling better... Just... I want to go to bed with you so... Tell everyone I'm fine, come back and... let's sleep... okay."

Taking her paw from away from his cheek, she watched as he nodded at her, keeping his smile to see it was working, just slowly.

* * *

 _Volteer can do it... I know he wouldn't let her die, and I know... I know him... And the worst part, it feels like I've known Ersa for so long now and... I don't want her to die... No one should have to,_ Spyro thought to himself in silent as with how things had been going so far, no one wanted to speak as they didn't know what to say to brighten things up. They didn't have to wait too long for the news though as they heard what sounded like a door opening. After hearing the door opening, they all looked at the entrance as they heard someone walking over. As Volteer walked into the entrance and stood there with a smile, everyone gave small smiles as well, hoping that meant something good, and to there joy, it did, "She's... she's gonna make it..." Everyone cried happily and cheered to hear the good news, and with the good news, he wanted to thank everyone for their help, "Thank you... all of you."

"Hehe, what? What the hell did Terrador and Cyril do?" Malefor laughed, making the two growl at him.

"Shut up, Malefor," Both Terrador and Cyril growled at him in unison.

"The point is, they would be here for moral support, Malefor," Ignitus clarified what he was saying.

"Don't you have to like, do something though and not just sit there? Know what, never mind. Neither of you two were of any use and I did everything."

"Can I kill him?" Terrador asked Ignitus as he looked at him.

"No no no. That's a bad Terrador."

"Let me jump in here before something happens," Volteer chuckled as he could see Terrador was ready to kill Malefor.

"You said you'd jump in here... But you're still standing there." Malefor said, a little confused about his words, and now Volteer wanted to hurt him.

"Shut up, Malefor," Shaking his head at how stupid his friend was, but Malefor chuckled as he knew he had to make the joke, "Anyway, going back... thank you. Thank you girls for keeping her company, and even though I hate you, thank you... Malefor... For talking to me," Now Malefor's funny behavior turned a little more nice as he nodded at him, understanding how important that was to him, and now Volteer had one other dragon to thank, and looking at Spyro, he chuckled and actually looked away from him and at his lover, "Cynder... Most importantly of all. If it wasn't for Spyro and his help, I... Surely wouldn't have been able to do this. So... make sure he gets a nice reward please."

"Hehe, oh, you definitely don't have to tell me twice," Cynder giggled before licking her lips and seeing her lover blush with a chuckle.

"Ersa is feeling, a little better, but she does obviously need time to recover so, she's asked that everyone please leave us be for the night. She's still very weak and tired so... I hope you all understand." Everyone nodded at his words, and he smiled at everyone, thanking them once again, "Thank you, everyone. And... Tomorrow, can we make sure something doesn't go crazy and happen because..."

"Something happens every other day? Yeah, trust me, I know," Malefor chuckled as he knew how the cycle for them works, "Me and Spyro will take care of what ever it is, if there is something. But high hopes there isn't."

"But mainly I will take care of everything cause Malefor's weak," Spyro chuckled, taking a jab at Malefor as he said that.

"Do you want to test that theory?!" Malefor growled at him with a smile, getting into a fighting stance.

"It's not called a theory if it's a fact!" Spyro growled at him, smiling as he got into a fighting stance

"Hehe," Letting out a chuckle, Volteer was happy to see the two were still the same, and things could go back to how they were, and seeing the two's lover's, he once again chuckled as he warned them, "You two better be careful though. Malefor, I'm sure Carith needs you to save your stamina for her, and Spyro, same goes for Cynder," As he said that, they both backed down and saw that their lover's were looking at them with raised brow, and the two guys chuckled as they knew he was right, "Yeah, better be careful. But, I'm off to bed for now."

"Good night, Volteer," Almost everyone said, but just as he turned to leave, Ignitus said something, "Volteer, wait," He stopped his yellow friend, and he turned to see what he had to say, "You impressed the Ancestors with your skill. Between Spyro's power and your smarts, both of you really exceeded their expectations. And since things have calmed down, I can tell you that, they did originally intended for her to die, but... You outsmarted them."

Clapping his paws, Malefor was surprised, especially Volteer himself, "Wow, Volteer. That's pretty crazy."

"They... Intended for her to die... Even after what had happened, what she went through, they were just going to take it all away from her!" Volteer yelled out in anger as he couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"If you did fail, I was going to use my power to save her, so just know, I am on your side," It still didn't change what he had heard, and Ignitus tried to help him move past it a little more so he could sleep, "Trust me, everything would've been fine, and Ersa is safe. You deserve to get some rest after all the stress you just went through today. You've barely been together for a week and you almost lost her," Hearing him say it now, he did frown as he was right, and he had barely spent that much time with her, "Please... Go rest."

Giving out a sigh, he nodded and did as he was told, also knowing that it would be best if he did. Walking away from the entrance and over to his door, he walked to the front of the entrance to his room and walked into it. Making his way into his room and shutting the door behind himself with his tail, he walking over to his bed. As the door shut, he took his tail away from the door and continued his walk. Making it over to the bed, he looked up to see his lover had moved to her belly as she laid down, and her paws laid out in front of her with her head resting over them. This was a very good sign for him as he knew what this meant, _She's able to move her body... Thank Ances..._ Realising how it sounded and after he was told, he shuck his head and corrected himself, _Thank Spyro._ Smiling now, he agreed with himself on who did it and jumped up onto the bed. Circling around and laying down on his stomach while facing the door, he gave a huge sigh for how the day's been _When I woke up, I didn't expect for such a thing to even happen today. Hehe, and we were even hoping that everything would've been fine the next day too so we wouldn't have to do anything... And of course, something did._ With Volteer laying beside her, she opened her eyes to see that the door had been shut, and it seemed like no one else was in the room. Shifting her head on her paws and looking to her left, Volteer saw her move her head and she asked him, "Did you... Tell them what I told you to tell them?"

Nodding his head, he gave himself a chuckle as he thought about it, "Your words were a little strange for me as you said to be completely left alone. If you need some space to recover, I could always... Lay on the ground or something so you don't feel cramped." Seeing her stand up to her paws, he stood up on the bed as well and worried for her safety, "Whoa whoa whoa. Ersa, it's way too early for you to stand," Draping his wing over his mate's back, he put a little pressure down on her back to try and get her to lay down, but she fought against it, and now he was really confused, "Ersa, if there is something you need to tell me, then please do so."

She was a little hesitant at first, like she was taking time to process what she was thinking about, and he let up the pressure he had on her back to see what she had to say. Giving a sigh, her face turned red with a blush as she knew telling him the truth would be better then hiding it, "From day one, since I met you, I always had a sense of love towards you. No matter what it came to, my highs or lows, I could only think of you, and what you've done for me, Volteer," He didn't understand what she was getting at, and wondered if he should say something, but she didn't give him a chance, "Hehe... And... You even saved my life again. A debt that I am forever in when it comes to you. Time after time... It's always been you who's kept my life safe... And I... I want to repay that," Turning away from him as she was a little afraid to say it, she let out a sigh and didn't dare try and back out of it now, so, turning back to him, she put a paw on his chest and was honest, "I want to reward you, for all you've done. The right, reward."

Giving a small frown, he put his paw over hers as he didn't want this to be a reward for him, "Ersa, you know what I'd say to that," Turning his body to face her, he put his paw over hers that rested on his chest, and he once again declined the idea out of fear for her health, "I'm glad, very, very glad you're doing fine. But I don't want us to do something that could maybe negate the effects of what was given to you."

"You know that's not how that would work," Ersa called him out for his lie, even giving a sigh to hear he was dodging it once again, but she wasn't going to allow it, "Volteer, look at me, okay," Looking into one another's eyes with passion, he could tell she was desperate, and it made him feel a little bad for saying no even now, "If you think me rewarding you would change my view of you, don't. This reward is... something I've also dreamed about," Seeing her giggle with a blush once again, her paw slid off his chest and back onto the bed as she now faced straight towards him and told the truth, "I've... Always dreamed of you saving me and... I would... reward you for your help. And being honest, with how much you are against the whole reward thing... I could care less," Her words were getting to him as she could tell he was thinking twice about his decision now, and she pushed more for it, hoping she could get him on her side, "I remember everything you've said. For the sake of my life, your life, and most importantly, our Hatchling's, I will take things slow... But only after we... speed things up a little towards the end..." He couldn't take it anymore, and feeling his wings go around her back, he gently pushed her chest with a paw, and since his wings were to her back, she willingly fell to the bed, "Oh..." A little surprised by his actions, he now stood above her, breathing a little heavier then normal, and seeing that he was still struggling just a little, she put her arms around the back of his head, and as they looked at each other, she smirked with a joke, "You're lucky though. For the time being, I will let you be on top so I can regain my strengh. But don't get too comfy."

With Volteer giving a chuckle and smile to her words, she also giggled to see his smile, and to hear his laugh once again. Now standing above her, ready to go through with what they've been looking forward to for a while, he did make sure there were precautions in case something happened, "If at any point, something happens, just... Stop me, or, I will stop myself. Maybe even a safe word...?" His lips were sealed suddenly as his eyes grew wide for a second before closing, and just as they had, she pulled away from the kiss, and chuckling as he opened his eyes, he wondered why she kissed him, "And what was that for?"

"Gotta get you excited, don't I? And trust me, if something happens, I have my ways of getting you to stop, but... It's not going to happen," He gave a chuckle from her words, and giggling back at him, the two gave a sigh, and she prepared herself as she was ready, "Thank you... Volteer... For everything. And, depending on how well things go tonight, I'm sure you won't have to worry about my, disobedience ever again."

"Guess I will just have to give you something to fear towards then?"

"Or look forward to. Now, show me what the might of a Guardian holds... and has."

* * *

Popping his back as he stretched his body, everyone looked to Spyro as he did so, and they knew what his next words were going to be, "Well then, since my job is done, what do you all say we get some sleep now?" Seeing them all nod at his words, he looked over to Malefor and waved a paw as he stood up, "Walk and talk with me, Malefor," As he walked to the entrance, Malefor stood up and followed with him, and with the guys getting up, so did the two's lover's as they followed behind them, making their way to their room, "I guess I should give credit where credit is due and, just wanted to say... Thanks. For taking care of everyone while I was out and about."

"Hehe, what, didn't trust Master Malefor?" Malefor chuckled as he brought up his other name.

"Obviously I trusted you. Just... Nice to know I have someone to watch my back rather then my lover. Hehe, you getting hurt in the process even makes up for the switch as well," The two chuckled with one another, glad to be sharing a laugh, "But, I actually wanted to go back and ask a, serious question. I wanted to make the, atmosphere around us nice as what I'm asking you might upset you but... Did I see a dark creature out there, or was it my imagination?"

Malefor gave a frown as he knew the truth of what was really happening, but didn't want to say anything to prove his theory. He also knew he couldn't think about it for long as the silence would also give it away, but he gave a little bit of the truth in a way to see what he would say, "And what if there is? Maybe some were left over even after what's happened, and if there are, we just take care of them as we have before. And by before, I mean like how we fought together in the Training Room. I won't say there isn't anymore dark creatures as I don't know for sure but, if there was... What would you do?"

It did make Spyro think, and even the girls in the back stopped their conversation as they were curious as well to hear what he would say. Giving a chuckle, Spyro gave a punch to his shoulder and growled at him with a smile, "I will just have to take care of them, and then, I'm gonna kick your ass just to make sure you aren't lying to me. Those flying ones are a pain in the ass, so, I take out the ground troops..."

"And I take out the air..." Malefor finshed his sentence for him, a little stumped by his words as he couldn't believe what he was hearing and seeing as Spyro even gave a small smirk, "But then it wouldn't be a challenge," Giving a laugh, he was glad to be able to have some fun with this conversation, and seeing Spyro chuckle, he chuckled once again as well, "You scared of a little cuts. I bet you, if there was still dark creatures out there, I could kill the rest of them before you could."

"Hehe, Oh, is that so? Now I kinda hope there are some so I can prove you wrong," While their conversation was still going, they had made it to the main door, and as it opened for them, they walked inside their house and made it to the middle of the hallway before continuing, "But, I'm not actually going to hope as I don't want to put anyone at risk if those things are still out there. But if they are," Pulling a paw up and balling it into a fist, Malefor smiled wide as he knew what he was doing, "We will be ready, won't we?"

Keeping his smile wide, the girls watched from behind Malefor with wide eyes to see them fist bunt one another, and as his fist made contact with Spyro's, he agreed, "Your Damn right. Ready for anything that'll hurt the ones we love," Taking his fist back along with Spyro, Malefor thanked him once again for today and wanted to end things off good, "Well, I would say that, saving a life today made today good. And... With how close I am to being your friend, I don't want to ruin anything. So, I'm gonna head off to bed to keep things between us good."

"Hehe, alright. Later Malefor," Spyro said to him, and as he did, Malefor saluted him before turning and nudging his lover to follow him to his room, but he saw Carith took a second to move, and seeing her look at him, he asked, "Alright, I will be honest. I did hurt him a little bit while we were training. Hehe, but if I'm being honest, he asked for it."

"So you went against my promise?" Cynder asked him, and he immediately corrected himself.

"Hehe, never mind. That's was just a joke. Don't believe me, ask your lover."

Carith giggled, but instead of really saying anything, she looked over to Spyro as she mouthed her words to him, "Thank you," Spyro smiled and nodded at her as he was able to understand what she was saying, and to help him out some more, she looked to Cynder and helped him out, "You know, I already know Volteer gave him points for his help but, uh, do you think you could reward him kindly for being such a big help with Malefor?"

"Oh man. Two points from two different dragons, and I'm sure Ersa is very thankful as well so, that makes three," Looking at Spyro, he swallowed hard to see her tongue go around her lips before saying, "Someone better have overcharged on those green gems, that's for sure," With Spyro giving a nervous chuckle to his lover, Cynder giggled before looking back to her friend Carith and saying, "Well, I guess we should make sure both our lover's are rewarded kindly, shouldn't we?"

"Oh, a competition? Bet I can make Malefor feel better then you can make Spyro."

"So this is why they call you little miss cutie blue. Spyro, my love, get in the room, right now if you'd please," Cynder commanded him, and he quickly did as he was told, turning around and running to their room, and with him in the room, she gave a sigh as she didn't know if she would win, "But first, I do have to... talk to him about that... darkness he gave me. I... I need to get this feeling off my chest. I know the truth and I need to tell him that."

"Then I won't keep you," Carith said, understanding how important this was to her, "Goodnight, Cynder."

"Goodnight, Carith," Cynder said back to her.

* * *

 _This is bad... This is so bad,_ Spyro frantically thought to himself as he paced himself back and forth on the bed, making his lips as wet as he could, smacking his lips from time to time as he tried his best. _I have to make sure I don't mess up as I need to keep the night as good as it was before, but maybe even better._ Seeing the door open, he stood near the left of the bed, standing straight up as he saw it was his lover, and he waved a paw at her as she shut the door with her tail, "Hehe... Hey my love," She saw as he smacked his lips, and even for him, he had to lick his lips a little as there was too much water spilling from his mouth, "Oh, hell, sorry," Feeling as he had already messed up, he laid down on the bed in a curved position as she got onto the bed, and laying in a sexy position for her, she blushed as he even tried his best on his words, "Welcome to my Chambers, Cynder. You may stay as long as you like, but I'm sure you wouldn't want to leave," Sitting down and giggling at how he was acting, she later gave a frown, and he worried for her, so getting himself on his stomach and sitting back up, he scooted next to his lover and asked her, "You, okay, my love?" Draping his wing over her back, he could tell she didn't really want to talk about it, and he assured her she didn't have to, "If you don't want to..."

"I didn't trust you..." It was a surprise for him to hear out of his lover's mouth, but shedding a tear, she couldn't handle holding the truth back from him any longer, "For a while, after you had given me the darkness. I was so scared, shaken up from what had happened. I fought with myself for a while because, I... I wanted to trust you... But... I still didn't... And I wanted the darkness... gone... But I didn't want to tell you cause of what's happened and I... I talked with Ersa about what's happened and..."

"Cynder," His soft voice caught her attention, and even as she feared now for what he would say, he proved her wrong once again without even knowing he had, "You thought I would be upset if you didn't trust me? You thought that, by coming to me and asking for the darkness to be taken out that I would've been upset and disappointed in you?" Hearing him say it, it only made her feel worse, but as he continued, she felt better and better by the second, "Hehe, Well, I can tell you right now that's not how things would've turned out," With those words, she picked up her head and looked him in the eyes as he spoke more about it, "In all honesty, you were technically trusting a stranger. We've known each other for more then a month, and that's really it. And for me to ask if I can hold your life and heart in my paw is... A very big thing for me to ask of you. And being scared of something like that doesn't mean you're wrong in thinking," While she shed more tears of both joy and confusion of his words, he picked up his paw, and placing it over her chest, he smiled at her as he assured her, "If you're scared, and you're not sure, I don't want you to fear. So, by your command, I will take the darkness from you so you..."

Holding his paw on her chest, she threw her head forward and kissed her lover on the lips, moaning a little as she closed her eyes. His eyes grew wide from the sudden kiss, and even he let out a small groan from the sudden feeling, along with the pleasure that shot through his body. Before he could close his eyes fully to enjoy it as well, she pulled away, and opening her eyes, he somewhat did the same, and asked her as he didn't understand what was happening, "Hehe... You... Want the darkness out that bad?"

Shaking her head with tears and a smile, she said something that surprised him, "I would trust you to put more darkness in me if you wanted to," His eyes grew wide, and even she giggled when she realized what she had said, but she didn't care, and she trusted him, "I told you I talked with Ersa, but I also talked with the other girls as well. They helped me... A lot. And Ersa said something I never thought about before, but when I did... She was right," Cynder paused for a moment as to build suspense as to what it would be, and once she had given a sigh, she whispered, "You've never given me a reason not to trust you."

"I... I haven't?" Spyro said to himself, both surprised and happy to hear, and hearing his lover giggle, he corrected himself, "I mean, of course I have... But... Have I ever... Given you a reason not to trust me?"

"You've kept your promises to me... And, you've always been there for me when I needed you the most. Hehe which is, always," Cynder giggled to see that he was realizing the same thing she was, and seeing him smile wide, she took her paw off his and put a claw on his chest, circling it as she wanted to thank him now for what's he's done, "I'm also going to give you points for everything you've done for me. The darkness you gave me... It was one of the greatest decisions I've made in my life... But, then again... Anything with you, I always smile for."

"You... you really do trust the darkness I gave you? You really trust me?" Taking his paw off her chest, he smiled more as he was happy to hear she really did trust him a lot more then even he knew.

"I think we are going to have to use that wish Ignitus gave you cause... I feel like having fun all night to reward you for what you've done. And being honest," Sitting down in front of him, she put her paws around the back of his neck and teased him as she really was excited, "I wouldn't mind playing around with this Chamber idea. Just know, I will break free of those chains, and you'll have to stop me."

Giving a nice sigh, he needed to whisper this to her as he smiled, "I love you... so much. I... I really hope you now that."

"I love you too... Hehe... Now, show me this supposed love."

"Grrrr," Giving a playful growl to her, she giggled at him and even he chuckled at himself, "Being the villain is more of Malefor's thing."


	18. Chapter 18: What Is Your Wish

Chapter 18: What Is Your Wish

 _Stretching out her body, letting her muscles pop as to loosen herself up, Ersa yawned wide, later smacking her lips as she closed her mouth. Letting out a giggle as she laid there, she thought to herself as she knew Volteer wouldn't be awake if she spoke in her thoughts, "I'm surprised I'm even able to move after the night we had. Which, is another weird thing... I... I don't feel what I felt last night as well." Feeling as though something was off, she opened up her eyes, somewhat slowly as she was a little scared as to why something didn't feel right. Seeing the book shelf to the right, empty, and her work bench not in her room, along with the room itself being twice as small as before, her eyes flung open as she picked up her head in a panic. Looking to her right, then her left, her body shot up as she stood on the bed, heavily increased in breaths, she cried to herself as her fears made her heart race. Jumping off the bed and sprinting to the door, rather then using the door knob, she was desperate, and hit the door with her shoulder as she ran at it full speed. Hitting the door, it swung open fast, hitting the wall to its right, causing the door knob to bury itself into the wall. As she made it out to the main room, she gasped to see all her equipment was sitting on the tables, and nothing had been moved from where it use to be. "No... No no no, why... Why am I back in my house?!" Crying out loud as she put a paw on her head, she had to take a couple of steps back as she feared for the worse. Clenching her teeth as she now wondered if it was all a dream, she was close enough to her doorway, and slammed her back paw into the left wall, trying to hold back the tears she wanted to shed. "No... Something... Something isn't right." Ersa thought, wasting no more time as she looked to her left and ran over to her front door. Making it to the door, she grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and opened the door. Making it outside of her house, her heart skipped a beat as everything seemed real, and with the heat of the sun, and the cool air that went past her, along with some other dragons that walked through the paths of Warfang, she once again felt dizzy, wanting to grab her head as she couldn't understand what was happening. "No... This... This is a dream. It... It has to be." Looking to her right and up at the Guardians Building, she clenched her teeth once again, and using her wings, she used the force of wind from flapping her wings down to kick herself off the ground. Flying as quickly as she could up to the building, she made it there in no time flat, and landing on the outside platform, she ran up to the door to open it, but the main doors opened on themselves. Backing up from the door and getting in a fighting stance, she growled, but seeing who had opened the door, she immediately went from anger to joy, "Volteer!"_

 _Volteer looked at her, and for Ersa, she expected a smile, and went to already smile at him, but instead of joy going across him, his faced seemed to fear, with both confusion and sadness. Seeing this reaction, she giggled at him as she wondered what this was about, even teasing him as she said, "So, you had your way with me and then got rid of me? I guess that's cool, but what I wonder is, how the hell are you even walking? Hehe, after what we did..." Seeing as his face turned more confused, now she wasn't understanding what was happening._

 _"Volteer? Is everything okay?" Hearing a voice from behind him, Ersa looked behind him just as he did himself, and her teeth showed as anger grew quick from within her. A blue Dragoness walked up to Volteer's side, along with a Hatchling. "Daddy!" The yellow Hatchling chuckled as he jumped up from the back of his tail, and crawling up his back, he made it up to the back of his head and rested his top half over his head with his back half hanging behind his head. "Daddy...?" Ersa whispered to herself, and instead of fearing, she was now confused herself, and started to put things together. "Yeah... Yeah, hold on," Using his paw, he picked up his Hatchling off his head and placed him on the ground, and the Hatchling frowned at this, "Daddy. What's wrong?"_

 _"Are you okay, my love?" The blue Dragoness asked as well, scared for his health, and hearing this made something click within Ersa as she was able to control her emotions rather well as she went into full on speculation mode. "Wait... so the blue Dragoness I had feared Volteer being with... And then having a Hatchling? Hehe, oh yeah, this is a dream." Now that things seemed calm between the couple, Volteer explained while also talking to Ersa, "This is... my long lost friend. I thought I had lost her after the raid on the Temple but... how... how are you... alive, Ersa?"_

 _"A lucid dream?" Ersa asked the two, and both looked at her with confusion, but she giggled as she wondered why someone like Volteer would be confused, "What's wrong, Volteer? Usually you'd give the definition of that because you know we'd say the same thing and laughing about it," Seeing him open his mouth to defend himself, she cut him off as she giggled to herself, "You really think this is the first time I've had a dream like this. All I have to do is sit here and wait till my dream is over, and I can go back to enjoying that... Feeling... with you."_

 _"What the hell is she talking about? Feeling? With my lover?" The blue Dragoness anger grew rather quickly for some reason, but Volteer tried his best to diffuse the situation as he told Ersa, "Look, Ersa, I... I'm just surprised to see you is all. We can, talk more about what's happened and catch up if that's what you want to do?" A smirk appeared across Ersa's face, and she even blushed a little as she was enjoying kicking back and having a good time, "Hehe, oh don't worry, dream Volteer. Me and you did way more then talk last night."_

 _"All right!" Growling, the blue Dragoness pushed her Hatchling back with her wing in defense, not liking what she was hearing, "I don't know who you think you are, but if you really think you can talk all this without being threatened, you have another thing coming!" Ersa smirked at her anger, and looking at Volteer, she wondered who he would choose, "Oh no, Volteer. What are you going to do? Me, for you haven't seen in years, or your mate, who's a bitch from hell." Showing her teeth, the blue Dragoness didn't care for her at all now, but once again, Volteer tried to diffuse the situation, "Look, Ersa, she does have a point. You are saying we... did it... When... I've never even thought of such thing when I was with you. Aside from a kiss in the Temple, I've moved on."_

 _"What?" Ersa cried, pretending to cry as she messed with the two, "No... Volteer, please. You were all I had back then. Don't do this... hehehe... Oh sorry. Just haven some fun with this dream. Which, being honest, I haven't had fun in a dream in a while... But last night... Oh , that's a different story." Once again growling at her, the blue Dragoness wanted to attack her, but before she could, a voice spoke from behind the two, "What's going on out here?" The dragon walked up next to the right side of Volteer, and as the dragon sat down, Ersa shuck her head as she said out loud, "Really? My dream is going to bring in Spyro." Spyro raised a brow as he wondered how she knew his name, but he had a good idea, "Let me guess, another fan?"_

 _"Not a fan, just a female who's enjoying this dream. Hey, actually, Spyro, I have a question. Remember last night where I said for you all to leave me alone after Volteer helped me," Seeing him back his head up and shake his head, the confusion on his face was the saddest thing she's ever seen, "Well, it was actually because I was just trying to hide the fact that me and Volteer were going to mate."_

 _"Alright, Bitch!" Taking a step forward and putting her tail blade to her side, Ersa smirked to see the anger come out from her, "I don't even care who the hell you are now! Get the hell away from my mate or else we're going to have issues," While Ersa smirked, so did the blue dragoness as she messed with her for what she's said, "Awww. Now I understand what this is. A sad little dragon with a sad past wants to think she had the good stuff. Well I can tell you right now, he's all mine. And if you have a problem, then take it up to me." Seeing how quiet Volteer was being, Ersa looked at him and raised a brow, wondering why he wasn't saying anything, "So, Volteer. You gonna defend me, or just sit there?"_

 _Growling, now he couldn't hold back his frustration for what she was saying, and apologised in advance, "Ersa, I'm sorry, but you need to leave. We can talk, and I would love to at least know that you're alright. But insulting my mate, standing here and saying what you've done... Please... Once you're in a better place, I will come and..."_

 _"Hehe, yeah you did," Ersa smirked with a blush once again, and with those words, the blue female had enough, and attack her. "Bitch!" Rushing at her with her tail blade, Volteer tried to say something to stop what was happening, but it was too late, "No! Don't!" Finishing his last words, Volteer's lover was already on the ground, and while Volteer growled at her, Ersa chuckled as she looked down on the body, "I've always wanted to try a paralysis pressure point. Maybe next time, when you swing, don't leave your neck wide open for me to get a hold of." Exploding into his dark form, Spyro jumped in front of Volteer and growled at her, "Volteer, I don't care who this is. If she's going to attack your mate..."_

 _"I don't care," Volteer growled in a low tone, and hearing his Hatchling cry made it even worse for him, "Daddy... what happened... What did she do to mommy." Letting out a giggle, she had an idea as she thought about it, "Hey, Volteer. Since I still don't really have an idea for a boy Hatchling name for us, think you could tell me yours so I can know?"_

 _"Shut up!" Volteer yelled at her, showing his anger as well, and to their surprise, she walked up to the three, and Spyro stood ready. Standing in front of Spyro, she giggled at him as she knew this would've been easy, "Spyro... Move, or be moved, that simple. Cynder is a dear friend of mine, and hurting you would hurt her." He still stood his ground, not moving for anything she was saying. Giving a sigh, she said to herself, "Well... This does help me get rid of any other stress I might have about you." Even for Spyro, her paw reached up quicker then he anticipated, and placing two fingers on his neck, she pushed down with enough force to cause him to cry in pain before locking up and falling to the ground. His darkness disappeared from his body, and with him dealt with, she focused to Volteer, and while he growled, she shuck her head and explained, "You know you're not smart?" He didn't say anything, which was perfect for her as she was able to say all she wanted, "I've had dreams about you before, but nothing... Nothing like last night, so it's pretty easy to tell I'm dreaming. Second, and quite big give away, where is Ignitus?"_

 _"Sleeping with his lover!" Volteer growled at her, but this answer proved to be a decider in her words. "Oh, now isn't that funny. You know, no matter what dream you're in, did you know the Chronicler can never appear in any as they are the only one that can't be simulated compared to others. Their body and mind knows when they are put in a dream. Ignitus gave me more about his powers then I'm sure he wanted to, but he knew this would help get my mind off of what's happened. So, if Ignitus was here, the real Ignitus would tell me it's a dream... And you all don't want that," The silence in his voice was unbelievable to her as she couldn't believe how easy this was to figure out, "Oh come on, is that all you got? Look. I just want to get to real life, so if the Ancestors could quit being an ass to me, I'll be on my way. Or do I need more proof to shut you up as I have now."_

 _Volteer smirked as he couldn't believe how well she had figured everything out, and as he spoke, his voice was different, mysterious, and deep, "You're much smarter then we've all given you credit for, Ersa. You impress us." Giving a giggle as she put a paw on her chest, she patted herself on the back while jabbing at them, "Hehe, well, when a mind is stupid, doesn't take much to look past it. I'm flattered to be talking to an Ancestor, but Volteer told me last night that it's because of you all that I almost died. All because you all are dead and lonely doesn't mean you should bring others to your world to talk to."_

 _"Hehe, well, you're lucky. With your smarts, and surviving what's happened, we will leave your life alone... For now. But we will see how long your smarts can..."_

 _"Enough!" A voice yelled from behind Ersa and both looked over to Ersa's right side to see Ignitus had entered the dream as well, and he seemed pissed to even be here, "You've already made your point. Back the hell off of her." The Ancestor growled from within Volteer's body as he wasn't pleased that he was here, "What are you doing here. You should be off doing your work."_

 _"Ersa sure hit a nail on the head with what she said. I will try and make this simple so your peanut size brain can comprehend; you know I have clones. And one of my clones was nice enough to detect that something wasn't right with Ersa, and I knew you had put her in a dream," The Ancestor growled to hear he had found out, and Ersa backed her head up a little as she was a little afraid of the higher ups getting in a scuffle, "Now back the hell off of her. You've let her experience death and loss all her life, so give her a break, or else I could just spoil to everyone what the future holds and mess up all of your plans." Growling once again, The Ancestor's anger grew for what he was doing, "You wouldn't dare. We'd kill you if you did."_

 _"But you know that would be more work, and you hate when things don't go your way. I have the power to hold Malefor and Spyro back from one another when I tell them about the Darkness, which means what you believe would happen, wouldn't," Ignitus smiled to see how pissed he was making the Ancestor, and even with his teeth showing, he showed his own teeth as he threatened him, "Now. Quit using my friend's body, get the hell back to where you need to be, or are we going to have issues? I'm sure Eros would love to hear what her mate is doing here."_

 _"Don't speak of her name in front of this underling!"_

 _"Well, the longer you stay here, the more I talk, Erebus."_

 _"Alright! Enough!" Trying to control his anger, Erebus pointed a claw at him as he warned him, "Watch your back, or else I will make sure to take that lover of yours." Ersa watched as a dark dragon of smoke came from out the back of Volteer's body, and just as it had done that, a bright light shined in front of her face, so she had to cover up herself with her wing to block out the light. With the light dying down, she moved her wing down and jumped a little as she was now standing in space with planets and stars all around her. Looking to her right, Ignitus was still right there, and even though she didn't want to say anything cause the anger on his face, she point a claw up and opened her mouth to say something, but he interrupted her, "You're fine, Ersa," Closing her mouth, she knew it would be best to let him speak, "I'm sorry you had to see that, but lucky enough for us, each of them has a mate so, it's easy to call out one another if they are getting out of place. Even they have darkness and demons that need to be handled."_

 _"Oh... Hehe, Ignitus, I'm, fine," Hearing her say this, he looked at her, and seeing the blush on her face, he didn't need her to explain why, but she did, "I had a... Hehe... Amazing night to say the least. Don't worry about me. Something like this isn't going to faze me... Just as long as I can keep having those..." Her body shivered as she remembered the feeling, and it made Ignitus feel a little uncomfortable, "Ooooooohhhhhh... Volteer's such an amazing dragon."_

 _"Well... would you... like to get back to him now?"_

 _"Yes please," It was a quick response, making him jump a little, and she apologized, "Sorry... that nightmare definitely did get to me and I... Just want to feel Volteer again." Raising a paw, he understood completely, "Don't worry, Ersa, I understand what love is like. I can't be away from Claire for more then a minute without having fears, making me miss her even more." Putting his paw back to the ground, he saw Ersa nod at him as she was in agreement, "Then let's end this up by me saying thank you, for the help." Giving her a chuckle, he was glad to help, "Hehe, well, I should be thanking you. He's not exactly the nicest guy in the world, and yelling at him makes me smile."_

 _"If he seems so evil, how does he have a mate."_

 _"That's something I can't disclose. But let's just say that... She is very... frisky... And that keeps him clam when needed."_

 _"Oh... Oooohhhh..."_

 _"Yeah."_

 _"So before our faces burn red, I'm gonna, go. Just close your eyes when you're ready to leave." Giving a giggle before she was doing as she was told, Ersa hoped that next time she were to open her eyes, it would be with her mate next to her. With her eyes closed, she could already feel something happening. Her body felt weak, as if she was falling to the ground, and with another bright white light that she could see even with her eyes closed, everything came back to her._

Waking up once again as she had done before in her dream, she groaned as she wasn't able to move. Ersa opened her eyes very slowly, hoping she wasn't in a dream anymore. She gave a smile to see everything was as it should be: A room twice the size as the original, books covering the bookshelf off to the left, and her tables with scattered papers, work, and gems that laid all throughout her tables and floor. _So all my work is here, which is fine... but I'm missing the most important part,_ Ersa thought, looking away from all her work and to her right. A much bigger smiled appeared across her face to see her yellow dragon mate laying next to her, cuddled up to her side with his head on his two paws that laid in front of him. The smile on his face added to her joy, along with now once again feeling his wing over her back. _Even though I know it was a dream... I... Do still want to talk to him._ Nuzzling her nose on the side of his cheek, Volteer gave out a slight grumble before she had pulled her head back and waited for him to wake. Opening his left eye to look at her, he chuckled as he asked, "You really... Want to go for round twelve? Barely even had a break."

Giving a blush from his words and giggling, she was honest with him about what had happened, "No, not yet at least. Just, had a nightmare is all."

"What?" Her words immediately provoked a response from him as he picked up his head, opened his other eye, and asked, "Do I need to go and have a talk with Ignitus?"

Giving a giggle to his words, she wondered if he even could, "Are you even able to get up to try?" Trying the best he could to stand to his paws, he found no luck in even getting his chest off the bed, and she giggled to see this, "I said you wouldn't be able to walk, but, not getting out of bed... Guess I went a little overboard."

"Hehe... Yeah... That was definitely... One crazy... Amazing night..." Giving a smirk to his mate, he wanted to tease her since she was doing the same to him, "But I will tell you what. We can go another round of you can stand to your paws and take lead."

Growling at him with a smile, she accepted his challenge. But just as before with him, Ersa had no look in even getting her chest off the bed. Pushing with her front paws on the bed, and even using her wings to help herself up, but with what she was doing was causing herself to sweat, so she stopped herself with a grunt and a sigh, "Damn it..." He chuckled to see that both of them weren't getting out of bed anytime soon, so she went back to what she was talking about before to get her mind off of what she's missing, "It's cool, I know where you sleep. But going back to my dream, it wasn't caused by Ignitus, it was... Actually the Ancestors."

Giving a sigh to hear they were messing with her again, it frustrated Volteer, "Why can't they leave you the hell alone."

"Well, I was being tested in a way by one of them. The dream started with me walking up back in my old house... alone... So, I already started to fear. I made it up to the front doors of the Guardians Building and... Out walked you... Then a Hatchling... And that blue Dragoness that I had feared for so long about..." Seeing the frown on her face, he opened his mouth to comfort her, but she continued before he could say anything, "Hehe... But it was weird to me. Everything about that dream was... Wrong. Long story short, I saw all its flaws and, Ignitus actually helped by joining in the dream and talking the Ancestor off. Which I learned his name was Erebus."

"Erebus...? Sounds like a shadow dragon..."

"Hehe, but, here's the funny part. He's actually a pretty big ass to others, but his mate, another Ancestor named Eros, she keeps him in check by... And I blushed when Ignitus said this as he was explaining, but by basically doing what we just did all night... Except more because, as he said, she's very... frisky."

"Wish I could learn more about the Ancestors..." Thinking about what she had said, he felt bad, but when it came to him thinking, he realized something about this day already, "Oh... Ersa... Thank you," She giggled and blushed as she had an idea of what he was talking about, but she was surprised to hear it was something else, "I... Realised this is the first night since you've been back and... I was able to wake up with you by my side for once. You weren't working and all and... I'm glad you really did take more words to heart."

Smiling at his words and smiling, she giggled as she did joke with him, "Hehe, well, for one, I can't move so there's that. Two... I am sorry for making you worry. But now that I've learned how to get laid... I mean! How to... have fun with you... I mean... Ugh... Great..."

"Hehe. Seems like all that time being on bottom has messed with you. Better luck next time."

"HA!" Letting out a loud, upwards faced laugh to the ceiling, she looked back down at him and remembered how the night went, "Please. One or two times out of the twelve I'm sure you had fun."

"I did..." Seeing him blush as he said so, she giggled at him, and now he was a little frustrated with himself, "Can't believe it went down like that."

"Well, my knowledge of pressure points didn't exactly help... Along with... Other methods, but, there is always next time," Seeing him give a smirk, she knew what he was going to ask and already had a pretty good idea of what to respond with, "Don't worry, next time won't be a week or days from now. Maybe if we're lucky, we can get our strengh back sooner or later before everyone wakes up. But until then," Laying her head back down on her paws and closing her eyes, she wanted to get back to sleep, "I'm comfortable... I'm happy... And having you as my mate... And now knowing, everything, about you... I'm not going anywhere."

Giving a pretty big blush from her words, he laid his head back down on his paws and smiled, "Glad you enjoyed your time... Because I know I sure did."

"But now the worst part," Pausing and yawning loudly as she opened her mouth, she later shut her mouth after smacking her lips and continuing, "How everything goes during that time... It's... Really all I can think about now... All I want to do... And... Is that bad?"

"Do I sound upset?" Volteer asked, and seeing the smirk on her face, he chuckled as he closed his eyes, "Lets just get back to bed and enjoy some easy time before we have to deal with... Ugh..."

"Malefor," Both said in unison, laughing as they closing their eyes and drifting off back to sleep.

* * *

Growling as he stood atop of his lover, Carith raised a brow at his sudden show of teeth, but it didn't take long to see and hear him act as strange as he normally did, "I felt a disturbance in the force," Getting off his lover and looking straight at his door with a serious face, he showed his teeth once again as he spoke, "Someone is talking bad about it. Just they wait until I find out who it is."

Rolling her eyes with a smile, she rolled off her back and onto her stomach as she pleaded for him to stay in bed with her, "Oh, come on, that's like an everyday thing. And two things; One, if you know when someone's talking bad about you, that's a pretty impressive power. And second, lay your purple butt back down on this bed. Maybe trouble goes where we go, so if we don't do anything, maybe we will be safe." Looking at her with a raised brow from that perspective, she giggled as it made sense as to why he was looking at her the way he was, "Okay, yeah. You two were up here when that happened, but... The week is almost over for you and, last thing I want is for you to make a mistake."

"Hehe, don't worry. That's why I haven't run out just yet, buuuuutttttt..."

"Uh huh?"

"You know... Maybe we could..."

"Let me guess. Just like the other days, you want us to talk with the other two and make it downstairs with everyone else... Just like any other day."

"I mean... Yesterday was different. But look on the bright side!" Smiling wide as he said his words, his lover had just sat up on the bed, and he took this opportunity to get her hyped as well, so he swung his arm around the back of his lover's neck and used his other paw to wave across the two, "Imagine the possibilities," Putting his paw back down on the bed, he continued, "We could always do something new like... Well you know, we could..." Taking his paw off his lover's back neck and putting two claws up to his chin, he wondered what there was to do in the world, "Actually... Thinking about it now... What is there to do?"

"I thought that's what you were going to tell me."

Blowing a raspberry, he was at a loss as he used both his paws to shrug his shoulders upwards, and she couldn't help but giggle to see how he looked with his tongue out his mouth and chubby cheeks from his shoulders being pushed up against them, "But now that I think about it, there was another place the Dark Master attacked that I had never seen before. It was similar to Warfang, but was populated by secondary element dragons."

"Really? Another place just like Warfang? Do you think they have Guardians just as we do?"

"No... This place was ruled by a queen. Like a king and queen system, but I never really saw the king. The Dark Master went back a couple of times because of the challenge it held. These dragons sat upright, had iron spears, and armor covering their bodies from head to toe. She called them the Royal Guard, but I always saw them as knights." Thinking about the challenge it held, he chuckled at himself as he thought about it, but he knew trying it now wouldn't work, "Damn. I was thinking me and Spyro could attack the place too just for the challenge, but... That place and its own army would raid Warfang so..."

"So don't even think about it anymore. Peaceful negotiation is where we need to be if we ever encountered them."

"Well, the queen actually wanted me to be her mate."

"To hell with peace negotiations! That bitch is dead! You and Spyro are going in the morning."

"Whoa whoa whoa, calm down, Carith," Giving a chuckle to see how quickly she had changed her attitude, he explained to her a little more as he didn't really know if she was serious or not, "Don't worry, the Dark Master wasn't having the whole love and pleasure deal. She just really liked the Dark Master's viciousness. I'm sure she was one of those who liked them crazy, but towards others... I don't know. But even I would have to admit, that white wind Dragoness queen did look pretty nice," Seeing Carith's eyes get really wide, he knew he messed up big time a waved his paws in front of himself as he corrected, "Not like that! I'm just, surprised is all. She doesn't have a king to rule with her for some reason, and I don't know all the details. I'm just surprised is all."

"'That white wind dragoness queen did look pretty nice'," Saying it back to herself in the exact words he used, Malefor swallowed hard, even starting to sweat as he watched his lover's tail blade hit the tops of the bed in frustration, "Oh... Malefor... My... Love," Showing him a smile, she growled through her teeth to hide her anger, and gave him a very nice, warning, "I don't care who they are, give a compliment to another female again without my permission, then you better hope that spot with that queen is still open, cause you'll be single in a second."

"No..." Giving a cry to his voice, she didn't realize how bad she actually did scare him, and seeing how badly she did scare him, she now kinda felt bad.

"Just a warning, Okay. I will be the judge of her looks if we ever met her, and then I will give my opinion. If it matches with yours, then I guess this entire... conversation... is something you have nothing to worry for," Even after she tried to help, he sat there looking at her with a frown, and now she couldn't tell if she was playing her for a fool, or genuinely sad, "Malefor... You better not be playing with me. And if you aren't," Turning her body towards him, she took up both her wings and put them around his back, giving him a chance to make her forget, "Then you better get to work. Depending on how the good kiss we have... I could forget it all together."

"Forget? In this world, why... Why are we still here... Just to suffer," Putting a paw on his chest and shedding a tear, she rolled her eyes as listened and watched his little act, "Carith... I held the truth from you, but I must tell you now. I said what I said because, I took control when I was there with her, but! I never forgot you. No contact ever came between us, because my loyalty, and my heart, is for you," Picking up her paws, he shuck his head and joked, "Hehe, and also, why would I be with her? Can't have fun with wind anyway. An ice female such as yourself is so much better."

"You know you're only making things worse? That's like saying you only care cause you like my cool body, which you can do with any other female ice dragon."

"Son of a bitch I'm dumb," Putting his paws back down to the bed along with hers, he didn't know what to say since he had screwed up so badly, but he had a better idea, "Well, that's not true. I had tons of females try to be my mate and lover, but I choose you."

"Hehe, yeah, probably cause I pecked your check and you knew I would be easy pray for you."

"I'm hurting more then you know right now..." Giving a cry, he didn't know what to say anymore as everything he could think about made it seem like it could've been something else, but he kept trying, "Then please... Tell me... What must I do? Do you need my words... Which is a dumb ass thing for me to ask since I've already screw up big time," Coming out of character rather quickly, he caught himself, and changed his attitude again, "I've held your words to my heart. You said you desired my lips, and if that would help sooth the wound I have opened... I will do anything."

"Well... This is already a rather nice change..." Thinking about what the punishment should be, she believed he had already suffered enough and kept that warning, "I'm keeping my eye on you. After what you've said, I'm thinking you probably have your eyes on someone else, and I don't appreciate that," His entire body shivered, and now she could tell he really was scared, but she assured him there was nothing to worry, "Like I said; Kiss me well enough, and I might... Might... Forget."

"Done!"

* * *

"Hey, Cynder... I... Is it weird that I feel like I haven't done enough for you?" Laying next to his lover's side on their bed, her eyes went wide almost immediately, and he gave a chuckle f her reaction, "I was thinking about it for a good bit last night while we were in our room and... I want to do more for you. So... because of the trust you held with me, I want to show that I'm grateful and... Since you had such a good night, and waking up together was just as amazing... Maybe it's time I use Ignitus's wish he gave me. And with the wish, I will... let you read of your parents pass."

"No," Cynder declined as she wasn't about to take something else away from him, "I'm not taking the wish. You earned it, and you deserve to use it. I'm not going to change my mind about that."

"And what could I do with the wish? It would be for you anyway, so why not just use the wish so you know you're getting something that you want?" Crossing her arms, closing her eyes, and looking away from him, she didn't want to hear any of his words, but it was hard for her not to as she still deep down wanted to hear him speak of what he wanted for her, "Hehe, alrighty alright, I will use the wish. But! My wish, is going to be for you," Giving a sigh as she shuck her head, she opened her eyes back up and looked at him, blushing as he spoke more, "I was thinking, maybe I can get you a nice gem or something. Maybe a piece of Jewelry if you wanted. I was thinking of a diamond for you, but, i know there is more exotic emeralds out there. Well... Hehe, other then your exotic emerald eyes of course."

"Damn it... Spyro," Cynder growled with a smile, trying not to shed a tear from his words, "What do you want from me?" Seeing a tear go down her eye as she couldn't contain it, he was a little surprised by her reaction, "Why are you trying to do this for me? If I already have everything I want and more, why are you trying so hard to keep me smiling when I'm already happy? I have friends, plenty, and a lover who I never even deserved in the beginning. So what are you after?"

Chuckling as he scratched the back of his head, he saw the lust in her eyes as she looked at him, but he didn't think too much of it as he was focused on answering her, "I just don't find it fair to be honest. Honestly, I didn't even do any work at all. I just said what I believed and fought some apes which I've done since I was ten. But if you know what I could do with this wish, then... I will... think, about using it."

"You know I want to make out with you after that emerald move you did with my eyes and gems."

"Hehe... If you think about it, your eyes make me also think of green gems. Because when I'm with you, I always have energy to smile, and to get up in the morning..."

"And the energy to give to you to have survived the Volcano when you brought the earth back together..."

With the two smiling, Spyro gave a sigh as this was another reason for him to give her the wish, "You're only making it more difficult for me to use this wish for myself. And since you're bringing this up now, I'm going to have to seal your lips with mine for what you've said."

"Don't get too greedy."

* * *

"Um!" Moaning as he kissed his lover, Malefor unfortunately had to pull away from his lover as he had an amazing idea, "Wait! I have a great idea! For how stupid I was to you, I remember way back that Ignitus basically gave Spyro a wish so he could have what ever he wanted. So, if I annoy the Guardians enough, I can get a wish myself by saying I will only stop until I get one! Then I can give you what ever you want! What do you think?" Watching as she put a paw on her chest, he then looked up to see there was small drops of water that made her lips shine, and he chuckled as he wondered, "Or, are you already enjoying your time?"

"I... I don't even remember why I deserved such an amazing kiss like that... Did you do something to provoke me or something?"

"Hehe, yeah, I was saying dumb stuff about that wind female," Shaking her head and giving a sigh, she was surprised he would've brought it back up, but that didn't take away her smile towards his words, "A kiss isn't good enough. You deserve something more. I... I need to go and get that wish! I have to make up for what I've done!" Turning and jumping off the bed, he bolted to the door, and in an instant, he made it to his door, opened it, and ran out to the hallway, "I will be right back!" While he stood in the hallway, he was close enough to the door for it to open, and just barely as it had cracked open, he ran up, squeezed his way through the crack of the opening and out of the house, "Gotta hurry, Gotta hurry," Going a little too fast, he moved one paw in front of the other one, and kicking against it he fell straight to the ground, skidding on the ground as he did so, "Son of a bitch!" Cursing out in the hallway, he got back up to his paws and continued to the Chambers, "Damn that hurt," Looking at his shoulder, he didn't seem injured, which was good, and already looking to his right, he made it to the Chambers, he turned into it and made his way to the back door, "Please be asleep, please be asleep," In front of the door, he grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and opening the door, he moved in and cried, "Ignitus!"

The sudden scream into the room startled everyone, including Terrador and Cyril as they were still sleeping before he had scream. Falling out of bed and onto the ground, Terrador wiggled from side to side as he tried to stand, still half asleep, but his voice made it seem like something was happening, so he couldn't tell himself to go back to bed, "What is... Ugh... What is it, Malefor? Did something happen?"

"Not yet, but the fate of the world hangs in the balance of you, Ignitus!" Everyone looked at Ignitus, and he had already been awake this entire time, standing above Claire as she was on her back, and before he had barged in, the two were sharing a nice moment with one another that he didn't know about, "Ignitus, man, I messed up big time. I said some dumb shit in my and Carith's room, talking good about another female and now, I need to make it up to her. Do you think you could help me out by giving me one of those wishes you gave Spyro?"

Feeling something tap his shoulder, Malefor squealed, jumped forward, and turned around as he got into a fighting stance. But to his surprise, it was another Ignitus, and opening his mouth to ask why he was there, the clone had already responded, "I suggest you run. Those two were rather calm before you came in here, and scaring them like that, while also interrupting one of their moments..." Giving a sigh, he pulled up his tail blade to his side which made Malefor swallow hard, "Yeah... You're making some pretty stupid mistakes today."

"That's not my fault!" Turning away from the clone and looking at the enraged Ignitus, he wasn't about to have this pinned on him, "You would've known I was coming down here, so you could've stopped me in the hallway, joined in on my thoughts, or anything else that one of your thousands of powers can do to stop me. Hehe, so, far as I see, this is your fault. And I'm sure Claire isn't too happy that it was, you, who ruined that moment," Growling while showing his teeth, now Ignitus really was thinking about killing him, and every time he spoke, he just dug himself a deeper grave, "Yeah, got you, didn't I. So I suggest to make up for your failure, you give me that wish."

"Get out," Ignitus growled, standing straight up above his lover, but even he knew it was going to be that easy.

"Hehe, Yeah, okay dude. Not gonna be that easy. Your little clone over here I can kill without worry, and you, well, you wouldn't want to show your lover attacking your friend because all he wanted was help," Once again, Ignitus growled at him, enough so that fire started to burn in his mouth, and both of the other Guardians ran around the back of their beds and hid, still keeping their heads above the bed so they could see at least, "Oh ho ho, this is too easy. All I'm asking for is a nice, simple wish, that's all. Be an example, not an ass, okay?"

His body teased with anger, but he had a better idea to get him to leave, so he calmed himself down by taking a breath and saying, "Tell you what, if you know what she wants, and it's not impossible, and you leave me the hell alone for the day, it's a deal," Malefor smiled wide, and turning around, he bolted past the clone and out the Chamber rather quickly, and now he had time to prepare, "Clone." Calling for his clone, he took a couple steps towards him and was given instructions, "Research the most painful places on the world, some place I can send him to make him regret what he's done. I already know of the Toxic Bogs, Coney Island, that one island with zero gravity, and or maybe we could throw him to the cheetahs in Warfang. I'm sure they would love some revenge."

"Hey, Ignitus, I am confused of something though," Cyril spoke, and in doing so, Ignitus looked at him and wondered what he had to say, "Malefor did have a point. You should've known he was coming. And why are you asking a clone to research places if you should already know everything about such places since you're the Chronicler. Or, are you having an off day?"

Giving a sigh, he didn't want to hold the truth as he would've had to explain sooner or later, "No, I'm fine. But like I said a couple days ago, I want to go off emotions. Turns out, it's really not that hard to turn back into a normal being. It's... complicated to explain though. I still know what's going on out there, but nothing that has to do with family now. The clones I have are as they have been, taking care of that work."

"So then why are you getting onto Malefor about this if even he didn't know?" Terrador also asked as it did seem a little wrong, and looking to his friend, Ignitus was surprised to see the were backing him up, "I mean, as I see it, if he does do something good for his lover, the two would probably spend the rest of their day in bed, which will get him off your back for the day as you've said to him."

Giving a sigh, Ignitus did feel a little bad as he thought about it, but something else also didn't feel right, like he was missing someone. Looking down on his lover below, she seemed to had fallen back to sleep as her head laid down sideways, eyes closed and breathing softly, and he felt a little bad even with her smile as he knew she was probably disappointed by him as well, "Am I making a mistake?" Hearing him speak to her, she opened her eyes, took her head off the bed, and looked up at him as he spoke again, "It's going to take me a bit to get use to going off of emotions once again, and right now should be a test for me. So, if I said no... How would you fell?" She gave him a joking frown, even using a claw on her front lips to pull them down, and he chuckled at what she was doing, "Hehe... Alright. What if I said yes?" Closing her eyes, taking her claw off her lip and smiling, he smiled back her, "Yeah... You're right..."

* * *

Now going in the opposite direction as he had done before, Malefor made his way back up to the house, sprinting as fast as he could to make it back up to here. Going up the stairs and to the door, they opened before he had even gotten close to them, and panting from all the running he's done, it was a surprise to see that it was his lover, along with Spyro and Cynder walking out. They stopped in front of him as they were surprised and didn't see him for the time they were walking out, and since they were quiet, he asked his lover, "Carith, quick question. If you could have anything in the world, what would it be?"

She giggled at him, not knowing that what ever she said really could happen, and instead of taking it seriously, she joked, "Well, I didn't read many books back then, but one book spoke of this beautiful gem on Pluto..."

"Got it!" Turning around and taking one step forward, Carith stopped him.

"Whoa whoa whoa," Her words made him turn back towards her, and now he was confused.

"What? Do you want something else?"

"No, Malefor, that was a joke. Plus, how are you even going to get to Pluto?"

"Ignitus gave me a wish of course. All I have to do is leave him alone for the rest of the day once I get my wish, and bam."

"But once you get your wish, you still have to use it," Spyro spoke, and while everyone looked to listen, Malefor looked with confusion, "I'm saying, how are you going to use the wish if you agreed to not bother him when you got it? And also, if you were given the wish, and promised not to speak to Ignitus, that also mean just the same as before that, you can't say what you want your wish to be," Watching as Malefor slapped a paw on his forehead, he was a little curious as to why he was acting this way, "Even still, what do you need a wish for, and why so badly? What did you do?"

Giving a sigh as he still hurt from it, Malefor told him the truth, "I told Carith something stupid by calling another female nice looking..." Cynder gasped as she looked at her blue friend, and seeing her raise a brow with a smirk, she let him continue to talk, "Long story short, there is another place like Warfang ruled by a white female wind dragon. I was trying to be nice in saying because she's been looking for a king for a while, but what she's looking for is, basically the Dark Master, but a tad bit more nice."

"Competition... But why do I know her?" Cynder thought to herself, but shaking her head as to not think about it, she growled lowly at Carith as now she understood, "So that's what you wanted to talk to me about. Now I wish all the girls were here, especially for what I want to say for what Spyro's done."

"Hehe, very excited for it too as it seems to have made you keep that smile even since we got out the room."

"Yeah... He's... I love him more then he realises. Right, Spyro," Turning her head over to her lover, she was deep in the moment, so she did hear Malefor and Spyro talking to one another.

"Yeah, when I walked in, Ignitus was still having the time of his life with his lover. Then he threatened to kill me and stuff like that but, who doesn't? Oh, also, about that other Warfang place..."

Grumbling from Malefor talking and ruining her moment, she sighed and looked down to the ground for a bit, but picking her head back up, she looked on the bright side of things, "Should we head down?"

Getting a nod from her friend, Carith started to walk, and since Malefor was in her way, she walked in front of him, snuggling and nuzzling her body against his chest and chin. Malefor stopped his conversation with Spyro as he head stuck up, and he gave a slight, pleasure of a growl. Now with her in front, he ran up to catch up, and now with the two in the front, the other two walked up and followed by their side as they all started to walk to the Chambers. After talking with Malefor, something was on his mind, and Spyro wanted to know what his lover would've thought, "So, uh... Cynder," Saying her name, he got her attention as she looked a little more towards him, and he wondered, "Malefor was telling me about that other place and..."

"You're after that wind dragoness, aren't you?" Giving a slight frown as to just mess with him, he opened his mouth to say something, but she was faster in saying, "I know who Malefor's talking about. I've seen her once or twice and... even I have to admit... she definitely wasn't the worst looking female in the world..." Thinking about how she looked and how she could look now, it got her to fear, but only a little, as Spyro's words were keeping her going, "If you... want to meet her then..."

"No, Cynder, this isn't about that female," Hearing how he said it, it almost immediately took all her fear away, and as he continued to speak, she knew it was her Spyro she was talking to, "I'm already in love. What I was going to say was; Malefor told me there are Guards at that place, like with armor and iron spears. Thought it would be a good place to attack... But... I'm pretty sure that's not a good idea. He was kinda telling me why before Carith... Walked past him... But if we were to attack their Guardians basically, then... I'd be putting everyone in danger. Especially Volteer, and Ersa, so I don't know if I'm joking or not, but Ersa will kill me."

"Oh she won't kill you. Like I said, I have something to tell the girls and I'm sure Ersa won't have any other doubts about it."

"If you don't mind me asking, what is it that I said that was so helpful?"

"Answer a question with a question; why do you ask?"

"So that way I know that what ever I did, I can keep doing it to impress you."

"Keep breathing and keep living."

"That's probably the most difficult thing you've ever asked of me."

Giving out a sigh as Carith knew he would've kept pushing it, she had an idea, "Alright, fine. Walk with us back down to the Chamber and I will think of what I want my wish to be, but you have to walk with us, no rushing," Getting a nod from her lover, he moved to her right side, so they all stood in a row with Cynder being next to Carith, and Spyro being next to his lover, "Alright, good," Continuing their walk to the Chambers, she continued her talk with Cynder about matters unknown, "So come on, when are you going to tell me about that, thing? About what was said? You said wait a little longer, and I'm getting really jumpy cause I want to know."

Now giving a sigh of her own, blushing as this conversation came back up, Cynder still couldn't give all the details and knew it would be best to wait, "I'm trying to wait as... Every time I think about it, I just... Ugh... Makes my heart race, and in a good way," Thinking as for when she would say it, she had a better idea which she wondered why she hadn't thought of sooner, "Actually, I think I'm going to wait till I can tell all the other girls. Compared to yesterday where I said it to one, then the other and another, I think I would just be easier if we are all there."

"Ah... Well, I guess it makes sense."

Entering into the Chambers, the Guardians of three sat down near the back door as they normally do, with Claire sitting down on Ignitus's left side. With everyone entering the room, Malefor walked with his lover to the right wall while Spyro walked over to the left wall with his lover, and as the four sat down, Ignitus made sure to get this out there now so there would be no confusion, "Alright, I'm going to say this now since everyone is here..." Before Malefor's mouth could even get halfway open, he was cut off, "I've already informed the other two through thoughts!" Grumbling as he closed his mouth, Ignitus continued, "Going back; Spyro, I said I wanted to be a better father to you, and a better friend to everyone. So, from now on, I can go back to strictly emotions, and not thoughts. Any and all questions about outside world stuff is still handled by me and my clones, but everyone I know I don't know the thoughts of anymore. Which is why, Malefor, I do apologize. And for that reason... I... Guess it wouldn't hurt to... Give you a wish."

"Yes!" Malefor instantly cheered as he was hoping for it for so long, and with the wish now in his paw, he looked to his lover and wondered, "So! Do you know what you want?" Before she could even get out a word, everyone noticed the joy in his eyes and body movement, even placing a paw over hers and he wanted to do anything for her to be on his good side again, "Even if it's a gem or something I have to retrieve on my own. What ever it is, I just want you to know I'm only loyal to you, Carith. Please, what is it that you'd want?"

She still hadn't figured out yet what she could've wanted, but seeing his desperation to please her already got her to smile. Since she only had little time to think, and he was looking into her eyes with desperation, Carith had an idea that came to mind, "Well, I guess just for right now, no wish needed, maybe we should wake up Ersa so me and Cynder can..."

"Got it!"

"No! Malefor! Wait!" Ignitus yelled out to him, but he had already ran away from his lover, out the left side of the Chambers, and over towards their door, "Oh I really hope you're asleep you two," Blushing as he out a paw on his face, he could see Claire looking at him with some fear as something was off, and not wanting to hide the truth from her, he told her, "Before my power were nullified... There was some dirty talk between the two and then my... vision went dark on the two... So... Needless to say, they... Um..."

Gasping as she remembered what he had spoken about before, Claire tried her best to be quiet when she asked in awe, "They mated?!"

* * *

Making his way into the room, Malefor sneakily walked into the room as to not make too much noise. Something already felt off to him as the smell in the air was different, calming, and smelling of roses, which was not as natural as it normally smelt, _Huh... Why does it smell like flowers in here?_ Looking over to the tables on his left, there was something burning inside a glass bottle, but he didn't want to waste time looking to see what it was. Making his way up to the bed of the two as they laid there, Malefor thought it would be best to try and wake the two normally then frantically, _Don't want them being mad, and I don't want them to call me a classic and go back to bed, so maybe something different._ Taking a claw up, he started to poke his friend in the top of his paw, "Hey... Hey buddy... Wake up. Quit slacking and start..."

"Smacking..." Volteer grumbled as at first he didn't even know who's voice that was and assumed it was his mate's, "Hehe... Maybe if I have the strength then I..." Opening his eyes and looking straight, his lips were sealed, and with wide open eyes from both of them, neither spoke, only blushing as they looked at one another, but Volteer didn't want him to get any ideas and changed the subject, "Uuuuhhhhh... What-uh... What I um... Was going to say was... Hehe, um... Funny story actually..." He couldn't even keep a straight face as he spoke, but lucky enough for him, Malefor didn't even say what Volteer was thinking.

"Smacking your lips? Um... You have a mate. You say some shit like that again to me again, I'm going to hurt you."

Giving a sigh then an angered growl, Volteer knew he could change the situation around, but even with how he growled, Malefor noticed something off about him. His voice was smooth, easy, and calm, even with what was already said and done, "Look, Malefor, I thought you were Ersa. I was very... Tired last night and... I thought that slacking smacking was her talking about... Our lips," Blushing as he knew what the real definition meant, he now went on to more important matters, "Anyway. Why are you even in my room."

"Oh, yeah," Lucky enough for Volteer, Malefor caught onto his bait like a fish and forgot all about what was said, "Carith wanted to talk with your mate. Something about something being said and Cynder wants all the girls to be there for her when she says what she needs to," Hearing a slight moan, the two looked over at Ersa to see her opening her eyes, and something wasn't right with her either as she seemed so calm, even when it came to her smile which Malefor was a little uncomfortable with, "Uh... Why do you look... or, seem... So calm? You and Volteer... Did something happen?"

While Volteer blushed hard, Ersa only blushed a little as she knew how to get his mind off of things, "Just had a nightmare and Volteer helped me through it, that's all... Anyway, I will be out there in a second so..." Pausing as she opened her mouth wide to yawn, she then later closed her mouth, and after smacking her lips a couple of times, she continued, "Tell her I will... I will be out there soon," Seeing Malefor nod at her, he turned away from the two and over towards the door and out of the room, and now with him gone, she could be honest, "What have you done," She smirked, and he blushed already knowing what she meant, "I gave you a promise, but doing the same thing to me? How can either of us walk if our legs don't work?"

"I mean, you were on the bottom more then half the time so, I could only imagine your legs would hurt."

Gasping at his lies, she called him out for it, "You are the... biggest... sexiest... perfect..." Growling as she was getting off track, she couldn't even get herself to be mad as everything about her told her to be calm, and resting her head on Volteer's shoulder as she gave a sigh, it helped more then she thought, "Know what... I don't even care. What happened last night was even more then I could've ever dreamed of... Hehe... And we didn't even get to try everything last night?"

"Well, at least now you know that, at any point, if you want to, I'm all for it. Just..."

"Remember what you've told me," Ersa finished the sentence for him, and she giggled at herself as she thought about it, "My work doesn't even matter to me as long as I have you..." Looking over at the tables to the right side of where she was facing, the small flame was still burning inside the bottle which was a good sign, "Good thing I let that candle to help even out the smell around here. Being honest, it's already smelt of paper and gems. Some of which don't exactly give off the best smell. I just can't believe I was even able to get up in time before we... started."

"What's most surprising to me is how we are even awake... And... Even with how last night went I..." Hearing him pause for a second, she backed her head off and looked at him, and since he had a smile on his face, she knew it must've been good news, "I... Can't help but crave even more..." Looking at his mate with lustful intent, he gave a smirk as he spoke lowly, "To carve more of you."

The words were enough to send shivers all throughout her body, and now she was eager to have that alone time once again, "Damn it..." Giving at a sigh, her mate chuckled as he already knew why she was feeling the way she was, "Yeah yeah, you know it too... That night was... very special to me, and I know it was for you..." Feeling a little scared that would've been the only night, she knew it wasn't true, but wanted to her it from her mate's own words, "I know this is... Probably stupid to ask but... Please... Promise me you'll never change, and that we can have more nights like the one we just did."

Giving a smile to her words, he knew she wanted confirmation to feel better about the future, and so he gave her that comfort, pushing her against his side with his wing so they were touching and promising, "That night for me was everything I've always wanted with you and more. A simple promise, which I do, swear, and promise to," Looking at the door with only his eyes, no one was in the room, so, looking back at his mate, he teased her on what was to come, "But if my... mate, ever needs help to calm her... Lust... Know I will be... Ready."

Shivering once again throughout her body, she smiled wide, now not wanting to even get out of bed, but hearing a voice call out from the outside of the door, they knew it was Malefor's, "Hey! Are you two going to hurry it up or what?!"

"Leave it to Malefor," Both the mates sighed and said in unison, and since they did, they laughed with one another, happy to still be understanding with one another as they always had been.

The first one that tried to stand was Volteer, but just as when he first woke up, he had next to no luck even standing. Luckily though, he found the strength as he pushed against the bed with his two front paws, and as his chest started to lift off the bed, he was able to use his two back paws to help support himself, even as shaky as he was. He was just as surprised as his mate that he was able to stand, but that didn't stop him from wobbling as he tried to make it off the bed. Making onto solid ground now, he turned to his mate and chuckled, "Hehe... Yeah, I... I'm going to need to help you."

Same as him, it was quite struggle to stand, but she followed what he had done to stand. Pushing against the bed with her two front paws, her chest lifted off the bed, so she then used her two back paws to help lift up her backside. Now standing on the bed, she wobbled just like him, but the difference was making it off the bed. Taking one paw out and off the bed, her entire body fell forward to the ground, "OH!" Before she could hit the ground, Volteer took haste, extending his wings and catching her on her chest with her nose nearly touching the floor, "That was... Too close," Feeling his entire body start to shake as he held her up, she used her own body now to get her back legs off the bed, and using the support of his wings, she was able to stand to her paws, "Not that I'm surprised but... Thanks for the save."

"Hehe... Thanks for fulfilling your promise to me. But now neither of us can barley walk."

"Oh don't worry, we'll be fine... I hope."

* * *

"What is taking those two so long?" Malefor asked, sitting now to the left as his lover closest to the entrance of the Chambers, and while he sat in wait, he tried to look around the left corner even as far as he was from the entrance, "I guess I might as well tell you all what was going on to pass the time," Looking away from the entrance and at everyone else, he explained, "When I went in there, it smelt of roses. There was something burning over near their work bench in a bottle so I'm assuming it was that. It wasn't a bad smell just... I'm just confused as to why they did it,," The more and more Malefor had talked, the more uncomfortable both Ignitus and Claire felt as they knew what had happened, "Then, for some reason, when I woke them, they were so... so very calm. No matter what I said or did, they just... didn't care. It was weird..." Pausing as he tried to remember what else was said, he chuckled as he had remembered one thing, "Oh yeah. He said this gross ass line that went, 'Stop slacking and start smacking'."

immediately, everyone's face turned red as fire, making any of their scales just as red in the cheeks as Ignitus. Shaking his head and growling at him, Ignitus had to stop him before he said anything else, "Malefor, just... I get that you're dumb but... Please stop talking about what happened in that room."

"What? Why? That was just about them kissing," Seeing Ignitus put a paw on his face, still everyone had red blushes on their face, and to everyone else, it was clear what had happened, "Am I missing something? Because if you all think they did something, Ersa wasn't barley even able to stand, remember. So, nice try but, try and grow up."

"Malefor, did no one teach you about... Things that happen between two mates?" Spyro asked and even as uncomfortable as it was, he needed to know.

"Uh, yeah. And where would you have learned about such things? You were ten."

"I know... Enough, but not all from my parents as they don't exactly know about dragons."

"Malefor, would you just drop it," Volteer spoke from the entrance, and as they did, everyone looked over to see the two mates standing side by side, "I guess since no one will shut up about it, and since this entire conversation is the most awkward thing in the world," He paused as he walked over to where he normally sat, and since the Guardians already knew where he sat with his mate, there was already room, "I will just tell the truth," Turning to face straight and sitting down with his mate beside him, he caused everyone to gasp as he told them the truth, "Yes... And to keep it, simple... It did happen."

"WHAT?!" Almost everyone cried out while others shuck their head in disgust for what they heard.

"And now that it's out in the open, can we move on, please?" Volteer pleaded as being looked at in disgust wasn't exactly enlightening to him, but he knew as long as he got Malefor talking, things would change, "Malefor, if you will. You said you had something to say that you wanted us all to be here for."

"Ah, yes," It was easier then Volteer had suspected, but it seemed as though he was very passionate about what he was going to say, "Like most of you around, if you had a wish, you'd go simple for your lover: A gem, a nice get away, some peace and quiet. But me... Oh no no no, I am but a man of war. So, Ignitus. My wish..." Pausing as to build suspense, Malefor walked a couple of steps forward, flexed out his body, and standing on his back two legs, and yelled it, "I'm going to start a crusade!" Everyone's eyes grew wide at his sudden burst of voice and show of strength, while to others, it seemed like a joke, "My lover deserves everything, and a crusade of ideology is just the way to do it. She shall be the queen of this world, all shall only look up to their one true ruler, Carith!" Looking at Ignitus and getting back down on all fours, he smirked as he wanted his wish granted, "Now... Ignitus... Grant me my wish. Start this war that needs to be fought, for the rights that my lover deserves! FOR CARITH... UM!"

No one was all that surprised except for Malefor as his lips had suddenly been sealed by Carith's. While her eyes were closed for this eyes, his eyes grew a little wide, and seeing the tear go down her face before he closed his eyes, he knew she wanted this. While the two kissed lovingly in the middle of the Chambers, Spyro smiled at the idea, and everyone already had looked over towards him to see what his thoughts were, "You know what, a crusade doesn't sound all that bad to be honest," No one was really surprised by his words at all, but what was surprising was his idea around the whole war aspect, "That means that Malefor is going to fight all the battles for his lover, which also means that, I have the chance to dethrone Carith and put Cynder above the world!" Seeing as Malefor pulled away from the kiss and looked at him with a smirk and a raised brow, everyone didn't know if they were really going to go through with this, "Yeah... And I can challenge his dark army that he's been building, and we can fight for the throne for our lovers!"

"That's what I'm talking about! It's time for a crusade!"

"Hell yeah! Fight to the death it is!"

"Agreed! Fight to the death... Wait... Fight to the death?" Looking at Spyro with wide eyes, his tail blade swung around his backside and next to him as he was ready to use it, "Wait wait wait! There are rules to this crusade, and as for me as the world has seen as a ruler, you most show leniency!" Spyro was confused as to what the word meant while Volteer was surprised with his vocabulary skills, "Hehe, see, I pay attention Volteer... Anyway! Just as before when we fought, you showed mercy on a broken soul. I ask that shall be the same in our fight. As I always say, keep your friends close so you can use them as a meat shield."

"I thought you just said you paid attention..." Volteer sighed.

"Hehehe. I do I do but, come on, just the thought is both hilarious and messed up all at the same time. But going back, Spyro, I ask you as a friend to spar my life in the mist of battle," Spyro raised a brow as it seemed as though the crusade was already starting, but Malefor made sure to give a little more depth as to what he was saying, "My week is almost over, and our final battle is almost upon on. Us as kings for two different sides most show mercy, for taking a life is one thing, but to lose your sanity, your lover, afterwards, is heresy and disgrace of the highest order."

Even with how Malefor was trying to sound, Spyro knew along with everyone else what he was doing, and it wasn't working out too well for him, "You do realize you don't sound as cool as you think when saying works like that?" Letting out the biggest sigh any one has ever heard Malefor make, Spyro felt a little bad as it was like he had crushed his dream, so giving a sigh himself, he agreed, "Alright fine," Getting into character himself the best he could, he joked with him, "I shall... Take to this challenge and... Fight for the throne."

"No wait!" Malefor randomly cried out, scaring everyone as he had an idea, "Alright, Wait wait wait! This gave me an idea for that D&D thing we were doing. Alright, forget what I said aside from our week almost being over, I must make future future plans for the... well... future."

With everything settling down and Malefor sitting back against the wall he normally did, the wishing conversation now brought up what Spyro wanted to talk about, "Speaking of making a wish. Ignitus, could I use the wish you gave me now?"

"No, Spyro. And no to you too, Ignitus," Cynder had already intervened on what he was saying, causing his lover to chuckle while making everyone else curious, "This is what I wanted to talk to you girls about. Spyro is trying something, and Claire, with you being an assassin, I need your skills to help and see through his lies," The girls all stood at the ready, wondering what it was that was said or done, and now Claire had to listen closely as to what was being said in order to help, "So in our room, Spyro made a comment about how he wants to use the wish to benefit me, of course. He talked about how he wanted to get me a diamond, or a more, exotic emerald. He then chuckled and said, 'Well, other then your exotic emerald eyes of course'."

"Aaaaaawwwwww," The girls all said in unison towards what was said while the guys shuck their heads at how corny that sounded.

"Hehe... I meant, what can I say? I can't get something beautiful for my love if she is already the most beautiful being to live, and I can't give herself to her," Once again from his words, the girls all giggled as they aw'd at his words, and this was only another reason for her to wonder why.

"What is it you want from me?!" Cynder cried suddenly at her lover, and while he chuckled, she wanted answers, "You pull those words up there, and now you're doing that now?! I can only make out with you for so long, but if it's something else, you have to tell me."

"Cynder, all I want is for you to be happy. Reading of your parents past I feel would be best for you."

"Stop thinking about me for once and think about yourself! You've helped Ignitus with Claire, you helped save Volteer from the Dark Master, you helped save Ersa, you've... You've done enough without rewarding yourself," Hearing him chuckle once again, she already knew what he was going to say and already declined him to say it, "Don't you dare say it. If you truly want me to be happy, you using this wish for yourself would make me way happier then if I read my parents past. Their book isn't going anywhere, but you can. So please," Putting a paw over his and looking into his eyes with desperation, she begged for him to listen, "Please use this wish for yourself... Seeing you smile, for you to enjoy things your way for once... It's all I want."

The girls didn't even know if they had to even say anything now as it seemed things between the two were going better then expected. Seeing how desperate she was for him to use this wish on himself, he gave a sigh in defeat as he knew saying no now truly would hurt her. Smiling as Spyro was excited for the wish, he agreed, "Last thing I want to do is disappoint you... And with what you've said today... I... I will take the... wish."

Nearly immediately as he finished his sentence, Cynder pushed her lips against Spyro's, joyful that he heard her out and went with what she had said. While the two closed their eyes to kiss one another with passion, Claire giggled as she didn't really see a need to help at all, "Once again, things between you two turned out as expected... Somehow... And, being honest with you Cynder, I... I didn't see any lie in his eyes when he spoke."

"I mean, you are all the way over there so," Malefor butted in as he called her out.

"Shut up, Malefor," Claire sighed which only made him chuckle.

Taking their lips away from one another's, Spyro gave a sigh to see the smile on his lover's face, but he knew it would be for the best as this is what she wanted, "But after this, no more for me, okay," She giggled at his words, even blushing himself as he could tell she was catching on to him trying to be nice, but he couldn't think about that now; now he needed to know what he should do with the wish, "So... I have a wish to myself... But now the real question is... what should I do with it?"

"You could make Malefor suffer," Cyril suggest, making Malefor look at him with wide eyes.

"You could make Malefor go a day without his lover," Volteer now suggested, giving Spyro more ideas.

"You could make Malefor go across the earth with your help, but it would be up to his strength to make it back around the earth and to us," Terrador suggest as a way of training.

"Why not just simply set him on fire? He will have to use his powers to keep the fire contained, but sooner or later he will run out of stamina so," Ignitus suggested, and now that everyone had their jab at him, it was Malefor's turn.

"Oh ho ho, you guys think you're so funny, don't you," Looking to Spyro, he gave him a better idea to use for his wish, "All the Guardians have done wrong by you, Spyro. So how about you send them back to where they were being held captive, and force Ignitus away from his lover, making him remember only of the fact that a war has broken out and that's it," With all the Guardians glaring at him, he shrugged it off as he said, "Oh, I'm the bad guy? Maybe that could also be used to your advantage, Spyro. Make us all go back to that temple fight, just me and the Guardians and we will settle this like men."

Bringing up what had happened at the temple, they all now felt uneasy about what he had said, frowning as they remembered their failure. Malefor chuckled before seeing their frowns, and once he did, he realized what he had said and regretted saying it as he knew he went too far. But surprising everyone, Ersa had bashed him in a joking manner, "It's about time you quit being a little bitch and fight someone one on one without the help of others," Seeing everyone change expressions quick from sadness to surprise by looking at her with wide eyes, she felt a little bad for saying that now and giggled, "Sorry... That was... Probably a little too much."

"No no no, I stepped out of line. Though I find it funny how you call me that, awful word, yet, I'm assuming Volteer made you his last night?" Everyone gasped at what he had said, some even blushing and backing away as they all saw the anger that spiked out from within Ersa, and with this anger came fear to Malefor as he realized for the second time, he went overboard, "Hehe... Now now, Ersa. I was just joking..."

Slamming a paw forward with her tail blade at her side, she growled at him, "I will have you know that I was the one that did most of the work," The conversation between the two had gotten more heated then everyone thought, and when it came to everything that was happening, no one was able to feel one emotion for long as something else came up every second, "And as gross that may sound to you, domination, towards your mate, doesn't make you a bitch," Everyone's fear had now turned to disgust as Malefor held in his vomit, but once again, things changed rather quickly, "Now I suggest you shut up, or else I'm sure Ignitus would be kind enough to help me hurt you since Volteer has told me what an awful dragon you are to our way of life."

Knowing he should try and save his scales, Spyro stepped in as he now he had an idea as to what he wanted to do with his wish, "Malefor, watch yourself, alright. Can't be friends if you're dead. But most importantly, I now know what I want to do with my wish," It worked as he had hoped it would've as saying what he wanted to do with his wish got all eyes on him, saving Malefor's life in the process, "Ignitus, back when me and Volteer were training, you have him a power boost. I was wondering if, you could maybe... Unlock my full power?" Seeing Ignitus's eyes grow wide, he didn't understand if this would or wouldn't be an issue, "I mean, I'm already... Somewhat strong. If this is a problem towards civilians or something, we could always just do this in that dream world."

"I... don't think our minds are capable of handling such power," Seeing the confusion on his son's face, everyone else was confused as well except for the yellow couple, "Basically, when ever we go into that dream world, your brain still has to process everything that is happening. Spyro, asking something of this scale when your power is limitless, I can only go as far as your teen body can take, not even your adult form. I don't know exactly how strong you'd be but, with the strength and power, the destruction you can cause, me destroying that mountain would look like an ant to you."

"Can I really be that strong?!" Spyro blurted out, now more excited then ever to see his untapped potential, "Then... Then there has to be some other way, right?! I mean... I... I have to know what my strengh holds, the secrets to my powers!"

"Whoa, calm down, Spyro. I will, have to ask the Ancestors about this one as there is one thing we could do, but this kind of power is restricted, so give me a second."

Closing his eyes and looking slightly towards the ground, they all waited for what it was that was going to happen, and what secrets both Ignitus and Spyro held. Unfortunately, now that things had calmed back down and no one was talking, Malefor started to chuckle, and as everyone looked to see him pointing a claw at Volteer, they knew it was bad, "Hehehe... You... You know what's funny about that then... Hehehe... I... I always knew you were the weakest out of all of us, but now to be a bitch even in bed... Hahaha!" Malefor couldn't contain himself as he laughed out loud, unable to control himself as he thought about it, "That's the saddest thing I've ever heard! Hahahaha!"

"As last I've had fun with my mate,' Volteer snarled, causing Malefor to stop his laughter and wonder what it was he was saying, "Oh, Sorry. I forgot you wouldn't know what it's like cause you yourself are too much of a bitch to even say what it is that needs to be said to a certain someone," Knowing exactly what he was pointing out, his joy turned to anger as he growled at his friend, "Yeah, not so tough now are you, little guy. Find it funny to, you knew her before I knew Ersa. Maybe it just wasn't meant to be!"

"How about you eat my tail when I drag it through mud!" Malefor growled at him, blushing the same as his lover as both knew what was being said.

"Alright, alright, calm down you two," Cynder had to step in as the other girls either didn't know what to say, or were just watching.

"No no no, it's okay, Cynder. Hopefully Malefor will keep saying some stupid stuff and get what he deserves for it," Claire smirked, on the side of Volteer.

"We are not playing that game," Malefor growled as he could already see it now with what everyone would say, "Then we would go down the line and everyone would agree death upon me. Fine, Volteer. You've made your point. I will back off for now, okay?" Seeing his friend give a slight nod, Malefor backed off of the conversation entirely and said, "Alright... Breath... Everyone breath. Let's just... not bring up anything about what happened between the two last night. Let's just move on..."

"Well..." The three girls aside from Ersa all declined the idea of moving on completely, once again causing everyone to have wide eyes.

"And before you saying anything my love, no, we are not asking for, details. Don't be dirty," Hearing him hiss through his teeth, Malefor later gave a sigh of relief as that's what he believed they were going to ask, and once again, Carith clarified, "Sorry, Ersa but, we were hoping you would, talk to us about your experience in a way that isn't... revealing."

"We wanted to know how you felt to know that you've made it to where you wanted to be after years," Cynder also helped explain to her yellow friend.

"And what is it about Volteer you still don't like. Of course, he won't be there just to make it even more desperate for him as I'm sure he'd want to know," Claire gave in her own idea as well, and with all the Girls words, it seemed to be working in their favour.

"I mean... I... Guess I could. But you girls don't really want to..."

"Of course we do!" The girls all agreed in unison with smiles, and this caused Ersa to blush with a giggle at their reactions.

"I don't like this one bit," Volteer sighed, feeling as though he was going to be exposed in the worst of ways.

"If it makes you feel any better, Claire asked if there was anything I still disliked about you, and after that night, after now seeing... everything... Hehe... You don't have to worry," Since she wasn't exactly trying to be secretive about what she was saying, everyone blushed once again at her words as she couldn't help herself even when she knew what she was saying, "Sorry, everyone. I didn't expect someone that I had looked up to and always wanted to meet be so... Manly. Put some more muscle on you, Volteer, and I can assure you, without a doubt, no female in this world can do a better job to their lover's then I'll do to you," Once again not realizing what she had said, she was lucky enough to at least catch herself and apologized once again, "Sorry! Once again... To at least the males I guess."

"Bet Ignitus with his powers can do a way better job," Everyone gasped to her Claire speak in such a way about her lover, and looking over to see what Ignitus's reaction would've been, he was still talking with the Ancestors while his eyes were closed, "Hehe, Yeah. I'm not going to be stupid enough to say something like that when he is full focused on me. And since that's now... out in the open, which, let's be honest, no surprise there; Malefor, if you say anything, Hehe... I will complete my mission as I should've before and kill you. Am I understood?"

Malefor swallowed hard as he already had so many on his bad side right now, and last thing he wanted to do was have someone else mad at him who really could kill him. So out of fear, he nodded, backing his head up a little as he was afraid to say or do anything else. Taking in what Claire had said, Spyro took her words to heart and wanted to give her some advice, "If you're... really telling the truth about this... even early on... I want to take a step back and thank you once again for even being with him. Life obviously wasn't easy for anyone back then and, to be honest... He needed someone like you in his life."

"Hehe... Well that... that works both ways... And that's why I guess I'm... fine to be telling you all this. I trust you all, especially the girls and, Ignitus has taught me to look on the brighter side of life. So I'm... I'm looking forward to the future is all, and..." Pausing as she blushed, she wanted to be a little more honest as she felt a little guilty, "Spyro... he once did this... flexed out form on his body that..." Fanning herself with her own paw, she could feel herself sweating as she thought about it, even looking at Ignitus as she spoke, "Wow... I... Ahem... Yeah..."

"Now you know how I feel towards Spyro when he flexes," Cynder purred, nuzzling her body against her lover's side which made him blush.

"What's going on?" Ignitus asked while opening up his eyes, finally coming out from the talk he had with the Ancestors.

"Nothing!" Everyone cried out which made Ignitus even more suspicious.

"Trust me, do not ask," Terrador shivered as he wanted to move on from all of what was being said, "Please tell me we get to see some fighting being done? There's been way too much... mush and I'm... not feeling great."

"Ah, yes, well, it took a little bit longer as one of them was a little... upset. Ersa, you should know which one," She giggled as she remembered what had happened in the dream, "Yeah. It took a little bit for his mate to arrive, and once she did, it still took some planning and convincing. They agreed but, what we are about to do isn't simple so, this was where the planning came into play."

"What do you mean it took a bit for his mate to arrive?" Ersa asked, intrigued to know more as to what was going on that she didn't know about.

"That will absolutely get me in trouble, and then I definitely won't be able to give Spyro his wish."

"Okay... Okay... I will back off of it."

"But going back, another reason they agreed is because they want to see your power as well, Spyro. And instead of doing it in a dream world, we are, in a way, giving you the full might of your power in the real world," Everyone was just as confused as Spyro was, and Ignitus knew he was going to have to do a little explaining which he had prepared for already, "Here, let me explain..." Pausing for a second, a bright light lit the room in an instant and no one was able to react fast enough to cover their eyes, but as quickly as it appeared, it disappeared, and as everyone adjusted their eyes, they all now saw they were outside in an open field of grass and trees "We are now in what is know as a living, frozen reality. This means that everything still exists, but is for right now frozen, and out of harms way as their bodies have been put in the dream world."

"So... You mean like, their full bodies? Not just their minds?" Volteer asked, intrigued about everything that was happening.

"Indeed, Volteer. Anything else that can't be touched such as any form of darkness or enemy like the apes will only freeze in time, but, time still moves. So if you were to punch and destroy a tree, the physics of it would still move, allowing force to be applied to it."

"And with nothing in my way... This allows me to go all out with my power without having to worry about something being in the way!" Spyro figured it out with a big smile, and since he had put two and two together, Ignitus nodded at him as to give conformation, "That's probably the coolest thing I've ever heard of! But... Wait... What if I kill an ape or something while time is frozen? What would happen then?"

"For the time being, anything that is frozen is basically being taken as a picture. Which means the Ancestors are able to know where everything will go back to once time is restored. So if you were to kill an ape, you wouldn't really kill it. Anything that doesn't walk around and breath, you can destroy it. But when it comes to things like apes, you can hurt it, but it's not going anywhere. It's basically just there to relieve stress I guess. This means no matter how much you destroy or damage, it will just come back once time beings again."

"So, uh, crazy question cause, you know, it's me but... With their bodies basically just, frozen and with the Ancestors, what stops them from doing something to them?" Malefor asked, and even as uncomfortable as a question it was, it was a simple one to answer.

"Well that's an easy question. Three numbers; Number one, just as I said with the apes, they can literally not be moved, nor can you feel anything. Number two, they have no need to do anything since they already have a plan for everything. And number three, one of the Ancestors takes their job very, very seriously. So if someone was to try something... Good luck even getting close."

"Alright, enough with the questions," Spyro stepped in, getting eager to use his full power, "Long story short, I'm sure this mean as we've established that everything is fine even after this. And common sense says, doing this instead of the dream world is better because I actually get to experience it with my own body, and not my mind. Is that correct?"

"That... That's pretty much it."

Slamming a fist into his paw, Spyro was fired up and ready as he asked for the power, "Then I'm ready when you are. If you would so kindly give me my full power, then we get to light up the sky with my show of strength."

"Okay but, just remember. Your power is limitless, and I can't give you the max amount of power as you're still a teen, but close adult. So the power I'm giving you shouldn't rip your scales off your skin when I give you this power. I'm also increasing your stamina pool in order for you to use this power. And same as I said before, your stamina will equal out to your teen form, not adult. So everything about you is subject to change."

"That's a teen body?" Everyone wondered in their own way as they looked at Spyro.

"Grrrrr... Well, more power is better then no power. Ready when you are."

"Alright. You're going to feel a slight pinch throughout your whole body, and I'm not exactly sure what might happen to you as this is also a test for me and the Ancestors so... Let's hope it's just a pinch."

"You had to bring that up just to scare me, didn't you?" Cynder asked, and no one was surprised to see Spyro wasn't sacred in the slightest of what he said.

"I mean, best comes to best, they make a mistake, still use my full power, feel sorry for it, give us another wish, and then you can read of your parent's past," Spyro said, trying to make light of the situation, but seeing her raise a brow with a look of no, he chuckled as he understood why, "I shouldn't be getting hurt in the first place... right. But I trust Ignitus, and we are already here."

"I know, I know... Just... Enjoy this wish, okay. You deserve it."

"And I will reward you kindly for letting me use this wish."

"And I look forward to it."

Peaking his lover on the cheek for a second, he pulled his lips away, and with her smiling, Spyro knew that now would be a good time to start, "Alright, Ignitus, I'm ready."


	19. Chapter 19: Being Blinded By Power

Chapter 19: Being Blinded By Power

Peaking his lover on the cheek for a second, he pulled his lips away, and with her smiling, Spyro knew that now would be a good time to start, "Alright, Ignitus, I'm ready."

"Alright then... Here goes nothing," Ignitus said, but even for him, it took him a second to think if this was something he should trust, " _This better not kill my son,_ " raising a paw up and snapping his fingers, Nothing happened for a good couple of seconds, making him feel as though maybe he was lied to, " _Is it... working?_ "

Feeling the silent pinch in his body, Spyro growled slightly as it wasn't as slight of a feeling as it continued, "Wow that... hehe... that actually hurts," Feeling as though his body was folding in on itself, he coughed up blood already from the pain that grew in his body, no way of knowing when it would stop, "Ugh!" Fears started to go through everyone's mind as it seemed like he was getting worse, even kneeling down as his body locked up on him, but his body still shivered from the pain, making it hard all together for him to even speak, "Holy... Hell..."

Coughing up blood once again and nearly falling to the ground as it seemed the world was being put on his back, Cynder quickly asked for some kind of help towards her lover, "Ignitus, Is there anything you can do?!"

Shaking his head to her dismay, everyone looked to Ignitus to see even he was worried for his son's condition, and there was nothing they could do about it as he explained, "I have to hope that Spyro can take on all this power... There's... There's really nothing we can do except hope he's strong enough..." This meant to everyone that all they could do was watch and wait, and even as horrible as it seemed now, Spyro's condition was only getting worse as he started to sweat with increased in breaths, becoming more violent in his condition as it progressed, "Come on, Spyro... I believe in you."

"Hehe... Ugh!" While he was trying to stay strong for everyone as the pain nearly knocked him on the grassy floor, this was all just an act, but he tried to make the best of it, "So much... for a pinch..." Feeling as though something was happening to him that he couldn't control, he warned everyone in case something happened, "Cynder... You, Malefor and... Carith! Get... get behind the others... I feel something but... I don't feel any control... over it!" Doing as they were told, Malefor and Carith ran over to the Guardians on their right, and it took Cynder a little more convincing to get her to run, "Don't worry... I'll be... fine," Coughing up blood once again, not even able to look at anyone as his muscles tensed, he joked once again to make things seem better, "Thanks body... for scaring... my lover."

She knew for him, the last thing he wanted was for her to get hurt during all this, so she gave a sigh, knowing she would have to do as he asked, "I swear... If this does something to kill you, your father is dead," He gave a chuckle to her, glad to see she was also trying to make light of what was happening, even as bad as things were right now, "But..." Putting her forehead against the side of his next, she whispered as a tear went down her eye, "I believe in you as well... We all do."

Hearing it from his lover gave him even more strength to push through what was happening, and the feeling of her was nice enough to calm him a bit. Unfortunately for him, she had to pull away, and doing as she was told, she turned and ran away from him and over to the other Guardians. Making it to them, Cynder ran behind Cyril and watched as she looked around his right side, hoping like the rest that he could do it. With the three sitting behind the Guardians and watching, Spyro felt better to know the others were out of harms way, and now all he could do was keep pushing to pull through, _Come on... You got this!_ His power started to show as his body started to radiate with a purple aura, and digging his claws into the ground, the force was enough to crack the ground completely around his body. Yelling out in pain, everyone watched to see his muscles had shrunk some, along with his body becoming more defined as though he was forming into an adult. Still crying out in pain, he was able to look up into the air as he did, and using his own strengh to fight against the pain, the purple aura around him exploded outwards. The power was enough to whip the area around him, slashing at nearby trees and even the Guardians as they tried to cover themselves with their wings. The others who watched from behind took cover from behind the Guardians, and for Claire, she was some how protected by an invisible barrier. She looked to see no one else had this barrier, so she knew it was from Ignitus. Claire wasn't able to say anything as she watched his eyes grow wide with a smile, and looking away from him and towards Spyro, her eyes grew wide as well. It seemed to have worked as his body hissed with power, and his own self seemed to have changed as well. Poking around the right side of Cyril again, Cynder blushed with wide eyes to see what looked more of an adult form to her, even with the loss of muscle.

Still trying to catch his breath, Spyro looked at his paw as it hissed with power, and this made him smile as he thought, _It... It worked!_ Looking up to the sky and taking a deep breath in, Cynder blushed once again to see his body in all its glory, and watching him smile as he body grew a little from breathing in, and then going back to normal as he breathed out, she walked out from behind Cyril and to his right as they all watched to see what he would do next. Feeling refreshed, the first thing that came to his mind was his fire. Pulling a paw up and looking at the palm of his paw, he used his fire ability. Starting off normally, a red flame formed in his palm, then he moved on to a blue flame as it engulfed his red one. _Now for the moment of truth._ Using his power once again, his blue flames was consumed by the purple fire, and he smiled wide to see how easy it was to use, how easy it was to control. _This... This is incredible!_ Putting his paw back to the ground, Spyro wanted to try out something more to test his powers. Looking at Ignitus, he asked him as even he wondered, "How fast do you think I can go?"

"Uh... I... I really don't know."

"Hehe... Lets test it," Spreading out his paws on the ground and opening his wings wide, he kicked off the ground, and in a blink of an eye, he was gone.

The force was once again enough to rip the wind throughout the surrounding area, and now, the only thing that showed he was even there were his paw prints that imprinted themselves into the ground. Looking up to the sky, the clouds that had covered a little of the sky had a decent size hole in them to show that was where his body went. Everyone wondered where he had went, but they didn't have to wonder long as an explosion scared everyone causing them to jump as they saw a mountain in the distance with a huge size hole in it. Looking with wide eyes, the hole was big enough to cause the mountain to cave in on itself, but it all happened so fast as now another explosion like sound appeared in front of them as dirt had been kicked up with smoke, now making everyone look over in front of them to see what it was.

"What the hell..." Coughing as he came from out of the smoke, everyone gasped to see it was Spyro coming out from the smoke, but something was held within his wing, "Sorry to scare everyone, not use to this speed at all. But hey, Cynder, I know we probably can't keep this, but," Reaching underneath his wing and pulling out a piece of rock, he chuckled as he said, "I wanted you to have this rock piece from Pluto as I thought you might like it."

"PLUTO?!" Everyone cried out.

"Hehe, yeah, crazy right? I was going to get one from Saturn or something but I flew so fast that I basically bounced off the planet and ended up on Pluto," Seeing their jaws open wide, he chuckled as he was just as surprised as they were, "I know. I was just as surprised as you all were when I took to the skies. But this is my power!" The excitement made him crush the rock in his paws, and feeling a little bad for it, he apologised, "Oh... sorry, Cynder. But, hey, if you want anything from anywhere, just let me know."

Cynder didn't know what to say, but neither did anyone else as they were in awe over his power. With the dust getting to his nose, Spyro sniffles a little as he knew he had to sneeze, "That's not... good..."

Inhaling through his mouth before letting out a powerful sneeze, his body disappeared as it had before, letting out a massive wave of air. Looking up to the sky to see where he had gone, the sun blocked their views as it was right in their eyes, but they didn't have to worry for long. Squinting their eyes for a second, the sun had exploded from in space, making it nearly pitch black outside as there was no longer any sun light.

"Did he just destroy the Sun?!" Malefor cried out as he a asked, not able to see anything, "We're all in hell! Volteer! Cyril!"

"Malefor! Shut up! You're right next to me!" Claire yelled at him as he was basically yelling right behind her.

"And how could I know that if I can't see you?"

"Um... Ignitus... I like the darkness when I sleep, not when I'm wide awake," Terrador said in the dark of day.

"Please tell me there is something you can do," Cyril begged as this was getting a little too scary.

"Yeah... Sorry guys," Hearing a voice in front of them, they knew who's voice it was and listened to Spyro as he apologised, "I didn't know my sneeze would've flung me into the sun and I uh... Accidentally threw my wings out to stop my moment and... well... blew the sun up from the inside."

"Spyro... Are you hurt?" Cynder asked, scared to see him now as she was afraid that his body would be scorched from the heat of the sun.

"Well, here, let me try something," The darkness around them had a light grow in front of them, and looking at the light, they saw the purple colored light was coming from within Spyro's scales, "Oh, that's pretty cool," Seeing his body glow with purple fire as though molten lava was going through his body, no one knew what to say as everything his power had shown was a sight to behold, "But to answer your question, my love, trust me, I'm fine, but the sun... Yeah, Ignitus, do you think you could help it."

Watching as the purple flame was visible in his mouth even as he talked added to the cool factor for the guys, but Ignitus knew it should be short lived as he knew he needed to bring light back to the world, "I... Didn't expect you to have such power," Raising a paw up and snapping his fingers, the sun exploded back into existence as light came back to the world, now showing everyone their color, and now with the sun being back, Spyro no longer had use for his power from within his body, "Spyro... This, power... How are you... Able to do this?"

"I was going to ask you the same thing," Raising up his own paw, Spyro clenched it into fist as he was happy with this display of power, "This power is... Everything I've dreamed of! I can be from place to place in an instant! I... I can save anyone and everyone that I need to, and I can protect you all without worry!" Looking over to his lover, she blushed to see the lust form in his eyes, and with his smirk, she knew he wanted something, "And... I can make sure that my lover has everything she desires." Opening his wings as he turned his body to face her, he asked her, "If you would, my love, come to me so I may comfort you."

Seeing all eyes on her now, she giggled with a blush but knew she would have to walk up to him, not that she wanted to resist. Walking up to her lover, she stood close to him and later sat as she wondered what he was going to do, and giving a smile, she warned him, "This power is surely nice and all, but please make sure that I don't end up like that sun. You still don't know how to control this power."

"Don't worry, my love," Draping his wings over her back, her eyes grew a little wide as she started to feel warm, comfortably warm, "You enjoy this warmth, don't you?" She was at a lost for words, and for some reason, she didn't even move her body herself as it moved on her own as she stood up and nuzzled her body against his chest, "Whoa," Spyro was surprised by the sudden move, but he enjoyed it nonetheless, "Don't worry my love, I will protect you."

Sitting down in front of him with her side against his chest and head underneath his neck, he draped his wings more inwards as he held her, using his purple flames all throughout his body to warm her. He couldn't help but smile wide as he was happy to see how she felt about his new powers, and this only made he want to power himself up even more, _If Cynder is enjoying this now... What if I had this power in the future? To have this power in our real lives?_ The excitement got him to shiver, and with that realisation, he wanted to try something else as he thought about it, "Hey my love," Backing his head up and looking down on her as she looked up at him, he smiled as he whispered, "Ready for something more?" Moving his head down and pushing his lips against hers, it seemed like a normal kiss, but he didn't realize how much force he put into the kiss.

"Um! Spyro," Saying his name out the side of her lips, she had to pull away from the kiss, and seeing how uncomfortable she looked, his eyes grew wide as he thought he did something wrong, "Sorry, it's just... You were kinda crushing my mouth with that kiss and... It... didn't really feel all that good."

"I hurt you?!" Spyro cried out, taking his wings off from around her as he backed away.

"No no no!" Cynder cried out, trying to calm him before he made a mistake, "The kiss just... It didn't feel smooth. With your power... I don't know... Your lips aren't the same with that body. Or maybe I'm just not use to it," Giving a frown to hear what she had said, she didn't want him to worry as she took steps towards him, and standing in front of him, she was honest, "But... I did enjoy that warmth from you for sure. And like before... Your... body doesn't feel the same but... maybe it's just cause I'm not use to it or something."

Seeing a down side to his power now, he still tried to keep a smile as there still was more positive then negative. Going in for the hug once again, she sat in front of him and hugged him as she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck. With her with him once again, Spyro smiled as he went to hug her back with his wings. To his dismay though, he put too much force into his wings when he went in for the hug, and Cynder cried out, "Spyro!" Taking his wings back away once again and stepping away from her with fear on his face, she reached for her back as she tried to giggle, "That definitely wasn't a... easy hug..."

Seeing her trying her best to rub her back, and hearing what sounded like popping from within her body as she moved, tears started to form in his eyes as he cried, "I... I hurt you..." Taking a step back away from her, he now saw this power as a bad thing, "I... I can't control my strengh... And because of that... I hurt you... I..."

"Spyro... don't," Seeing him take another step back, she knew she had to do something, "You didn't hurt me, okay. And even if you did, this is something new to you and you still don't understand how to control it, so please... Let's just... forget what's happened, okay?" Trying to smile as to get his mind off of it, it wasn't working, and she understood why, "My love... It's okay. Test out your power some more, get use to it, and then maybe we can, try cuddling again. But for right now, just have fun, okay?" All the joy he had once felt with this power diminished as now he didn't even feel like doing anything, so he looked to the ground and frowned, knowing what he had done, "Spyro..."

"Don't worry, Cynder, I will help," Walking up to her side, Ignitus wanted to take over to let Cynder talk with the others, "You said you wanted to talk with the girls so, while you do that, I will have a talk with my son, okay?"

Giving a frown as he stood next to her, she decided to nod and agree, but turning around and looking away from her lover, she knew this was a mistake, _He probably thinks I'm mad at him cause I'm turning away from him... But what can I do? I can't hug him or kiss him... Maybe... Maybe this power was a bad thing. Or, maybe I just need to wait and see before judging so early on._ Making it over to the others and sitting down next to Claire where Ignitus once sat, no one had to even ask before Cynder was honest with the others, "Now I feel bad... It's because of me that Spyro's even in this position... And if I'm being honest... I want my other Spyro back," The girls all frowned to hear her words and to see her frown, but they understood the more they talked, "I don't know... He doesn't feel the same... His lips don't taste the same... And even though he looks like an adult, and the warmth from him is amazing... I... I don't know... What do you girls think?"

The girls all looked at one another as though they could read one another's minds, and Claire was the one to speak as she also had to agree, "I can see where you are coming from, that's for sure. And if I'm being honest, I think we would all like the original Spyro better then this new form of his. But who knows, maybe it's just because it's such a big change within a short amount of time. Maybe it will grow on us and maybe he would feel even better when you snuggle up to him."

"I don't know..." Malefor was also a little hesitant about this change, "I'm glad this is just for a little bit as... Something about Spyro seems... off. And I feel like it's because of that power. He's not thinking as he should, and he doesn't fear because of that power. Without that fear, he... doesn't really seem to care. Even with you, Cynder, he would've ran if he had done that in our real lives... but he didn't... he just frowned as if... he can't even control his emotions... same with his power."

"Then should we stop this now and just return to as we are?" Carith asked as she wondered as everyone else did.

"Well, this is one thing us scientists do is, we experiment. So, let's just count this as one and learn from it so we know what to change," Ersa said as she gave her view on how things were, but even she couldn't hid how she felt towards this as well, "But... I would be lying if I said I liked him with this power. It just doesn't seem... natural. But like we all agreed on, let's just see what happens and from all those ideas, let's see what will come of it."

"Hey, Spyro, are you, feeling okay?" Ignitus asked as his son still looked at the ground.

"Did I hurt Cynder..." Spyro asked in almost a mumbled tone, almost impossible for Ignitus to hear, and since he didn't get a response, he picked up his head and asked again, "Did I hurt my lover, yes or no? And don't say something just to make me feel better, I need to know... I... I need to know."

"Don't worry, she's fine. You almost did hurt her though from the strengh of that hug. You kinda helped her in a way as you helped pop some of her joints to loosen them but..."

"So I didn't hurt her...?" Once again giving more clarity as he nodded at his son, Spyro gave a sigh of relief as he trusted him, and now that he knew she wasn't hurt, he wanted to continue, "Alright then. I guess for the time being, we should continue with what I came here to do. I just... need to make sure I don't do anything to hurt Cynder... So, Ignitus. Me and you are going to get some distance between us and them. I want to test out my power against you if that's okay."

"Hehe, asking for permission to fight me? Thinking with your brain and not your muscles, which is a good thing as that's how you are," Ignitus gave him some words of wisdom as to help with what he was going through, seeing that the power had gotten to his head a little, "Strength isn't everything, Spyro, remember that. I don't want to lecture you for too long but... Just keep that in mind. You've already seen that your power can cause more harm then good," Since he was calm for the time being, the words his father had spoken to him got to him, and he didn't hear as Ignitus turned his head and told the others, "Me and Spyro are going to have a little match so we will be leaving this area for the time being. Hopefully we won't harm anyone of you in the process."

"Hehe, yeah, like things are going to go okay," Malefor chuckled to himself, knowing it wasn't going to be that simple.

Looking back to his son, Ignitus could see his son was deep in his thoughts, thinking, wondering, and it was unlike him to be the way that he was, "Spyro, I'm going off of emotions of course, and since I can't read your thoughts, I'm actually at a lost as to how you are feeling. Do you, want to talk about it once we get away from everyone so it's just me and you to listen and talk?"

Snapping out from his thoughts, Spyro shuck his head and could feel himself fighting with almost another version of himself, "Yeah, I... I need to understand what is wrong with me..." Opening his wings and taking to the skies, his father followed close to him as he took to the skies as well, and with the two flying in the air and over to the now destroyed mountain, he continued, "Something doesn't feel right... And I guess that's pretty obvious as, ever since I've gotten this power... I don't feel like myself, as if there is more then just a light and dark to me now," Wondering how he could phrase it better, an idea clicked in his mind, "It's like I now have three sides to me: Dark, Light, and Masculine. With this power, I only think of strength, and nothing else... I don't feel anything towards anyone or anything, and when I feel like that, I get downed, and my Masculine power takes over."

"You seem to already have a good grasp on what's going on for the short amount of time you've been using this new found power."

"But for me, it hasn't. Everything about me is moving so fast, my brain and body can't stop itself for a second and think about anything. Going from here, to Pluto, and then back to earth, it was like time wasn't relevant for me," Making over to the mountain, the two flew down onto the destroyed rubble and remains of it, and as they landed, they tucked their wings to their sides and continued the conversation, "While you all saw it as seconds, it seemed like hours to me... Everything was slow for me and... It was a little scary... because it's like I'm seeing time move both normally and slow, but it's also as if I'm seeing the future before it even happens cause I have so much time to think... And then I over do it and... I don't think at all... and my brain just... stops."

"Spyro," Walking up to his son as they stood face to face, he rested a paw over his shoulder in order to help comfort him, "My son... This is just a test. This power could have side effects, or maybe your body shouldn't handle this power at a young age as your body hasn't developed yet, or maybe even all this is just cause you don't understand it yet. This is the first time you've done this, so don't be afraid. I'm here by your side to help you take that step," Getting a smile out from his son, Ignitus smiled back, but knowing they would have to spar here soon, he took his paw from off his shoulder, "Are you ready to test your power against me now? Or do you want to call a quits and go back to our Chambers to just rest."

Spyro wanted to think about what would be best, but hearing his father's words, he decided to stay, "As you said, let's take that step. And for all I know, one day, I might have this power. So it's better to try and understand it, and to control it, before I do get it and do something to hurt someone... As I almost did to Cynder..." Walking backwards away from his father, he stood a good couple of feet away from him, later getting into a fighting stance as he prepared himself and his father, "I don't even know how hard I can hit yet, so... Please... If anything happens and you feel as though I'm too strong for you... We will cancel the fight on your word."

"Sounds like a plan then," Getting into a fighting stance himself, Ignitus couldn't lie about how he was feeling about this, "You know, too be honest, kinda hoping we would've just talked. But I needed to get your mind off things and... well... I'm definitely not going to say I'm not scared of your power. Just try not to break my bones, okay."

"On your word and we're done."

"Alright then. I will let you have the first move."

Adjusting his front left paw to turn more inwards to his body, the air around the two grew heavy, heavy enough to cause the ground beneath them to crack ever so slowly. With the tension building up between the two, Spyro took his one step, making his one move, and in an instant, he was gone. But Ignitus's power wasn't so wimpy as he disappeared in the blink of an eye as well. The two met with fist to fist a little above their fighting ground, and from their punch came a loud crack as the ground beneath them was blown open enough to make a decent sized crater. Now hovering above the mountains rubble, the two pulled their first away from one another, giving themselves time to think of what their next move should be. But for Spyro, he could feel himself not wanting to think, _I have him right where I want him. I have the power, I have the speed._ Trying to look at his opponents paw while also trying to keep an eye on him, he could see the steam coming from off his fist, which was a good sign to him, _Just that one punch was enough to burn his fist. Which means, all I have to do is keep up my attacks, and he will go down in seconds._

* * *

"Just act like the guys aren't even here, that way, you can focus completely on what happened last night," Carith said as now the girls wanted to talk with Ersa about what had happened, and in doing so, all the girls sat to the left, while the guys sat to the right of them, still a little bit away from the middle of the open field, "Like we said, you don't have to go into details or anything. We are just curious to know how it feels to be where you are now compared to before."

"Hehe... Well... Before, it was obviously hell on earth and all, and I did have dreams about Volteer anyway so... It was just one of those things were I was... surprised that my dreams had come true," It seemed as though Ersa was getting into what she was saying, and the girls didn't even have to say anything as they knew if they did, she wouldn't want to continue, so they kept their mouths closed while she spoke, "Even with that nightmare I had where it seemed all of my life was just a dream... and that... I never had Volteer at all, I just... It just shows me once again that, where I was at, and to be here now is... Unreal... like even after that night, I wonder if I'm in a dream inside of a dream," Thinking back to that night she had with Volteer, she blushed with a smile as she couldn't help herself, "But when I think back to that night... and even how I am now..." The girls blushed as well to see Ersa's body shiver in delight for what happened, "You girls are seriously missing out on one of the best parts of life."

"What do you expect us to do?" Claire asked as it wasn't as simple as she made it sound, "You technically had to wait thirteen years before you met him again, then became lover's and mate's. Which means that, for me, I would also probably have to wait a good while before I even become Ignitus's mate as... There is still a lot I want to learn about him..." Thinking about the nights she has with him, it did make her blush as she thought about it, "Well... Then again, I don't think there hasn't been a night after we fell in love where he wasn't on top of me..." Realising how that sentence sounded and how she said it, Claire blushed as she corrected herself, "And by that I mean kissing!"

"You ever try to get him off of you?" Cynder asked.

"No... Well... sometimes," Claire murmured as she felt defeated in saying so, "I... enjoy it a little too much."

"I think we all do when it comes to our lover's," Carith giggled as she fell victim to such feelings as well, "And I'm sure we all know by now that we all love our lover's very much, and I trust you all when I say this," Pausing for a second, she saw the guys were talking amongst themselves and faced away from the other girls, and with this, she whispered herself as she was honest, "I'm not gonna say that I don't hope for me and Malefor to one day be mates. I mean... when I first came back, I was a little... hesitant. But now with him being himself again... What do you girls think?" They all looked at her with wide eyes to hear her reveal something like that, but they all did understand where she was coming from and didn't really view it as much of a surprise once they processed everything she said, "Do you think Malefor would... you know... take that step with me?"

The girls all looked over at Malefor to get an idea as to what would happen, and with them being quiet, they heard as he joked with the other guys, "You know, thinking about it now, a crusade would be pretty fun. And we can even have our only little branch as to who lives in the upper and lower class. I of course rule as king with Carith as my queen. Terrador works below me as my knight. Cyril works in middle class to tend to the city and make sure everything is as it should be. And as for Volteer, you sir are a peasant. You are nothing more then a piece of dirt that I walk over when I roam my kingdom."

"And what about Ignitus?" Volteer grumbled, not liking where he stood.

"Ignitus...? He shall also be a knight right by Terrador."

"Makes sense I guess... And Spyro?" Cyril asked, wondering where everyone else such as Spyro stood.

"Peasant!" Malefor said with a puffed out chest, "No such thing shall step foot in my kingdom. As for the females, they may stay with Carith in her ten story house so they may all keep one another company."

"I think I might start a Coup d'état to over throw your ass with Spyro," Volteer growled at him.

"I shall have your head if you do such a thing!"

"Kinda hard to give orders to your troops if you're no longer king."

"Your threat to my kingdom has been noted. You shall spend many years locked away in a dungeon."

Now looking away from the guys and back over amongst themselves, the girls all sighed at how he acted, and while Carith gave a slight giggle, Ersa was honest, "I think he is pretty hopeless, and without you, he is nothing. So I would say your chances with him are extremely high..." Giving another sigh as she thought about it, she wondered how those two really did make a pair, "I don't believe I've ever asked but... How did you two become lovers, and why haven't you dumbed him for someone else?"

"Well for one, he... isn't really this goofy in bed... in fact he's... very... very bad," Carith purred, putting a paw on her chest and letting her body shiver as she thought about it, but seeing the girls all blush with slightly widened eyes, she got back on track, "Ahem! Want I meant was, he's really not as bad as he seems. It's funny cause, he choose me over all the others. Long story short, I pecked him on his check on our first date. He saw my dad peck me on the cheek for good luck and he thought it was with someone else, so he was really sad. But I helped him, we became lover's after that, and then... The only other eventful thing after that was... when he tried to save me... and... he thought he failed..."

Bringing up some bad memories from the past, Ersa didn't want everyone to feel down as to what was said by Carith, so she tried to make things a little better, "Well, here, let's change things up now. Obviously on the mate list is me and Volteer cause... Hehe, last night. Claire and Ignitus are... um... I would say, a ninety percent chance since you said he is a super lover basically by always being on top of you..."

"I love laying in that bed with him," Claire purred, wishing to once again lay down with her lover.

"Carith and Malefor is honestly pretty easy. If you can keep the dark master out of him so easily with just your lips, Carith, then I would say your chances are pretty high when it comes to being his mate."

"I... really hope so," Carith whispered with hope, looking over to her lover and smiling to see him laugh with the other guys.

"But now for the big one that I'm sure we're all waiting for," Ersa paused as she looked at Cynder, and as she did, so did the other girls which made her giggle, "So, Cynder. I'm assuming you've been with Spyro for a good amount of time. So, tell us, what do you think your chances are of you and Spyro becoming future mates?" Cynder could only blush, giving off a slight frown as she thought about it, and the girls all gasped as they came to the same conclusion, "You don't want to be his mate, do you?"

"What?!" Cynder cried out, "No no no, that's not it at all... I just... I don't know what to really think when it comes to something like that, something so... important in life... To help you out Ersa, I'm pretty sure the chances of me and Spyro becoming mates in life is a one and ten chance," The girls were desperate to know as to why she would say something like that, and since she had already brought it up, she couldn't hide what it was she was thinking, "It may just be my fears talking but... maybe he has someone else he's looking forward to... Maybe once we turn into adults, he will realise that, he is good looking enough to mate with anyone..."

"Do you really believe that?" Carith asked in a low tone, feeling terrible that she would think that way.

"Cynder... You helped me trust, Spyro, just as everyone else has... If this is how you think of him then... Is he really a good dragon to begin with? Do you really believe he would do something like that?" Ersa asked, and seeing the frown and tears that showed on her face, she could tell she was conflicted as to the whole situation, and she wanted to help the best she could, "Cynder, maybe you should..."

The sounds of nearby explosion caused everyone to stop what they were doing, making all of them look over to the mountains. As they turned to see what had happened, a shock wave from the power ripped through the open area, swishing by and hitting like a hurricane. Digging his claws into the ground with everyone else, Malefor had to wait for the wind to subside before he called out even though it was obvious, "What the hell was that?!"

It didn't take long for the battle to continue in a more violent way. Watching out for where the two could be fighting, it was hard for anyone to keep track as after one shock wave, there was another in another location, each living behind a decent sized crater below where they fought in the air. _'This is getting... a little out of... control!'_ Hearing a voice through their thoughts from Ignitus, they all worried as he didn't sound in the best of moods, _'I'm gonna give you all... Damn it...!'_ His words had stopped for a second, and as they had, another shock wave close by to them made them jump as they all looked to their left, but it didn't matter as they were already gone. _'You all need to see this. Close your eyes and you'll get a... Third Dragon Perspective. I might need someone to... step in here soon'._ They all did as they were told, closing their eyes and wanting to see how the fight played out.

"Where are you going?!" Spyro yelled out with killer intent which only scared Ignitus even more as he tried his best at attack and defense, and now their fight went from the air to the ground as they fought throughout the forest, "It's not much of a fight if the other party member isn't participating!"

 _This power is going to his head,_ Ignitus feared as he thought about it, and his fears only grew as he made his way quickly through the forest, jumping from one side to the next to avoid the trees. Spyro followed close behind, not bothering with trying to avoid the trees and going right through one by one as he kicked off the ground and using his head to slam through the middle of each and every tree that stood in his way. Feeling as he should end this, he decided to go all out and use this power to his max, _I could end this in seconds, but how about milliseconds?_ Kicking off the ground and taking to the skies, he spun in a circle upwards, holding his wings close to him as he shot up into the air like an arrow. Flinging his wings outwards, his body ignited from purple to black as the darkness consumed him rather quickly. Feeling the power infect every part of his body, he looked at his paw, clenching it into a fist and laughing at the power he held within his paw, "Hey, Ignitus," His voice was normal, but as he grew more into the power, his voice grew deep, menacing, and similar to that of the Dark Master, " **Would you like to experience a black hole?!** " Opening his paw back up, a small black ball formed in his ball, unstable at first, flicking outwards and wanting to burst, but he was able to control it in his paw and laughed more as he saw this, " **HAHA! This is amazing!** "

 _Not good, not good!_ Ignitus cried as now things seemed dire for his life. Using his paws and kicking off the ground, he tried his best to get away from everyone as fast as possible as he knew what was to come, _If he uses that power so close to the others, he will..._ Trying to get some distance as fast as he could, he took to the air, but stayed close to the tops of the trees in case he needed to make an escape. Hearing the sounds of crackling and popping beside him, he looked over and saw at it was Spyro with his black hole in his paw. Ignitus gasped, stopping in the air as he hit his wings forward, and he cried out to his son as this was getting out, "Spyro! Enough! Don't do this!"

Stopping in the air a little bit away from his father, Spyro was at least able to have a conversation with him even with the length between the two, " **You being scared won't help you. I've grown far beyond that of a normal dragon. But if you want this all to stop, then take the power away... Go ahead... do it,** " Ignitus didn't respond to him as he knew there was nothing he could do to stop his power, and Spyro knew this, " **What's wrong, Ignitus? Is my darkness blocking the power you've given me?** " Once again, Ignitus couldn't say anything as really all he could do now was hope he could find a way to get him to stop, but nothing came to mind, " **The power you gave me was like a ball of light, and now that I've trapped it, encasing it with my darkness, you can't get rid of it. Which means, I will never have to get rid of this power, and even the Ancestors I'm sure wouldn't be able to do anything to me.** "

"Spyro! Stop!" Ignitus cried out as there was nothing else for him to do, "You said it yourself; If at any point this fight needed to be ended, I would just have to say so. Right now the darkness is feeding off of you and your power, taking control of you slowly but surely, and have you ever stopped to listen to your voice!" Hoping that his words were getting to him, it seemed almost pointless as he just looked at him while he desperately tried to reach out to him, "You've seen what this power can do, now let's get back home. If you use that power of yours, you could hurt, or kill me, or even the others in an instant! Is that what you want?!"

" **Shut...** Up... **Ignitus!** " Hearing him trying to fight the darkness from within him, shaking his head and growling as Spyro fought, Ignitus hoped that he would be able to do more, but now the darkness from within him started to talk, " **I don't need this power anyway!** " The black hole that rested from on his paws disappeared which was a good sign, but things weren't over yet as Spyro cracked his neck by moving it all around and loosening his joints, " **I will just have to kill you the hard way.** "

"Spyro! Wait!"

It proved pointless as the fight had already continued. Unknowing to the two, they were above Warfang as the fighting had continued. Appearing behind Ignitus in the blink of an eye, even before where he would've been able to react to, his speed was unlike anything he's seen. Swinging his fist around and hitting him right in his back, the force from Spyro's punched caused another concussive blast. The punch was enough to cause shock wave after shock wave before as he was sent flying into Warfang, and with the force of the wind pushing against him, he couldn't stop himself. His body could only take the pain as he crashed through the mountain behind Warfang where the Guardians Building rested, and with the punch being strong enough, it destroyed the entire back of the mountain. With Ignitus's body digging into the ground, the mountain caved in on its remains, destroying all of the building as it feel inwards with the rest of the rubble from the mountain. Spyro flew above the rubble as he watched it cave in, and for a second, he had stopped, knowing how important such a thing was, and he destroyed it in a instant. With this revelation, he came back to his senses for a bit as he spoke to himself, "Wh... What did I just... do..."

Hitting his paw against the ground and trying to pull himself from the dirt, Ignitus yelled out in pain as his back popped into place. Getting back to his paws, he could see the darkness that glowed from Spyro's body as he hovered in the air, looking at what he had done. _Come on, Spyro... You got this..._ Ignitus hoped, but to his dismay, he watched as he vanished in a small puff of darkness, and it didn't take a genius to know where he was. Carefully looking behind him, Ignitus looked almost in the eyes of Spyro as he stood so close to him, and all he could do was chuckle, putting a paw over his right shoulder as he did, "I will admit... Your power is amazing, of course. But Spyro..." Trying to catch his breath as well as he wasn't breathing right ever since the fight had started, he tried his best to get to him, "Look what this power is taking from you. You destroy that building, all your memories go with it: Us in the Chambers, our home, your... home... with Cynder... does that not matter to you?"

"I'm... **Trying...** Okay?!" Spyro growled at him, both in two voices as they fought amongst one another once again.

"All you have to do is take control and we can get out of this hell hole... So please... Try with all this power that you have, your own power, to get back in control..."

" **You think it's that easy?** " The new voice for Spyro sent shivers down Ignitus's spine as he could hear what sounded like small whispers coming from his voice as he spoke, even though his own voice was deep, " **Get off your high horse, Ignitus. You know, it's funny that Cynder trusted me. All I have to do is, snap, and the darkness I gave her shuts her heart down in an instant.** "

"You wouldn't dare!"

" **You think I wouldn't?** " Raising up a paw and getting ready to snap his fingers, Ignitus's heart nearly stopped as he watched closely at his fingers, scared to know if he was going to go through with it, " **Here's the thing. This... power, is all I need in this world. I don't need attachments to others, I don't need to care for others, and with Cynder out of the way, no one would miss her, so it would be easy for you all to move on. So let's test that theory,** " Watching as his fingers slipped to make the snap, Spyro's own tail blade swung around and stabbed himself right through the back middle of his paw, stopping the snap as the tail blade now rested in between his fingers, "Tough talk from a little shit!" Once again, Ignitus couldn't do anything except watch as the two fought between one another for control over the body, "Cynder dies, then what's the point of this power?! What could you achieve...?! Nothing!" Unfortunately for both of them, the dark side of him had taken over once again, " **Enough talk!** " Taking his tail blade out of his paw, the wound around his paw was healed by the darkness, getting rid of any blood as well, " **I'm taking someone with me and you can't stop that!** " Looking at Ignitus, he knew he should hurry and run before he was attacked, and lucky enough, the dark side of Spyro gave him time, " **I'll give you two seconds.** "

Using that time wisely, Ignitus blinked, and as he opened his eyes back open, he was with the others, and since he was back, they all opened their eyes. No one knew who to focus on as both Cynder and Ignitus were in bad positions. Ignitus couldn't keep up with his breathing as he was running out of stamina, and the fear that swarmed his mind of what to do was another thing to keep his heart rate going up and up. Cynder was the same way, but she sat there with a paw on her chest, shaking at what all she heard, and how close to death she was. Her heart skipped beats as tears went down her eyes, scared of what her lover had become, scared of what he was going to do.

"Volteer! Ersa! I need a plan, anything!" Ignitus desperately cried as he ran over to the two.

"Well clearly the best thing to do is to have something to do with Cynder,' Volteer quickly threw out the most obvious way to get out of this mess, "Maybe Ersa could use her pressure points but, she might get too close and get hurt and, I'm trying to think as quickly as possible and I don't think you could at least get him down but..." Watching him look up to the sky in fear, Volteer didn't have time to look himself as Spyro had already slammed down onto Ignitus, grabbing his throat and dragging him through the ground for a couple of feet away from everyone, "Ignitus!"

On his back and in the ground, Ignitus couldn't do anything as Spyro had a tight grip around his throat with his paw, and now losing more air that he barely had, he could feel himself fading. But an idea struck his mind as he called through his mind to Cynder's as quickly as he could, _Cynder! Quick... Act... Dead!_ She didn't understand why he would say something like that, but at this point, she didn't care. Kneeling down on the ground, her entire body plopped down as she felt weak, scared as to everything that was happening, and now with her on the grassy floor, wings sprawled out and on her chest, Ignitus let his tears show as he yelled at his son, "You've already... taken someone you... Idiot!" This confused Spyro as he could see he was lying, but that still didn't stop him from trying, "Look at... your lover!" Spyro took the bait and looked over to see his lover on the ground, lifeless, and this was already enough to get his grip to ease around Ignitus's neck, "I can't save her! You... Idiot!" Trying to play it off best he could, he cried as to act like she had died, "The time power won't work on the dead... Spyro... I'm sorry."

The grip around Ignitus's neck subsided quickly, and now with him being able to breath, he looked off to his side and coughed violently to his side, inhaling and exhaling violently as he caught his breath. _Cynder..._ Now for Spyro, tears formed in his eyes, and taking one step, one by one very carefully, he took control of himself and ran over to his lover, crying as he did, "Cynder!" Making it over to her body, he sat down and scooped her up in his wings with his left one supporting her head and his right one holding her body, "Cynder! Cynder, please!" Ducking his head down and trying to listen out for a heartbeat, his body stopped almost all together as seconds went by and he didn't hear anything.

Pulling his head back and looking at her body as he held her in his arms, the darkness around him disappeared very slowly, and after some time, his purple scales now shined as they use to. Taking up a claw and tapping it on her side, he hoped for something to happen, but the hour glass didn't appear from her body. Once again locking him up as before, his eyes grew cold, lifeless, unable to even process what this all meant, and now all he could do was look down on her body, realising he had failed, "Cynder... Cynder... I'm... I'm sorry..." Realising this was all his fault, he picked up his tail blade and put it to his neck, murmuring as he did so, "This was all my fault... And I failed you once again..."

"Spyro! Wait!" Ignitus cried, getting off the ground and running over to his son as quickly as he could, "It's okay! It's okay!" Making over to his son's side, he watched as his son struggled on what to do, to kill himself or to not, and with everything he's already gone through, he didn't want to hold the truth from him, "Cynder's okay, Spyro, you protected her. I just needed her to be like this so you would think you failed, bringing you back."

"Then... Why... Why isn't she breathing... moving... And... Where's her heart beat I've loved listening to since the day I met her."

"Hehe... I just simple used my power, similar to how the time power works. By basically combining the two without actually having to use the time power, this would allow Cynder to be able to hear... Everything... and see everything that you did."

Now disabling his power, Spyro's eyes grew wide as he saw her side now move up and down with breaths, and seeing her open her eyes with tears starting to form, he took his tail blade back and cried, "Cynder! My Love! You're..." Wanting to go in for the nuzzle, he stopped himself half way and looked to his father which made Cynder believe he wasn't all that happy, but she was luckily proven wrong once again, "Ignitus... I never want this power ever again... Please... Take this power away and never give it back to me..."

Nodding at his son's words, a white light shined from within Spyro before slowly fading from within his body. As the light faded, all the power he felt, his strength, his new body and shape, everything about him returned to normal, and he growled from here to here as his body became smooth again, and his muscles once again showed as everything about him Cynder loved was all coming back. Now back to his normal self, Cynder smiled wide to see he was himself again, and now all she wanted was to hear his voice. Lucky for her, she got everything she wanted. Going in for the nuzzle, he was successful as he nuzzled underneath her neck, and backing up from the nuzzle a couple seconds after, he rested his forehead on her shoulder, still letting tears out his eyes as he apologised, "I'm so sorry... To you... and to Ignitus..." Sniffling as he pulled his head back, he didn't want to keep the truth from her, "I... I almost killed you... Because of me, I... I could've lost you, because of myself... and the darkness that controlled me... And... And..."

"And I saw the whole thing," Cynder giggled, making Spyro a little confused as to what she meant by that, "Oh yeah. Ignitus let us see what all you were going through halfway through the fight. We saw it all... and when you raised your paw to snap your fingers, I... I froze... I really thought I was going to have to say... goodbye to everyone..."

"Never!" Spyro cried out, not ever wanting her to think of such a thing again, "You will never have to worry of those words ever! I would never let the darkness hurt you again..."

"Because you promised," With Cynder giving him a smile, he could only give a small smile to her as he still believe he had failed her, and she couldn't help but be honest, "This entire situation was scary... and I feel... awful for doubting you... But, being honest... ever since you changed with that new power I... It wasn't what I was use to. But now that your back, back to being my Spyro, the one I love and enjoy... Please... Promise to never change like that again... never again."

"Spyro promise... And we can seal that promise with a kiss if you-Um!"

The tears that ran down her eyes, and the emotions that had taken over forced her to kiss his lips as soon as she could. Feeling how nice and soft his lips were compared to before, it was exactly as she wanted them, and feeling this pleasure towards him once again, she could help but let out a moan with how much she missed him and this feeling. Spyro himself also missed the feeling of her lips as the two got a little more into the kiss then they thought. Still with his wings on her back, he rested her on the ground and stood above her, making out with one another with passion, not even caring if anyone was watching.

"That's tongue and I'm getting... Really grossed out right now," Malefor shivered, and pointing out the obvious made everyone now think about it which made them shiver and blush, "Hehe, and I know this is probably way too soon but... Hehehe... Spyro, you would've been a real bitch if you succeeded in using your tail blade."

Growling through the kiss, Spyro was able to back out of the kiss for a second as he wanted to yell at him, "Malefor, shut the fu-Um!"

He wasn't able to get out much of his words as Cynder pushed his cheek with her paw and kept him in the kiss. To make sure the two were able to make out all they wanted and so he couldn't move, she wrapped her arms around the back of his neck and whispered little by little through the times his lips slid off hers, "You can... Hurt him later... But for now... Pleasure only... Please."

Spyro happily agreed as he really wanted nothing more then to make up for whatever he's done, so for the time being, he didn't say anything to Malefor. Now seeing the power in which Spyro holds, Ignitus made a mental note in his mind as to how things went, _Seems the power of the purple dragon is next to infinite... If he had control over that power, what would he be able to accomplish? How would him as an adult handle it?_ Wondering off about such things, his son had backed out from the kiss which got his attention as his son even looked at him once he pulled away from the kiss, "Ignitus... Are... are you okay?"

"Hehe, don't worry about me, I'm more worried about you," Ignitus assured him as he knew he had taken it worse then he himself, "I'm very impressed with your sense of control if I'm being honest," He paused for a second as he watched his son help up his lover, and now with her beside him, he didn't want to bring up what happened, but it was something to talk about, "Even within the little to no control you had, you were able to stop yourself with your quick thinking."

"Are you talking about that tail blade thing?!" Malefor cried out with a big smile, getting everyone's attention, "That was freaking amazing, dude! The way the dark side of you was about to snap, but you stabbed through your own paw right in between your fingers! I know that was a scary ass moment but... Damn, Spyro. That gave me chills."

"I have to... Agree very much so with Malefor," Terrador agreed, "That was quick thinking by you, and clearly I'm not the only one who was impressed by such drive to stop yourself."

"But what if I would've snapped..." Spyro murmured, looking to the ground as he feared, shivering from the thoughts, and to get his mind off that, he wasn't happy with what he did to his father, "And what about Ignitus?" Looking to his father, he hated what he had done, "I could've killed you. You begged for me to stop and yet... I almost killed you... I almost killed Cynder... So who else is a danger to my power," Getting a peck on the cheek from his lover, he looked at her to see a smile, and he knew what she was trying to do, "Thank you... my love... If anything, maybe this is a blessing in disguise. This just shows that... For now on, I should forget training and focus on Cynder..."

"No!" Ignitus yelled out, making everyone jump, especially Spyro and his lover as they were right next to him, and seeing what display he made of himself, he cleared his throat, "Ahem... What I meant is, this wasn't even supposed to happen, Spyro. When you grow, you learn to walk and to fly. If you're thrown into what you're doing without help or training, you're going to stumble, because, even though you can do such things, that doesn't mean you know how. The power you had you aren't suppose to have for years to come, as I've said from the beginning," Seeing his son struggle with everything that was happening, and fighting with himself of what he should do, Ignitus helped him out some more, "Look at the power, know what it can do when controlled, not when it's unstable. You're still young. So in order to prevent such things as what happened, you must train... You must get use to what is to come, or else."

 _If he stops training now, we really will parish on what is to come here soon. Please, son, you have to keep being yourself,_ Ignitus hoped, scared of what the future will be without his strength and drive. Spyro was still hesitant on what he wanted to do as every part of him said no after what's happened, but lucky for him, he had help from those around him as Malefor even stepped in, "You stop training now, I'm going to be stronger then you, and that dark army of mine is sure going to kick your teeth in. Then how are you going to protect Cynder?"

"And you also always said to us, and changed my mind especially when it came to power. If you give up on us now, you'll prove what I said right about all of us dying," Terrador also stepped in and helped, and with each helper, it did become more difficult for him to say no, "You can't give up. You still have a long way to go. Being throw into years and years of power without the experience to control it... Ignitus is right."

"But what about my body?" Spyro asked as he remembered how he looked and felt even for himself, "Cynder didn't like that side of me and... What if that's what I become?"

"Highly Unlikely," Both Volteer and Ersa said in unison but she made sure to take over the conversation, "Don't you remember what Ignitus said to you when you were first given this power? And as someone of science, I can give you hope as to what you'd become. One big factor is when your muscles shrunk. Unfortunately with that power, it worked in an opposite way. Instead of gaining more muscle, your body was locked, flexed, and there was nothing for your body to do as your muscles basically locked around your bones. And plus, with every time you've shown to see what you would look like, even back in the Training Room where we tested those potions, Ignitus said that wasn't your body since your not an adult," It was a lot to process as she gave more information then he thought she would've, been it made sense to him as he listened closely to all she had said, "Your sixteen... Getting powers met for your twenties or more."

Giving a sigh, it hurt for him to make a decision he wasn't sure about either way, but knew he needed to make the best decision out of the two, "I can't let this change me... For what's happened, like you all have said, I need to take this as a lesson. I was able to control the darkness within me to stop myself a good bit... but not enough," Hearing that he was understanding, everyone smiled to see he really wasn't changing who he was, "I need to work on my darkness more, and my power is in a decent position, but not where it needs to be," Thinking about what he could do to be beneficial without going over board, he asked Ignitus as he looked at him, "Ignitus... If training as I do now from here and there... Will I become like... that?"

"Absolutely not. You'd have to over work your body nearly twenty-four seven for nearly ten years, could even be more. Your body as you are now is normal. Your muscles are just right as they need to be, and training as you normally do will not change that. And being honest, I can see you being a very well looking dragon as an adult, and I'm sure once you do become an adult, then you can take a break from training."

"Why do you say that?"

"Good luck getting out of bed. I'm sure Cynder will like your adult body."

"Which is something I've thought about a bit which... I guess is a little bad for me," Looking to his right and at his lover, he blushed a little as he wondered himself, "With how your body looks now... it make me drool with love. Hehe... So thinking about you as an adult even with your curved body now," Seeing the shivers go through his body, she gave slightly widened eyes to what she saw, and he chuckled as he apologised, "Sorry... that was... inappropriate... And after what I did... I'm sure we wouldn't even be together that long."

"And who says we will break up?" Cynder asked with a little growl in her voice to scare him, and it worked as he knew he didn't phrase his words correctly, "Malefor's right. Seeing you stop yourself even with how painful that looked, you're going to get a kiss unlike any another... aside from the one... or ones we had but... Malefor wouldn't shut up. But... if you want to break up... I did have some fear for that and... I've been talking with Ersa too, so I guess... I should prepare for our break up."

Some gasped as though they really would break up, but this was mainly for her to see how he would react, and his reaction was surprising to her. Chuckling to himself, she looked at him, a little sad to see that he must've been happy with the thought, but it was the opposite, "Cynder, it's been so long and you still think about me leaving you? Is this a test or something that I don't know about?" Shaking her head with a frown, he felt a little bad but tried to get her to smile, "If anything, it is my fault after all so... it's really you who should have a say in it..."

"And Spyro did try and kill himself just to be with you in the afterlife as well," Ersa brought up what had happened which Cynder blushed as she remembered that moment.

"Oh yeah... Hehe... I... Forgot about that I guess," Seeing her trying to smile, even biting her lips as to keep her lips from moving, Spyro gave a chuckle and joked with her as he knew it would get her to say something, "I knew I should've given you the wish from the beginning, and if this has also taught me something, the things I want, I already have or need to work for," Pausing for a second, he walked in front of his lover, and putting both his wings around her back as a way of hugging her, he whispered to her, "So when I get another wish for saving someone, what do you say you read of your parents past? Or is there something else you want?"

She didn't know what to say as a response, and instead of saying anything, she took a couple steps forward and nuzzled her body against his chest. And just as before, he sat down with her and held her close to his chest while she sat in front of his chest, curled up to him with her eyes closed to just enjoy him. With the two trying to enjoy their time together, Malefor chuckled which made everyone fear as they knew he was thinking of something, "So, Ignitus... I have a question... If I was to mess with someone while in this dream world, things would just go back to normal... right?"

"Yeeeeessssss..." Ignitus was a little hesitant to say, but now that he said it, he saw Malefor rub his paws together as though he was planning something, "What are you going to do?"

"Was thinking about having a little fun with faces. Like, get a dude and his lover, and then put apes in front of them. Then I would make his face turn to fear by raising his brow and stuff, and on the other side of him would be his lover laughing at him... Hehehe... I don't know, sounds funny to me WAIT!" Malefor yelled out suddenly scaring everyone once again, "Or... Or or or... What if we go into everyone's house and see what we can steal. So once they leave, if they have something of interest, we can take."

"You're really going to steal from someone?" Terrador growled as he shuck his head at his stupidity.

"Borrow for a long time... Then when I die, they can have it back."

"That's pretty messed up dude. Carith's looking down on you, just so you know," Cyril said as a little warning.

"Hehe, no she's..." Looking at his lover and seeing a raised brow and a disappointed face, he gasped and ducked his head, "Sweet Ancestors, have mercy on my soul..." Clearing his throat and getting his act together as he knew his lover was watching, he had a better idea, "Ignitus, I was wondering if me and Carith could visit somewhere since we are still here and nothing can attack her," Placing his arm around the back of her neck, he used his other paw as to get her to imagine all the things they could do, "We can go any place in the world, anywhere you wanted, cold as ice or hot as fire, and you'll never have to worry about what or where," Putting his paw down, he looked at his lover with a smirk as a way to get to her, "You know I will be right there to protect you."

Since he changed his act, she did give a smile as that was the Malefor she knew, "There you are."

Taking his paw off her shoulder, he chuckled though as he had another idea, "But then again, what if we found a dragon and put ice in front of him. Then when he came back, he would walk right into it," Laughing at his own joke, he thought it would've been hilarious to see something like that, "Hehehe... I mean, could you image?! Dude just walking, time stops, he comes back and hits his face right into it?! Hahahah... Hehehehe... Oh man, he would be like, 'Where in the hell?'" Unable to keep himself together, he wiped a tear from his eye and apologised, "Oh... I'm sorry... Hehehe, that's just... That's pretty freaking funny, let's be honest."

"Why did you fall in love with him again?" Ersa asked Carith.

"I don't know... Maybe I should rethink my decision," Carith joked, getting in a laugh herself.

"Hehe... Okay okay, let's calm down now. And don't blame me, alright. This is a one time thing I would be able to do before it's gone. Just want to make the most of a bad situation," It did make sense especially for someone like him, and once again, he apologised for sounding so evil, "I would never actually do it... Maybe, but that's not the point. Point is, Carith, you can't lie to me. You like my evil side," It was something she couldn't lie about, and he chuckled to know this, but to make things a little better, he once again apologized, "I'm not like that, Carith, you know this, and I'm sorry you have to see me like that," Putting a claw at the tip of her chin, he sighed with a frown as he told her why he said what he did, "It's just... my chain that you keep around me is weakening, and without pleasure, I have no self control..."

Sighing as she knew she shouldn't be enjoying his story, she still knew there was no way she could say no to him and kissed his lips, well enough to get him to groan as he really did want to kiss his lover. Thinking back to the very beginning of that conversation, Volteer whispered to his mate as nothing about what he said made sense, "Ersa... He does realise none of that would work," Ersa looked at him as she knew what he was talking about, and even though she already put two and two together, she just wanted to hear she was right, "Well, for one, Ignitus said no one would be around aside from apes. So how would he know where anyone is. Also, if things go back go normal when we leave, how would the ice still be there in front of that dragon?"

"I'm surprised how well you can still clearly think after our night," Ersa teased him, and while he chuckled, she agreed, "I can learn quick, but it doesn't take a genius to know Malefor is weird. But we can all be honest with ourselves; Weird Malefor is better then and evil one."

"Hehe... yeah."

Hearing the two were kissing, Spyro picked his head up and looked at the two lovers kissing, and because of this, it was perfect time for revenge, "Oh my goodness, Malefor... That's... That's definitely tongue and I'm going to puke," Earning both chuckles and giggles from everyone as they knew what he was doing, Malefor growled through the kiss and mocked him once again, "How about you come over here and do something about it? Or is it going to hurt your pride knowing a teen is kicking an adults ass like a bitch?"

"Grrrrr," Pulling away from the kiss, Malefor wanted to fight him know after that, "Come on then! Let's go! MMA fight right now!" Taking a step towards him, Carith put up her wing to stop him, and giving a smirk, he had to retaliate, "I'm sorry... my love..." Kissing his lover on her lips and sending a small shock of lighting into her lips, she shiver enough from the pleasure to let her wing down, and with that out of the way, he pulled away, ran around her and after Spyro, "Let's see who the bitch when I...!" A bright light shined and blinded him, but that did stop him, and he tried his best to keep up his speed towards him, "Nice try, but I'm smarter then UGH!" Slamming his head into a wall, with the force he hit it, his head got stuck in the wall, and all he could do was cry as he heard the laughs from the others, "Why me..."

"Hehehe... Okay, I haven't laughed in a while, and that... That's definitely worth the smile," Terrador chuckled, looking from the back of the Chambers and seeing as Malefor tried to get his head out the wall with no luck, it kept him laughing, but he started to feel a little bad after a while, "Malefor... Hehe... Sorry, sorry... Do you need help?"

Everyone watched as he struggled a little more, and with no luck, they heard a sad cry from within the wall. Using a claw, they watched as he carved something into the wall. At first they thought it was a message, but all he did was draw two lines at the top and a curved line downwards. Now they all felt bad as they saw he had drawn a sad face into the wall as he couldn't do anything. Spyro wasn't buying it as he knew he could easily get out, "Just use your earth power," Hearing him mumble something into the wall, he shuck his head as he didn't know what was going on, "One sec my love," Taking his wings off the back of his lover and going over to help Malefor, he stood to his right and asked again, "Why aren't you using your earth powers."

"The humiliation is too strong... and I don't even have the strength to use my elements..." Malefor mumbled from within the wall.

"But you have the strength to carve a sad face into the wall..."

"The problem with being faster then light is that you will always live in darkness."

"You are losing oxygen," Spyro said as hearing him say random stuff did get him a little frightened for his health, "Let me help you," Putting his paw against the wall to the right of his face, he pushed his paw against the wall, causing a loud crack to emerge from with the wall, and seeing Malefor twitch, they all jumped with fear as they thought they had crushed his head, "There, you're out..." Not getting a response and seeing his body go numb, now everyone's heart sunk as Spyro started to fear himself, "Alright, Malefor, stop messing around... Malefor... Malefor!"

"Malefor, this isn't funny," Carith cried out as now she really was starting to fear along with everyone else.

"Spyro... you didn't," Cynder feared as it did seem he had killed him.

"I... I didn't... no," Spyro cried, making everyone stand up now, including Ignitus as they all couldn't tell if this was a joke or not, but it didn't seem like one, "Malefor!" Putting a paw on his side and shaking him, nothing, and now Carith ran over to make sure everything was okay.

"No... no no no... Malefor!" Carith cried.

"Hold on... I can try and get him out," Once again using his earth power on the wall, the circle around his head expanded so his head could now freely be moved from out of the hole.

As Spyro and Carith helped pull him out of the hole, The Guardians all took steps forward, looking to see if he was okay. Once they had pulled him out, a loud cry of laughter filled the room, both scaring and angering almost everyone. Laying on his back with tears going down his eyes as he laughed into the air, Malefor couldn't believe that actually worked, "Hahahaha!" Rolling onto his side, and getting back to his paws, he wiped his tears with his arm and couldn't believe that had worked, "Hehehe... I... I'm surprised Spyro went along with that... Hehe... that was... That was great. Thanks, Spyro."

"No hard feelings?" Spyro asked with a smile, "I did feel a little bad for what I said."

"I did too... So no hard feelings either..." Seeing a spear like rock fly right over his head, Malefor ducked and cried, "What the hell!" Seeing the spear slam itself and dig into the wall with enough force to crack it once again, he looked at the Guardians to see the anger on their face of what he pulled, "Alright... let's calm down now."

"Are you really that stupid?!" Terrador first growled at him, "What makes us thinking you're dead funny?!"

"How is you making me slam into a wall funny?!" Malefor defended himself.

"You were going to do it to others," Ignitus defended his actions in what he did.

"Let me ask you a question, did I do it? Oh, oh sorry, what's that? I didn't? Exactly. So get bitchy all you want, I have my rights," Crossing his arms, the Guardians all just growled at him as they sighed, knowing they should let this one go for now, and with all the anger going on right now, he had a perfect idea, "Hey, to get some of this negative emotions out, especially after first you, Ersa, and then with what happened with Spyro, what do you say we all hit the beach tomorrow and enjoy some time there?" Seeing everyone's attitude change as they did wonder if that would be a good idea, he looked to see his lover was looking at the floor with a frown, tears going down her eyes, and he knew he did mess up for what he did, "Oh... Carith... I... I forgot you would be here as well..." He didn't know what to say as he knew he had screwed up, and most he could do was apologise, "I'm... sorry... for scaring..." To his surprise, she ran up and hugged him tightly, sitting down in front of him with her wings around his back and head over his shoulder, he apologised once again for what he did, "I'm so sorry..."

Taking steps back away from the two while Malefor hugged his lover back, Spyro turned and walked over to the left wall of the Chambers where he lover sat, and seeing her raise a brow, he gave a chuckle as he knew that was stupid, "Yeah... Malefor's plans usually are pretty bad. I knew I didn't kill him but decided to go along with it as I did feel bad that everyone was against him," Sitting down to the right of his lover, Spyro remembered what Malefor had said and asked her if she would like to go as well, "What do you say? Would you like to go to the beach?"

Giving a little frown, Cynder didn't even know what that was, "Sorry... Spyro... but I don't even know what that is."

"Oh... yeah. I will give you a little run down of what it's like. It's basically near where the water touches land, and there is plenty of sand and stuff to play with like shells and stuff. What's really fun is, the sand on the ground you can use to make a sand castle. Me and Sparks went to one, but only once. And it wasn't really a beach, it was more of a cave that had the water and sand. I promise you that you'll have a blast."

"It does... sound calming... And what's a sand castle?"

"It's something you can specially make and rule over all on your own," This was also the best time for him to help her out as he remembered way back, "I can also teach you more on how to swim as I once did before... Do you... remember that day?"

"Of course I do," Cynder smiled, letting her voice be smooth as she looked back on that day, "Hehe... I had to kiss you on the cheek just so you wouldn't be so scared that I would leave you," Giving a chuckle, she giggled herself which made her shed a tear as she remembered everything about that day, "When you... started to walk away after I did that... I... I couldn't do anything but watch in fear... Hehe... But then you jumped into the air and celebrated... I... really miss those days... everything was so nice..."

"Then all I want is for you to have that nice of a day," Looking over at Malefor and seeing him looking at his lover with a smile, and seeing her smile back at him, he knew that must've meant the two were fine, and he asked him, "Hey, Malefor. Me and Cynder are definitely on board with going to the beach. And let's make sure we keep the day as amazing as possible. So if anything comes our way..."

Nodding at him, Malefor knew what he was going to say and agreed, "I'll watch your back, you watch mine."

"There's my Malefor," Carith happily whispered, nuzzling her head underneath his neck, but hearing they were going to the beach, it did get her excited, "Does this mean we get to see how adorable it is to see Spyro teach you how to swim, Cynder?"

"Awwwwww," The girls all teased her.

"You all are horrible," Cynder shuck her head with a blush and smile, "But... yes... we were just discussing it."

"Hehe... Well, I'm going to be the one to call things once again, so I guess let's just make sure things don't go... how they did today," They all watched as Spyro's face turned to confusion, but with a combination of more emotions that he wasn't able to express, and looking up to Malefor, he told him, "And just like before," Walking away from his lover and over to the entrance where the two lover's sat, he continued, "I need to talk to you again... in private," It scared the others as it didn't seem it had anything to do with what happened, and since Spyro was walking away, Malefor knew he had to follow.

"I... Will see you up there I guess," Malefor said to his lover, kissing her cheek before the two had to pull away from their hug, and walking around his lover, he ran up to catch up with Spyro, "Hey! Spyro... Wait up!" With Malefor making it to his side, he looked behind himself to see Cynder and Carith getting together and later following behind, "Now that they are okay," Looking to his left side and asking him, he was a little worried to even bring up anything that happened, "Is this about... Cynder or... something we don't know about?"

"Why did I sense a dark entity?" Spyro straight out asked, making Malefor both confused and scared to what he meant, "I sense more then two others out there with dark power. You and Cynder are one, but I was able to pick up two others, and one of which seemed to have a lot of darkness to it... And the only thing I can think of... The only thing that could possibly have that much darkness in it... is The Destroyer," Growling through his teeth, the girls in the back heard what he had said and both gasped, but for Malefor, it made him sweat a little to think that thing would come back, "If anything, with how fast I was going, both in speed and brain power wise, I couldn't get that off my mind... So why... Why did I sense what felt like another dark master... why did I feel the destroyer."

Malefor didn't know how to respond to what he was asking, not knowing if he should tell the truth or not, but hearing of the Destroyer, it made even him swallow hard, _This... dark master isn't really planning to summon him again... is he._ With the doors opening, Spyro made sure to take a mental note of Malefor's silence, along with his sweat and shivers. Walking into the hallway of the house, Spyro needed to be honest with him, as lucky for Malefor, he was much calmer then he use to be about such things, "Malefor, you need to tell me the truth if you know something," With Malefor sitting down next to his door and his lover later doing the same next to him, Cynder looked at both of their reactions, wondering what was going to happen or be said, "It also doesn't help that I felt a lot... and I mean, a lot... of little dark signatures... Like a dark army." Now the three really did feel as though they were in deep waters, and since no one knew what to say, the silence from everyone was almost a dead give away to him, "Being silent isn't really helping, Malefor..."

"I don't... know what to... say," Malefor shivered, clenching his paws as he could feel his heart beating twice as fast as before, and for good reason, "This is exactly why I didn't want to joke about this stuff! I don't know what is out there, what else could be happening, and with the idea that the destroyer could come back..." Shedding a tear, Malefor growled as he didn't want to be the one to blame after everything that's happened till this point, "And what if it does?! We've trained, together. We promised to keep everyone safe and you know of my dreams... my hopes... and... I... I would never..."

"Malefor," Spyro whispered in a low tone to him, getting the attention of him and the other two, "I just need to know you have my back. I never said it was you, and I never blamed you. There's been plenty of times you could've killed us, especially me, and in the dark state I was in during that... nightmare... The Dark Master could've taken control over me and... I definitely wouldn't have been able to do anything to stop me from... killing..." Getting his mind off of it, he went back to what he said before, "I can't do this alone... And... I almost gave up by saying I didn't want to train cause... what would be the point," Looking to his lover, she gave a weak smile, and for him, he gave a sigh as he thought about it, "But we all have someone to protect... There's always something to fight for," Taking a look back to Malefor, he was once again honest with him, "If... you are still the Dark Master... you can take my life... but not everyone else's..."

"Hehe... do you know how long the Dark Master has been trying to do that?" Malefor chuckled, wiping off a tear as he tried to stay positive, "You're right though... if there is a Dark Master out there, or even the Destroyer.. We have to be prepared for anything... And trust me, if I wanted to destroy the world, it would be pretty stupid of me to not take you out first after you pulled the earth back together last time."

"And if that does happen... If the Destroyer really is out there... I'm going to need your help and power to help pull the earth together if it successfully does what it was made to do... I don't want Cynder to experience what she had to go through last time... Even after we beat you... she stayed with me... But we have to make sure this doesn't happen, no matter the cost."

"And we will be ready. As we said in the Chambers; You watch my back, and I watch yours," Malefor smiled getting a small smile from Spyro, and also to show he really was himself, he gave a joke as he chuckled, "Just so you know though, I am really looking forward to tomorrow and, I heard something about you two making a sand castle. Just so you know, I once made a sand castle so big, you could walk inside of it with even some windows."

"Hehe... That was a joke, wasn't it?"

"Guess we will just have to find out tomorrow... But no, it wasn't a joke."

"Then I expect to see a Castle from that sand castle of yours."

"That's a game on from me..." Now that the two were smiling towards one another, Malefor wanted him to know more about what was happening with him in case of suspicion, "And... I wasn't shaking or scared cause you possibly found out my plans, because... I don't have one. I'm just... I thought you were... just going to kill me out of fear or something and... Hehe... I've never been a big fan of death."

"You thought I would kill you? In front of your lover."

"I see what you did there. You wouldn't hit a guy with glasses, would you kind of thing... Well, good news for me, I'm always with Carith. So I'm safe."

"Just... be prepared for anything... I'm serious... I will be relying on your help."

"And I won't break that trust. We are almost friends after all so... I'm not messing up my second chance."

"I hope... We will see you two tomorrow then," Spyro said to the two, earning nods from them, and as the two walked to their room, he turned and did the same, "Come on my love," With her turning and walking to their room, he reached up, grabbed the door knob, and twisted it, opening up the door as he pushed against it, "What I day... Malefor's right... First what happened with Ersa, and then today... we need a break." Walking into the room, Cynder was right behind him, and as the door had shut, he heard what sounded like something falling, and looking behind himself, it was his lover, "Cynder?!"

Turning around and running over to her, it seemed like she was having a heart attack, breathing heavily as she looked to the ground on her knees. Putting a wing underneath her belly and another one on her back, he tried to comfort her as he didn't know what was happening, "Cynder..? This is a stupid question but... Is everything okay...? Did something happen?"

Trying to control her shivers, Cynder's teeth shivered for a second as she tried to speak, and trying to clear her air way, it helped as she used her wind power to help herself out. Now that she was able to control her breathing, she was slowly but surely able to help the rest of her body, "I... I..." Clenching her eyes shut to get the tears out her eyes to help her vision, she opened them back up and apologized, "Sorry... I... I just... Today definitely wasn't as good as I was hoping..." Now able to stand to her paws, she struggled some more and still needed his help, "Hehe... I... almost died today... then the thing with what you said of the darkness and... I guess I'm scared that... I might fight you again... just like the past... but you should be the one fearing... not me... So... why aren't you?"

"I should've never used that wish for myself... And all this is my fault," Spyro growled at himself, and seeing how his lover was, he knew the best he could was help her out and try to change how she felt, "I'm not... as scared. Dark Creatures aren't a problem, and neither is another dark master. And if the destroyer is out there, and it does... succeed... I know I have Malefor to back me up... And I hope he knows just how much trust I'm asking from him..." Thinking way back to before, it was another way to calm himself as he didn't believe it, "I also don't think it's the destroyer cause... Ignitus told me it was destroyed... that the lava was too hot and in a way... I guess melted it..." Putting a paw on her chest, he couldn't handle having the darkness he gave her in her body anymore, "I need to take the darkness I gave you out... Everything about today... Just proves that I'm not the man I thought I was."

"Don't!" Cynder cried, putting her paw over his and pushing his paw against her chest, "You feel my heart beat... don't you? It's because of you that I'm still alive... You didn't put my life in danger, that darkness did, a darkness that you've never known about. I trust you... You have control of your darkness... One thing to take away from all that was how you were able to fight it... to save me," Taking his paw off her chest, she laid it to the ground while still holding his paw, and giving a blush, she giggled as well every time she thought about it, "And... I know we keep going back to this but... Malefor's right. The way you used your tail blade to stop the darkness from kill me... That was really... sexy..." Whispering her last words a little away from him, it confused him on what she said.

"What?"

"Nothing! Look, just, help me to the bed and... If you think I'm mad at you, don't waste your time. You'll see how much I still love you when we lay down... but... if you do want to do something for me... Maybe you can get Ignitus to give us that sleep power thing so we can stay up all night together... I don't see why it would be a problem. After all, it was technically his fault for giving you something he had no idea of what it would do..."

"Ooohhhh... Harsh... Like it though."

"The part where we stay up all night, or that even after being myself, I can still be evil?"

"Both," Spyro quickly responded with a smile, getting his lover to laugh, "But mainly the evil part... At least we have an idea of what we will do tonight."

"Oh yeah... I'm going to have fun with this."


	20. Chapter 20: A Day At The Beach

Chapter 20: A Day At The Beach

"Um... S-s-sir...?" Inside of Flint's personal room, a red dragon took careful steps as he approached him to what looked like a sleeping body, curved like a ball and facing straight, "Sorry to wake you but... We have news," Hearing there was news, Flint opened one eye to look at the red dragon, and knowing he shouldn't waste his time, he was quick to say, "I just wanted to inform you that... Well, the Destroyer has been successfully dug up around the area. Now we just need to move it to a secure location, but... It's entirely too heavy of course and all attempts to use our abilities have been... Worthless."

"Has anyone see the Destroyer?" Flint asked, opening up his other eye and picking up his head to speak with the Dragon.

"No sir. We've had guards be on the look out for you, so the location of the Destroyer is still very much unknown to anyone out there."

"Good," Standing up on his rock bed, he walked off it and onto the ground, saying as he walked past the other dragon, "This means that, here soon, I will need to pay a friend a visit." Stopping as he made it to the middle of the room, he looked back at the red dragon and informed him of their next move, "Things are moving as they should. I shall use my powers to help escort the Destroyer. Get dragons to clear a path to our Mountain, and to cover our tracks, use earth dragons to tear up the path and surrounding area to make it seem like there was just a massive fight." The red dragon nodded at his orders, and taking in the information, he walked over to the entrance and out to the main area to get ready, "Now... I have a good enough dark army, but... I need them here, or if need be, I shall send them out as well. But for the time being, I will use the apes for now. With the apes attacking Warfang, and the Destroyer making it's way to where it needs to be, there's no way Spyro could do anything to stop it," Chuckling at himself as he believed this to be an unbeatable plan, all that was left was to meet someone, "Now, Ignitus. It's up to you. Either give me Cynder... Or it's on you that everyone's lives are going to be taken."

* * *

"Cynder?!" Spyro cried, running from his door over to the bed where Cynder laid with a rock made chain around her neck, "No no no..." Jumping up onto the bed and looking down on her as she laid to her side, almost as though she were dead, he couldn't handle seeing her like this, "Cynder... Please... Please wake up..." Putting his forehead into the side of her shoulder, he begged in a whisper once again, "Please..." Hearing a small grumble, he picked his head up quick and looked down on her to see she had awoken, "Cynder!"

"S... Spyro?" Cynder weakly said, opening up her eyes and looking up at him, "How... How did you find me? And how did you get past all the Dark troops?"

"Hehe... That wasn't hard at all... The hardest part... was knowing you were taken from me," Spyro cried as he put his paws around her earth made chain and ripped it into two, "There we go... Now, we need to get out of here," Looking around his room for a way to get out, he looked to his door and smiled as he knew this was perfect for their escape, "There we go! Let's just go back the way I came," Looking to see his lover who still hadn't moved, she had a frown, and he didn't understand why she wasn't moving, "What's wrong...?"

"This is all my fault that you had to go through all this work to save me and I... I'm sorry."

"Well... I guess I... I know you'd do the same for me," Looking away from her with a frown, he knew what was to come, and knew these would be his final words to her, "I'm sorry... Cynder. This is probably the last time we will be able to speak to one another as... Ignitus told me I would have to use my life to take out the Dark Master's and restore the world..."

"What?!" Cynder cried, scooting her back from underneath him on the bed so she was able to stand up in front of him and get free of him standing above her, "You don't have to do this alone! I can still fight with you."

"I couldn't lose you in this fight, Cynder... If I were to lose you... You'd leave me nothing left to fight for," Spyro frowned in a whisper, looking to his lover with tears in his eyes and knowing there was nothing that could be done.

"There's always something," Cynder whispered, walking to his side and later putting a paw over his and blushing, "I... Want to... help you. We can do this... Together. And... I don't know how you would feel but... if something does happen... and the world is ending... I will be by your side... and... I won't leave you," Moving her face a little closer to his, she turned her head a little to the side, already closing her eyes as to prepare herself, "Because... I love you..."

Pushing her lips against his, Spyro's eyes grew wide for a second as he couldn't believe what he was hearing. _She... loves me... She really loves me?!_ Being gently forced to his back, Cynder now ended on top of him as they kissed with passion, groaning and moaning here and there as they were both happy with how their story went. Draping his wings over her back and closing his eyes, he felt both the pleasure and tiredness from how long they had been awake for. He didn't have the strength to do much though as it seemed Cynder had more strength then him right now, keeping the kiss going smooth while he almost passed out as the back of his head laid gently into the comfort of his bed. She could feel his lips slipping from hers and knew he was about to pass out, so backing her head up while slowly sliding her lips off his, she opened her eyes and waited for him to do the same, and once he had, she giggled at him, shedding a tear she had held in for a while, "That was... much... much better then what really happened..."

"Hehe... Yeah... I really wish I had heard you say that you loved me in the Volcano... I feel like things would've been different... and for the better."

"No no no, remember, Ignitus gave me straight facts about why that would've been a bad thing. And while I don't want to believe him, I'm glad we are here rather then back there."

"Yeah... But, what if, by us falling in love sooner, that would've meant that Malefor would be dead so... I'm not seeing the good side to this."

"Oh stop messing with that poor dragon. The only time the Dark Master even hurt me was in the Volcano and behind Warfang, and I'm sure we've put him through enough punishment that wasn't even his fault."

"Are you sure you're not still under his control and he's just forcing you to love me to keep me from killing him?"

"Well, since it's your darkness that has infected me, no, it's not him, but it might be you."

"So if I gave you free will without the darkness?"

"I would be out of here in seconds. Wouldn't think twice to make you single."

"Oh no..."

"Hehe... So I suggest that you keep controlling me with that darkness of yours if you wish for me to stay," Laying down on his body as she could feel herself also getting tired, she snuggled her head underneath his neck, and closing her eyes, she whispered, "Then again... don't need the darkness to know that this is where I want to be... Plus, remember what I said way back then; With you, I've never felt safer in the darkness... and that's... another reason I trust you so much."

Hearing how highly she talked about him, Spyro smiled wide as he held her close, adjusting his wings a little more forward over her back and snuggling up with her, "Thank you, Cynder..."

* * *

"Excitement excitement excitement!" Malefor exclaimed happily as he couldn't control himself as he walked around in circles in the middle of his room, thinking about all the fun they could have at the beach, "I have a challenge I must prepare for when I make my sand castle which will be priority number one. But after that, think of all the fun we can have! We can deep dive for underwater sea life, we can collect cute looking shells, and mess around in the water by playing like, beach volleyball! Just wonder what we would use for a ball?" Looking to his lover who just laid there, smiling as she watched and listen to his excitement, he chuckled as he missed the most important part, "Well, then again, no beach day would complete without us laying together under the sun," Walking up to his lover, he had the perfect line he had been saving for a while, and as he sat down in front of her, he smiled, "Though, my devotion is to my ocean. That being you as you move just as smoothly as a calming wave, and when the sun reflects off your beautiful blue gems of scales, I can't help but to bow to the one and only holy above all."

After the show he had put on, he wondered what her reaction was going to be, and it was surprising, "Devotion is to my ocean?" Seeing him chuckle as he blushed, she rolled her eyes and asked as she was curious, "If you're so devoted to this, ocean, which, just throwing this out there, makes me think you're calling me fat..."

"Oh! No no no, that's not what I meant at all. And everyone including me has seen your slender body. Your underbelly is perfect for me to lay down on so my chest has a better support when I lay it down against yours," Thinking about how he would be positioned, both him and his lover blushed a little, and he knew he needed to change subjects, "I'm not very good at this old timely stuff... I need to just get back to being my present self. Which, how do I do that again? Anyway, I wanted to ask what you wanted to do as I'm curious."

"You want to... know what I want to do at the beach?" Carith asked, a little surprised that he would ask that, and even with his excitement to know, she surprised him, "Hehe... believe it our not... I've... never been to the beach before," Malefor gasped as he opened his eyes wide, not knowing she had never done such a thing, "I didn't do a lot back then, alright. I didn't read books, I didn't go out all that much and I... I guess I was just... sad and scared."

"Carith, it's okay, I'm not judging you, I'm just surprised," Malefor assured her as he remembered what she had told him so long ago, "I remember you told me of your fears. Your mom had a bad experience with the outside world and because she was stressed out that your dad would do the same, things never really calmed down. Well, it did after we got together but, that took a while as well."

"You... You remember what I told you... Years ago... That... That was from the month we were in love... How do you remember that?"

"What? You think I wasn't listening?"

"I just... You've been corrupted and it's been so long and that was such a small detail and..." Seeing him smile while chuckling, she let these words slip even though she didn't know she had said them until a little bit afterwards, "I love you..." Smiling at his words, she wondered why he was smiling, but then it hit her as her words came back like an echo in her mind, "Did.. Did I just say something to you?"

"You... said you loved me?"

"I... I really do."

"Hehe... I love you too... Are you... feeling okay?"

"I just... Get back up on this bed. I... I need to kiss you... badly."

* * *

Letting out a small yawn, Volteer smacked his lips and shuffled a little as he laid with his mate on their bed in their own room. Both laid on their belly next to one another, and with a wing draped over Ersa's back, Volteer's head rested over his mate's in the middle of both their paws. Opening one eye to look around the room, he smiled to see that nothing was happening and everything was quiet, _Ersa's laying with me once again... Malefor is being an idiot... and... it's nice and quiet. If only the sun wasn't behind us shining through our window... this would be perfect._ Closing his eye once again and trying to go back to sleep, Ersa woke and did the same as Volteer did, opening one eye and looking around the room to see and hear no one was near. Seeing this as an opportunity, she whistled to Volteer which got his attention. Picking his head off hers, he looked down her, wondering what she wanted, "Did I wake you?"

"Of course not... I'm surprised though that you aren't surprised that I'm not working once again for the second night in a row," Ersa giggled, only looking up at him as a way to show that she was venerable to him.

"I thought that was because you were still recovering from last night."

"Fair enough... but no... I've taken what you said to me very seriously. And... looking around... it doesn't look like anyone is awake so," She had to pause as she blushed, but knowing this could work in her favor, she still asked it, "How about you get up and... behind... so you can help me wake up?"

"Hehe... you know that's only going to want you to sleep more."

"Grrrrrrr... That's not the point and you know it."

"But I mean... I guess I could."

"Really!"

"But you don't like being on bottom so... sorry."

"Uh!" Ersa gasped as she picked her head up, and putting a paw on her chest, she felt offended that he would say that, "You dare say no to me?! After all that fighting to be on top, now I'm giving you the opportunity but you're saying no?" Wondering what it could be, she could see the blush on his face getting wider, and she already had a good enough idea as she felt the same, "You like... Seeing me... is that it?"

"Ahem!" Volteer coughed before swallowing hard and convincing to her, "Yeah..."

Giving a sigh, she felt good to know how he felt, "You don't know how much I love you."

"Well... you saying my name a couple hundred times the night before was a pretty good indication."

"Don't you dare tell anyone that! Not even the girls!" Ersa blushed hard that he would bring that up in this conversation, slapping his chest with her paw and making him laugh.

"I won't, I won't, I swear, and plus, why would I? Some things do still need to be private. But, I was wondering, if today does go as well as we are all hoping... Do you, want to end the night off...?"

"Yes! Absolutely!" He blushed to hear how quickly she responded to him, and she gave herself a blush as she was honest, "Well it's not my fault that you turned out to be ten times better then I thought you'd be... By being a man! Not other things if that's what your thinking..." Blushing once again, she gave a sigh as she was once again honest, "But if you were thinking that too... That would also be true.. so very true."

"Still got some time to kill, my love. Bet I can give you a kiss to satisfy till we get to the beach."

"Hehe... I would love to see you try."

* * *

Pushing his door open, Malefor walked out of his room with his lover and continued a conversation he was having, "I'm surprised how badly you wanted that kiss. Of course I would remember something like that, especially since I had to help you through it."

"I know... well, I didn't really know cause it was a surprise but... I'm just glad that you really were listening back then. Thought you probably didn't care," Carith was honest as they made their way over to the other bedroom, and even though she felt bad about what she was saying, he could only chuckle.

"Carith, you saw me when I thought you left me for someone else. After that day, I made sure to keep a close eye and listen to everything you were saying in case something ever happened," Knocking on the other bedroom door, he waited for a response, but not hearing anything for a couple of seconds, he gave a sigh and said, "Spyro... I know you two are in there. You have all day to kiss at the beach so hurry it up," Hearing a growl from the other side of the door, he knew he could open the door, and as he grabbed the door knob and opened the door, he wasn't surprised to see Cynder laying on top of Spyro, "Another day... Another same old same old WHAT IS THAT!" Looking over to the right side of the bed while the other two lovers on the left looked over, they saw the rock shaped chain, and Spyro mentally slapped himself as he had forgotten to destroy it, "You two... Is that... is that a chain?! That's a freaking chain!"

Bringing up his paw and crushing the rock chain into nothing, Spyro looked over at Malefor and growled from how the day was already going, "I didn't say you could walk in now did I?!" Knowing the two were going to fight, Cynder back off his chest and stood on the bed next to him, and as he rolled over to stand up on the bed as well, he continued to yell at him, "What is the point of these doors if you're just going to walk in every single time."

"Look, a growl could've been a yes, or a no, or a, hey I'm in trouble help me out like, how am I supposed to know? Your mouth isn't just for Cynder, you use your words with it too." Malefor teased him, and the more he teased him, the more his anger grew, "And also, that chain thing... If you want the chain back so badly, give me a second to control my dark power and I can put it back on for you two love birds," Now seeing the darkness rise from Spyro's body, he knew now would be a good time to stop and change things around, "Alright alright alright, I'm sorry. Just messing around. Like I said, the days have been... They haven't been kind to us. So I want this day to be all about relaxation. I've put you all through enough, and I admit that, and for today, I will show you I can be different, so I will be there to support you."

The nice guy act that Malefor was putting on didn't sit right for Spyro as he didn't trust him one bit, but he knew it would be nice if he did change things around for once and agreed to what he was saying, "Three more day, Malefor. Today, tomorrow, and then the following day, I will make you my friend. This is a day where I need you to prove yourself, as I said yesterday about you having my back..." Calming himself down as he sat, thinking about what he felt during his dark transformation was still something he couldn't get off his mind, "I'm still... scared about the whole, Destroyer... thing."

"Spyro, come on, it's fine," Malefor said happily as he walked up to him to try his best to comfort him, "Look, with your power and mine, we can just make a massive earth wall and push it back to stop it. Or, you and I can do as you and Cynder did before where you flew into it to destroy it. And since I'm not the Dark Master, and nothing out there can control it unless they are basically a full on Dark Master, then there's nothing to worry about," Sitting down in front of his bed, surprisingly enough, his words were working, "We're going to be fine. And look on the bright side; If I does come back, it's just another reason for you to trust me when I help you. Or, an even brighter side, you get to knock my teeth in if you still aren't sure," His voice went a little low as to show his passion in his voice when he continued, "But either way, we're making it out together... friend or not, I'm there."

Cynder looked at Carith in awe since she had never really known this side of Malefor even though it had been showing from time to time, but for Carith, she knew this side a little better then the others. Even for Spyro, it felt strange to him to hear a comforting voice from his past enemy, and even more surprising to him was that it actually worked on him. Putting a paw up for a second, Spyro couldn't help but smile as he said, "Alright alright, leave the comforting to me and my lover."

"You're right, you're right. Just wanted to try and help," Malefor agreed, putting both paws up before putting them back to the ground and turning to walk away.

"But hey... Malefor," Hearing his name called, he turned to look at Spyro, "That... doesn't mean what you said didn't help me... just know that." Malefor nodded at him, smiling as he turned and walked over to his lover, and after what had happened, Spyro looked to his lover and whispered, "I'm still going to be watching him... something doesn't feel right."

"Yeah... do you really think he can get that chain back for us?" Cynder giggled, getting wide eyes from Spyro.

"Cynder..."

"What...? It wasn't as bad of a time as I remember. Since... having you there I knew that I... wouldn't wake up alone as I had all those years."

"Oh... yeah..." Feeling a little bad as thinking about it, he was surprised he hadn't see that sooner, and he hoped that there was something he could do, "Hehe, well, if it makes you feel any better, me and you are kinda already chained together now more then ever since, we're in love now," She smiled at his help, nuzzling his cheek as a thank you for a couple of seconds, and now that he was thinking about it, he had an idea, "Maybe Malefor can help me in understanding how to use my dark power to bring it back. But then again, he also said that chain was meant to kill us so..."

"We can stick to the rock chain."

"Yeah, we should."

"Not exactly comfortable though."

"I'm pretty sure being in a chain isn't supposed to be."

"Then again, this chain of love that connects me and you sure is comfortable."

"Oh... it is, isn't it."

Seeing the two go in for a kiss after what was said, Malefor looked to his lover and said, "Think we're going to be here a little longer... Let's just wait out in the hallway while they are... talking," Turning with his lover to walk out of the room, they made it to the middle of the hallway, and as Carith stopped in front of him, he chuckled, "Not asking, but you know I'm going to be taking," It was confusing at first what he meant, but having her lips sealed with his, a quick shock of pleasure made the mystery solved for her.

* * *

Taking her lips back away from her lover's, Claire stood above Ignitus as she looked down on him, and for once, he was on his back on their bed, which she found very pleasing, "You know, I could get use to this, being up here and you down there makes me feel powerful, like I succeeded in my assassination job... Just not completely."

"Oh, no no no, don't get use to it," Ignitus chuckled, wings sprawled outwards on the bed as he was prepared to use them against her, "So you, tamed, the Chronicler as to per say, but there isn't much more that's going to be done after that," Using his wings and bringing them both inwards to close in on her body, she saw both of his wings and stood ready, "Now, I know you don't want to fight this, so it's either you're going to get on your back willingly, or... Well, why not just accept the, or, part?"

"Try it, and I will make sure those wings of yours can't be used for the next hour."

"And how will you do that?"

Letting a breeze of her ice escape from her body to cool the area, he watched as the cool breeze of ice started to escape from her nose, and even her mouth as she smiled, "You really don't think I have my ways? Remember, my ice has proven to be mighty deadly in the past, and while I most certainly don't appreciate blocking your airway to live," Reaching a paw up and grabbing the top of his wing, she giggled, "You don't need to move these wings of yours to live."

Growing through his teeth, smiling as he found this fun, Ignitus knew he was backed into a corner, "huh... The tables have turned, haven't they?"

Giving a giggle to his words, she wondered what that would mean to him, "Nice try, my love, but I'm not some simple female. Now, I know you don't want to fight this, so it's either you're going to stay on your back willingly or..." Getting her lips close to his as so he could feel the cold from her breaths, she did as he said to her, "Well, why not accept the, or, part?" Seeing as he was at a lost for words with only a smile to be shown, she knew she had him trapped, which was all fine for her, "It's good that even someone such as yourself knows when he's been... tamed."

"I think it would've been funny to see one of you do the or part to be honest," A voice said, scaring the two and looking over to their right to see it was Cyril who had spoken, "Seeing you freeze over Ignitus's wings would be both enjoyable and funny," Sitting up on his bed and stretching, he gave himself a chuckle as he thought about it, "Something tells me your clone isn't very good at it's job and needs to be fired."

"Wait... What? How long did all you hear what we were talking about?" Ignitus asked, confused as to why his clone wasn't using the power to mute out their words.

"We heard about halfway through," Terrador spoke, and while everyone looked over to him, he was doing the same, sitting up on his bed and stretching himself out, "It was nice that we didn't have to hear lips smacking, and even though you two were flirting, hearing Claire threaten you is pretty funny. Thought the Chronicler was the most powerful thing out there," Ignitus had looked away from them and looked down at his chest, thinking about what had happened, and while he was doing that, Terrador chuckled, "Oh how the mighty fall in love... Well, not all of the mighty."

"Clam down fall out boy. But, it would make sense of why you haven't found love since, hehe, You aren't that mighty.," Cyril chuckled at him.

"Cyril..."

"Joking, joking..."

 _Why isn't my clone..._ Thinking to himself, Ignitus closed his eyes, and using his thoughts, he talked with his clone to figure out what was happening, _hey, is, everything okay over at the White Isles?_ For a second, he didn't get a response which frightened him, but once he got a response, he wish he hadn't, _"Sorry, Ignitus, but... Our fears are coming true. Something didn't feel right and while you were busy, I went to investigate... And I saw... it... It's the Destroyer. He has it, and he's going to pay us a visit here soon, I just don't know when."_ His shivers were sever enough to be felt even through his wing, and since Claire's paw was still on his wing, she felt the sever shiver and looked down on him. His face turned to anger, and while she didn't know why, he kept thinking as to what to do, _Damn it... Damn it!_ His anger caused his teeth to show which everyone focused on, _"Ignitus... I know this is bad timing and all but, everyone is looking at you."_ Giving a sigh as he opened his eyes, he looked up to see the fear on Claire's face, _Hold out for a bit, okay._ Reaching a paw up to the side of her cheek, she rested her head on his paw for comfort, and he spoke out loud, "We're going to the beach for now... So we will be fine."

 _"Alright... Me and the other Ignitus here will keep you posted."_ With his clone going back to different kinds of works, Ignitus knew it would best if they weren't in a place he would know of, _He knows where we are, and last thing I need is for him and Spyro to face one another. I don't know how his friendship is with Spyro... But... Malefor, this is up to you my friend._ Taking his paw back from her face, she supported her own head, and now he knew they needed to move some place safe, "Hey... I know this is a little sudden but, maybe it would be best if we hurry to the beach. Getting everyone ready now while the sun is still at it's best would be good." They all agreed to his words, nodding and getting off their beds, and with Claire letting go of his wing and getting off the bed herself, he rolled to his stomach and saw her look at him, "It's... okay... my love."

"You've never been a good liar..." Claire called out his obvious attempts to try and comfort her, even though she knew he was trying.

Looking away from his lover and over to the other two Guardians as they had walked out of the Sleeping Chambers and into the main Chambers, he sighed as he knew he couldn't lie to her, "Something is... going to happen sooner or later..." Looking over to Claire, he continued, "The one that forced you to attack me... He's making a move..."

"What?!"

"I know... That's why we need to get out if this place as soon as we can," Looking behind himself, so did Claire, and walking up to them was another Ignitus clone, "He will stay here and watch over in case he decides to turn up and try anything. He shouldn't know that we are at the beach, so while we are there enjoying ourselves, hopefully I can learn what he wants, and I can just... compromise something for him to not use the weapon he has..."

"And... wh... what's the weapon...?"

Giving a sigh, his face turned turned to a frown as he looked down, not wanting to give the truth, but he knew having her know rather then not would hopefully be more comforting, "It's... The Destroyer."

* * *

Taking his lips back away from hers, Spyro gave a sigh as he still sat in front of his lover, and with both giving a sigh from their kiss, he couldn't help but frown even as she smiled. Giving a giggle as she opened her eyes, she was about to say something, but seeing his frown as he opened his eyes as well, she didn't know if this had to do with what she had said. Looking up at his lover, Spyro wrapped his wings over her back and rested his head over her left shoulder, hugging her, which was a surprise to Cynder as it seemed sudden. She enjoyed the embrace, and after what she had said and how he was acting, she knew how to comfort him, "Spyro, it's okay, that time is past us now, and I'm fine."

"I... I know... I just... wish I had seen it like that before... I might've never left you to train during those nights," Spyro was honest, letting a single tear drip down from his eyes.

Feeling the tear hit her back, she shivered from the sudden cold feeling, and now that he was down, she knew a way to turn things around, "Careful there... Malefor specifically said that no one was to be sad tomorrow, and if he catches you shedding tears, he might hurt you," It was enough to get him to chuckle and for her to giggle, "You need the break, my love," Taking his head back, he looked her in the eyes as she continued, "Spyro... You do remember what we just did in the morning, don't you?"

"Hehe... of course I do."

"That... is what I've always hoped for, and... As I've already said before, I'm already happy with everything I have..."

"Is Spyro crying in there?" Malefor called from out in the hallway, and instead of Cynder being able to even say anything, he had already walked back up to the door and looked into the room, "Oh my... Spyro, dude, come on. Are you even a guy? I know it's supposed to be a joke and all but... Damn man. For a guy who is supposed to be strong, I feel like that little heart of yours is WAY stronger in the art of whining."

While Spyro growled, Cynder wanted to defend her lover with what was said, "We were talking about the chain, Malefor, and how, afterwards, when it was gone... I was scared that he would leave me since... It was the first time I had someone in years."

Giving wide eyes, Malefor now understood and felt bad that he had said something now, "Oh... I... sorry, I... didn't know."

"It's alright," Spyro sighed, taking his wings from his lover's back and looking at Malefor as he growled, "Just gives me another reason to hurt you even worse on our day of friendship," Hearing a nervous chuckle from Malefor, the two watched as he backed his head out from the doorway and went back to being with his lover, "You know," Looking back at one another, Spyro continued, "He, is the only thing I think I failed on. I feel like you and Carith could've still been friends if he kicked the bucket... Accidentally."

"Would you like to see?"

"Hehe, absolutely!" The two shared a nice laugh for a second, but as the laughing died down, he had to give a sigh and be honest about how he felt, "But, of course, not really. I really... enjoy him by my side to be honest."

"Well then, seems as though nothing has changed."

"And I guess I... like it that way... I really do."

* * *

"That was definitely the stupidest thing I could've done," Walking over to his lover as Malefor turned away from the door, he sat down to the right of his lover nearest to his bedroom door and gave a sad sigh, "I thought it was something simple like... with what happened yesterday but, it was about how, Cynder was scared that, with this chain that use to connect the two... It disappeared... And she was scared that Spyro would've left her with the Chain gone..." Carith felt a little bad as well as he told it, but he was able to apologize more to the two as they had walked out of the room side by side with Spyro's wing draped over her back, "Spyro," Looking at the two as they walked over and stood in front of them, he apologized as they faced him, "I'm... sorry, once again for, what I said... That was... severely uncalled for."

"Malefor, it's fine, alright..." What he had said still didn't make Malefor believe that to be true which made Spyro roll his eyes, smiling as he knew he would now have to help him out, "I stayed by Cynder's side when ever she needed me, okay. I made sure she was protected while I was gone, and I made sure to protect her even when I wasn't, so it's fine!" Seeing him smile now, Spyro gave a chuckle as to add some sense of joy, "Nice day to not cry. Weird how it turns from you helping me to me helping you. We should agree, next one to mop, gets punched in the gut?"

"Hehe... Whoa there, Spyro. What if it's one of the females? What if it was Cynder?"

"You think I would punch one of the girls in the gut! I'm not stupid, Malefor. I'm saying, if it has to do with a female, then the lover gets punched cause, we're dudes."

"Spyro... I'm feeling under the weather," Cynder murmured, giving a sniffle as to show her sadness.

"Oh ho ho... You know what that mean, Spyro?" Balling up his fist, Malefor was ready for the punch, but Spyro wasn't.

"Never mind! It was a joke!" Spyro cried out, stopping Malefor quickly as he knew he would punch him, and now with that out of the way, he looked to his lover and smirked, "That was really evil."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Cynder giggled.

"Cynder beat me to it too. I was going to start fake crying as well just to see what would happen," Carith admitted which made Malefor look at her with wide eyes and a frown, "I would've done something... Maybe... Look, the point is, we are all going to enjoy this day to the fullest. I was wondering if you could help me make a sand castle as well my love, and maybe..." Putting a paw over his, she curled a claw around his chest in a teasing manner as she spoke, "And you can show me how you do it..." She knew she was trying to be flirty, but with what she had said, differently to what she wanted to say, she saw everyone's wide eyes and corrected as she backed her paws away from him, "Not what was meant to be said...! What I wanted to say was... you can make me the queen of your castle while you be my king."

"Oh... Hehe... of course. But I do have to say, you have to prove yourself to being my queen, or, you must bring something for the king to show your loyalty," Malefor flirted back at her.

"Loyalty...? And would my, body, suffice?"

"Hehe... Instantly, you would be allowed as my queen."

"Oh you guys are all the same," Cynder sighed, shaking her head as she knew that's how that would go.

"Not me... I would never do such a thing," Spyro defended himself, and now the other two wondered what he would say, "You're a female, and there for should already be respected as a queen as I see it," His words already sparked a smirk from his lover, and he knew he had to try his best to out do Malefor's words, "And while all women are queens, my lover is above all, and her name alone is a rank above all," Seeing her lick her lips, that was pretty good indication that he was doing a good job, but he wanted to throw in a joke, "Then again, that's also because your body is unlike that of any female so..."

"There it is," Malefor chuckled.

"You think Ersa is the same with Volteer?" Carith wondered.

"We're going to have to ask her, as well as Claire. But for now, Spyro, we need to have a little talk about what you've said," Even with her smile, the seriousness in her voice sent shivers down his spine and he obeyed her very quickly, "You better be scared," Looking away from her lover, she looked at the two and said, "We will see you two down there," They nodded at her and watched as she bumped her back side against his for him to get a move on and he did as he was informed, "So, about your words."

Watching as the two walked away and over towards the door, Malefor backed his head up as he saw the sweat drip from Spyro's forehead which was a scary sign to him, and once the door had opened for the two and they made their way out the house, he looked to his lover and asked with slight fear, "I did good... Right?" Seeing her smile just before she nuzzled her side against his, it was a good sign, but even better for him, she nuzzled the top of her head underneath his mouth which made him shiver, "Ahhhhhh... That feels amazing..." Realising his words even as she had backed her head up, she didn't see his words as a problem until he said something to her, "That... Hehe... sounded a little strange."

"Get use to those words," Carith whispered, making him blush red, "Now come on. I want to see how the others are doing." Nodding at her, he stood up with her and proceeded to walk over towards the door that had stayed opened, allowing them to easily walk right out of the house and down the stairs, "You know, I am really excited about this beach trip, and even more excited to see all the fun we can have. We've been in this building for quite some time that, it's nice to get out and have some fresh air."

"We had that all out brawl more then a week ago. We went to the Temple, you had a girls day out with both Claire and Ersa, and now we are going to the beach now so... If you really don't like it here, I can talk with the..."

"No!" Her sudden outburst scared him, and she apologized as she tried not to shed a tear for it, "I don't want you to get punched in the stomach, even though I know it was a joke, but... I don't ever want to not have this building as my home. It's nice to get out here and there but... This is my home, with you and the others and I... don't ever want to lose that."

"Oh... Sorry, Carith, I... didn't mean it like that."

"You were trying to help, that's all."

Making their way down the hallway, their conversation was cut short as they saw what looked to be a purple figure holding something against the wall. To both of their surprises, it was Spyro and Cynder that were against the wall. Cynder stood on her two back paws against the wall, and in front of her was Spyro standing up on his two back paws. The two had their front paws around one another's as he held her paws back against the wall, along with her wings sprawled on the wall. Seeing as they two were making out against the wall, both were shocked to see what they were doing, and it was such a surprise to them, and Carith accidentally interrupted their moment, "Wh... What the hell happened?"

Since the two had caught up, Spyro knew they couldn't continue and backed up from the kiss. As he did, he took his paws back and got back down on his four paws. For Cynder, she was still in awe over the moment and fell forward, forgetting she was even standing. Using his wings to catch her, her two paws and head landed gently on his shoulder with the help of his wings, while his other wing supported her stomach to help her not fall. Her back legs had at least supported herself for a bit, and even as she was coming back from the kiss, she used every second to rest with his help. Opening up her eyes and giving out a slight moan, still thinking about what had happened, she backed off of him and was able to support herself now as she stood on all fours. Taking his wings back, the two looked at one another, and while Cynder was giving slightly sped up breaths with her tongue hanging out her mouth, Spyro stood there and smiled at her, knowing what he had done. Carith was a little jealous now as she wished Malefor would do something like that, even teasing him as she grumbled, "You never kissed me like that before."

"WH...!" Malefor gasped, looking at his lover to see her looking away and blushing.

Trying to control her blush, she looked straight and walked over to Cynder, asking her as she stood next to her right side, "Is... everything okay?"

"And what did you do to make such a... situation happen?" Malefor asked, walking up to the two as well, now standing next to his lover once again, "And Carith," Saying her name and getting her attention, he swore to her, "Something like that, I can guarantee I can do infinitely time more better then Spyro ever could..."

"No you can't..." Cynder now spoke, catching the attention of the two, and putting her tongue back in her mouth, she smirked to see her lover still smiling, "Damn you for being so... Ugh! Works can't describe what you did," Taking a couple steps towards him, now being face to face, she teased him, "Do something like that again and I... I..."

Seeing her body shiver with pleasure, the two knew they would be here even longer if someone didn't say something, and so Carith took the lead, "Hey... Cynder... I know that was... something but, maybe we should get to the beach first and then you can continue what ever had happened," Cynder gave a huge sigh as she knew they did need to keep going, and Carith giggled while also apologizing, "Sorry... Can't have you one upping me and Malefor, and also, we still have to ask the girls or, the guys, what they would say to their lover's."

"I know... I know," Sighing once again, she smiled, knowing what to do as to tease him for the time being, "You may have saved me after being captured, but," Using the tip of her claw and gently going down his neck, she threatened him, "Do something like that again, and you'll lose that neck of yours." Even as a threat, they knew it was for fun which only made Spyro shiver more for what she had said, "You better be afraid."

"What a turn of events... Hey, remember when it was just me, you, and the Guardians?" Malefor chuckled, trying to not feel anymore uncomfortable then he already was.

Turning away from her lover and making his way to the Chambers, Spyro and the other two followed close behind as they made their way to the Chambers. Since they had already been walking for some time, the Chambers weren't far, and making it to the entrance, the four walked into the open space. Same as before, Spyro and Cynder walked to the left wall from the entrance while Malefor and Carith made their way to the right wall. Spyro looked to see everyone was sitting where they normally sat as well with all the Guardians and the two lover's being next to their males, "Good, you all are awake as well."

"We are usually out here before you all the time," Cyril chuckled.

"I'm surprised Volteer and Ersa are even out here," Malefor pointed out, and the two already knew what he was suggesting by saying that, "Hey, Terrador, how long did it take those two to get out here once you four sat down out here?"

"It did not take that long," Volteer grumbled.

"Yeah, Malefor, Volteer took much longer," Ersa said out right, and some got what she had said while others didn't, "Which is an amazing thing."

Now seeing her blush, everyone now knew what she was talking about and Terrador interrupted the romance, "Alright, calm down you two," His words caused the two mates to laugh with one another, still blushing with what was said, "Malefor... It's crazy now more then ever to think you were a villain, especially with the way you act. Even after the day we met you, you still haven't changed your Hatchling ways."

"Which is crazy cause, while I didn't change, you have, by losing more muscle and looks as time goes," Malefor fought with him.

"Last I recall, your ugly ass was going to stay that way cause not even Carith wanted to kiss you when you came back."

"HA!" Spyro laughed out loud before apologising, "Sorry... Hehe... But he is telling the truth."

"Alright, calm down, I get I was asking for it, but remember, this is supposed to be a nice get together of friends. So, now that we are all here, what do you say we all start to head out. Or, if Ignitus would be a nice dragon and teleport us out there instead, that would give us more energy to do stuff, like beach volleyball in the water!"

"Where are we going go get a ball?" Ignitus asked.

"You are literally the one above all. If the Ancestors are going to get butt hurt over you making a freaking ball, then you need a new job."

"I mean... I... guess I could."

"Guess? Ignitus, are you feeling okay?"

"Me?"

"Yes you, boy. What is going on with you."

"Nothing, Alright. Just thinking," Ignitus lied about what he had said, "Look, I can make a ball, Alright. Just, what ever we need, I can make as long as it isn't something unreal. I can make us buckets and a beach ball along with other small stuff, but anything else I would need permission for."

"We will be fine! Ignitus, I think you need a shock of lightning or something in you cause you're looking down."

"And so is Claire," The girls all pointed out, and since Ignitus was down as well as her, they all came to the same conclusion, "Is it relationship problems?"

"What?!" Claire was surprised to hear the girls say, but she shot that down quick, "No, it's nothing like that, it's just..." Pausing for a second, she looked to Ignitus, trying to keep her voice calm and soothing as to help both of them out, "My love, we will be fine. You helped me, and now I can help you the same. Please... Let us enjoy this day... No worries, no fighting just... simple fun."

"Is something wrong?" Spyro asked, getting serious as it seemed like they were going to have to fight something, "Ignitus, if it's something that's going to harm us, me and Malefor need a warning now to act on."

"Yeah, and even if it is a threat, me and Spyro have become pretty good at working together so, if you're worried we might get hurt," Flexing out his muscles as intimidation, he went from serious to joking in seconds as he eased his muscles, "But no seriously, hehe... What is out there, Ignitus? Me, Spyro, and the other Guardians, weak as they may be, can put up one hell of a fight."

"Hey, Ersa, Malefor thinks I'm weak," Volteer whispered to his mate.

"Oh... Well, he doesn't know what you've done so, forget him," Ersa waved a paw, causing the two mates to laugh, "But uh... When we going to have more fun?"

"Don't you remember?"

"Ah yes, see how today goes, got it... Just excited."

Since Spyro had called out Malefor's name rather quickly as a partner, it did give him high hopes that he was worrying for nothing, _If I keep acting as I am now, I will just make everyone fear, and after telling Claire about the Destroyer... How scared she was... I need to be the one to comfort her, as I did in our Chambers._ Now giving a smile and giving a huge sigh, he was slightly honest with them, "I'm afraid as I know we will be attacked soon, that's all I can say, but... Hearing you two... Knowing that you can work together... I believe in you all... I really do."

"We're going to be attacked?" Spyro chuckled, "By what? Who would be dumb enough to attack us? Apes? Dark Creatures?"

"Hehe, yeah, you wish. Bet what ever it is, I can take it down before you," Malefor issued a challenge to him.

"You're on!"

Putting his wing around her back, Ignitus looked to his lover, and as she looked to him, he apologized in a whisper, "I'm sorry that I scared you... I... I shouldn't have said what I did."

"And if you didn't, I only would've feared more. If anything, you could still not have trust in me, and you saying what you did, what if I reported back to who ever this was? It would destroy you... and it would only make what he is doing even easier..." Hearing her say it now, it made him shiver to a point that she had to make sure her follow up words were enough to put those fears to rest, "But you know after what's happened, I'd never do that... and I... found that... what we all do is the only thing I enjoy in life... And, having this day at the beach with you only makes me love you that much more."

"Thank you... Claire," Kissing his lover with a tear dripping down his eye, both Spyro and Malefor saw this, but were way too scared to even try it.

"I'm not punching him in the gut," Malefor rejected the idea.

"Look, it was something stupid I said. No one is getting punched in the gut," Spyro also declined out of fear.

With his lips sliding off his lover's, Ignitus gave a sigh, putting his forehead against Claire's as a show of love, which she gladly accepted. _We'll... We'll be fine... They can do it._ Now feeling at ease with what has happened, he took his head back, smiling as he looked at everyone and got excited as he slapped his paws together, "Alright then. I know this doesn't need to be said as we all know this should happen either way, but let's get out there and have some fun!" Everyone smiled at his enthusiasm to get out there, "And as always," Raising a paw, he was ready to go, "When ever you all are ready." They all knew what was to happen, all closing their eyes, and after hearing the snap of his fingers, he said, "Alright... Open your eyes."

Before he had even said that, the heat from the sun on the back of their scales was very much present. Now as everyone opened their eyes, they all looked out to the ocean as they stood on sand, listening and watching the ocean waves move up the sand before slowly going back down and continuing this cycle. Hearing the ocean waves was calming to almost everyone, but for Cynder, this was a first. Hearing the ocean waves put her almost in a trance, causing her to walk up to the water and look out on the open ocean. Stepping into the wet sand, her paws sunk into it, which immediately scared her, making her jump and back away from the water, but as she backed up, she backed up into someone's chest. Looking behind her, she saw it was Spyro, and she apologized, "Sorry, I..."

"Cynder," Spyro whispered, smiling at her as to keep her calm, "You've never done something like this before," Walking around her and to her left side, she turned with him to face straight, and taking one step at a time, he helped her through it, "Now, when the water comes up to the sand, it makes it all soggy. So, that feeling you have as if the sand is encasing in on you, it's just case your pushing into the soggy sad and going a little deeper into it, very similar to mud," Walking up with her to the watery sand, Cynder shivered, taking a step back from it while Spyro took a step in it, "Now watch..." She did as he said, watching as his paw sunk into the sand as the water came up over his paw, and then slowly making it's way back into the ocean, "It does feel weird, but it's just the sand on your paws, just wet," Taking his paw out from the sand, he showed her his paw, and made sure to move each finger to show her he was fine, "See, all good." Cynder swallowed hard, still scared of what could happen, and he made sure he was with her all the way, "If you want to, me and you put a paw in the wet sand at the same time, okay?"

She was hesitant at first, but remembering back to what he had helped her with before, she trusted him, "You helped me trust water... and how to swim so... I trust you now."

"Thank you," Spyro smiled, "Now, just take one paw up over the sand, and hover over it," She did as she was told, taking a paw up and holding it over the wet sand, still shaking, but feeling his paw go underneath hers, she looked at him, surprised and confused with what he was doing, "I will be your support, okay?" She both smiled and nodded, and looking back at their paws, he said, "Now, when ever you feel comfortable, push my paw into the sand, then, let your paw follow, okay?" Giving a deep sigh, she did as she was told, slowly pushing his paw into the soggy sand, "There you go," With his paw seeping into the sand, her paw followed, and as the wave washed over their paws, both sunk into the sand only by a little, "And then when the wave goes back," Just as he said this, the wave backed away from their paws, "We can pick up our paws at any point during all of that, but just for comfort, I wanted to wait. But now that you felt the feeling, I'm going to raise our paws out the sand, okay?"

"O... okay," Cynder whispered, overcoming her fears slowly but surely.

"Alright," Raising his paw up and letting the sand fall off their paws, the two's paws were now free of the sand, "And to make sure as I showed before, just open and close your paws while moving your fingers," Doing as she was told once again, together, she took her paw from his, and the two moved their fingers while opening and closing their paws, "See? Nothing to worry about my love," Putting her paw back to the ground as he did the same, she gave another sigh before looking back at him, "Now there are also tides and stuff like that, but we aren't going to go..."

With the help he had given her, she couldn't resist and kissed his lips from the help that he had given her. While her eyes were already closed to enjoy the kiss, his grew wide for a second before closing themselves. Shedding a tear out her eye, she pulled away from the kiss, and as he opened his eyes, she had done the same and giggled, "Thank goodness you were just joking about that punching thing..." Sharing a laugh with his lover, she smiled wide with him, thanking him for his help, "Thank you... Spyro... my love... I would've never been able to do something like that without you... And... I never guessed you'd be helping me through so much in my life."

"I try all I can... You deserve it..."

"I'm so sorry but," Hearing one of the girls say something, all the girls joined in as they teased her, "That was the cutest thing we've ever seen in our lives!"

All the girls laughed, and even the guys had to laugh themselves for what was said, but for Cynder, she growled with a blush, angry that they would say that, "You girls are horrible."

"Hehe," Spyro chuckled, and with how everything went, thinking back to the past, Cynder had to give out a giggle as well, "Well, Now that we are on the beach, what would you like to do?"

"The only thing I know is sand castles as you've suggested and something about beach volleyball... But being honest, after what's happened, I just want to... rest... And... I'm sorry if that ruins your fun."

"You think me laying with you ruins my fun? Laying on the beach is fun. It's nice and relaxing, which, I guess that's something I should bring up," Looking back over to Ignitus, he wondered if their was something he could do for comfort, "Hey, Ignitus, do you think there is anything you can do to help out with comfortable laying? Me and Cynder are use to laying on the ground, but the sand, not so much. And if the sun gets any hotter, this sand is going to burn our paws."

"What?!" Cynder cried.

"Hehe, not actually my love. The sand will just get warm from the sun and it will feel like our paws are hot, not on fire."

"Oh my... Goodness, you two are the cutest couple!" Ersa teased the two.

"So, we don't make a cute couple?" Volteer frowned, feeling as though he did something wrong.

"We make cute mates."

"Ah, I feel much better now."

"And Spyro, to answer your question for comfort, we can use blankets or what is also known as a towel. The material for it should keep us nice and comfortable in the sand so you don't have to use your earth power for us to lay on," Ersa suggested, and everyone nodded as it definitely sounded way more comfortable to lay on, "Also, another thing we could have which not many know of, but it's called an umbrella. It can block out the sun so you don't have to."

"I'm gonna have to disagree on the umbrella part," Spyro said, "Since I can use my ice powers to cool, I can drape a wing over Cynder's head to give her both shade and comfort."

"Hehe, yeah, me and Carith are also fine as I can do the same," Malefor also disagreed with the umbrella.

"Well... I don't know how to use ice of course but, I can always shock your nerves to cool you down where in it should cool you down," Volteer suggested which was a little surprising to most, including Ersa.

"Damn you're one sexy ass dragon," Ersa's words made him chuckle but the others blushed, "I guess no umbrellas. So, Ignitus, does that mean you can at least makes us those towels?"

"Shouldn't be too hard," Thinking about it for a second, his right wing started to glow white for a second, and as the light died down, Ignitus had a good group of towels rolled up underneath his wing, "Alright, there we go. Hehe, and you all are going to like what I did for each one so we know who's is who's," Pulling out one of the towels from his wing, he looked to his right across from Claire and said, "Terrador , a green towel for you," Terrador walked up and grabbed his towel, and tucking it under his wing, he walked a couple of steps away from the two and set up, "Next," Reaching underneath his wing and grabbing another towel, he looked to Volteer and Ersa, "Yellow for the mates of course," Walking up and grabbing their towel, they did the same as Terrador, finding a space a couple steps away from the group and setting up, "And now, Cyril," Calling his name, Cyril already walked over to him as he was getting his towel, and as Ignitus looked back up from his wing with towel in paw, he gave it over to his friend, "A blue one of course for you, friend. And then for the last four," With Cyril going to set up near Terrador, Malefor was next as he watched him pull out a rather interesting towel from underneath his wing, "Now," Looking at his friend, Ignitus explained as he held the towel, "This one I made with purple and blue lines to represent you and your lover of course."

"Wow, Ignitus, that's... Really cool... Thanks!" Malefor happily accepted the towel, and grabbing it from his paw, he walked over to his lover and decided to just set up where they were, "Might as well just set up right here, unless you want to choose another spot. Want this to be your special day."

"Hehe, well, as I do appreciate it, just remember, we aren't going to be laying here long... You have a castle to make, remember," Carith giggled, watching him roll out the towel and place it on the sand.

"I didn't forget where my queen deserves to be. It's going to take some time though."

"And now, Spyro, my son," Calling his name, him and Cynder walked up to Ignitus as he reached from underneath his wing and pulled out a towel that he made for the two, and looking straight at them as they stood in front of him, he smiled, "As with those two, I made a special purple and black color for you two. I didn't want to go with lines as they already had their own design, so, for you two, I made out of a wavy design since... well, we are at the beach."

"Ignitus... This is amazing!" Spyro happily accepted as he grabbed the towel, "But, how did you have time to make these so quickly?"

"I just had to think about it and they were made so, it wasn't that hard, but I made sure each was as it should be," Seeing his son smile at the design, he was glad to see he was happy with what he had done, and with the two setting up to the right of Malefor by just a couple steps away, Ignitus pulled his towel out from his wing and said to his lover, "And of course, a red and blue towel for us. And since everyone else is pretty much set up where they are, do you just want to set up right here in the middle of it all?"

"Hehe, sure, why not. After all, we are the most important," Claire giggled, getting a smile and a chuckle from her lover.

With everyone now sitting on their towels in a row, they all wondered what there was to do now, and it didn't take long for Malefor to suggest something, "Well, I don't know about you all, but how about we just chill out and soak up some sun for a bit?" Laying down on his blanket and stretching, it seemed like a great idea to everyone, "Getting some energy from the sun while we lay here will give us some energy sooner or later."

"Not all of us have someone to cuddle with, Malefor," Cyril said, almost in a sad tone as he watched Carith lay down next to her lover on the blanket.

"It's just a suggestion from me to you all. And you don't have to have a lovers, Cyril. Just lay back and enjoy the sun, or go have some fun in the water."

"We have the whole day ahead of us, Cyril," Terrador said, laying down on his blanket and enjoying some of the sun himself, "Take this as a special vacation. This is the first time since the war that we've been able to go outside of Warfang and enjoy ourselves."

"Oh yeah, that is true," Spyro said, not knowing this until Terrador had said something, and while already laid down with his lover on their blanket with his wing draped over Cynder's back, he looked to Malefor and asked, "Hehe, you know, Malefor, there's always something going on back here. First it was the battle with the Dark Master, then it was that all out brawl we had, and I remember hitting Volteer so hard I sent him flying back behind Warfang as well. Seems like the back of Warfang has mainly been a battlefield since then."

"You suggesting that there's going to be an issue, or maybe a fight?" Malefor asked, wondering what he was implying by saying that.

"Just wanting to know if you got my back, that's all."

"Hehe, well, yeah. As we said in the Chambers which Ignitus was freaking out about, we can protect everyone, or rather, our females."

"Just wanted to make sure."

"Stop making sure, dude, it's fine, alright. Now, to think of another activities that we can do, what if we surf some of them waves my dudes?"

"Surf... Waves?" Cyril asked, and for some reason, it sounded familiar to him.

"Yeah, bro. You get a board and all that kick flip shit and hit them waves brother. Don't you remember how gnarly it was?"

"The hell happened to his voice?" Terrador asked Cyril.

"You really think after all these years, you think I of all dragons can answer why he's special?" Cyril asked Terrador now, shaking his head as he wondered why he would've asked.

"Malefor, I don't know your... IQ and all but uh, I don't think you'd be smart enough to craft what is known as a surf board," Ersa spoke, getting everyone's attention as most of them had no idea what that even was, "A surf board is a little more complex then just making something out of anything. While most of you might not know this, just image if we told someone to just get up and fly, but they didn't have wings. Our wings are made for flight and, other things, like comfort. If someone didn't know that, they would try to make our wings out of wood or earth."

Blowing a raspberry, Malefor believed this to be more of a lie then what he use to do, "I've surfed waves plenty of times before with a board made out of ice. I once knew some dudes who were masters at surfing, and each showed me how to surf using a board of both earth and ice. OH YEAH!" Slapping his paws together and yelling out, everyone shuck, and listened to him with wide eyes, "There was this badass dude who was surfing the freaking waves with lightning!"

"Uhhhhhhhh... What?"

"Hehe, yeah, it was crazy. He didn't really make a board as he used his lightning underneath his paws. Before he touched the water, he would send a circle of lightning, like a step, to keep him above the water. When he was surfing the wave, he would make a trail of lightning that he was able to follow along with as he went under the wave. But somehow, he was able to move from side to side like he was sliding on ice, and it was AMAZING!"

"Who the hell was it and, no offense to Volteer but, I would like to know who this dragon was."

"Hehe, oh, that's the best part. Volteer, do you think you can explain how you did it?"

"What?!" Ersa cried, looking to Volteer and seeing him blush with a smile.

"Oh!" Cyril said, now understanding what he was saying, "Damn, Malefor. We surfed like one time, and that was years on years ago. How did you remember that?"

"He's memory is a lot better then what you may think," Carith happily said, looking to her lover and rolling a claw around his chest, "I know cause I've been there before."

While Malefor was blushing to see the lust in his lover's eyes, Ersa was still in awe, wanting to understand how Volteer did such a thing. It was a little embarrassing for him to say as he remembered why he had done it and confessed, "Well... Funny story about that day, I was trying to show off cause there were some girls at the beach that I was... hoping to get with," Ersa gasped, and immediately, Volteer continued as to not get the wrong idea, "Even as amazing as it was, all the girls were for Terrador, not me so... Sad face... Also sad face as this is where he met his abusive girlfriend."

"Oh yeah... Thanks for making me remember... brother," Terrador grumbled, laying down on his blanket and resting his head down on his paws that laid in front of him, and he grumbled once again, "One of two reasons why I don't date anymore."

"Two?" Most of the group asked.

"Well, do you think you could... Maybe do something like that again?" Ersa wondered with hope.

"That was a long time ago but... I could definitely try if you are interested. The thing is though, I have to be really smart about it, cause while I wasn't actually surfing the waves, I more made a path then I did anything else. I had to predict how the water was moving, how fast the wind was helping push the waves and much more, including if there was sea life messing with the flow of water. Then after all that, I can make a path for me to slid on with my lightning," Volteer explained a little more in-depth as to how he was able to do it.

"I'm very surprised you've never told me your mastery of lightning, and I'm also surprised you've never shown signs of turning your lightning blue until we had fought," Spyro brought up, chuckling as it did sound really cool.

"One of many reasons I was chosen to be the yellow Guardian."

"One of many reasons why I won't be upset for being on bottom tonight," Ersa whispered, biting her lip as she looked at him, and while the others couldn't hear her, Volteer did and chuckled with a blush.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's get up and..." Having a paw placed over his to prevent him from standing up, Malefor looked to his left and saw it was his lover's, and he wondered, "What's wrong? I know I said we should just enjoy this time we have but, we have the whole day ahead of us."

"You leave, and I'm going to get hot. And while I know you like seeing water drip down my body, I don't like that when my sweat is next to a hundred degrees."

"Alright, here, let me help you out," Placing one of his wings around the front of her chest and around to her side, his other wing already rested over her back, and to make sure what he was doing was going to work, he put his head around the back and of her neck and whispered, "Let's make that number a negative, shall we?" Using his ice ability, he turned his body heat into pure cold, dropping his body temperature to nearly negative thirty, but since Carith was already use to the cold, this temperature felt like a simple thirty, "Is that cold enough for you," Lucky enough for him, he was also use to these types of temperatures, and since his body was cuddled up to hers, he was still able to get that body heat that felt overwhelming comfortable to him, "Damn... Now I feel really comfortable."

"Oh me too," Carith agreed, letting her breath show from how cold the two were, but it was comfortable to the two of them, and she even had to snuggle up to him more to enjoy the feeling of cold and heat, "This is perfect..."

"Hehe."

"Great. So right now, on the agenda, we want to surf, play beach volleyball, and make sand castles," Spyro said out loud, and because he did, it did seem impossible to just sit or lay there and do nothing, "That sure is a lot to do all in one day, especially if we enjoy ourselves. So, how about we all go have some fun, and then come back here and watch the sun set behind the water?" Hearing it now, it sounded like a beautiful sight for everyone to agree to, and since he knew Cynder didn't know of such a sight, he looked to her and explained, "Basically, when the sun sets behind the water, it gives this beautiful orange and blue color scheme that looks unbelievable gorgeous, and include a couple clouds here and here... Just think of yourself: Amazingly gorgeous and perfect. That's the sun setting by the beach."

Giving a blush and a sigh, she made herself a promise, "Next time, it's going to be you up against that wall, you understand me?"

"Hehe, you can definitely try."

"But how do you know this? I thought you said you and Sparks had something similar but in a cave?"

"Well, while me and the Dark Master were fighting back here, I clocked him in the throat and sent him flying into the water. While I waited for him to come up from the water rather then drowning his ass, I stopped, and looked off into the distance, amazed by its sight. And the first thing that came to mind was... 'I wish Cynder was here to see this...' And it was something else that drove me to kill the Dark Master and reunite with you... Kissing you as the sun goes down... And having that sight... It was another reason I agreed to come to the beach as well."

"You were going to drown me," Malefor whimpered, taking his head from around the back of his lover's and looking at Spyro, "I know it wasn't me at the time but, I still would've felt that shit my dude."

"Then you should've gained control sooner," Spyro defended himself, looking away from his lover and at Malefor.

"You've fulfilled almost all of my wishes," Cynder whispered, getting Spyro's attention as he looked at her, "And while all the others are easily obtainable with you in the years to come... I guess I have another wish that I hope to be fulfilled with you..." Seeing her blush only slightly, he wondered what the wish was, "I would... also like to experience what it would be like, to kiss as the sun sets..."

Smiling at her request, he nodded at her, "Of course, Cynder."

"And do you think we could also add the whole, you drowning Malefor, part?"

"WHAT?!" Malefor cried.

"Now now, Cynder, play nice," Carith giggled, looking over at her friend and admitting, "He's been a very good dragon today so I can vouch for him."

"Oh thank goodness..." Malefor sighed.

"Speaking of being good, Cynder, while the guys go off and play for a bit, what do you say we ask Claire and Ersa those, questions?"

"Oh yeah," Cynder smiled, agreeing rather quickly, "But the question is, what do we sit out on?"

"Well, the guys are the ones building the sand castles. So what if we all did this: We have that game of volleyball, then after that, some of the guys surf while the others make sand castles. While they are doing that, we can all get together and have another nice girls day?" Her suggestion was enough to get everyone to smile as it sounded like a plan, "It's just is a shame that I have to get up... Malefor, if that water is cold..."

"I will always be there for you," Malefor said with passion, looking at his lover and putting a fist on his chest.

"What are these... questions?" Claire asked.

"Don't worry, it's nothing too bad... Well, it might be for Ersa," Cynder was honest.

"Oh no..." Ersa whimpered, putting a paw on her face and shaking her head.

"But enough about that," Standing up with her lover, Cynder looked to the water and gave a sigh, "Now is the time to go and have some fun! And while it's going to take me a bit to remember how to swim, I know I can do it."

"Spyro teaching Cynder to swim again?!" Carith cried with a smile, jumping up on her towel as she was ready to see it come true before her very eyes.

"Okay, yeah, now I'm definitely ready to get up as well," Claire giggled, standing up and ready to walk to the water.

"Sorry, Cynder, but you know us girls have to tease you for this," Ersa agreed, standing up as she was just as interested.

"Oh my goodness..." Cynder sighed, realising what she had started from what she had said.

"Don't worry, I will help get them off your back," Spyro whispered to her, and she was curious as to know what it could be that he would reveal, "Look, girls, I know everyone picks on Cynder and all about me having to teach her how to swim, but... Hehe... I guess what's even more sad is the fact that it took me till I was ten to finally learn how to fly."

"Ten?!" The girls all cried, and Ersa asked with a follow up, "Bu... But you're... You're a dragon! Most I've heard of late flight was from a three year old... But it took you ten years?!"

"Hehe... hehehe," Putting a paw over his mouth, Malefor tired everything in his power not to laugh, and it became increasingly more difficult as they all talked.

"Yeah... Once I was brought into this war, and I met up with Ignitus, he was the one who taught me how to fly. It's normal for some to not know how to swim, but fly... That's a different story," Spyro chuckled, and hearing a snort come from someone, he looked to Malefor to see his cheeks getting red as he held in his laughter, "Malefor... Don't do it. Swallow your pride man, you're better then this... Hehe, okay, that was a joke in itself, but Malefor! Don't do it."

"Why the hell did you say something so stupid then!" Malefor growled through his paw, still trying to hold in his laughter even as he growled.

"Well, if the Dark Master hadn't attacked the Dragon Temple, I wouldn't have had to miss my flying lessons with my parents," His words were enough to get the laughter from him to die down, and seeing his frown as he dropped his paw back to the ground, he apologized as he didn't realize how badly he said it, "That was... way worse then what I had in mind. Look, some good news, that's when I met Sparks and my foster parents. And we're fine... okay?" Malefor tried to give a smirk with what he had said, but even still, his words had still gotten to him, "Hehe, if anything, I'm pretty sure I saved my parents. Sparks, for being so little, was definitely a dragon paw size full of work."

"I should know. I had to deal with his annoying ass the entire way to Warfang," Cynder grumbled as she stood up with Spyro on their towel and made their way over to the water, "It's funny how I told you I loved our time back then, but then I remember Sparks... I then I remember it being less enjoyable... Then again, there were some times where he did help me understand what you were feeling during some down times. Like when I thought you were going to leave me cause I peaked your cheek that day."

"Hehe, yeah, as stupid as that was for me to just walk away, I celebrated like a happy little dragon that night."

"I then did the same."

"Hehe, yeah... Crazy how long ago that was though."

With the other two heading to the waters, Cyril and Terrador followed shortly after, then Volteer and Ersa. It took Malefor a second, but as Ignitus and Claire got up to head to the waters, Ignitus stopped to look at his friend and give him some advice, "Look, Malefor, none of us could've known what would've happened that day. Remember what I've said about dwelling on the past; Where would Spyro be now if that attack didn't happen, or Cynder, or anyone of us for that matter," Picking up his head to look at his friend, Ignitus gave a chuckle and joked before walking away from the two with Claire, "My clone told me about how who ever would shed a tear would get punched in the gut, so I would think about keeping those tears of yours from showing. I'm sure Claire would love some revenge."

"Yeah right," Malefor growled, finally smiling as he watched his friend walk away from the two, and giving a sigh to himself, he had to agree, "They keep reminding me of the same thing of what would've or could've been... And... I guess it was best the way things went down," Seeing the sadness come back on his face, Carith frowned as she heard him talk about what could've happened, "If I didn't raid that day... Those Hatchlings would've been born, reunited with their parents... Then I would've killed them then... And maybe everyone at that point... including Spyro..."

"Malefor," Carith whispered, putting a paw on his shoulder and trying to comfort him, "I've thought about what could've happened as well when it came to me and you as well. What would've happened if Spyro and Cynder killed you before we had the chance to stop them? What would've happened if you left when Spyro threatened you to do so? We shouldn't worry about such things or else we're taking away from the good we are experiencing now... It will only bring you down, but you should look up now more then ever, especially since Spyro seems so happy to have you as a partner."

"I know, I know..."

"If you did, then we'd already be at the water."

"Speaking of water... You ever kissed underwater?"

"What are you getting at?"

Running away from her and over to the others, Carith was suspicious and followed behind him, wondering as to how that would work, _Kissing underwater? We'd basically be kissing water._ Now with everyone assembled near where the water met land, the two who had joined in late heard a conversation Volteer and Ersa were having when it came to what Spyro had said about flight. Ersa was the one to speak the most on the conversation as she felt a little bad for what had happened, "So, it took you ten years to finally learn how to fly... And by Ignitus of all dragons. That must make you a pretty good dad, Ignitus," Hearing this made him chuckle while making Claire trail off in her thoughts with a smile, "Hey, Volteer, for me and you, how long do you think we should give until we teach our Hatchling to fly?"

"What?!" Malefor cried, but then he remembered the two had already been talking for a while, "Oh, yeah... Hehe, sorry. I forgot that you two have been... Very open. Hehehe, I also remember that Volteer was a bitch in bed."

"Malefor, shut your mouth before I shock your nerves and shut it forever," Volteer threatened him which made Malefor growl at him, "Anyway, I wouldn't say that we should rush our little one into flight. If we keep things peaceful, then there's no reason for him to have to strain his adjusting and growing body. And for my suggestion, he or she will have plenty of time to enjoy it's youth, and will mainly be resting with us, whether it be on our heads, wings, or even our bed."

Hearing how much thought Volteer had put into his future plans, he saw everyone looking at him with wide eyes, and even Ersa gave a giggle to her mate, "Someone's excited. And here I thought I was the one most excited for this to happen," Giving a chuckle and blush, everyone else went back to what they were doing, and since they were now being ignored for the time being, Ersa elbowed him and whispered, "Speaking of resting, how long was I on your chest our first night?"

"Oh, stop it... You know I was on your chest most of the night."

"Another reason I love you: You make cute jokes."

"Oh we will see tonight. Last time was just cause you kept using pressure points."

"Okay, we're going to need to take this slow," Spyro explained as he walked into the water with Cynder by his side, "I know this is supposed to be funny and all, but this isn't a joke for me. Unlike with Avalar, you have nothing at your paws to keep you above water, so once you're out there, you have to know how to stay a float," Seeing her swallow hard, now somewhat fearing the water, he helped comfort her, "Don't worry. I don't know exactly how beach volleyball works in the water, but I'm pretty sure you won't have to do much moving... unless the ball flies behind your head."

"Hehe, yeah, that's my luck," Cynder giggled from fear as she made her way more into the water with Spyro next to her.

"Hey, I made the joke about getting hit by lightning that one time," Malefor brought up a joke he made from the past.

"Speaking of lightning, Spyro, Malefor, please refrain from using your lightning while in water next to all of us," Volteer warned as he knew what would happen.

"Coming from a guy, and his mate, who are literally made of lightning."

"Scales, not lightning."

"Oh really?! Next you tell me your eyes are really squishy little grapes, and our noses are just holes in our body's that help us breath better!"

"I mean... both are kinda..."

"I'm gonna slit your damn throat you..."

"Hey, Malefor, can you breath for a bit while Cynder concentrates on not drowning?" Spyro called him out, making Malefor look at him with wide eyes before looking back at Volteer and growling for getting off easy, "Okay, I'm going to walk ahead and show you what I do to stay above the water," Walking ahead of her and swimming in the water a couple feet away from her, he turned around to face her and explained, "Just remember, don't put too much force in trying to stay above the water or else you'll tire yourself out quick. Our upper body will do most of the work. Use your back paws to push downwards, which will push you upwards, but you don't need that much force to do so. As for your front paws, just use these if you need to move, or as extra leverage to keep yourself above water."

"Oh... Okay... I will... try," Cynder said with hesitation, making her way more into the water.

"And also, be careful of waves that will gradually pick up your body. Moving up with the wave will help keep your body, but mainly face, over the wave," Seeing her take another step, he could see she was getting further from where she could stand in the water, so he quickly put some more tips in to help her out, "If water gets in your eyes, blink as much as you can and try not to touch your eyes as you just put more water in them! It'll burn but that's okay for once you get use to it, you could even open your eyes underwater! But I...!"

"Spyro... It's okay," Cynder giggled as everything he was saying was only scaring her more which he noticed once she had stopped him, "I got this... I got this," Trying to motivate herself, everyone watched as she was now no longer on land and started to swim all on her own, but having the water so close to her mouth as the water raised up and down her neck, it made her breath more heavily then before, "Okay, Okay, I... Ugh... I got this," Everyone could see she was scaring herself as she started to push harder and harder with her paws as she tried to keep herself a float, and feeling her strengh weakening rather quickly, she cried, "Spy...! Spyro...!"

Flicking a paw up from under the water, a rock pillar pop up from the water and underneath his lover, and with her shiver as she stood on the rock, Spyro swam over to her and asked, "Are you okay?" Laying down on the rock pillar, Cynder put her face close to the edge to look her lover in the eyes, and he frowned as it was much scarier then having been in Avalar, "Sorry, Cynder. It's definitely more difficult without support... And I kinda feel like this is on me for not training you right."

"Sp... Spyro," Cynder whispered through her chattering teeth as now she was freezing not being in the water, "This isn't on you, you're trying all you can... I just need to not be... so scared of drowning."

"Hey, Cynder," Malefor called out to everyone's surprise, and she turned to look at him as she wondered what he had to say, "Drowning is a real fear. Lack of oxygen is scary for lots of dragons so don't feel bad for being so scared."

While everyone was surprised that he was showing his feelings towards what was happening, Spyro had to growl for what he had taken, "Alright, Malefor, thanks for the help, but this is my lover and I can take care of her," With Malefor backing off with a chuckle, Cynder gave a giggle as she looked back at her lover and heard him continue, "Just imagine that was me saying all that, okay?" Giving a giggle, she also nodded which was good for him as he joked, "I was going to say all that anyway... But... Going back, these are steps for us to overcome together. You'll get the hang of it, I know you will. I will lower the pillar when ever you're ready, and if you feel like you're losing it again, just tell me, and I will help you out, okay?"

Giving a sigh, she giggled as she knew this was another one of those times, "You know what's been so crazy about these past few days... It's been all about trust for you. When it came to my life, the transferring of the darkness, now with me swimming and... What is the universe trying to tell me?"

"Hehe, who knows. I'm just going with the flow."

"Well... I'm going to try and go with the flow as well so..." Standing up with a sigh and shivers, she was ready for him to drop the pillar, "I'm ready to get back in the water... Just... Go slow when putting the earth back into the... well... earth."

"Hehe, don't worry, I will," Backing up a bit from the pillar, he used his paw to slowly drop the pillar back down into the water, and as it did, he watched as Cynder started to swim on her own with the best of her ability, "There you go... You got it. If you feel fine, then that's amazing. If you feel scared, know that I have you... Okay," Seeing her nod, a wave pushed his body up a little, and instead of saying something, he wanted to see if she could do it on her own, and to his surprise, she was able to keep her head above water while keeping calm, "There you go, Cynder!" Cynder giggled to see how happy her lover was with her now new ability to swim, "How does it feel knowing that you can kick ass at anything?!"

"Hehe... Alright, me love, it's hard for me to kiss you while still somewhat learning how to... swim. I still need to learn what you said when it comes to floating," With Cynder now able to swim at an amateur level, everyone now decided to join in by walking into the water and start swimming with the others as well, and with more company, it made Cynder feel much safer, "Having you all out here is definitely going to be even more comfortable in case something happens."

"Don't worry, Cynder, we all believed in you and you did it," Claire said with a smile, and with everyone else smiling at her, Cynder smiled wide back at everyone else for their support.

"Thank you," Cynder smiled as she thanked everyone, and seeing Spyro at the corner of her eye giving a slight frown, she giggled as she looked to him and corrected a bit, "Thank you all, and especially my lover, Spyro."

His fake frown turned to a big smile real quick as he chuckled, "Oh yeah, well, you know..."

"Making sure Spyro's ego doesn't explode let's get back on topic; are we all ready to play some volleyball?" Malefor asked, and seeing everyone nod, he was ready to go as well, "Alright then. Ignitus, you got the ball?"

"Indeed," Reaching into the water, they all saw him pull a ball from underneath his wing rather quickly, "Hehe, I was already ready with the ball while you all were talking. Now, here comes the hard part... Teams."

"I call Spyro!" Almost everyone said.

"Damn... You popular little bitch," Malefor chuckled.

"Don't worry, we are going to make this even. Since Spyro's strength is obviously a problem, we are going to have to have me be on another team," Ignitus explained, and with his words, it did make sense to everyone as to how things would go, "Now, we can either choose which team we want to be on, or I can go with the obvious so we can just get the game started."

"Pretty sure it really doesn't matter now since the teams should be balanced."

"Alright then, Team Spyro: Cynder, Malefor, Carith, and Cyril. Team Ignitus: Volteer, Claire, Terrador, and Ersa," Ignitus explained, and with the teams being made, everyone swam over to where they needed to be with Spyro's team being on the left and Ignitus's team being on the right side, "Alright, now with the teams set, here are the rules," A bright white line appeared in the middle of the water between the two teams, making them both back up to give some space between the lines, and some watched in awe as the line moved with the water but still stayed where it was made, "Stay behind the line. Pop the ball, point to the other team."

"Shit," Malefor and Spyro chuckled.

"First to three wins for a simple game. Maximum hits on each side is three, and you can't hit the ball more then twice by the same dragon. So, Spyro can hit it, then Malefor, then Spyro can hit it again. You can not catch or throw the ball, and to keep it simple, I don't think I need to talk about boundaries or positions, and if you need to move, just move. And to make sure we don't bump into one another, call the ball before you hit it if you can. Simple courtesy will make this game more fun, and use of abilities is forbidden!"

"Damn it," All the guys grumbled.

"What the hell are you saying 'Damn it' for, Volteer?" Spyro asked, seeing him already chuckle.

"Yeah, weren't you the one saying, 'Don't use your lightning in the water cause grumble grumble grumble'," Malefor made fun of him in his impersonation of his own voice, and hearing him being called out by someone else, he ducked his nose under the water and blew bubbles from anger, "Yeah, that's what I thought."

"This shouldn't need to be said, but disrespect from another team will count as half a point for the other team," Ignitus brought in another rule, making Volteer jump up from the water and splash back down as he laughed at him.

"HAHA!" Volteer laughed, knowing that he was now able to not get picked on by his friend.

"That's a stupid ass rule," Malefor grumbled under his breath.

"Last I checked, time isn't an ability," Spyro chuckled, thinking he was going to use this to his advantage.

"Disrupting and manipulating the flow of time is forbidden as well," Ignitus chuckled, shaking his head as he knew that was going to come up sooner or later.

"That's gonna need to be added to my words that I never knew I'd hear in my life," Ersa giggled, surprised to even here such a thing being forbidden.

"Volteer being a bitch in bed should also be one," Malefor joked.

"Malefor!"

"Half point to team Ignitus," Ignitus smiled as he gave their team half point.

"Bull Shit, game hadn't started," Malefor growled.

"Now, come on, Malefor, remember the rule of respect," Cyril chuckled as he didn't want to lose.

"Respect..." Growling from it, Malefor found distaste in the word, "Can't spell Respect without speck... Just remove the K and you still get speck... And that's what the enemy team is to me."

"Purple and Red is what the teams are," Ignitus explained even though he didn't know he would've had to, "Now, if we are all done," Raising the ball above his head, he was ready to start the game, "As soon as I sever this ball, this game is going to start," Now with the ball up above his head, everyone got ready to play, and he called it out as he threw the ball in the air, "Game on!" Hitting the ball at the other team, he told his team, "Now get ready on the return!"

With the ball traveling over the white line in the middle, it headed right over Malefor's head, and smiling wide, he jumped up out the water and called out, "I got it!"

 _Wait... maybe I should've talked about boundaries cause of their strength,_ Ignitus thought, and hearing a loud slap, everyone watched as the ball flung past the red team and out to the open ocean. Malefor hit it hard enough to make it skid on the water a couple of times before finally landing a mile away from the play field. Splashing back down into the water, Malefor smiled and yelled out in joy, "Point for Purple team! Now we are one to zero."

"Is that fair?" Cyril asked, feeling a little bad as that seemed like they were cheating.

"No, it's not," Ignitus grumbled, shaking his head as he knew it had to be Malefor to mess with what he said and didn't, "I guess this is my fault for not wanting to make boundaries," Pulling a paw up from the water and snapping his fingers, a white square came from the middle of the play field and went outwards, setting the field for the outwards boundaries, "Now, let me clarify," With the line now set out behind everyone in the back to give them room to move around, Ignitus snapped his fingers again, causing a white light to grow and later fade as another ball appeared in his paw, "Now we have a border. If you hit the ball outside, the ball goes to the opposing team. You can only score if you hit the ball and it lands in the boundary."

"Which means the point you scored doesn't count," Volteer growled at him.

"Hehe, Yeah, no, that's not how that works. You can't add a rule halfway through after a point was already scored and expect that point to be lost," Malefor declined that fact, bringing up some facts as he remembered some of the rules to a game similar to this one, "Plus, the one who serves is supposed to be in the back for a normal game of volleyball, so technically, Ignitus would be caught cheating, but since it's on your team, you're not going to say anything, are you?"

"I don't think this sportsmanship rule is working all that well," Terrador pointed out, not surprised that Malefor would fight against it.

"The hell you talking about? If the other team was to talk big without having the knowledge to back it up, your damn sure I'm going to call them out on it."

"You're a sore loser."

"Hehe, kinda hard to be one if you don't lose."

"You lost the war," Claire giggled.

"True, but, that was someone else. So far, I haven't lost a game ever."

"We should change that then," Ersa smiled, now wanting nothing more then to beat the other team.

"I'm not like Volteer; I'm a real man, and men never lose."

"The hell is that supposed to mean?" Volteer asked, confused as to what he meant by that.

"Oh ho ho, Ersa should know."

"Malefor!" Ersa yelled at him now knowing what he meant, and since she now did, it clicked for everyone else.

"Okay, for that one, we are starting a new game. Your point is being deducted," Ignitus growled at him, shaking his head that Malefor would even say something like that, "Now, if you are done talking about others, I would like to start playing again," Malefor chuckled as he looked at Volteer, and since he could see he was ready to attack him, Malefor kept his mouth shut, "Alright, we will keep it as the rules say," Throwing the ball behind his head, Volteer was behind him and caught the ball with his paws, "Since Volteer is in the back along with Ersa, they can serve. As for your team, since Cyril is back there along with Cynder, only they can serve."

"I haven't had to keep track of some much information in my life before because of one thing," Cynder giggled as hearing all the rules all spread out made it hard to follow along.

"Oh really?" Spyro asked as he turned and looked at her.

"You're not a thing, your a handsome dragon being."

"Fair enough."

"Alright, Volteer, when ever you are ready," Ignitus said as he prepared for the ball to be served.

 _Bringing up something like virginity is beyond you, Malefor,_ Volteer growled, using his lightning on his right paw to help him pick up his body from the water, and everyone watched in awe as he made his way above the water, standing on his lightning to help give himself an advantage, _I'll make sure to take your horn for that._ Throwing the ball in the air, Volteer jumped up in the air and slapped the back of the ball straight to the other team. The lightning underneath him disappeared, making him splash down into the water, and coming up from underneath the water, he looked to see the ball had slapped right against Malefor's face. It was enough to make everyone hiss in pain as they watched the ball slide off his forehead and into the water. Everyone was silent as they saw Malefor not move a muscle, but after a bit, he clenched his teeth and started to growl.

"Before we have a Dark Master disaster!" Ignitus cried out, as seeing Malefor look up with killer intent, he knew he had to stop the two before something happened, "It is illegal to hit any part of the players body, so, Volteer, that doesn't count as a point. I also said use of abilities is a no go. Because a rule was violated by the sever, the ball will be given over to the other team. Also, to help out, if a rule is violated, there is a chance to lose a point if necessary, so, from here on out, try not to make contact."

Grabbing the ball from the water, Malefor's anger got the best of him. Grabbing the ball, he put enough force on it to pop the ball, deflating it and dropping it to the water. Ignitus gave a huge sigh as he had to make another ball while getting rid of the other one, and while that was happening, Volteer crossed his arms and defended himself, "Since he popped the ball, that's a point for red team. And plus, why the hell did you bring up virginity for? You brought this upon yourself, and that's your fault."

"What's that?" Cynder asked in confusion while everyone else was shaking their heads with blushes, but because she asked, it now made it even more awkward.

"Um... Cynder," Carith murmured, not really knowing if this should be talked about right now, "I can, tell you later."

"Wait, Spyro, how do you know?" Cyril asked, wondering how he would know the world.

"You act like I haven't had females try and say things to make me get with them, especially this one pink Dragoness," Spyro grumbled, not wanting to think about her.

"Okay, Now I really need to know," Cynder said.

Throwing a new ball over the line and over to the two in the back, Ignitus gave a sigh as he was hoping they could start the game at some point, "Alright, lets try this for the third time. Cynder or Cyril, if you two want to serve, you can. Cynder hasn't had the best examples on how serving works so... I would say let Cyril show you first before you try," It made sense to everyone, so, Cynder pushed the ball over to Cyril, and now with him having the ball in his paw, the game could now continue, "Alright... Everyone just... breath. Cyril, please, nice and easy serve."

"Alright," Cyril agreed, throwing the ball in the air and serving it to the other side as he hit the back of it.

With the ball flying over the line, it was a nice clean serve to the other side, and closing in on Claire, she hit it up to the air, but not over the line, so Ignitus stepped in and hit it over the line. The ball was too high for Spyro to reach it, and seeing it fly over his head, he knew it was up to Cynder, "That's all you my love!" Fearing of what she was supposed to do, she hit the ball into the air, keeping it from hitting their side, "There you go!" The ball didn't go very far, so Spyro had to swim over in front of his lover and hit the ball over to Malefor, "Malefor, coming at you," Hitting the ball over to him, he focused away from the game for a second and chuckled as he looked at Cynder, "You're a natural at this. A little help for you, when the ball comes at you, hit it at an angle rather then just straight up. Even if you miss, I can serve it over."

"Okay..." Cynder sighed, trying to take in even more information.

"Spyro!" Malefor cried.

Looking behind himself, he saw the ball coming right at him, and moving out of the way, he called for his lover to hit it, "You got this!"

Doing as she was told, she had enough time to hit the ball at an angle which sent it more forward then up, and since Spyro was already prepared, he swam a little more forward and hit the ball over the line, "You're a natural!" Getting a giggle from his lover, Spyro chuckled as the two were having a lot more fun then they thought they could, "Alright, Malefor, any information on the other team that we can use?"

"Information?" Malefor asked, turning to see Carith hitting the ball forward, and watching as it came over to him, he hit the ball back over the line, "You trying to get tactical?"

"Hehe, I mean, why not?"

"Well, for some information," Hearing the ball splash behind them, everyone looked over to see Cyril wasn't able to return the ball, giving the team another point, "We are one point down and losing, how's that information?"

"It's been... noted."

"Sorry... Everyone," Cyril frowned, feeling bad already that it was him who had failed the team.

"It was only one point, Cyril," Spyro comforted him.

"Alright, send the ball back over," Ignitus called out, and doing as he was told, Cyril threw the ball over to the other side and the game continued, "Alright, Ersa, if you want to serve," Having the ball land in front of him, she nodded, so he grabbed the ball in front of him and tossed it over to her, "I know this may seem annoying, but I do have to do it," Looking back to the other team, he gave out the score, "The score is now one for red and zero for purple. When the sides switch with the ball, then I would say like, two your team and one our team."

"Hehe, well, you're not wrong about the future score," Malefor chuckled, Looking forward to the point advantage.

"We will see about that," Ersa smiled as she served the ball.

* * *

 _Come on, what's your move..._ Sitting down in the Sleeping Chambers and waiting for the supposed threat, the clone of Ignitus sat next to his bed and tapped his claws in a row as he waited, _I know he's going to make a move, and even as I try everything I can to focus on him and only him, why can't I see where he is._ It was clear to him what this meant, but this also made more of a problem for the future, _His mind must be corrupted by the darkness, hiding him and his thoughts, which only makes this more difficult._ Hearing what sounded like a voice coming from behind the door to the entrance of the Guardians Chambers, the clone growled as he knew what this might mean, "There you are."

Standing up and walking to the door, he prepared himself to meet this new threat, _Please don't be stubborn. Please let there be some way we can end this before it turns into a war._ Reaching up and grabbing the door knob, his paw shuck uncontrollably, but he knew he couldn't show his fear. Giving a huge sigh, he calmed himself down, and now controlling himself, he twisted the door knob and opened the door. Chest puffed out and ready for anything, he growled as he opened the door, "I'm not here for a fight..." He paused as he looked to see it wasn't the Dark Master, but three dragons, three familiar dragons, "Blitz... Bolt... Sesal?"

"Oh! Ignitus!" Blitz jumped back as he didn't expect that anyone was even around.

"What are you three doing here?" The clone asked, both relieved and confused.

"Oh, well, we didn't know where you all had gone, and while we don't want to be Guardians, we were prepared to help and fill in your jobs for the time being."

 _Why do I know feel... relived to have these three here,_ The clone thought, but he knew why rather quickly, and since these three were here, he wondered if they had seen anything, "You three by any chance wouldn't happen to have seen a red dragon around here. It's... pretty serious for reasons I don't want to scare you all with so... I just wanted to know if anyone has come up here?"

Thinking about it, the three friends look at one another, shrugging their shoulders as they hadn't seen anything, but hearing that there was something to worry about, Blitz was interested, "What's got you scared? Is this about where everyone went? Wait! They all aren't dead are they?!"

"No no no, nothing like that. I'm a clone of Ignitus watching out for someone. Everyone else is out having fun at a beach."

"Damn... That actually sounds like fun."

"Why? Cause Ignitus said it was fun?" Bolt asked.

"He just wants to see if there are females out there he can hit on. And with them in the water, it makes him feel even better to look at them," Sesal sighed, knowing exactly what his friend wanted.

"Hey now, come on, I'm a teen, what do you expect?" Blitz chuckled, " Then again, if I did go and accidentally looked at Cynder, Spyro would've killed me, so it's probably best I didn't go... But getting back on track, you seem scared, Ignitus, well... clone of him. You said this was pretty serious and scary which must mean it has something to do was another possible war breaking out." The clone didn't want to say anything as he didn't know if they should know such details, but for some reason, having them there to talk with him made him feel better, "Last I checked, just three of the Guardians were able to hold off a horde of enemies, then we came over with the population of Warfang and wreaked house. Now with Malefor and Spyro, what is there to be worried about?"

"Yeah, not to mention the fact that Spyro kicked our ass even with all of us fighting him," Sesal also agreed as he didn't see a reason to worry either.

"And we have been training more since then so, we've gotten stronger, both from muscle and intelligence with tactics and how to survive," Bolt pointed out as well, and hearing that the three were getting stronger, it added on to the force to push back if there was a war.

"You are all truly helpful," The clone sighed, feeling at more ease, and now hearing what all they've said, he felt comfortable to tell them the truth, "There is a red dragon out there who is trying to start a war using the darkness again, and he might be coming here today. Spyro doesn't know of this, none of what is happening... but he knows the destroyer is out there making this even more difficult to keep the darkness a secret... cause if he finds out... he might kill Malefor."

"The Destroyer is alive," Blitz asked without even shedding a drop of sweat, nor showing fear for it.

"You... aren't scared? Even after what it did?"

"Well, rumor is, Spyro and Cynder fought Malefor, then the world was brought together by something or someone. So if it happened once before, but now with Malefor being a good guy, What's the problem?"

"The problem is... With the earth already having been ripped apart once, if it happens again, and Spyro tries to bring the world back together... he would have to kill himself to bring the world back together," Now hearing the news, the three friends gasped as they now understood how dangerous this situation was, "His body would become one with the earth... and we would... lose him... So if the destroyer successfully does its job, even with Spyro's power, he would have to die to save everyone."

"But... he... he won't... right?" Blitz asked with hesitation.

"I... I don't know... I don't know..."

* * *

"Alright, Cynder, score is two on purple, two on red, your serve," Ignitus explained as he prepared to win this game, "It's all on your serve."

Giving a sigh, Cynder prepared herself, hoping that she wouldn't let her team down, _You got this... You got this._ Throwing the ball into the air, she served it to the other side with ease, and now with the game continuing, everyone was ready to win it for their team. The ball bounced back and forth, being hit from one side to the next by the other team constantly, and after a while, some started to shake as they feared to drop the ball, especially Cynder. With the ball coming to her, her paw almost slipped past the ball, but she was lucky enough to hit it over to Spyro so he could serve it over. _That was... way to close._ Unfortunately for her, while she was giving a sigh, she didn't know the ball was coming right at her once again.

"Cynder!" The entirety of purple team cried, getting her to look up at the ball above her head.

"Whoa!" Cynder cried, smacking the ball into the air.

She wasn't able to hit the ball well enough to send it over the line, so Spyro had to come in as support, swimming a little close to her to hit the ball over. With the ball coming down, Cynder backed up to give him some space as he swung his paw around and hit the ball over to the other side. Seeing how badly she was shaking, he tried his best to keep his eye on the game while having another one on her to help out, "You okay my love?"

"Ye... Yeah!" Cynder cried happily, clenching her paws into fists as she's never had so much fun in a long time, "I've never felt so, energetic before! It's like I'm constantly kissing you, but that feeling is going all throughout my body, making me shiver with excitement! Like when ever you use your lightning when we kiss, and it makes me shiver with pleasure... That's what's happening now."

"Spyro!" Malefor called out, not hitting it well and sending it back to the two.

"Let's keep that then," Spyro said, confusing her for a second, but watching him hit the ball in the air, he believed she could do it, "You got this my love!"

It was a scary feeling to know this last hit was all on her, but she smiled as she enjoyed it, to feel the rush of adrenaline that she use to feel when fighting, _You got this!_ Jumping up from the water and hitting the ball, it was a clean hit, clean enough to send it back over to the other side. To her surprise and everyone else's, she hit it well enough to send the ball in the middle of the red team, and even as Terrador called it, both Volteer and Ersa also moved in to help knock the ball back to the other side. Cynder gave an evil grin as she knew this was an easy win, _Sorry everyone, but I have to cheat._ Moving a claw to her right, wind moved the ball over to the right side of the field, landing in the water next to all of the ones who tried to hit the ball back. Hearing the splash as the ball hit the water, everyone stopped as they all knew what this meant.

"Isn't that crazy how the world works," Cynder smirked, causing everyone to look over at her, "It's a shame when wind gets in the way of the game. And since there is no way to prove nor disprove an ability was used as it is against the rules, that would just mean it was bad luck. So with that kind of analogy, purple team should win, right?"

Ignitus chuckled as he couldn't even be mad with how amazing that play was, and so, he called the score, " _I see Cynder is still as evil as ever. But, even with knowing the truth... I have to give her that one._ The score is three to two. And with that... purple team wins the game."

"YEAH!" While everyone on purple team cheered, red team sighed, but they all still smiled as they had a good time.

"You saw the smile on Cynder's face as well, didn't you?" Claire asked, smiling at her lover, and seeing him smile as well, she knew he had.

"Yeah... Cynder was having a lot of fun, and as much as I don't want Malefor to win... I wanted Cynder to have her moment," Ignitus admitted, getting a nice kiss to his lips from his lover, and before he could kiss back, she pulled away to his dismay, "Hehe... evil little female... You know, being covered in water and all wet reminds me of that night... when I stopped you from leaving."

"Even as bad as it was... it was one of the best moments of my life."

Getting rid of the ball and boundary lines, everyone knew that the game was over and started to head back to shore. With everyone hearing back, Spyro stayed in the back with Cynder and continued to congratulate her for her work, "I know I keep saying it but... That truly was amazing. It's pretty crazy but, if you want another reason for why I love it, it's because I love your evil side."

"Evil? I am no such thing. I had no input on how the world works, so that was just a good serve over the line," Cynder defended herself, giggling at what he had said.

"Hehe... Well, I did have this story idea, but since your not evil, I guess we can't do it."

"Wait wait wait... I'm listening."

"Well... I would save you from your chain, but then you would attack me, forcing me to kiss you. But you..."

"Whoa whoa whoa... Alright," Since no one was around as they made it to shore, she agreed with a blush, "Is this happening tonight or tomorrow, cause I'm all for it."

"When do you want to be captured?"

"Tonight..." Cynder blushed.

Chuckling at what she had said, he made it over to their towel and stood on it along with everyone else as they stood on their own towels. Having sand now all over their paws, it was the one thing that Spyro could agree that sucked about going to the beach, "Now, one thing that definitely isn't great about going to the beach is having sand stick to your paws, and you'll track it everywhere, no matter where you go."

"Yeah, don't worry about the sand or anything," Ignitus said, making his son look over at him, "When I teleport us back, I'll make sure to use my powers to clean off the sand so we don't need to worry."

"Well, while you all are worrying," Cracking his fingers and getting prepared for his work, Malefor looked to see the sun was going to go down soon and knew he needed to get to work, "I need to start working on my sand castle since the day is about to end here soon," Peaking his lover on the cheek, he walked off the towel and a couple of steps away, measuring out what he would need to do and how he would do it, "I can have the door there... maybe a couple of windows there... I don't think I can make a throne..."

"So I guess we are all just doing our own thing now," Volteer said, and with this freedom, he knew what it was that he wanted to do, "Guess I better practice how I surf before I try and hit a big wave," Pecking his lover on the cheek, he walked away from her and over to the ocean, and he spoke to himself as he wondered what exactly it was that he did, "Now I have to remember how I did what I did... I definitely can't mess this up in front of my mate."

Seeing everyone going off to do there own thing, both Cyril and Terrador wondered what they were going to do. Since the day was coming to a close, the temperature had gone done a bit, and since he was cold from getting out of the water, he decided to just chill out and let the sun soak in, "I think I'm just going to chill out. This would be a perfect time to just lay back and think." Cyril smiled as it did seem like a good idea, and he did the same as Terrador, laying down on their backs and spreading out there wings to get a perfect amount of sun, "There we go..."

"Well... I guess this means you're going to leave me and go do something," Claire asked as she looked to Ignitus, and unfortunately, he knew he would have to.

"I... have to check on how things are going at the Chambers. But I can stay here and warm you up for a bit before you talk with the other girls," Ignitus said, feeling a little bad that he would have to leave, and she didn't understand why he would have to, but he caught this before she could say something, "My clones have become frightened for what is to come, so they aren't thinking straight, and neither am I. So it's best to just go to them and get the information that way."

"You don't think things could be... worse, then what we know...?"

"That's the problem, it's the unknown that's always scared me."

Shaking as she didn't realize it for a bit, the cold feeling of the water and the wind hitting her scales made Cynder shiver. Lucky enough, she was able to cuddle up with Spyro and get the right amount of warmth that she needed. She couldn't help but let out a pleased sigh as she enjoyed everything about today, "You know... This day truly has been quite enjoyable... We haven't been able to have fun and just... chill out in so long... And now with this day, I wonder... Do you ever wonder if life could always be like this?"

"It's what I'm fighting for... Hehe, well, You are the first and only thing I fight for, but..." Pausing as he gave a sigh, he looked at how things have gone and knew he wanted nothing more then to keep this peace, "You've never seen peace like this before in your life, and I wouldn't count our time before Malefor since, there was still always stuff happening, but even now... With Malefor and Carith, along with others joining... It's nice... And I never knew you would have so much fun which was a bonus, especially for me to see."

"Guess it brought back competition. I know you can protect me, but... I guess I just miss fighting and stretching out my muscles every once and awhile."

"Well... I don't see why you can't. I just don't ever want you to fight in anymore wars or conflicts... and I also don't ever want you to get hurt again which... I guess means I don't want you to fight."

"Spyro... I'm not going to train like you. Fighting a couple dark creatures or apes in the Training Room is all I'd want. And a cut or two shouldn't be a problem."

"If... it would make you happy... then I can... try my best to agree."

"You're not going to try, You will, understand?"

"Hehe, yes my love."

"Hey, Cynder," Hearing a voice, Cynder and Spyro looked over to their left and saw Ersa was walking over to them, "Since everyone is now going and doing their own activities, do you want to have our girl talk now?"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Cynder agreed as she watched Ersa walk over to the other girls and over to Claire.

Getting up as well, Carith walked over to the other girls and smiled wide as she was excited, "Since this day has started, I've been wanting to talk with the other girls," Standing in front of her friend, the two smiled at one another, and Carith made Cynder giggle as she gave her friend some nice words, "But of course, we would never leave you out of our time together. So, Spyro, I shall escort your lover safely over to the other females."

"Hehe, thanks, Carith," Spyro thanked her for both her words and help.

"But what are you going to do while I'm with everyone else?" Cynder asked, feeling a little bad that she would have to leave him.

"Probably just lay here... It's... gonna give me some time to think on things."

"Is there anyway I can help?"

"Go keep having fun, okay."

"Alright..." Backing away from him, she at least wanted to give a kiss to his lips, and lucky for him, she let him kiss back, but it didn't last long as she pulled away, wanting to keep the kiss short and sweet, "Obviously if you need me, just... use that darkness warning thing... okay?"

"Alright," Spyro smiled, and as he watched her smile back and walk away with Carith over to the other girls, he gave a sigh as he wondered what it was that he needed to do.

 _Why do I still not feel... great. Then again, I guess it doesn't help to know that something else is trying to threaten our way of survival..._ Spyro thought, and looking over at Malefor to see he had already made a ground base for his sand castle, it made it more difficult as he just wanted to leave it alone. _Malefor's not the problem that I need to keep looking at... but... after feeling the power of the Destroyer..._ Now knowing what it was that he needed to do, Spyro laid down on his stomach, and placing his head on his crossed paws that laid out in front of him, he thought, _I need to focus on my darkness. If I can't train in front of everyone, I can at least try and control my darkness. If the time comes where my darkness evolves as it did before... I... I need to control it. And while I'm doing that, I can see if I can feel the Destroyer again... And to add even more to my darkness... I need to think of how to unlock the other side to my darkness as I once had before. I just... Don't make the same mistake you did before... Remember what I almost did..._ Now with nothing but concentration, he went into his own world, letting darkness show from his body as he laid there, eyes closed and focused on nothing but his darkness and mind.

With all the girls coming over to where Claire sat with Ignitus, he stood up and wondered now if he did have to leave, _Then again, if nothing has happened yet, then there would be nothing to report so... I could stay if needed._ Turning away from his lover and walking a couple of steps away, the girls watched as it looked like he was leavening her to sit by herself, especially since Claire was frowning as she looked over at him as well. _Do you have anything to report? Anything that I or we, need to worry about?_ To his surprise, his clone had responded rather quickly, and calmly, _"Nothing so far. And lucky enough though, I have some others to help keep me company in case he does appear; Blitz and his friends are definitely helping when it comes to this... fear."_ Since his clone seemed calmed for the time being, it did seem as though he could continue to take a break with the others, _So, do I need to come back or, is there no need? "Oh... There's no need. I can keep my post while talking with these three in the Chambers. If anything happens and he appears, they agreed to keep him busy while I get you all here, or, just you at least."_ Giving a sigh, Ignitus understood now as to why things did seem so calming to his clone, _That's good... At least, for now. I guess we will keep doing as we planned._ Backing out of his thoughts, he turned back around and walked over to the other Girls. Seeing as all the other girls were there, he knew he couldn't stay for long. Sitting down next to Claire, he gave a smile with the good news, "Well, nothing's happened yet so, we should be good to keep enjoying our time. Which also means that I don't have to go anywhere."

"Thank goodness," Claire sighed, putting a paw against her chest as she feared for bad news.

"But, I do still have to leave cause, I know you girls need some time to yourselves."

"I mean, you could stay if you wanted to. I wouldn't mind."

"Me neither, cause it's gonna be really funny when we ask how you two play around with one another, and then you both get embarrassed and don't say anything," Now revealing what it was they were going to talk about, Carith's words already got to the two as well as Ersa as she didn't know that was what they were going to talk about either.

"What?! Why... why do you need to know that...?"

"Cause in a way, it's quite funny to be honest, and once me and Cynder tell you about what we've talked about, it will make more sense."

Hearing someone walking over to all the girls, they all looked with Ignitus to his right and saw it was Malefor running up to him and asking him a favor, "Hey, Ignitus," Stopping in front of him, Ignitus wondered what he wanted, but hearing all that he needed gave him the idea of what he was going to be doing, "I can make the walls pretty easily, but to make things easier, I need like a box or something to hold up the structure. I also need a shovel, a couple of flags, maybe some glass windows to make it pop more... Oh, yeah! I also wanted to see if with the time I have, could I can make a throne for Carith, but I don't know if I'd have the time so, do you think you could help on that?"

Everyone was surprised with how into this castle he was making, and the girls giggled as they looked to see Carith blushing with how much effort he wanted to put into this for her. Ignitus chuckled at the request and agreed with nothing else to do, "Well, I did need to give the girls some privacy, so I guess I can help with the sand castle," Standing up and ready to move, Malefor smiled wide, and since he knew he would be right behind him, he ran back over to his sand castle which made Ignitus chuckle, "Strange little one. Well, I guess I will see you later, Claire. And if this castle does turn out to be as big as he's making it seem..."

"Malefor did say all the girls would be allowed to join, even making a class system for us so, that would mean we could all join him," Carith smiled, as even just thinking about it got her to blush in hopes for what the castle would look like, but even she had to giggle herself as it seemed like a lot, "While I haven't seen how big of a castle he can make, I'm sure it wouldn't be as big as he's making it out to be."

"Hehe, Well, I will see what I can do to help him and make sure that it is to his liking," Walking away from the girls, his path to Malefor made him walk past his son, and seeing him in his dark form in deep concentration, he stopped for a second and knew it would be best not to disturb him, "Hang in their, son." Continuing his walk, he finally made it over to Malefor, and it was a surprise to him as he looked at just the bottom base of his sand castle, "Malefor... The bottom is enough to make a small house. You do realise we will have to work on the top as well which means we have to make the floor twice basically?"

"You don't understand what I did, Ignitus!" Malefor cried, standing and walking around the edges of his bottom base, trying to understand what else it was he needed, "I messed up big time. It's either I'm going big, or I'm going home... alone. I can't make a mistake as I've already made enough," Jumping off the left side of one of his edges, he picked up some sand, blew water on it to make it muddy and started to work on the wall, "I was also thinking about adding cannons and a draw bridge along with a deep trench around it with lava, but I definitely know I don't have time for that."

"Wow Malefor... You really feel this bad?"

"And I could only imagine how Carith must feel. So, you going to help our what?"

"Hehe, yeah yeah, I can help."

* * *

"Oh goodness... Alright, now what is it that you two girls wanted to know?" Ersa asked in a sigh as she had an easy idea of what they were asking which made it difficult for her.

"Hehe, Well, I guess I should start off with myself. Obviously something that me and Malefor play around with is his evil side. Something about it just makes me shiver to no end," Thinking about it now, her body did just as she had said, shivering all throughout as it was something she enjoyed the most, "I know it may seem weird, but it's just... knowing that he's pretty powerfully yet a massive sweet heart... I truly love him."

"And for me, me and Spyro also play around with the aspect of me being evil, but we take it a little bit of a... step forward," Cynder blushed as she didn't want to say it, but since she knew Carith already knew, she gave a sigh, and all the girls wanted to hear it from her, "We've been using a chain as a way to play around," The two girls gasped while Carith giggled as she remembered what had happened, "It's not as bad as it sounds, okay... Then again... we were just talking about how, he could save me, but then I become evil and... he has to stop me from killing him."

"What happened to your innocents, Cynder," Claire giggled, shaking her head at her words which made her blush, but now since she had spoken, she knew it would be her turn to talk, "I guess it should be my turn now. For me and Ignitus, I like using the fact that I was an assassin of course. Just today, we had a perfect night," Raising a paw up to the side of her face and putting her cheek in her palm, she blushed as she admitted, "For once, I was on top, kissing him from down below. He tried to roll me onto my back but, as he pulled up his wings to try something, I put my paw on one of his wings and threatened to freeze it."

"What is with all the threats?" Ersa giggled making the other girls giggle.

"It's not really going to happen of course. It's just a nice way to flirt, and in a way, it makes me feel comfortable to know that we can joke about something like that without it really happening," Carith explained, and seeing as Claire put her paw back to the ground and listened, she used her as an example, "Like with you, Claire. You weren't actually going to freeze his wing. It's just something to have fun and play around with cause, why not, right?"

"Yeah..." Claire sighed as she smiled.

"Well, me and Volteer don't need threats to have fun... aside from some times here and here, but that's not the point! For me and Volteer... it's honestly has to do with my past," The three girls frowned as they thought that would bring up bad memories, but for Ersa, she giggled, and even smiled as she thought about it, "To be honest... I enjoy it. It changes my mind on what's happened. So, in a way, we act out what's happened back then, but this time, Volteer's there for me... And... It's helped me a lot... It's changed my view on what's happened and I... I love him so much for it," Now saying it out loud, Ersa's eyes grew a little wide as it all made sense as to why they did what they did, "It makes sense now! You all do the same thing, don't you? Malefor and him being evil, Cynder and her past, and you, Claire, with being an assassin, you are all trying to rearrange your memories for better ones." The girls all smiled together and even for them, they hadn't seen it to the extend that she had, and it made Ersa smile to know that they were trying to make the best of the past as well, "Sooner or later, hopefully... we can all forget what's happened and change our lives for the better... And our lover's sure have made that dream a reality."

"Hehe, yeah... that is the hope... One step at a time," Carith smiled with the other girls as they were glad to have had this conversation with one another, but now with that out of the way, she wanted to bring up something that happened a little while back, "Then again, for some of us, it may be a small step, but for Cynder and her lover, they took a mighty huge step if I'm being honest," While Carith giggled, the girls were confused for a second, especially Cynder as she didn't know what she was referring to, "When me and Malefor were walking to the Chambers, Cynder was up against the wall on her back two paws making out with Spyro," The two girls gasped, and for Cynder, she smiled and sighed, knowing this was going to happen, "Spyro was the same as he stood on his back two paws, even using his two front paws to hold hers against the wall. And with how that went, I want to know, what could've possibly happened for that to, well... happen?"

With all eyes now on Cynder, she once again sighed, but this time, with her smile, she blushed, "Well, after Spyro had talked about my body along with other things, I wanted him to see what he was doing was going to have a reaction. While we were walking down, I got flirty and threatened him by using my tail blade against his neck of course. He smirked, and I tried my best to make him fear me, but he..." Shivering at the memory, the girls giggled, but hearing their giggle, she cleared her throat and continued, "Anyway. Let's just say that, we stopped in the hallway, he got the upper paw and... next thing I knew, I was against the wall and... Ancestors above was it amazing."

"Did he slam you against the wall?" Ersa asked, wanting to get some information once again on Spyro.

"No..." Cynder purred, "That was the best part too. He was so gently with every movement that he made. I'm guessing it's cause of what happened... yesterday." With the girls now frowning as they remembered what had happened, she wanted to change the subject and talk about something that she wanted to know about, "Let's not dwell on that, but instead focus on something else. That word that Volteer had used that everyone got embarrassed about. He said something like, virginity, if I remember correctly."

The girls all blushed, and for Carith, she giggled at her innocence, "Oh Cynder, it's so cute how innocent you are."

"What do you mean?"

"Let me be the one to... tell you," Ersa stepped in, knowing she could probably explain it the best without making it too revealing or uncomfortable, "After you become mates, you can, of course... Take the next step and have a Hatchling. Once you... Oh goodness..." Giving a sigh, the other two girls blushed while Cynder continued to listen, "With me and Volteer, because we... mated... that means that I lost that... word... cause me and him... did it. And it works the same for him. Does that make... sense...?"

"Wait!" Cynder cried, jumping up and having a face as red as a fire dragon, "Sp... Spyro... he... he talked about how he... he and another female, the female used that word to him! You... you girls don't think he...?!" Now hearing it, they all wondered as well, and with Cynder looking to her lover, with how serious he looked while in his dark form, it made her frown as she thought about it, "So then... that would mean that... I wouldn't be Spyro's... first... his one and only..." Ducking her head down now as she thought about it, they listened as she murmured, "This is... another reason why I guess I don't see us being mates... because what if there is some one else out there he loves... And if she was it."

"Cynder... go talk with him," Carith whispered, knowing that them talking would be best for what's happened.

"Yeah. From what we've learned, you talking with Spyro ends in things turning out fine. Like with the wish conversation in the Chambers," Ersa pointed out as well, wanting to try her best to help her friend.

"Hehe... And also, Spyro would've been way too young so, I don't think that anything happened. But you won't know unless you ask him," Claire was the last one to speak, and with the girls help, she picked her head up only a little, scared to know what the answer would be, "And look at it this way; asking him now will get that fear out of your mind, and you'll know for a fact that he is who he says he is."

It took a second for her to respond as Cynder thought about it, but with the help of the girls, she picked herself up and agreed, "You're all right. And, I still hold what you said to me, Ersa, about trust. I... I believe Spyro would've told me but... I... I need to ask," Turning and walking over to her lover, the girls all followed behind as they wanted to be there in support for her in case the worse happened, "I never should've asked... Why did I ask," Standing to his right and looking down on his body, the girls all stopped behind her and waited for her to wake him, and after giving a huge sigh, she said to herself, "Here goes nothing..." Sitting down close to him, she put a paw over his and called his name gently as to not frighten him, "Sp... Spyro... my love... Can I ask you a real quick question?"

To her surprise and everyone else's, he growled, and it seemed like it was at her, which was already a bad sign for all the girls. Spyro's body locked for a second before easing up, and as it did, he was able to keep control, coming out from his darkened form and returning to his purple scales. Picking his head up and shaking it to help himself out, the first thing he caught on to was how she seemed, both sad and scared. Luckily for him, he remembered what had happened when he first came out from his dark power and chuckled, "Hehe... Don't worry my love, that growl wasn't to you. Having to fight back against the darkness is proving to be a challenge, so I was... I guess you could say I was growling at it, or him, or... what ever it is," Seeing that didn't do much to change her mood, and the girls were all there behind her, he was now concerned, even sitting up in case it was something he needed to do, "What's wrong? Did something happen? Please tell me it has to do with Malefor, I would love to hurt him right about now. Or is it cause I didn't drown him, Hehe."

Cynder couldn't help but smile at that, and even the other girls did as well. She knew staying quiet wouldn't help the situation, so, giving a deep sigh, she asked him with fear present in her voice, "Spyro... did you... I mean... Have you ever... You know... done it with someone else?" It was a weird question for him as he even looked confused as to why this was brought up, but she made sure to explain, "Well, I've never... have seen or done anything when it comes to... mate stuff but... You were talking about you and this pink dragoness that you bash a lot, which, hehe... I guess that makes me feel a little better but... have you ever... you now... did what she asked?"

"You want to know if I've ever mated with anyone?" Spyro asked, quick to the question and making the others blush, but seeing this as the situation, it was pretty simple for him to answer, "Cynder, of course I haven't. Hehe, I still very much have that... word that, let's be honest shouldn't have been brought up, but if that's what you're scared about, that's definitely something I can easily comfort you on," It did help her sigh as she truly trusted his words, and with how easily he said it, it did seem that he was telling the truth, "Hehe, and, also, that's something special between two lovers, like Volteer and Ersa. It's not something I would just do, so once again, I can assure you I haven't," Once again, his words not only made Cynder sigh, but also all the other girls, but now he had questions of his own, "But now it's my turn to ask a question; Why did you want to know about something like that? And why did you seem so relieved when I said I hadn't?"

Cynder's face turned red, and all the girls knew they needed to back out quick, even ducking their heads back as they were ready to run, but she was quick with her words to not make him too suspicious, "It was just something I wanted to understand is all, and I just wondered if you hadn't is all... I felt a lot better when you said no because... I was scared that you gave the pink dragoness a good time when she didn't deserve it!" Hopefully finding an easy escape to what she had said, it seemed to be working a little, but she once again tried to dust it off in hopes he would as well, "I mean, of course I wouldn't know, and even if I did which is just a guess, I would say you'd be pretty nice to have as a mate to whom ever you deemed worthy of your body and what not... Hehe... hehehe..."

Her words were only digging herself a deeper hole as her face kept the red that had shown for their entire conversation, and since he could tell through both her shivers and uneasiness, he didn't want her to keep suffering with what was happening, "Hehe, well, right back at you my love. And also, you saw when ever all those girls were crowding around me after we saved the Hatchling. I'm not going to just jump and say why not. It's something special, and to whom ever I become mates with, I want them to know that. I want to comfort them and let them know that, I would never betray the trust they've given me," The girls listened with wide eyes at what he had said, but for Cynder, she shed a couple of tears here and here, and since he knew it was his fault, he knew he should accept punishment, "I deserve to be punched in the gut, Don't I?" Getting ready for what was to come, he was surprised for a second by a sudden hug from his lover as she cried over his shoulder, hugging him with her wings, "Hehe, don't worry my love. Hopefully Malefor won't hit me too hard in the gut to the point of knocking me out, but..."

Feeling her squeeze a little more with her wings as she giggled, Spyro chuckled as he hugged her back, putting both his wings and arms around her. With his words, Carith also couldn't help but giggle as well, but even with the moment the two were having, she wanted to make quick joke, but unfortunately couldn't as someone had yelled, "If only you knew the power of the dark side, Spyro!"

Hearing someone yell, the two lover's backed out from the embrace and looked to the source of the voice. Everyone now looked with wide eyes to see the sand castle had been successfully built in such a short amount of time. It was big enough and strong enough to support Malefor as he stood above the sand castle, with both purple and blue flags placed all around the top cylinders that were made at the edges of the castle. The sand castle stood at the height of a large tree, and for more decoration, there were small windows in the two front cylinders, along with a big opening behind him that Malefor walked up to in order to get to the outside and second floor of his sand castle. Carith couldn't help but blush to see her lover flex at the top of his castle, like he was showing off his strength, and his words made her bite her lip in anticipation, "This is the power of a true being beyond that of which you can not comprehend!" Watching as Spyro smirked, he knew he was going to try something and warned him, "It's over, Spyro! I have the high ground!"

Rolling his eyes at what he had said, Spyro viewed this as a challenge, "You underestimate my power!"

"Don't try it!"

Looking behind him and to Cynder, he asked his lover, "Well, we've fought him before and turned out victorious, what do you say we have another battle?"

Wiping away her tears and smiling wide, she jumped to his right side and said with excitement, "I'm ready for anything! With you by my side, we can accomplish anything!"

"I have to apologize, ladies," Carith giggled, and the girls watched as she opened her wings and flew up to the top of the castle.

Landing next to her lover, Malefor looked at her, smiling, and flirting with her at the same time, "I knew you couldn't resist being evil," Pecking her on the lips, she shivered for the feeling, and pulling back, he focused on the others on the ground, "You are all now a threat to the way of our living! And there for, with this in mind, you must be exterminated!" Snapping his fingers, Malefor called out his royal guard, "Ignitus! Show these peasants who's in charge around her. My lover has needs that I must attended to."

Watching as he walked with his lover into the castle, everyone gasped as they saw Ignitus walk from out of the front entrance in full iron armor with an iron spear in his right paw. Sitting in front of the entrance, he sighed as he couldn't believe he was going along with this, "You've heard the king. Leave, or i shall use force," Taking steps forward, Claire walked in front of everyone, ready to take the challenge, and Ignitus stood ready, "I can't allow you to take any step further!"

"Spyro, Cynder, go. I shall deal with this guard," Claire said with a smile, getting way more enjoyment out of this then she thought

The two lover's laughed and they did as they were told, and to make sure they were safe, they flew up and over the guard. Landing on top of the castle, the two entered into the castle the same way the other two lovers had. Taking another step forward, Ignitus stood ready, and Claire liked this little game he was putting on, "You don't have to do this. Put the weapon down and face me like a real man!" He growled but did as she told him, only he took it a step further and took off his armor as well, "There you go. Now we are on an even playing field. Seems though that you like getting bossed around by a female. Does someone need the comfort of one?" Taking careful steps towards him, she saw he was enjoying himself too, both licking their lips as now the real battle was about to start, "Who's going to end up, on top, of the other."

"Why don't you find out," Ignitus chuckled.

* * *

Making it down the steps, Carith followed Malefor down to the main area of the entire sand castle. Looking around, she was surprised at how much effort was put into the sand castle in such a short amount of time. Making their way from the back of where the steps were, she walked with him to the middle of the castle. Admiring the inside, there were four pillars that held up the roofing above them, one near the back left and right, along with two others at both the front right and left corners of the room. Along the side wall were small cut out windows to allow sun light to shine into the inside. But what caught her eye the most was what was in the middle of the room, and walking around the back of it and to the front, it was two thrones, a little off the ground with three small steps to help get up to the thrones. She watched as Malefor walked up the steps and to the left throne, and while he did that, Carith looked behind her to see the opening in which Ignitus had exited out of to defend the castle, _How... How did he make all this? He had to have used Ignitus's powers, there's... there's no way._ Hearing a paw patting something, she turned her head back and saw it was Malefor patting the throne next to him as he sat on his, "Every king needs a queen, and I hope that you joined me to be just that; My queen of this world," Carith couldn't help but blush as she enjoyed this, and making her way up to her throne, he continued his speech, "Good. They will all soon know who the rightful ruler of this world is, and if someone steps out of line, and questions your power, your stand above the world, they shall meet a swift end," Watching as she sat down next to him on her own throne, he chuckled and broke character as he needed to know, "But, getting out of my king character for a second... Do you like what I've done?"

Looking all around as she sat on her throne, Carith was very happy with everything that he had done, "I have to say my love," Looking at him in his hopefully eyes, she was glad to assure him of his work, "I love everything about what you've done. Making me a queen, giving me my own throne, and having you as my king is... definitely something I can get use to," He smiled wide and chuckled as he was glad to hear she enjoyed all that he had done for her, "But, I do have to question; Did you really do this all by yourself? I mean... this is a lot of work, and it's a tad bit bigger then even the Chambers."

"I was thinking about getting Ignitus to just make a sand castle with his power, but... I screwed up in the morning, and I wanted to do this for you to show my love and appreciation for not dumping me after what I said."

"I wouldn't have dumped you, my love. And especially now, with what you've done... I can say that I'm truly happy."

Smiling once again at her words, he looked behind her to see both Cynder and Spyro running in front of the two as they sat there, and seeing as they hadn't used the front entrance, everything for Malefor was ruined as he yelled at the two, "What are you two doing?!" Watching as they stood a couple of paws away from where the thrones were, they looked at him a little confused as to what he meant, "You were supposed to use the entrance! Now my whole speech is ruined... And what the hell happened to my guard?!"

"Being dealt with by Claire. I'm sure we won't be seeing her, or your guard, anytime soon," Cynder smiled, and her words only frustrated him more as he knew that would happen.

"Damn it! He said he wouldn't fall for her, he swore on the oath!" Malefor growled as he stood on his throne, feeling threatened by the two as he wanted to know why they were here, "So why have you two come? Are you here to take me out, or to over throw my kingdom so soon?!" Jumping up and off his throne, the two backed up as he landed right in front of them, and he threatened the two, "I will not accept it! Leave this castle now and I can assure you, you'll live to die another day. But if you stay," Swinging his tail blade to his left side to face Spyro, Malefor saw him raise a brow, and once again, he broke character as he chuckled, "You really think I'm going to raise my tail blade to Cynder? I may be a corrupted overlord, but even I'm not that stupid."

Spyro chuckled to see he had broken character with what was happening, and since he could see everyone else was enjoying themselves, he played along, "You don't have to do this you know. While we believe you can call your lover a queen, over throwing everyone's way of life is not the way to do it. So I'm sorry, but I have to stop you here before that power gets to your head."

"Carith! Please! As your friend, I ask for your help!" Cynder cried, looking around Malefor and over to Carith, watching as she started to think about it.

Raising a wing up to block the view of Carith, Malefor didn't want any of the two to twist what he's doing, "Do not speak to her in such a way! What she wants is final, and she wishes to be with me, her king, as we rule over the world. So, I suggest you either join my army, or I'll have to force you to!" Seeing Spyro get into an attacking position, this wasn't good for Malefor, but he didn't give up hope, "I can't have such a threat live! You are a threat to our way of life, and there for, must be killed!" Attacking Spyro, he tackled him to the ground, making Spyro's back slam down on the sand, and with Malefor over him, he put his tail blade against his neck and warned him, "Give up! Give up or else!"

It was a little scary for the three as they didn't really know if he was joking or not, and they wondered if he really would use his tail blade, but for the time being, they continued to play along. Since Spyro had no way of attack, he could only try and calm him in hopes he would listen, "Malefor! Listen to me! You kill me right now, what will Carith think of you?! The blood that would stain your tail blade, do you really think Carith would love someone like that, someone so corrupted?!"

"You don't know that!" Pushing his tail blade a little more against his neck, he saw the shivers from Spyro, and with the fear in his eyes knowing he really was scared, he backed his tail blade up a bit and apologized, "Sorry... I wasn't really going to hurt you even with how in character I am, I want you to know that... And I was kinda hoping you would know that too," With the tone now, this was a perfect way for him to set the scene for what was to come next for his story, "You're right though... What would Carith think of me... Especially after the first time I stabbed you... And she was there for that... she... saw that," Backing off of Spyro, he looked away from everyone and down at the ground, murmuring as he spoke, "She would never love someone like that."

"Well then I guess it's a good thing you never did such a thing," Spyro said, giving a small smile as he got back up to his paws, and walking up to his side, he had a better idea, "Tell you what; Carith can be your queen, and you can have your own land, while I have mine, with Cynder being the queen of that land... Or," With the pause, Malefor looked at him, wondering what he was going to say, "Or we can make peace, combine our ideals and work towards a more lasting peace without this unnecessary conflict."

Malefor's eyes grew a little wide at his words as it sounded like an amazing idea, and even for him, he couldn't have said it any better. With those words in mind, Cynder walked up to Spyro's right side, and while they were talking, Carith hopped off her throne and walked over to Malefor on his left side. Seeing that everyone was now with him, Malefor gave a sigh as he knew this would start a new era of peace for them, "Hehe... Alright then... I do have a place were my friends stay. What do you say we ditch the castle and go to our real home; The Guardians Building?"

"Sounds like the prefect end to this story," Carith agreed, and with this being a perfect ending, the four all smiled with one another.

"RUN!"

Hearing someone yell, the four all jumped at the voice and turned to the entrance. Looking at Malefor, Spyro nodded at him, and he gave a nod back as they thought they were under attack. Turning with their lovers and running to the entrance as quickly as they could, they made it out in no time flat. As they exited the entrance of the castle, Ignitus and Claire were looking at the ocean with wide eyes, almost in fear. Seeing that Ersa and the other two Guardians were doing the same, the four looked off into the ocean, and as they did, they looked in fear as well. A massive wave that had the height of a three to four story building was making it's way to land. Looking to Ignitus, Spyro asked, "What the hell happened?!"

"I... I don't know..." Ignitus said, watching as the wave was closing in on the shore, "Though what i do know is... we should do as he said... And run."

Looking away from his father and at the wave, he saw Volteer was at the very top of the wave, and in a way keeping up with it to surf the top in order to not fall. Growling as he knew he had to do something, Spyro ran to the middle of the shore and called out, "Malefor and everyone else, get behind me!" Hearing and doing as they were told, they all ran up behind him as he stood in the middle of where the wave was going to hit, "Volteer! Get ready to fly!"

Rubbing his paws together, everyone wondered what it was he was going to do. After rubbing his paws together, Spyro thought to himself, _Alright, Spyro. Don't screw this up, Do not screw this up. Just focus._ Stretching his arms outwards, he swung his paws inwards as to clap his paws forward and away from his body. The clap was strong enough to make a huge gust of wind that whipped through the sand while ripping a path straight through and into the water. Reaching the wave, Volteer cried and jumped upwards to avoid the gust of wind that he had made, and just as he jumped to the air, the force of the clap split the wave in two. Now with the wave moving in two separate directions, Volteer watched as it made land fall from above, completely soaking anything and everything that was within a quarter mile of the beach. Before flying back to the others, he looked down in awe as the strength was enough to keep even the ocean split for a couple seconds before it closed in on itself. Just as Volteer was, everyone was in awe with this show of power, but for Malefor, his fears grew as he cried, "Wait!" Looking to his left, his sand castle had been completely demolished, being made into nothing more then a pile of mud, "No... no..." Walking a couple of steps away, he fell to his knees and cried as he hit his paw into the sand, "Some men just want to watch the world burn..." Seeing Volteer land in front of the group, Malefor got up and pointed a claw at him, "What the hell did you do?! My castle, all my work! It's... Gone!"

"Sorry, Sorry, okay. I was trying to impress Ersa but, I couldn't cause their wasn't any waves for me to surf, so... I had to manipulate the flow of the water in order to make a wave of decent value but... Hehe... My calculations and what I was using made the wave a lot bigger then I intended."

"Calculations?! What you were working with?! You were in the middle of the damn ocean! What could you possibly have gotten that would've done that?!"

"Well, our world is full of valuable resources. One such resource is close to a certain creature that lives near the bottom of the water. So, I held my breath, went underwater, and was lucky enough to see the gem I needed to manipulate the water. Coming back up from the water, I uh... overcharged the crystal a little too much then what I believed I had done, making the volume in the water... unstable... And once I dropped it back into the ocean, it... well, exploded, effecting the water in a rather dangerous way... basically making a tidal wave."

Taking a step to him, he fell to his knees and cried once again, "Do you know how hard it was to make that castle?! It wasn't even up for more then an hour... And you destroyed it."

Ignoring his friend as he fake cried on the ground, he just rolled his eyes and focused on Spyro as Volteer wanted to know how he did what he did, "Spyro... how did you... do that? And how did you know something like that would've worked?" Everyone else was just as eager to know about what he had done, and as Volteer explained it more, the more desperate they wanted to know too, "That wasn't just some simple clap. That was strong enough to split the ocean for a good mile, and it stayed like that for a couple of seconds too."

"Well, with how things have been going so far, I made sure to keep training up on my dark powers. It's a little crazy but, while training with my dark powers, I also work with my own body as well," Spyro explained, and for the scientist that Volteer and Ersa were, they wanted to know more about what he meant, and since he expected them to ask such questions, he spoke about it, "When you work out, you stretch out your muscles, getting microscopic tears, and I use my own dark powers to further that while I'm not moving."

"What?!" Almost everyone cried.

"When did you learn about this?" Both Ersa and Volteer asked at the same time.

"I learned a lot when I was affected by the darkness. As I told Ignitus, my mind acted faster and reacted nearly in the future before something happened. So, I picked up a few tricks here and here to help me improve that of what is needed," Spyro explained, getting wide eyes once again from everyone as they were very surprised to hear this, "Look, I can talk about what else I've learned later on but," Looking past Volteer and seeing the sun was about to set, he wanted to have that moment with his lover, "The sun is setting, and I want to end this day off on a high note."

"Yeah but... How are me and Cyril going to enjoy the sunset if we're laying in the sand?" Terrador asked as both of their towels had been taken during the massive wave that hit land, along with some others.

"Don't worry, I will put them back," Ignitus explained, and as he did, he wanted this day to end perfectly as he gave the run down of what he believed should happen, "If you all want to, cuddle up with your love ones, and for the others, just make sure you are comfortable. And as for your towels afterwards, I shall have them folded and placed on your shelves, and for us Guardians, I will put them under our beds. Once the sun sets, and everyone is happy and rested, I will teleport you all back to your beds so you don't even have to move from such a joyous moment," Everyone smiled as it sounded like a fantastic idea, and with everyone heading to their respective towels, Ignitus stopped Volteer for a second, "Hey... Volteer... I do apologize but... I need you and Ersa to come lay in your bed in the Chambers."

Hearing this, Ersa stopped where she was going and walked over to the three, "Whoa whoa whoa. Ignitus, me and Volteer had plans for tonight."

"Ersa... I need to know you all are safe, and having you in our sleeping Chambers will make it much more easier for me to make of that."

Giving a huge sigh, Volteer chuckled as well and apologised, "Sorry my love. But look on the bright side; Gives us more time to get our enegry back as well as keeping you safe, which is my top priority."

"Yeah... You're... you're right," Ersa sighed.

Now with the two walking over to where they laid, Ignitus and Claire walked a couple of steps and stood above their towel. With everyone laying perfectly as they wanted, everyone watched together as the sun started to set over the water. Laying next to Spyro, Cynder's eyes grew wide as she watched in awe of how beautiful the sight really was. The perfect colors gave off a sense of ease and warmth, combined with the orange, blue, and white colors that made up from the ocean to the sky, she couldn't help but smile. Looking away from the sight, she looked to Spyro, and she giggled to see he was already ready for the kiss, and even he chuckled as he whispered to her, keeping the tone as smooth and as nice as he could, "Feels nice, doesn't it, my love?" Watching as she shed a tear of joy, he did the same as he wished for the day for a while, "Never thought I would be able to have this moment with you... But now that I do... I don't want to ruin it."

Moving in for the kiss, Cynder was surprised as well as even with the kiss, he was as gentle as he could possibly be. Closing their eyes together, they listened to the sounds of the ocean waves, and with this feeling of comfort and pleasure, both started to feel their eyes not wanting to open as the feeling of tiredness filled their bodies. Lucky for them, Malefor spoke which kept the two wake as they pulled away from the kiss, "I wish we had more time to do so much more. And there's still so many fun activities that we could've done," Looking to his lover, he chuckled as he remembered something he had said, "And we weren't even able to kiss underwater."

Carith giggled at his words and didn't see a difference, "You kiss me with your water to keep my lips slick, so what is different from kissing you now and underwater?"

"Oh... Hehe... yeah... You're right."

Laying her head down on her towel, she felt as Malefor rested his head over hers, wing draped over her back and as comfortable as can be. With the two closing their eyes, it didn't take long for others to follow. Terrador was next to close his eyes as he laid in a comfortable position, and then soon followed Cyril. Cuddled up and laid down on their towel, Ersa sighed as she was still a little sad as she had high hopes for the night, "And here I was preparing this whole time to have a little fun tonight."

"Hehe, don't worry, my love. We have all the time in the world... And I don't ever want to put in back in a position where you could be hurt," Volteer murmured as he shivered from what's happened.

"I'm definitely not happy either with this threat interfering, and after what you've said about us... happening, you most surely held true with what happened the other night."

Giving a blush to his words, she giggled, "That's one way to cheer me up."

Closing their eyes and ready to get some rest, Spyro did the same with Cynder as they laid there with his head resting above hers, and before going to bed, he wanted to ask something as he was still curious, "Cynder... about what you had asked me, when it came to me having, done, someone," She shivered as she thought this was him admitting the truth, and even though he did, it wasn't what she feared, "I've never, and have never thought about something like that. Your safety and happiness is all I can think about... it's all I want... And I hope this day was everything you hoped it would've been."

Shedding another tear from his words, Cynder snuggled up more against him and whispered, "It was everything and so much more... I love you... Spyro."

"I love you too, Cynder."

Ignitus watched as everyone started to fall asleep all around, and now it was just him and Claire. Muting out the sound from all the others, he laid there next to Claire and wanted to give her a heads up, "My clone informed me that the three had to go get some sleep, and our visitor didn't appear yet. This is a problem as this means he might attack while all of us are resting, and he might try and hurt someone."

"Ignitus..." Claire murmured, seeing he was scared of what's to come, "You've always taught me to stay positive. We will all make it through this, just as we've made it through so much in the weeks we've been together," He smiled at her help as it was something he needed, but he also knew he shouldn't look down as she would threaten him if he did, "And remember, as an assassin, I look for vulnerability, and having you so, vulnerable, makes you easy prey. And you wouldn't want to end up on your back now would you?"

"Hehehe... You prove a very good point," Now cheered up from her words, he thanked her, and watched as she laid her head down on his paws, "Thank you... Claire. I feel I don't say it enough but... you've truly made my life amazing," Laying his head down over hers, he shivered slightly as he knew he didn't want to lose it, "You all are here, you, are here, and I never knew that our group would include Ersa. I'm not going to make a mistake. I've already been given permission that if something is within the walls of Warfang, I am able to act as a Guardian and protect my city... to protect all of you."

"Then what do you have to worry about?" Claire asked, closing her eyes and feeling completely safe when she's around him.

"Nothing... And I know you don't either... you shouldn't have to fear," Closing his eyes, he kept a smile as he was sure he would be able to protect them from this threat, "I won't let this new threat take us down... I can't... And I won't," Now with everyone falling asleep and being as comfortable as they could, he knew what needed to happen next, " _Now with everyone asleep, I can keep everyone safe and work from the shadows with my clones to prepare and stop what ever it is that is to come... I have to... And if I fail, then I once again have to put the weight of the world on you, my son... But only time will tell._ "


	21. Chapter 21: A Nightmare Of The Future

Chapter 21: A Nightmare Of The Future

Laying there and within in his thoughts, Ignitus made sure to keep busy while the others rested, thinking of ways he could prevent such a disaster, _If he does attack, or if he does do something as a way of a threat, I could always just stop him right then and there, preventing anything from even happening in the first place. But even still, the Destroyer I'm sure can act on it's own, even with what's happened to it before._ Hearing slight snores form the Guardians and slowed breathes from the others, he stopped his thoughts on the matter for the time being and used this to get back to where he needed to be, _Now with everyone asleep, I can take us back to the Chambers._ Gently moving his right paw from underneath Claire's head, he both picked up his head and moved his other paw to the middle of her head as support for the time being. Reaching up his paw, he snapped his fingers, and in an instant, he was faced forward on his bed in the Sleeping Chambers. With him and Claire now rested in his bed, he looked around to make sure everyone else was with him. _Terrador, Cyril, Volteer, and Ersa are all here, and with the other four being in their rooms, now all I have to do is wait._ Moving his paw back down and underneath Claire's head, he shifted his other paw over back to where it once was, supporting her head for the time being, until he realized something. _The only problem right now is, if who ever this is does show up, I need to be ready myself, so... I do apologize my love._ Gently moving both paws from underneath, he made sure to slide her head off his left paw in a way that her head would rest right onto the bed without much movement. With both his paws free, and him ready to make a move at any point, it scared him to no end with not knowing when he would show, _Come on... Hurry up and show yourself... And I can't exactly just find him myself since his thoughts and movements aren't a blank canvas for me._ Keeping his head straight and focusing on nothing but the door, he frowned some as he knew he was missing out on a perfect night. He even gave a sigh as he looked to his left, watching as his lover laid next to him with only a barley visible smile, _Maybe I could just try and get some rest. My other clone went back to the White Isles for the time being, and maybe putting him back in the Chambers would be a good idea._ Thinking about what would be the best thing to do, it sounded like a perfect idea to him, but even he knew there were still flaws even to what he believed would've been a perfect idea, _Then again, it would probably be best if I faced him and not one of my clones... And if one of my clones did face him rather then me, he could just kill my clone and disappear if he wanted to. Then I wouldn't know where he could've gone, only causing more of an issue._ Feeling the shivers of fear starting to go through his mind and body, he knew with his shaking, he would wake up Claire, which he wanted to avoid all possibility of doing so, _Claire has already seen enough of her share of conflict. If at all possible, I would like to keep her away from him, so I need to calm down and breath or else I will wake her._ Trying to keep himself busy as to get his mind off his fears, he gave a sigh once again, even laying his head down over the back of Claire's neck as a way to calm himself. _Let's think... what would calm me down? Thinking about Spyro and or Malefor would only make me think more of death, and... same goes for everyone else, so... I'm kinda stuck._ Focusing his right eye at the door, still nothing seemed to be entering, or waiting outside of the Chambers, which was both a good and bad sign, _Maybe... maybe he had a change of thought and decided not to show up... Maybe... maybe I'm just stressing myself out and that's what he wants._ Closing his eyes and trying to control his thoughts of the unknown of which was causing him to stress, he trusted in his power for the time being, _I'm sure if he shows up, he doesn't have the power to best me. And if need be, I can teleport both Spyro and Malefor to help me deal with this threat, which in return could help stop him all together._ Giving out now a pleased, comforting sigh, he now had an idea of exactly what to focus on to help him rest, _just... think about the day we all had... think of everyone's smile... everyone having a good time... hehe... And me fighting with Claire as to who would best who._ Feeling calmed now, he believed in his words and power to whom ever would show tonight, but he hoped he wouldn't have to as he told himself out loud, "Everything's is going to be fine... Just... breath."

Having calmed down now, Ignitus felt it would be nice now to just try and get some sleep. Adjusting his head more upwards from the back of Claire's neck, his eyes started to roll to the back of his head as he gave a sigh, thinking about how nice it would be to sleep, _After the nice of day we had yesterday... maybe I can just enjoy this night with everyone else and sleep... nice and comfortable._ His vision started to blur as he tried to both sleep and stay awake at the same time, but he knew his feeling of comfort was going to take over faster then anything else. Keeping his eyes straight and making sure nothing happened by the door, it looked as though it had opened, but for Ignitus, he thought it was nothing, _I really... must be tired..._ Closing his eyes and nearly falling asleep, he gave a pleased sigh to finally get the rest that he wanted. _"IGNITUS!"_ Hearing his own voice yell from within his mind, his eyes shot open to see someone standing at the door, but before he could say anything to the figure, he saw a shard of ice headed right to Claire's head. Snapping out of bed, he zipped from off the right side of the before snapping over to the front of the bed and catching a holed of the ice shard. His speed was enough to kick up some wind, and his growl as he looked at the shard made Claire wake from what was happening. Grumbling as she opened her eyes, Claire asked in confusion, "Ignitus...? Is everything...?" Gasping with wide eyes, the shard of ice stopped right in front of her face, almost touching her scales right between her eyes, "Wh..?!" With Ignitus breaking the ice shard in his paw, Claire watched almost in slow motion as the figure at the door was revealed, "No... No no no..." Standing up and backing to the back of the bed, she knew exactly who it was, "It's you!" With her cry, everyone woke in a fright from the yelling, and with Ignitus facing the figure at the door, he showed his teeth as well, "Why are you here?!" Only getting a chuckle from the dragon, Claire tensed up, tail blade by her side and jumping forward to the front of the bed, she was ready for a fight, "Answer you son of a bitch!"

"Come now, Ignitus. She has nothing to do with you," The dragon spoke at the door, only angering Ignitus as he knew what he was talking about, "Just trying to take out a disobedient little shit. Hoping you would be sleeping, but I'm guessing your little clone probably told you I was coming," With Ignitus taking more steps to the dragon, the other Guardians stood up on their beds, and with this unknown threat, Volteer put his wing up to block his mate which he saw, "Huh... You know, knowing of your clones is one thing which you aren't slick about, but her," Pointing at Ersa, Volteer showed his teeth, wondering if he was going to try something, "Who is she, Ignitus? A lover to him, or... maybe a mate?"

"The hell's that to you?!" Volteer growled.

"Nothing. Just gonna be pretty easy for me to use her as a weapon against you all of she possibly has a Hatchling resting in that stomach of hers."

Snapping from his words, Volteer jumped off the bed and got half way to the dragon before Ignitus stopped him, "Volteer, don't," His voice was low, calming as to try and not keep the situation from escalating, and the dragon noticed this, "Terrador, if anything else walks in this door that isn't friendly, kill it. Cyril, you can do the same," Walking up and standing a couple of steps away from the red dragon, Ignitus made a clone walk from behind his bed and to Claire's side which she caught a glimpse of, "Volteer, keep Ersa safe, and Claire; My clone might not have to watch over you, but try and stay safe."

"Relax, Ignitus, I didn't bring anyone else... Well, we all know that's a lie. And for the time being, just scoping out the area for the time being," Looking past Ignitus from both his left and right, the red dragon smiled as he also had some more information that he could use against him, "Nice to know where you all rest. But from my other dark scouts, seems like I now know where those other four live," Everyone aside from Ignitus gasped as they viewed this as a threat, possibly a damning one, "Nice little windows they got there, but I do wonder, and I will even let you have a choice on this one, Ignitus, but... Who should I force against you if my demands aren't met? Malefor? Spyro? Or maybe my future lover. Decisions; Decisions."

"Ignitus!" Terrador growled, not liking the information he had with him.

"Relax!" Ignitus growled as he looked at his friend which made Terrador shut his mouth rather quickly, and even with the chuckle that the red dragon had for success, Ignitus turned that idea on it's head, "All his information shall and will be taken from him when he leaves," Seeing the red dragon chuckle, he knew what he was going to say before he did and interrupted him, "You walked on my land, my soil. You come in here and threaten to kill my lover. My powers may be suppressed, but I have all the permission I want to use it against you if you attack my home. Which means, I have control over everything while you're here," Snapping his fingers, nothing happened, but hearing the red dragon growl, they heard as Ignitus explained, "What happened to your dark creatures, Flint? And where does the other four live again?"

"Flint...?" Cyril asked himself, "Why does that name sound so familiar."

"He was the dragon that tried to take Cynder from Spyro the day they saved that Hatchling," Volteer growled as he remembered that name clear as day, and as he walked back to his bed and Ersa's side, he heard everyone gasp.

"What?!"

"But why hide your name?!" Claire yelled out at him.

"Because if he had told you, I would've known of what he was doing before he even started his whole plan," Ignitus growled, and with everything he said, Flint chuckled as he was getting everything right, "If I would've known his name sooner, I could've done something sooner to help stop his corruption, but because I couldn't, I can't do anything. So the information the Dark Master had transferred over to him, giving him all the war knowledge of which Malefor once possessed, and also the knowledge as to what the Chronicler is and what his limits are since Malefor knew him."

Clapping from how well he was able to figure out everything, Flint wanted to know how long he knew all this, "Congratulations. But now I have questions I want to know about; How did you erase my memory if I have darkness surrounding my mind, and also, you knew of this sooner, my identity, but how? How did you find out it was me a while back?"

"You're still young when it comes to your darkness. You try to act like the Dark Master without understanding flaws that you make. Having holes in your mind I can easily manipulate, compared to that of the other three. And as for your name, well, Spyro wanted to know what happened to you, and with what Malefor said about someone else using the Dark Master's army, I found the rat that was behind it all."

"Spyro's always where you don't want him, isn't he," Flint sighed, and since he already had all this information, he wanted to know what his answer was to what he had coming, "Well then, I'm guessing you might already know my plan?" Ignitus didn't want to say anything, and since he hesitated, Flint gave out what he was to do, "The Destroyer I'm sure would love to claim more lives if needed," With it revealed, everyone gasped, shaking and falling down to their backsides as they remembered what happened last time, "Oh... you didn't tell them? Well," Looking past Ignitus and at everyone in the back, he smiled with an evil grin, knowing he could pin the blame on someone else, "If Ignitus agrees to my demands, then such a weapon shouldn't be used," Looking back to see the frustration on Ignitus's face, he chuckled at this, "Erase their memory of this then, like you did me."

"No," Ignitus growled, and trying to keep himself calm, he only slightly looked behind himself and apologized to the others, "I'm sorry I didn't say something sooner, but I will explain everything once I come back."

"Come back?" Claire asked, shedding a tear as this was all too much happening all at once, even though she already knew of the Destroyer, "Where are you..." Watching as Ignitus put a paw on Flint's shoulder, the two disappeared quickly with only a small gust of wind appearing from where they were, "Going..." Sitting down on her bed, she looked to see everyone was afraid of what was to come, and she had to apologise to everyone as she knew this before everyone else and didn't say anything, "I'm... sorry... everyone," Hearing her words, everyone looked over to her and listened to what she had to say, "Yesterday... Ignitus told me of what was to come... And when he mentioned the Destroyer to me as well, I... I didn't calm down all that well even after what he said to comfort me," Looking to Ersa, she felt she owned her the most of an apology, "I could've told you girls sooner... And I didn't... And... This is why me and Ignitus were so scared in the Chambers... Because of what was learned."

Looking down at her bed, everyone did the same, fearing of what was to come, and even for Volteer, he was stumped on what to do, "If Spyro finds this out... He knows the Destroyer was already defeated from the inside out, and if that thing starts walking around, he'll know it was from the darkness... And if he finds that out... Then Malefor..." Everyone shivered, and same as everyone else, Volteer started to sweat, and it didn't help he couldn't think straight with his increasing breathing, "What the hell do we do?" Looking up, snapping his fingers and smiling, it was a simple idea, "Wait! It's so simple! If Spyro and Malefor don't kill each other, we have to let the Destroyer win, and then Spyro can just bring the world back together!"

It seemed like a little bit of a bad idea, but it was the only one to be known for sure, and Cyril agreed, "Hopefully Warfang won't spilt in half and be fine as it was before, but... it could work."

"Even though it won't..." The clone of Ignitus spoke, making everyone freeze for a second, "If Spyro does try something like that again... He will die..." Hearing everyone gasp, he knew they would want to have a reason, and so he explained, "The world is already unstable from the first time as it wasn't put together all that well. If he tries to put the world back together again, his power wouldn't be enough, no matter how much he has. Someone would have to hold the world together, which would mean... His body would have to become one with the earth, giving all his energy to the world to save it."

"No... No no no..." Cyril cried, putting his paws above his head and sweating to the point that he felt he was going to have a heart attack.

"Then if not Spyro, What about Malefor?!" Volteer cried out, hoping maybe he would be able to do something, "I... I don't want him die but... maybe... maybe his power would do something different... maybe... maybe..." Looking down to his bed, letting his sweat drip off his face and onto the bed, he knew nothing he was saying would help, "What if they combine powers?! What if... what if we use a huge earth wall and push it down or... or..."

Watching everyone becoming completely demoralized from what was said, the clone frowned to see even Terrador was struggling to stay strong, and unfortunately, he had to tell everyone the truth, "There's no way to stop the Destroyer unless... it either completes it's mission... or it's completely destroyed. And unfortunately, even for the Chronicler, we wouldn't be able to deal with it."

"Then we're... we're dead..." Cyril cried, nearly passing out on his bed.

"Or... Spyro is... Malefor wouldn't be able to sacrifice himself as he's not the same as Spyro. What he's learned compared to that of Malefor, he would fail to bring the earth together and die trying... And then even with that... we all still die."

"Then what does he want!" Terrador growled, making everyone look at him as he looked to the clone, "He said this could be prevented... So... what does he want?!"

Remembering that, they all believed their would be hope, even looking at the clone with wide eyes, hoping they could still stop it, but even still, it would be impossible as he spoke, "What he's wanted from the start... Cynder..." Hearing her name called, everyone once again gasped, shivering as they all knew that wouldn't be an option, "If... Spyro... was to give her up, then he wouldn't attack, and we wouldn't even have a war as... that's all he's doing this for, is to get Cynder away from him. Flint knows what would happen if the world was destroyed, he knows what would happen to Spyro, so... He knows he would win... But the problem that he doesn't understand is that... anger isn't the only way to control the darkness. In Cynder's case, the angrier the user is, the easier it is to control with your emotions."

"Like with Spyro," Ersa spoke, trying to be the most calm of all the others to think of what to do, "So I'm assuming, If Spyro dies, her emotions would effect her darkness, making her focused on who ever did this... Which would mean, Flint wouldn't have his way nor control over her... He would only have caused a permanent problem, and he'd die because of it," The clone was surprised with how well she was able to explain that of what he thought he would have to, though he knew he shouldn't be so surprised with her smarts, "Well, we aren't giving up Cynder, that's for sure. Unless someone else is in disagreement?"

Looking around the room, she saw no one was going to agree, and even Cyril had to chuckle as he knew that would be a horrible idea, "I may have had a problem with Cynder back then with her dark side, but Spyro when he's pissed... No thank you, hehe..."

"And that's the biggest problem," Volteer spoke, getting everyone's attention, and while it seemed he had calmed himself a little, on the inside, his body was ready to give out, "There's too much that could happen, and what a game of tug of war we have going on right now; because Flint wants Cynder, but Spyro wouldn't allow that, so Flint would kill him, making her kill him, so there's no way to win if we agree or disagree. The only question is, which side has a stronger pull to come out on top?" Looking straight at the wall and talking out loud, he had hopes, not giving up on what he has, "After all that's happened... Think... Think think think... The Chronicler would have an issue, but would Spyro in his Dark form, Malefor, and all of us together unlike before, we could do it. Maybe even Cynder and Carith could join."

"That's... a good idea... But," Hearing the clone almost reject the idea, Volteer and everyone else had to know as it sounded like an amazing idea, "What if we didn't just deal with the Destroyer?"

"Wh... What do you... mean...?"

* * *

Walking back and forth on the roof of the Guardians Building, Ignitus didn't know what to do, and Flint saw this as he had him right where he needed him, "So what will it be Ignitus?! You either give me Cynder and suffer slight casualties, or... Hehe... Well, I'm sure the apes, the Dark Creatures, the Destroyer, and maybe half a hundred or more dragons would show you that you've chosen wrong," Even in the night sky, the red body of Ignitus was visible enough to Flint to see the drops of sweat as he continued to pace himself, "This is all on you! Doesn't matter what you do, someone is going to die and their blood will be on your paws! Either way, it's a win win for me; I either get Cynder and Spyro dies, or I don't and I can meet her in the afterlife. Hahaha! Hay, maybe in hell, I can tell Malefor all about his lover that he'll never get to see again! And best part, after what Cynder has done, we will all be seeing each other sooner or later, and..."

"SHUT UP!" Ignitus yelled out with a clap of thunder striking down on the ground, and with rain starting to move in on the two, he warned him, "You don't control everything, and it's laughable that you think you do! You don't understand that?!"

"Whoa, Ignitus. Lost it much?"

"No... No, I haven't," Ignitus smirked, backing away from Flint and letting the rain pour down onto them, giving him comfort as he looked to the sky and took a deep breath in, and then out, "You've actually made my job so much... easier," Hearing Flint growl, Ignitus kept his smile as he turned and looked to his enemy, "I know what to prepare for, I've always know what to prepare for ever since I've seen your little hide out. And even if the world does blow up," Standing right in front of Flint with a puffed out chest, he knew he held the lives of everyone in his paws, "You're right, their lives are with me, and so is yours. I can talk with the Ancestors, you can't. So, while we all enjoy the afterlife... Hehehe, Well, say high to your friends in hell for me why don't you."

"You really think I care either way?!" Flint yelled, "Either way, I win! Everyone dies, this world goes, and good luck enjoying what ever life you would've had. In a bright flash, we will all be judged, and we'll all be dead! In the after life, life doesn't matter! It's called after for a reason, so good luck on what ever future you thought you would have, cause I'm sure theirs no life after you're dead! Which means for your friend, Volteer, well... Oh well for a Hatchling, right?!"

"You haven't seen Spyro fight in a while, have you? You know what, just try and take her if I'm being honest. When he snaps and your neck does the same, then everything is over, and his strengh would be enough to take care of the Destroyer," Even for Flint, he couldn't say anything as he has seen Spyro's display of power, but not giving Ignitus what he wanted to hear, he kept his mouth shut, "We can protect Malefor, we can protect each other. And just to give a you a run down; While my family is living it up in a paradise, including Cynder, you'll live your failure in hell over and over again. And I know that's why you're doing this; you don't want to see Cynder in the after life. You're jealous, upset of what has happened in your life, and so you're taking everything away from everyone cause you failed..."

"Shut it!" Swinging his claw around to slash at his cheek, Ignitus's arm snapped up from the puddle underneath his paws.

In a instant, Flint was knocked back as his arm swung backwards, losing the threat he made. Sliding from the attack and water at his paws, he almost slipped off the top of the building, but was able to catch himself at the edge with his paws. Looking down below him to see how far the fall was, he growled before looking back at Ignitus, but he made sure to give a smirk along with his growl to intimidate him, "Either way, some one is going and you can't stop that. We will leave the day a mystery as I want you to fear for the rest of your lives, and that will happen one step at a time," Opening his wings and splashing the water outwards, it was almost impossible for Ignitus to see Flint now as the rain had picked up, "Hope you didn't have future plans with that women of yours. Don't worry, she will betray you as she did me. But if you want to, kill me now, do it... Oh, that's right. Kill me, the attack starts immediately, and since I can give the darkness to all my troops, how would you be able to stop it even if you killed all of them?" Smirking to see Ignitus didn't say anything, he gave his finale words to him, "See you soon, friend."

Standing up on his two back paws, he fell backwards off the building and headed straight to the ground. Running up to the edge, Ignitus was barley able to make out his figure as he flew away from where they were, but he knew it to be Flint. _You had to open your wings, didn't you. You couldn't just hit the ground and get your life over with._ Sitting down and getting a feel for what it was he needed to do, he sighed, and closing his eyes, he looked down as he thought. With the cool feeling of the rain going down his body, it made him think if Claire's cold blue body, which was another comfort for him. _Malefor... Spyro... my son... What do I do... what should I have done._ Opening his eyes and looking at his reflection in the puddle of water, the droplets of water that dripped off the top of his head and dripped down his nose and chin distorted the puddle from underneath him, and in a way, this made him think. _Just like these droplets of water; a single drop can easily cause a distortion... A single dragon... can distort his plan._ Looking up and having an idea of what he needed, he turned, and as he blinked, he appeared in the Sleeping Chambers near the door, and as he walked to his bed, everyone looked to him before he even spoke, "Clone, go back go the White Isles for me, I can handle things from her," The clone nodded and turned, disappearing behind everyone as he walked away, "For us Guardians, get ready to defend Warfang. Volteer, we need a plan, if not and since you don't know, get those potions ready for an attack," Jumping up onto his bed and sitting down to Claire's right side, he smiled as he liked this idea the best, "If we're going to defend Warfang, make sure you all know how to use The Elements Of Devastation."

"Dumb ass name," Terrador chuckled.

"Take it up with Malefor tomorrow, get it changed, I don't care, just prepare. Ersa I need you to help of course Volteer with his work," Hearing Volteer open his mouth and speak, Ignitus cut him off as he remembered, "But don't! Over do it. We have time I'm sure, but maybe not long. You two just need to be careful, take your time and don't rush," Volteer still frowned as he didn't want her to work, but he knew if he was there to support her, things should be fine, "And as for you, Claire," Raising a brow at her name being called, he blushed, but was honest, "I'm definitely going to need your help to keep my mind straight... And calm."

Licking her lips, she knew what that meant, "Easiest job you could've possible given me," Wiping a water droplet off his cheek with a claw, she wiped the drop of water across his lips, and Ignitus chuckled once her claw had slid off his lips, "Brings back some pretty good memories, what can I say?"

Putting her arms around the back of his neck and kissing his lips, Ignitus already felt the effects of her love working, calming him down and giving him a better idea of how to execute his plan. Hearing her mate give a sigh, Ersa looked to Volteer to see his worry, but since she knew no one would be able to hear if she whispered to him, she ducked her head down and whispered, "Look on the bright side, you get to show me how to work it again," Getting a huge blush from her words, she giggled and tried her best to brighten him up, "I know you need me to be healthy, but I can't if I'm dead. And... with hopes that we make it out if this... We could always make the excuse again that I want to be left alone to... recover. Remember?"

"Hehehe... You think I would forget?"

"Well, I hear it's harder to think on your back then when standing. You should know a lot about being on your back, my love."

"Ha-ha, very funny. Just you wait and we will see who has that last laugh."

With the help of the water, the two gave nice moans of the feeling from the kiss, and Ignitus shed a tear as he didn't want to have this question, but he needed to know, "You would... never betray us... betray... me... would you?" Seeing her raise a huge brow, he chuckled as he knew it was stupid for him to even think about and even apologized, "Sorry, I'm... I'm scared. And having you is... I... Just don't want to lose you or anyone else."

"We can role play my betrayal after this has blown over, okay?" Claire giggled, and even Ignitus chuckled as it sounded like a great idea.

"As long as I have you," Nuzzling her cheek, he rested his head on her right shoulder, and for her, she rested her head on his right shoulder as well, "Now, I guess the only thing for us to do is sleep, but unfortunately for Cynder... I... have to give her a nightmare of what's to come," Taking her arms, picking up her head, and pushing him away, he was so surprised that his head slid off her shoulder, and he had to gain his balance to look at her, wondering what he did, "What?"

"You're giving her a nightmare? After she just had one of the best days of her life? How are you going to explain that to Spyro? Or are you hoping he gets pissed off and you tell him it was Flint?"

"I'm going to be there to warn her that it is a nightmare at least. And if things get bad, I will let Spyro help her out, but I don't think it should be that bad. I sent that clone back to the White Isles to prepare the nightmare, and once I review it, then I can show it," Hearing of Flint's name being called, it gave him some more to say as he knew none of it should, "Oh yeah, and to all of us here, keep his name to only us. We can't let him know it was Flint's. Similar to when I told him about Malefor back in the Isles, he wanted to risk only his life to stop him, and he will do the same if we tell him now. As for the Destroyer, just don't tell Spyro. All darkness related topics must not be discussed with my son."

"But what if discussing those topics with him is a good idea?" Volteer asked, making everyone else wonder as well.

"We will wait till after the attack. If we-When we! Make it through this... together, then we can discuss these topics, aside from Flint and a Dark Master," Getting a nod from everyone, he now wanted everyone to take it ease for the time being, "For right now, I know we are fine. For such a situation like this one, I've made three clones; My all around clone, one to help of course right dragon history, and one to specifically watch over everyone. So, let's all just... try and get some sleep."

"After all the Shit that we just learned, you want us to just, sleep on it?" Cyril asked, more wide awake then he ever thought possible.

"I have to agree. And if I'm also being honest, I would... feel a whole lot better being with Spyro and the others right about now," Terrador also agreed, and even for someone like him, he needed to have that comfort.

"Staying awake and stressing about it isn't going to help. So even if I used my power to help, you'll just being sitting there, and you might even give yourself an anxiety attack. So just, try and think happy thoughts, like what's happened yesterday at the beach, and just know that, when we make it through this, we can have all that fun again when ever we want," Ignitus tried his best to get everyone to sleep, and they all sighed, laying down and obeying what he was saying as they knew without his power, they wouldn't be able to do anything, "I'm sorry you all had to learn if this."

"I'd be more pissed off if you erased our memory so... I agree when it comes to the unknown; The unknown is scary, but sometimes, it being known, is even scarier then that of the secret," Volteer sighed as he snuggled up as close as he could with his mate, dropping his wing over her and making sure she was protected, "And for you, my love," With her looking at him, he nuzzled her for a second, and as he pulled away, he knew this is where he needed to step up, "What mate would I be to you, or father to our Hatchling, if I don't give it my all."

"Hehehe," Blushing as she had high hopes for that day, Ersa once again had to tease him in a whisper, "All that enegry you had that night, just use that."

"Ersa..." Volteer blushed.

"I love you too, hehehe..."

With everyone closing their eyes and trying their best to get some sleep, Claire watched Ignitus lay his head down, and with her resting her head next to his, she wanted to be there for her friend, "Ignitus... is it okay if I join in on the dream world with you to be there as support for her," Ignitus smiled to hear she wanted to help, and Claire giggled as she felt a little bad, "Cynder is caught in the middle of all this. And while I'm sure she feels flattered to have so many men fighting for her love, her loyalty to Spyro, I love. And I want to ask her some questions and hope to get her to show some of the emotion to him."

"I'm sure she would appreciate it if you were there for her. And... it would be nice to have your company of course."

"So I'm guessing I close my eyes and you'll pull me into the dream world?"

"Pretty much."

"Hehe... Then just guess I will see you in like, a second."

"Hehe, once again, pretty much."

Snuggling up against him some more and laying her head over his paws, he laid his head down over the back of her neck, and with him closing his eyes, she kept one eye closed and the other open as she joked, "What was with that ice shard that you were going to kill me with by the way?"

She thought he would joke along with her, but he frowned, telling her the truth of what happened, "Oh... that... I tried to stay awake but... your body felt so nice and cool that I started to fall asleep... But just as I did, he threw that shard to your head and tried to kill you. I had to jump off the bed and get in the front as soon as I could to save you."

"Ignitus..." Closing her other eye, she whispered to him, "I love you..."

* * *

 _Letting out a pleased yawn, Cynder woke herself as she tried to move more to her lover to feel his warmth, but as she shuffled her body to her left, nothing was felt. Now waking up more then before, she untucked her wing and touched all around to her left side. Tapping her wing up, then down, and doing the same one last time, she gave out an annoyed sigh as she felt like she was being messed with. Sitting up, still with closed eyes as she wanted to go back to sleep, she used her right wing this time and did the same as she did before. Patting up, then down, and doing the same again, she knew one thing was for sure as she spoke out loud, "Well... I'm not on my bed." Thinking of who it could be, she called out someone of whom she believed to be the cause, "Malefor, if you're trying to mess with Spyro, me and the other girls are getting together and you're going to be single." Not hearing a response, now she feared as she knew someone would've said something by now. Opening up her eyes, she saw nothing but space, with the stars, planets, and sights that she remembered well, "What. The. Hell." Standing up and giving out another annoyed sigh, Cynder spoke as she looked behind herself, already knowing someone was going to be there, "Ignitus, you really don't care for my sanity, do you?" Turning around, she saw that both Ignitus and Claire were sitting behind her, waiting for her to wake. After what she had said, Ignitus chuckled, but before he could say what he wanted, Cynder spoke first, "No no no, I'm not doing this. Just... tell me what ever it is so I can cry now rather then later."_

 _"But I haven't even said anything," Ignitus defended himself, but her words made him understand once again as to why this place was rather difficult for her to be in. "Do I really need to refresh your memory? I'm guessing from how the past played out last time, someone is going to die, which I don't appreciate thinking about, but," Pausing and looking to Claire, Cynder wanted her to be the one to say something as she had hopes her friend wouldn't make it sound so horrible, "Claire, please, I need you to tell me what's about to happen. Every time Ignitus tries, he jumps right into it."_

 _"What do you mean by that?" Claire asked, taking a glimpse at Ignitus and watching as sweat dripped down his face. "Well, easiest to remember, the fact that one time he made my dream so bad I broke down and cried in fear. Or, how about the other one where I was told Malefor was a good guy, and about how, if me and Spyro would've fallen in love too soon, we all would've died," While Claire was looking to her lover with wide eyes, Cynder was still thinking to herself about all the bad that he said, "I don't think that was in the dream world. But every time Ignitus wants to talk in private, he's basically going to tell me about someone dying."_

 _"And who might that be?" Malefor asked, walking around from behind the two with Carith also being in the dream world with them, "Also, oof, Cynder. I saw what you did there with me being a good guy a bad thing," Letting Carith sit down next to Cynder, Malefor sat down next to her left and continued to talk, but this time, he spoke to Ignitus as he looked at him, "And if that death is true, then who is it? I'm assuming since we are all here, it's none of us." Ignitus didn't want to tell the truth, but since Cynder was already suspicious and watching his every action, he gave a sigh and tried to go easy on the explanation, "It's... not as bad as..."_

 _"Ignitus..." Cynder murmured, already knowing who it could be, "Just... Please. If this is something we need to prepare for, we need to know what's going to happen to stop whom ever is to die. And... it doesn't take a genius to know that... the death is Spyro... isn't it," Seeing his body jump with a shiver, Cynder frowned and looked to the ground, giving a sigh as she hated his life being on the line every single time, "Why is it always Spyro... He's been through enough, and now you're telling me that he's going to die...?"_

 _"Maybe!" Claire stepped in as she wanted to be the one to say what it was that they found out, "It's a possibility..." Seeing that all eyes were on her now, she took the opportunity to clear up a couple of things to make it easy for her, "While it is a possibility, I can assure you that we can save Spyro from what is to come. But in order for that to happen, his life mainly leans on your shoulders, Malefor." Looking at everyone with wide eyes, Malefor pointed a claw to himself, making sure he heard her right, "Yes... You, Malefor. To clear something else up, I want all of you to know what the threat is and how dangerous this is." Shivering slightly, Malefor felt fear as it seemed like this was a time for him to step up and show his trustworthy side to everyone, "The new threat we face is... the new Dark Master that almost made me kill Ignitus... his name is Flint."_

 _"Flint?!" Cynder cried, both shocked and appalled that he of all dragons was the one to be the threat. "Yeah..." Ignitus murmured but upped his tone a little to be heard, "He wants you one way or another and Spyro is in his way of that of which he wants. And to clarify, I could've stopped him as he showed up today, but that would've only caused more problems." Confused as to what he meant, Malefor stepped in and asked, "More problems how? Take him out and things are done with." Shaking his head at his words, Ignitus explained, "If I did that, he has darkness in almost all the dragons that are fighting by his side. If I take him out, instead of there being one dark master, there would more then half a hundred." Seeing the three shake from his words, he gave a sigh as he decided it be best to tell them all of the truth now rather then hold back the biggest issue, "And... if I did that as well... he would've used the Destroyer now, rather then later."_

 _"The Destroyer?!" Cynder and Malefor cried at the same time, now only making the two shiver even more. Looking down to the ground, sweating from all that was happening behind-the-scenes, Malefor murmured, "So... Spyro was right... the Destroyer really is out there," Growling from the thought of having to face such a threat, Malefor called out the obvious, "Then Spyro just bring the world back together if it successfully reaches the volcano! Me and Cynder can be there in support." Seeing him shake his head, Malefor shot stiff and wanted to know what that meant, "Wh... What the hell do you mean no?!"_

 _"If Spyro does that, the earth is already unstable from the first destruction. If he were to try and do as he did before, no matter the power, he would have to kill himself, become one with the earth itself and hold it all together with his power," Each of the three skipped a beat from within their hearts since, with their best fall back plan being unable to use, they hadn't a clue of what to do, "I... wanted to bring you three here to tell you of what's to come and what I've learned. He's already tried to kill Claire, and it seems the only way to stop him, is if you give yourself up to him, Cynder." Everyone now wondered what Cynder would be thinking about all of this, and for a second, it was quiet as she looked to the ground, thinking of what to do. Growling through her teeth, her body tensed, but letting out a sigh, her body calmed, and she admitted defeat, "I'm not going to trade Spyro's life because of me... So... I might have to go with... him."_

 _"What?!" Everyone cried. "Cynder," Malefor growled, surprising everyone to see his support, "Don't let that punk little shit push you around like that! He has a Destroyer, we have a Spyro. They have an army, you have me," Looking to Ignitus, Malefor's anger somewhat scared him as he spoke, "So what does he have we should be a afraid of?! I'm assuming he's not just going to use the Destroyer." Nodding as he was correct in assuming, Ignitus spoke more of what's to come, "That is true. He's brining an army of apes, dark creatures, dragons, and the Destroyer."_

 _"Why would dragons follow someone so corrupted?!" Malefor growled. "Because he promises that of what even Spyro wanted back then; revenge against the one who took so much away from them," Understanding what he meant, Malefor gave a frown as he hated that what the Dark Master controlled him to do was causing problems once again, "We can't tell Spyro about any of this. I don't know how your friendship with Spyro is, Malefor, but that's another problem, another hurdle we have to get through; what if Spyro turns against you? Because if that happens, both you and him... we've lost our only chances of fighting back."_

 _"I can handle Spyro," Cynder spoke, taking a stand against it now as Malefor's words were nice in support, "Malefor's right. The Dark Master has tried to take me away from Spyro plenty of times before, and I'm not going to let that happen now," Seeing the smiles from the others, she smiled herself as she believed they could make it, "We have an assassin, a Chronicler, purple dragons, Guardians, and so much more even when it comes to brains with the help of bronze. And I'm pretty sure getting my lover pissed is only going to make things better for us." Smiling as it did sound like things would work in their favour, Ignitus smiled himself as he knew that there was hope, all it took was the trust in others, "All this lies on the shoulders of your friendship with Spyro, Malefor. So what will you do to convince him that you aren't the Dark Master with all of what's to come?" Putting a claw up to his chin, Malefor chuckled as he had an idea, "Hehe, maybe not the best idea, but I could always just run and hide behind someone while crying that it's not me."_

 _"Which means I will have to step in and stop my lover. He might hurt you, but he would never hurt me," Cynder smiled, and it seemed easy enough for Ignitus to go along with for the time being, "Hehe, and it's a win-win for me too. I get a kiss from my lover to calm him, and I get to watch you once again cry like a little bitch, Malefor." Grumbling through his teeth, Malefor defended himself as to what he was going to do, "It's not crying, it's being tactical."_

 _"Tactical?" Carith asked, giggling slightly as it seemed weird for him to say, "I don't think getting on your knees and begging for forgiveness is tactical." Chuckling at her words, Malefor begged to differ, "If I get down on the ground, do a barrel roll and go prone, it's gonna be a hella tactical move. I bet even Volteer would have my back on that one." Bringing up his yellow friend, Malefor had to wonder about the others, "Speaking of Volteer... do the others think that I can't be trusted either?" Giving a chuckle, Ignitus was able to easily comfort him on that, "Well, since it wasn't you that tried to kill Claire, they are all still your friend, we, are all, still your friends." First giving a sigh of relief, he then later chuckled as he rubbed his paws together, "Good, Good... My plans can still go according to... plan... plans plan... I'm tired."_

 _"I will leave you all be here soon, aside from Cynder of course as you'll be having a dream, which my clone has just finished preparing," As Ignitus finshed explaining, Cynder gave a sigh as she was scared of what this dream was going to be and how bad it might be, but Ignitus assured her, "Don't worry, Cynder, I made sure it's not as bad as some of those other nightmares have been. My clone put some hints and secrets in the dream to help aid in the future. I can't tell you of all that I know as I would get in trouble, but... I'm trying." Understanding completely, she smiled as a way of thanks, "Which I'm thankful for. And since we girls have our way of thanks in a sweet way," Looking over to Claire, Cynder giggled with a smile, "Claire, Ignitus had been so nice, so for a reward, may you please give him something nice for what he's doing."_

 _"Hehe, oh yeah... I can make sure he's doing it right with me," The four blushed quickly from her words, and since she licked her lips afterwards, they weren't too sure of what she meant until she realised what she had said, correcting herself in the process, "Not like that! Damn it, Malefor, I'm going to kill you!" Jumping back, Malefor cried as it was sudden, "What?! Why?! What did I do..." Clenching her teeth, she tried her best to get rid of her blush along with everyone else, and to get their minds off of it, Ignitus chuckled as he had hopes, "We joke about killing you a lot, Malefor."_

 _"Yeah... I know... Shit keeps me awake at night," Malefor grumbled, locking eyes with Claire as each were wondering if one or the other would make a move. "But... Malefor," Ignitus spoke in a low tone, and he knew along with everyone else that this was serious, "I do hope that doesn't really ever happen," Frowning at his words and taking a couple of steps back to the side of his lover's, Malefor and the others frowned as well as he continued, "Like I said... You mean a lot to us. So just... please; don't mess up this friendship that Spyro can have with you. And if I'm being honest, you being his friend... it would make our chances of making it out of this extremely high." Malefor was thankful that he had the support of the others, and thinking back to what was said, he had an idea as he wondered, "Thank you... all of you... But I have a question. If Spyro can't bring the world back... could I?" Watching as Ignitus shuck his head with a frown, Malefor gave a deep sigh as he knew what that meant, "I swear if my dumb ass makes a mistake tomorrow, I'm going to cry."_

 _"Hehe, or you could get Cynder to bitch slap you like that one time," Ignitus suggested, and before anyone else could say anything, Malefor quickly rejected "Absolutely Not!" He cried, looking to Cynder and remembering the day that it had happened, "I still have nightmares," Putting a paw on his cheek, it was like he could still feel the burn even now, "It haunts me... I may be a man of many things, but that... that thing scares me." Roiling her eyes with a smile, Cynder looked away from him and to Ignitus, ready for the dream, "Well, while Malefor messes around, I would like to view this dream. I... I really need to get back to Spyro."_

 _"And I don't won't to keep you," Carith agreed as she understood with what all was happening, "I would... also like to talk more with him. It's not going to feel... good... to know that we could lose him soon but... we can make it through this," Giving a sigh as she needed to calm herself, feeling her lover's wing drap over her back, Carith looked to Malefor and smiled, glad he was helping, "We... we can do this." Ignitus smiled to see that they were all dedicated to making it through this, not that he was surprised in the slightest, "Alright then. Malefor, Carith, I will let you two get back to bed so you two can snuggle up. Cynder, same as with that dream way back before Ersa and Volteer reunited, you'll be watching this dream from a third perspective." Getting herself ready, she sighed before agreeing, "Alright then... I'm... ready to see this... nightmare of a future."_

 _"We could always stay and watch as well," Malefor suggested as he wanted to be there for support. "Malefor... Adding you into this nightmare would basically make it hell. Just go to bed with Carith," Cynder giggled as she sat there with her eyes closed, and hearing him gasp, she was about to say something back, but Carith interrupted. "She's not wrong," Carith joked, and hearing Malefor gasp once again, he then started to whimper as everyone was picking on him, but she knew how to turn that around, "If you come back to our real bodies, I could give a kiss that would feel like an out of body experience."_

 _"Done!" Malefor quickly agreed, closing his eyes and saying, "Beam me up, Scotty!" Giving a sigh, Ignitus watched as Carith had closed her eyes too, and as he raised his paw up to snap his fingers, he questioned how his friend acted in a whisper to his lover, "Note to self and each other, if you could go back and change one thing, it would be to let you kill Malefor." Claire giggled as it was sudden, but she had to agree, "Hehe, so much for not wanting him dead. But then again," With the two sharing a laugh, Ignitus snapped his fingers._

Making her way up the stairs to the main house up top of the Guardians Building, Carith took her time as she gave a sigh, hoping that she would be able to convince her friend to finally leave this place, _Come on, Cynder. It's been three years. Please just hear us out._ Making it up to the door, she waited for it to open, and as it did, she walked inside the house and into the hallway. Looking to her right, she wasn't surprised Malefor was sitting over by the training room door, and she didn't really need to ask to know, "She's training again, isn't she?" Watching as he nodded, she sighed, and as she walked over to the door and to his left to stand in front of the door, she had hopes, and tried to keep her head up, "Maybe today will be the day that she'll come out of her shell and take on the world once again."

"That is the hope, isn't it. But then again, being three years since his... death... do you really think she will ever recover?" Seeing his lover sigh, he knew what he was saying wasn't helping, and so he apologised, "Sorry, I didn't mean to say... what I did... It's just that, she's felt like this for so long that, I wonder if she can even feel anything else compared to what she feels now."

"I know... But, we can still save her. So let's just try our best this time as we have all the other times. Ignitus has gotten permission that if she doesn't get fresh air, the Ancestors did confirm that he could use his power to teleport her outside. Why they waited until now to allow him to use his power is something I, nor he, even knows. But since we are here and we have the all clear, let's just... let's do this."

Pushing open the door to the training room as it had been cracked open only slightly, they were able to walk in basically undetected. Making their way in the room, they watched from the door as Cynder fought hundreds of dark creatures, training up her body with speed similar to that of even Spyro, and with her slim, smooth body, she was able to maneuver a lot easier then any of the other males. Landing in the middle of a pile of dark creatures, they all tried to jump on top of her to stop her while others prepared their weapons, but Cynder was quicker. Using her wind powers, she spun into a small sized tornado, but with more control over it, the tornado grew much larger, and only grew more and more, engulfing the middle and the entire room in a massive wind tunnel. Using her shadow powers, the white of the wind turned black as her claws ripped through all the dark creatures, making easy work of all of them. Putting his wing up in front of his love and digging his claws into the ground along with Carith, Malefor was surprised by her display of power, but he knew he shouldn't be, _She's become even more powerful then me at this point._ Coming out from her tornado, her body fell from the air and landed down to the ground. As she touched the ground, her body spun around in a circle for a couple seconds before she was able to gain her balance, and once she did, she gave a sigh of relief. Stretching out her body and loosening up her joints once again even though it wasn't needed, she prepared to train once again, _you really are pathetic, aren't you. You've trained this long and you still can't stack up to... him...?_ Thinking about him, Cynder's body locked up on her, and she cried in a soft whisper as she could feel her body reliving the pain she's felt for so long, the pain she's tried to forget, "Damn... It... Don't do this..." Getting control over herself, she wasn't able to stop a couple of tears that shed from her eyes, and with her gaining control again, she looked behind herself as she heard clicking of claws from behind her as if someone was running, and seeing the two, she sighed, "Carith... Malefor..." Turning her body around and watching as they stood in front of her with a smile, Cynder wasn't having it, "I'm not going anywhere. This either has to do with an expected Hatchling from someone, or someone needing help. Other then that, I'm not going anywhere."

"Cynder..." Carith whispered softly, knowing she would have to be as easy with her words as possible or else she wouldn't agree, "Please... You've been up here and stuck in this building for three plus years and... all we want is just for you to get out there and breath in some fresh air," Opening her mouth to reject her idea, Carith jumped in quickly and continued what she had to say, "That's it...!" With her yell, it went quiet for a second, but after those seconds, she once again explained, "That's all we want... Walk out, breath in some air, and walk right back in. Just take a deep breath in... And then out... that's all we're asking."

"I can't do that," Cynder growled, turning away from the two as her body once again shuck and shivered from sadness of what's happened, "If I go out there... I... I know what's out there... that location, the sight, the smell, the time of day, I just...! I'm sorry... I can't do it..." Both Carith and Malefor looked at one another, wondering what they were going to do, and they knew they might have to use the fall back plan, but they waited and listened to what she had to say, "This is the only place I've ever felt safe. It doesn't matter how strong I get... IT DOESN'T MATTER...! It... doesn't matter... because even with my training... when I walk out this building, I will feel exposed, alone... weak... And losing... Spyro... I... I can't... I... I..."

With their friend crying on the ground as she couldn't handle thinking about what's happened, Carith shuck her head as she knew using Ignitus and his powers would only make things worse. Walking up next to her friend and sitting down to her left, Malefor later sat down to her right, and with the two by her side, they both draped a wing over her back and tried their best to comfort their broken friend. Feeling as there shouldn't be any secrets, Carith wanted to be honest as she knew not saying anything would make her feel untrustworthy, "Cynder... I want to tell you the truth about what we had planned... for a while, we've been trying to get you out back in the world, and... the Ancestors finally gave permission for Ignitus to use his powers after so long so that, if you said no... he would just teleport us outside with you so you could finally get the fresh air you've needed for a while."

Still sniffling from here to here, Malefor knew now was his turn to step in and try his best to help her out, "Yeah... We thought it would be a good idea to hopefully change things up, and compared to us telling you to... move on and find someone else... this was our next best option. Hehe, and everyone else was on board because they knew you would slap the hell out of me for doing something like that... But we didn't know if teleporting you out there would cause more harm then good. But one thing we know for sure... staying here, isolating yourself from everyone and losing everyone because of that... it's not something we want from you... not something we want you to keep doing."

Giving a giggle as she cried, Cynder broke down as she couldn't handle the pain once again from her emotions flooding back to her, "You know... it's hard for me. I've wanted a Hatchling with Spyro for so long... And... then he... goes... and... I didn't even say goodbye... I... I never wanted to say it... I knew I never could've," Clenching her claws and tensing her body, she used her fear powers to try and control herself, and while it didn't do much, it was enough to calm at least her fears, "Hehe... And then you have dragons out there painting themselves to look like my love just to mess with me... just to get to my body... not even understanding what I've gone through... not understanding what that does... And even as I lay in bed and look down on all the other parents with their Hatchlings, I wonder to myself... would I have made a good mother...? Would Spyro... have made a good dad...? And being nineteen now with my twenties coming up her soon... it's all I can think about."

Both understood what she was going through, but both of them also knew that they could never truly understand what she was going through, what she was going through as the feeling in her body was nearly indescribable. For a little bit, the three sat there, and for the other two, they listened as Cynder sniffled from her attempts to try and control emotions, and even for her, she had to joke as she chuckled, "And it doesn't help that, even after he's gone, he still protects me with his darkness, rendering my darkness and use of it useless... All to protect me.. Hehe," Giving a slight chuckle, Carith gave a smile to see she was at least talking with them a lot more then before then the other thousand times they've tried, "And yet even still... I thank you... all of you... for being there for me... And... maybe... just maybe... when I get the chance to talk with... Spyro, again... I will tell him how I've felt... about everything."

"I'm sure he would love to see you," Carith agreed as she had an idea of what she meant, but Malefor took it a different way.

"Cynder, you know Spyro would want you to live. That's what he died for," He murmured, feeling as though she had been talking about ending it, "You've tried to kill yourself before, but it's not worth it."

"Hehehe..." Hearing as Cynder giggled, they didn't understand what to make of it, but as they listened to her words, they found pleasure in what she had said, "Malefor... You dumb ass. That's not what I meant... I know what Spyro would've wanted, what he... wants... he fixed the world for us to live, and the least I could do is... at least... see it for a second," The two tried to hold in their gasps, but it was such a surprise to them that they gasped too soon and too quickly, "But that's it!" Cynder cried, breaking the two from what they were thinking about, "I'm only going to step outside for a second... only a second... Once I'm out there, I will get some sun, get some air, and then I'm coming right back. And for the rest of the month, I'm not going back out there. Understood?"

"Absolutely!" The two lover's cried happily, glad they were finally able to help out their friend.

Giving out a sigh, Cynder couldn't believe she was about to make a step outside, into a world she had shut off from herself so long ago, but it made sense to her now after so long, _Spyro would've never wanted to have died for nothing... So I guess taking a step outside and seeing all I've missed isn't such a bad idea... maybe._ Feeling as the warmth from her back disappeared, she looked to her left to see the two were walking away from her and towards the door. Giving a giggle as she saw their smile, she knew why. _They've tried for years to get me to leave this place... And now that I am... I guess I could understand their smiles._ Turning around and walking over towards them, she followed behind as they walked out from the training room and into the hallway. Turning to her left and going to the main door, she watched as the door opened, and at the edge of her view, she saw as the two looked at her with smiles. Walking over and in front of the two, she giggled, "Well... you all finally got me to leave..." Turning and facing down the steps, she walked down the stairs in the middle of the two, and they stayed by her side as they followed her, making sure to be there in support, "You know... it's... scary with how long I've been here... without Spyro... It's gotten so bad that... I haven't seen him in so long, and I'm forgetting him... his voice... his warmth... And I... I need to remember something... I have to."

"Are the dreams that Ignitus has given you not helped at all?" Malefor asked.

"They... have... to an extent... I can't kiss that Spyro... I can't make memories with that Spyro... And I can't make... a future... with him either. So it's gotten to the point where my mind is trying to reject my memories to keep me safe... but in doing so... it's also messed with me both mentally... And physically..." Knowing how bad things were for her, they wanted to help her some as they made their way down the other set of steps, making their way to the door, but she was already speaking once again, "Maybe with the warmth of the sun on my back, I can remember something... something that I've long lost... but I don't want this to be a bad day for you all. I just... hope there is something else we can do... even after these three years, maybe there is something out there... some way for me to tell him that... I miss him."

"You will be able to tell him some day," Making it to the door, Malefor put his paw on the door, and before he opened it, he wanted to give her hope, "You still have your whole life to live, and maybe, sooner or later, the Ancestors will stop being so stingy and let you see him. But for now, we want you to enjoy what's been saved; all of us... And especially you," Seeing her attempt a smile was enough for him to smile back, "There she is. Now, for the big reveal..." Pushing his paw against the door, he hit something on the other side, and after hearing a grunt and a thud, Malefor cursed, "What the hell was that?" Pulling the door inwards now to open it, he apologized before paw as he didn't see who it was, "Hey, sorry, I didn't..."

Pausing and gasping, he didn't dare make a move, even locking up which was enough to get both Cynder and Carith interested and they stood there. The two looked down at his front left paw, and seeing him wave away for the two to go, Carith knew what that meant and tried to get her friend to back up for a second, "Hey, Cynder, I actually forgot that the Guardians wanted to know if you would walk outside as they wanted to be there. So, how about we go back up there real quick." Seeing she wasn't budging as she wanted to know who it was, she knew that her not knowing would only make things worse, so she asked for clarification, "Malefor... who is it?"

"Who did you think," Malefor growled, not towards her, but for the situation they had, and since they hadn't moved, he knew he had to say something, "Listen... We've already threatened enough of you to stay the hell away from Cynder. Wipe that paint off now, get the hell away from here, or else we're going to have a problem!" With Malefor taking slight steps towards whom ever was outside, Carith put a wing in front of Cynder, but while she tried to back up while pushing her friend back with her wing, Cynder took another step forward, wanting to know who it was, "Well?! You going to say something, or do we need to banish you as we have other dragons?!"

Walking around Carith's wing and wanting to see who it was, her friend tried to call out to her, "Cynder... Don't... It's just another fake."

"Hehehe, sorry, I'm just confused as to how you think you can take me on by yourself," The voice spoke from the other side of the door.

Gasping, Cynder stopped as her heart started to race, _No... that... that voice... It... It's not!_ Almost having another anxiety attack, she approached the door slowly but surely, and since Malefor wasn't focused on her, he had been leaning on the side of the door for support, and once she had grabbed the edge to open the door to get past his right side, he nearly fell over, and even looked at her to see who it was. Watching as Cynder stood there in shock, Malefor sighed as he knew this was to happen, but he tried to play this off for the time being, "I'm sorry, Cynder... This isn't how I wanted for this day to go..." Looking back in front of him and outside, he threatened the dragon once again, "Last chance. Either wash the paint off, or," Flexing out his body in intimidation, he hoped things wouldn't end in a fight, "I will break you as I have others before you."

"Break me?" The voice spoke again, and for Cynder, the dragon was darkened out from the sunlight as she hadn't seen light in forever, but with the dragon stepping forward more away from the light, his body shined purple, gold, and orange, "Malefor... Please... I just woke up in a grassy field away from everyone and with my body aching in pain. Last thing I need right now is to laugh," Looking straight to his left, he saw as Cynder stood there, tears in her eyes and nearly falling from fear, or even joy, but he couldn't tell, "Cynder... are you okay, my love?"

"Sp... Spyro...?" Cynder cried in a whisper as she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

As Spyro took another step forward towards her, Malefor flexed his wing outwards more in front of Cynder and growled, "Back off! She's not your love, she doesn't belong to you, and don't act as someone you're not," Taking his wing back and getting into a fighting stance, he saw Spyro's face turn to him with a serious look in his eyes, and not even fear, "Weird face to make when you're staring death in the eyes."

"Back off, Malefor," Looking past Malefor and seeing Carith behind the two, he called out to her and asked for assistance, "Carith, take care of that attitude your lover has. I need to assist, Cynder," Walking up to her and watching at the corner of his eyes to see if Malefor made a move, Spyro stood in front of Cynder and focused his attention to her, "But I need to know how," Easing up his body, he watched as Malefor prepared his tail blade, even using his paw to adjust where he was to jump, but he didn't understand the aggression what so ever, "For the time, I shall take your move as a warning for the time being. We can handle this dispute in the training room. But, right now," Putting a paw up to her cheek and feeling as her face was hot, nearly burning red, he gasped, "My love, why are you so hot."

"Paw off her face!" Malefor growled, now using his paw and slashing at his arm, but unfortunately, he couldn't do much as he was surprisingly stopped by Cynder.

"Malefor! Stop!" Cynder cried just in time as his claws were just about to touch the scales of Spyro.

Seeing him being stopped by her voice, Spyro looked at him with a smile and he couldn't believe he didn't die, "You're so freaking lucky, you know that. If I would've felt your claws touch my scales, you would've been on the ground in seconds," Malefor growled as he pulled his claws back, but even as he did, he stood ready to attack, and since it seemed he wouldn't do anything for now, he focused his eyes back to Cynder, and as he spoke, he could help with the burning, "Let me help with that," As he cooled her cheek, she shivered and her breath started to become visible as he helped cool off her body, "Sorry for that. Using my powers, your heart was beyond over heated. Any hotter and you would've had a heart attack," Giving a smile and a chuckle, he knew this was a perfect time for a joke, "And by heart attack, I mean me, and by hotter, I mean your body."

"You're not even trying, are you?!" Malefor growled, and he saw this as another attempt to get with her, "Many males before you have done the same thing! You aren't slick! You're not her lover! Spyro died three years ago in the volcano, end of story," Spyro stopped for a second, and even for Cynder, she could feel even as he adjusted the temperature to her liking, his paw tensed as his eyes went slightly wide, "Yeah, wow, big Damn shocker! But this is good," Easing up and backing off, he wanted to use someone else's power against Spyro, "After I hurt one dragon so bad for this attempt, Ignitus said he could handle it. Whether it be a memory wipe, sending them to another side of the planet, or even changing them entirely to another dragon and putting them into an endless nightmare. So tell me, dragon... what do you fear?" It took Spyro a second to respond as hearing how long it had been, he couldn't understand what could've happened as he couldn't remembered what had happened, "What. Do. You..."

"SHUT UP!" Spyro yelled out to the point where even Cynder took a step back away from him, but even as she did, she felt guilty as she watched him look at her with tears that she had shed for so long, "Thr... Three-Three-There years...?" Taking a step back and trying not to fall, he didn't take this as a joke, which it wasn't, and he yelled at Malefor for it, "What the hell has happened?! I come back home and I get treated as though I'm dead, then I find out that apparently I am, and you've said that others have tried to get with my lover?! Who?! Why?! And what do you mean three years?!" Seeing how aggressive he was getting, for the time being, Cynder backed away far enough that she stood by the right side of Carith once again, not understanding what to think, "Tell me what's happened, Malefor."

Giving a sigh, Malefor backed away from him as he didn't see a need in continuing this conversation, "I'm not going to make this a problem anymore," Backing up and going to close the door, he gave his final warning to him, "Cynder isn't looking for love. If you were Spyro, you'd stay away and understand she doesn't want to love anymore. If we see you again, you'll be banished or worse," Watching as Spyro tensed up with anger, he didn't care, and ignored this by shutting the door on him, and after he did, he gave a huge sigh, "The hell is wrong with those that live," Turning around and walking to the two, he stood in front of the two, watching as Cynder about to have a anxiety attack, "Cynder... I'm sorry you had to see that again... to experience that again... And I..."

"I need to talk with Ignitus," Cynder cried as her body shivered, and not from her feeling of fear, but the cool feeling that was still left in her body, "This... These shivers... They aren't from fear..." Turning around and running to get to the Chambers, the other two quickly ran up and followed her, and with both running fast enough to run at her right side, she cried, "The feeling of his paw... it was warm... while still being cold... The shivers... Damn it! That wasn't a normal ice dragon! It couldn't have been! I need to know... I... Damn it..." Stopping close to the Chamber entrance, she had to slow down as her body slammed to the left wall and she heaved in her breaths as she started to sweat, "No... no... no..."

"Cynder," Carith cried, helping support her friend to stand, and in case he was needed, Malefor stood behind her, "It wasn't him, that wasn't him. It's just your body trying to fight with itself. Your anxiety is only going to get worse, and with what's happened, it's setting off your PTSD," Looking behind her and to her right, she needed to the help of Ersa, "Malefor, go get Ersa so she can help with some medicine. There might be some for..."

"No!" Cynder cried, controlling herself and standing up on her own without the wing support of her friend, "I don't need medicine! All I need is to know if that was Spyro or not... I... I need to know," Walking on her own, Carith backed away and watched both from her eyes, her words, her determination, she wanted to know badly know who this was, but Carith and Malefor knew the truth, "I'm not giving up... I... I need to know."

Making it to the Guardians Chambers, everyone was out in their normal line up, and they all gasped to see the condition Cynder was in, and following right behind her were the other two. Running up and grabbing Cynder with her wing, Ersa looked to Volteer and called to him as she knew how to help, "Volteer, right most of the table, there's a red..."

"No!" Cynder cried once again, making everyone look at her, and even making Ersa stop as she didn't understand why she had stopped her, "Ignitus..." Looking up to the red dragon, he shuck his head, giving her indication that it wasn't him, but she didn't believe him, "No... No-no-no, that had to be Spyro! It... it had to be! It... had to be..."

"Cynder... I already checked," Ignitus spoke, and while Malefor and Carith sat off to the left side of the Chambers, he continued his reason why, "I checked his mind, his memories. Worst case, this is Flint trying to trick you with a dark manifestation of him, but I guess... best, case... he's just a painted dragon with some darkness to hide his thoughts, but as of right now, I can say for certain, that's... not my son... And it's not your... lover," Seeing her clench her teeth, Ignitus felt terrible, and so did everyone else as they understood and have seen this many times before, "If he does show up, I can deal with him. But for now, I can't even see where he is."

"Should've brought that bastard up here so you could've dealt with him," While Malefor spoke, Cynder pulled herself together and stood up on her own, and with her walking over to the left side of the Chambers, Ersa stood in the middle for a little bit longer to make sure she was okay, and once she knew for sure, she backed away and went back to standing next to her mate, "But for the time being, let's just forget that encounter even happened, even as annoying as it was. I do have to admit one thing though, the only thing that he had in common with our old friend was how annoying he was," Seeing Cynder tense up as she looked to the ground, he backed off of it and apologized, "Sorry... Cynder... I... didn't mean it..."

"Yet I miss it so much..." Cynder cried, even giggling once she had eased up her body, "You and Spyro messing around, calling each other out for stupid and simple reasons... I'm tired of being this way... I'm tired of being this weak... this... fragile... I miss our days at the beach, our days as an all out brawl... because I knew... at the end of the day, we could all come home and smile... hehehe..." It was something everyone missed, and no matter how many times it was brought up, it was still something they all dreamed of doing once again, something they all hoped to go back and do, "It's not the same... it wouldn't be the same without any of you..."

"Hehe, I mean, without Volteer..."

"Back off," Ersa giggled as she threatened him, causing the others to laugh as well.

Once the laughing had died down, Malefor gave another chuckle as he agreed with the previous statement, "That is something I missed though... fighting him... And just to test him, and to kick that fake's ass, I would've and should've challenged and humiliated him as I have before..."

"I dare you to try it," Hearing a voice from the left side of the entrance, Malefor turned and growled as he knew who it was, but he wasn't able to do anything as a paw shaped rock shot up from the ground and slammed his back against the wall, "There... I win," Walking around the corner, Terrador growled to see the imposter and shot a spear of rock right at him, but he didn't react as it flew right past his head, and this made Spyro chuckle, "Nice scare tactic. You know, even after hearing all that you all supposedly did, you haven't shown much improvement."

"And I can see you haven't improved your... paint!" Malefor growled, trying to catch his breath as the grip around his neck was getting tighter.

"Shut up about this paint shit!" Spyro cursed, walking up to him and tightening the grip around his neck to point of where he couldn't breath, "Not nice to have a say, right?! Not nice to be able to say anything?! Right?!"

"SPYRO!" Cynder yelled out to him, seeing as everyone was about to attack him, she wanted to stop this situation quick, and he looked at her as she yelled his name, "Put him down and back off!" Giving a sigh, he did as he was told, loosening the grip around his neck and once the paw let it's grip entirely, it molded back into the ground, "Now back off of him," Once again, he did as he was told, backing away from him and turning to walk over to Cynder, but she stopped him as he made it to the middle of the room, "No..." He stopped where he stood, scared as he knew what that meant, "You're not sitting next to me. Only my lover has ever been the one to sit by my side with his wing on my back."

He gave a sigh as he didn't understand why everyone was against him, so Spyro tried his best to show he wasn't some fake, "Look... Everyone," As he spoke, he turned to face everyone as he talked, trying his best to convince them he was whom he said he was, "I'm not a fake, I don't know what paint is, I'm not dead, and I can prove that I'm who I say I am," Pulling up a paw, he pulled up the four elements in his paw with each forming around his palm; first fire, then ice, lighting, and finally, earth, "There... does this prove that I am a purple dragon?" Seeing as still no one was convinced, he laughed as there was no way anyone else could've done something like that, "Oh come on... hehehe... No way anyone else has the four elements aside from dib-shit over here."

While Malefor growled at him for his words, Ignitus explained to him why this wasn't an excuse, "Dragons out there have been able to fake the use of elements, both in use and not. And same goes for the dark power my son once processed. Unfortunately, when some went after the power to get with Cynder, they got corrupted, and that was a huge issue we had to deal with," Seeing Spyro give a huge sigh, he also made it harder to prove his innocence as he explained more, "I can't read your thoughts for there is darkness swarming your brain, and since you've become a problem... I'm sorry... but if you don't leave right now, I will just preform a memory wipe."

"Good luck," Spyro smiled, confusing everyone, "You can't do such a thing with my darkness blocking your power," That was surprising to everyone as that was something only Spyro would know, but unfortunately, he spoke again which made their suspicions go away, "Then again, I don't really remember all that much. My mind is trying to control my memories for the time being so they all don't flood in I'm assuming. Which, pat on the back, sure I got it right."

"Look here, bitch," Malefor growled as he was the most aggressive one towards him which Spyro couldn't figure out why, "You don't have a decent back story, your powers can easily be manipulated, and the only thing I can say you did right well enough is your color scheme. Cynder doesn't want you, anymore, alright?! Now once again, please, leave, or else! Ignitus can't erase your memory, but he can send you across the other side of the earth."

"Hehe, love to see that happen too since I can break the sound barrier and get back here in seconds, unlike your slow fat ass," Spyro fired back, looking him dead in the eye as he turned to face him.

"Is that a challenge then?!"

"Against you, more like a slap to the face, Malefor. Carith wouldn't see your ass for days."

"I could easily beat you back here by just cheating."

"Did you do that when Carith wasn't watching."

"Ha-ha... Unlike you, I would never do such a thing!"

"Funny cause, I remember a Dragoness on the way here saying I looked so close to Spyro that, even if I wasn't him, she'd still bang me."

"Oh, she would. Can't believe she would mate with a little bitch ass such as yourself."

"You were the only one who's taken damage as to say so far, so who's the punk ass little bitch there?!"

"Enough!" Terrador growled, making both of the two look over at him as he had enough with this constant back and forth.

"Is it weird that I... enjoyed watching them fight?" Volteer whispered to his mate, and since Cyril heard him say something, he agreed along with Ersa as they nodded at him.

"You come in here, insult those around you, giving up bull shit lines of reasoning as to why you could be our long lost friend, and I'm sick of this shit!" Terrador growled with intense frustration, slamming his paw down to the ground as he took his right paw a step forward, and with his step, the surrounding area around his paw cracked, "You've have pushed and pushed, but now, it's time we push back! Malefor, let's just take him down! Ignitus, get ready for a mind wipe."

With Terrador getting into a fighting stance, Spyro wondered how they would take him on, along with take his memories, but Malefor had a great idea as he prepared for a fight, "That's right. If it's this darkness protecting his mind, we just need to take that, then he has nothing to protect him," Hearing that this was now turning into more of an issue, Spyro now made sure his guard was up beyond what he could imagine, "This is your last time, dragon... Get out, leave this place, or forget it all together," Seeing his body flex up, he knew what this meant, and gave a sigh as he prepared to attack, "Unfortunate."

With a quick snap of his paw, Malefor threw his paw forward for a punch, and for Spyro, he moved in nearly normal speed while everything else walked nearly at a crawl. Seeing the attack, Spyro dodged, took a couple steps forward, wrapped his paw over and down his arm, and using his other paw, he grabbed Malefor by the neck and slammed him to the wall, now with both standing up on two paws. Snapping his arm down, Malefor couldn't move at all as his neck was being held, prevented his breath, and for his arm, he knew if he made a move, he would snap it. Both Terrador and Cyril used their best of their abilities, each shooting a shard straight to his body. Using his tail blade, Spyro turned up the heat in his tail blade, and in doing so, the ice shard melted away as it touched his blade, and the remains of the liquid dripped down and burned onto his scales as it splashed to the side of his body. Moving his tail blade up in a snap after stopping the first attack, he hit the earth shard and changed it's course right to Malefor. Skipping a beat, Malefor watched as the shard past right next to his head and slammed to the wall beside him, just barely missing him and his head. Backing up and ready to attack herself, Carith didn't know what to do as she knew if she had done something, what would happen to her lover, _If I make a move, and I fail, he could break his arm and come for me... What do I do my love?_ Surprisingly to everyone, Spyro spoke as he looked to the Guardians with a face of disgust, "I'm not hurting you, nor am I going to hurt Malefor. But for the Guardians," Burning fire through his scales as to build up his attack, he warned the girls, "Claire, Ersa, move out of the way!" Not doing as they were told, they watched as the fire spun around his mouth as he opened it, and instead of moving, both girls moved in front of their lover's, "Great..."

"If you don't want to hurt me... or my lover... then let me go!" Malefor growled, but he wasn't budging as he watched the fire within Spyro's mouth spin like a sphere, ready up to attack, "You wouldn't hurt the girls! Stand down, Spyro, alright?! We can talk about this," Since his words weren't working, he was left with no choice but to try his best and attack, "Damn it..."

Swinging his free left paw around to slice the back of Spyro's head, this proved to be a mistake as he saw this attack coming. Pulling his paw away from his neck, Malefor couldn't believe his speed. In an instant, Spyro slammed his fist to his throat, already making his attack useless, and using his left paw that was wrapped around his arm, he spun him around and threw him to the ground. Slamming the side of his face to the ground, Spyro placed his paw against his head now still ready with his attack. Now with this display of power, they we're starting to question who this dragon was, and Carith tried her best to help, "You said you wouldn't hurt him! Which means if you're lying about that, what else could you be lying about?!" Seeing as he was pulling his paw back for an attack, Carith took matters into her own paws, forming a shard of ice in her paw and warning him, "Girls are weak, aren't they," Running up to his back, everyone watched as she raised her ice shard above his back, and standing on her back two paws, she grabbed the shard with her two paws, "You are a classic male then!"

Taking his paw down from Malefor's face, he pushed his head upwards with his paw before spinning around out of the attack and appearing behind Carith. She was unable to stop her attack, but since he had moved Malefor's head, her ice shard just missed his head once again, slamming down to the ground underneath his head. Everyone noticed this, seeing that he was trying to keep him safe, but even still, the fire in his mouth still burned, and walking up next to Carith, she stood there in defeat, shaking as she had almost killed her lover, and knowing there was nothing left to stand in his way, Spyro closed his mouth. Lighting up his body red, he opened his mouth, but before he could use his attack, he coughed up the fire and burned the floor as he looked down. No one knew what had happened, but watching as he put a paw on the side of his neck, they watched as he looked at the green liquid, and with everyone realising who it was, they all looked to Cynder. She had also been in a fighting stance, but Spyro never noticed, not even considering her a threat, "Cy... Cynder... You..." Staggering to stand, his body fell to his left, but just before he was to hit the ground, he stopped himself and kneeled to the ground, violently breathing as the poison started to infect and attack every part of his body, "Damn..." Breaking her ice shard, Carith helped Malefor back to his paws, and everyone thought Spyro was going crazy, "Damn... my... love... Hehehe, Ugh!" Coughing to the ground, he still tried his best, even as the poison was paralyzing his body, "I knew this is... something we wanted to mess around with but... Damn," Now losing his grip on his body, he fell to his side, splashing in his own magma and barely able to breath as his body sweated to the point of dehydrating him, "No... No..."

"There you go, Cynder," Terrador smiled now with the threat paralyzed, and with this, he saw this as their opportunity, "Now, Malefor, take away his dark power. Ignitus, once his mind is cleared, wipe his memory immediately. Do not hesitate. If we know anything about the darkness, it will come back quick, so be ready to erase his memory," Watching as Malefor walked up to his body, he walked to his front and placed his paw on his side, ready to do as he was told, "Alright, good. Now, Ignitus, get ready."

"Wait...!" Spyro cried, shedding tears as he laid there on the ground, unable to stop anything for the time being, " _I need to stall while my... darkness neutralizes this poison._ Please... Malefor... Dad... don't do this..." With how he sounded, both scared and afraid with a sense of sadness, Malefor backed his paw, struggling in what to do, "I get it... I understand why you're... all scared... but give me... the chance."

"You were going to hurt the girls! You were going to burn my mate!" Volteer growled, most upset with his mate almost getting burned.

"Hehe... aside from punching Malefor in... the throat... did anyone else get hurt...?" His words were right, and even Volteer backed up slightly as it was a true statement, "I can control my fire even better then you, dad... Most I would've done was a... scare tactic to get you all to understand... I'm your friend," Trying to move his head and take a peak to his lover, he chuckled as he never thought of one thing, "I didn't know my love would've attacked... me... So I didn't even think about her involvement at all," Seeing her clench her teeth as she looked away, he knew what it could've been, and tried his best to help, "It's okay... Cynder..." Hearing his comforting voice, she looked back at him, trying to calm herself as she watched him try and stand, and everyone gasped as to how, "Now that the poison is slowly but surely being destroyed by my darkness," Reaching a paw up, Spyro asked with a smile, "Can you help me up, Malefor?"

Not knowing what to do, he growled for a second, not wanting to trust him, but the fight that just happened was enough for him to understand him a little more. Reaching his paw down and grabbing his arm, Spyro did the same, and he pulled him up, "Punching me in the throat is something I'm going to remember," As Spyro stood up, Malefor saw more of him being the real one that they all hoped to see again, and he was honest, "But I do... thank you.. If Carith would've hurt me when she wasn't trying... she would've been devastated."

"Hehe, yeah, I know. That's why I pushed your head upwards some. Just make sure you watch when you swing you fist. Putting all that force into something leaves you wide open," It was strange that he was being lectured by this dragon, but Malefor just went along with it, nodding before walking back over to his lover and snuggling up with her from what had happened, "And for the others," Looking to Terrador, he watched as he showed his teeth, and Spyro tried to understand him as well, "I get it. You're hurt, and you think I'm going to make it worse, but once I make things better, I want a big apology..."

"But you're not going to be here for it..." Cynder cried, looking down to the ground, and it was such a surprise to everyone that some gasped, while others had wide eyes, "I don't want you here, I don't want you near anyone else, and ever since you arrived, you've been nothing but trouble," Picking up her head and seeing his sadness, he tried to defend himself, but she broke his heart with her words, "I don't care! I don't care if you're Spyro or if you're not...! I... I've learned that, with Spyro's death... I've been stuck in this... hell... And I've been trying to keep hope that he would one day would return... but even if he did... I've lost everything I've once felt for him."

Spyro's body grew cold, nearly lifeless, and for the others, Volteer nudged his mate and others as he got their attention, both wanting to focus on Cynder and how this dragon reacted to her words. Not knowing what to say, he tried his best to keep things a light tone in hopes that he would be able to talk her out of what she's said, "Well... even after learning I've been gone for three years... I've never given up on you," Walking up to her and standing in front of her, she growled as his words made it hard for her to try and move on, "That's why when I was walking through Warfang, making sure everything was okay, I came straight up here, even after a dragoness or ten asked to mate with me."

"Then you should've taken them up on their offer," Cynder growled, turning to her right and walking away from him and to the Chamber entrance, "I'm done," Spyro watched as she stood at the Chamber entrance, and he didn't know what to say once again, he didn't know what to do, "If you truly were Spyro, you'd want what's best for me. Letting go of you means that I let go of these emotions that I don't want anymore. So... if you wish to protect me as you have before, you can do so... but either way... we're... done," Turning around and seeing the lifeless body she gave to him cause of her words, she continued to make sure that he was at his lowest point, "I've already had plans of what I've wanted in my future and... you're just... you aren't in them. I do hope that you do find someone else to love... And like I said, if that is you, Spyro... my love," Hearing her call him by what she use to, he had hopes that she was joking, but her finally words sealed the break up, "When I find my new mate... I'm... not going to call you that anymore. Just... Spyro..."

His body felt as though his soul had left him, and even his own powers as his body felt weak, and trying his best one more time, he couldn't let her go, "But, Cynder!" Running up and taking couple of steps, he cried as tried his best, "Bu... But... What happened to forever?! What happened to everything we use to do, what happened..." Clenching his claws and crying, he couldn't handle losing her, "What happened to your words in the volcano... 'Then I'm with you'...?" Everyone gasped as this was something they had never heard before, and even though he tried to talk more, they focused on what he said before, "And same as back then, you leave me now... what do I have left to fight for... I just... Please... let me make it up... let me have one more chance."

Thinking about what to do, she looked to Malefor and wiggled a claw to her left, and he understood as he saw this. Sighing, Cynder once again had to reject him, "You've saved me countless times, and every time, I've almost lost you... I can't handle this fear, these emotions of almost losing you. To me, you're a hero... and I can't love a hero, cause... every hero's life ends before it beings. And that's what happened to the Spyro I loved; He died a hero... and I... well... I will continue to live in this world without him. In my eyes, he's gone. So even if he were to return... the hero I loved... my hero... is dead," Now seeing she had destroyed all hope, she couldn't tell if he was a fake or not, but for the time being, she needed to keep up her act, "So this is... goodbye..."

Turning around and walking away, she turned the corner of the Guardians Chambers, and knowing she was out of sight, she stood against the wall and listened to what was said or done. Everyone so far watched as he dropped tears from his eyes, standing there and looking at the ground as though he had lost everything. After a couple of minutes, no one had said anything, but for Spyro, he knew exactly what it was that he needed to say. Picking up his head, it made sense to him, everything that was told to him, "Ignitus... Please... can you do me one favor... one last favor from father to son," Everyone believed it to be something to help get with Cynder, but it was the exact opposite, "I need you to wipe my memories as you've all tried to do for a while."

"What?!" Everyone cried.

"Spyro, think about..."

"THINK ABOUT WHAT?!" Spyro cried, interrupting Malefor as he tried to help, and even with his yell, it wasn't frustration, but defeat, combined with his depressed state, "What do I have to lose?!" Turning and looking at everyone, he walked more to the middle of the room and cried as he spoke about everything, "I've lost everything I've cared about! I lost my friends, I lost my family... I lost the love of my life... And it seems as of right now..." Sitting down in the middle of the Chambers, everyone looked away from him and saw Cynder peaking her head around the corner to see what was happening, "Maybe Cynder was right; I died a hero, and coming back now is pointless."

Trying to get more information out of him, Cyril finally spoke as he wanted to take a shot at a question, "What do you mean you lost your family? Just go back to your mother and father."

"Shut up," Spyro growled, now with frustration, and attacked Cyril with his voice, "But what a great and shitty idea! Let me go dig up my parents dead bodies! Let me lay next to their skeletons! Oh that's right, I can't, because I don't who my parents were, where they died, or even when they died!"

"Is this another death cause of what's happened during the war?" Claire asked, already hearing of what he said, but she wanted more information, "I know you said all of that about your parents, but do you have any clue?"

"Is this supposed to be a joke?! My parents were killed because of Malefor's control over my lover!" Spyro yelled, turning his attention and focusing on Malefor, and seeing him open his mouth to try and defend himself, he told him to shut it, "I don't give a shit who it was! Dark Master, Malefor, who cares! You used that against me, you tried to take Cynder away from me when you revealed she killed my parents! Well now how does it feel to know you succeeded!" Hearing his words, everyone was in shock as this seemed like the most real Spyro they had ever met, but he knew himself, he wasn't to stay for long, "You... succeeded... You took everything from me... My parents, my family turned against me... and Cynder... doesn't love me anymore..."

"Spyro, that's not true," Malefor murmured, feeling bad now as he was becoming a villain once again, and it made sense as to why he would think that, "We're all still your friends and family. We just aren't to a fake."

"Then would it matter?" Spyro questioned himself, and his questions scared everyone as it seemed crazy for him when he put two and two together, "I'm either alive, but Cynder moves on and becomes someone else's mate which means... where would I be? And if everyone believes that I'm dead... does that mean that I would be better off dead...?" Turning away from Malefor and looking down to the ground, he murmured what he spoke, but it was loud enough for Cynder to hear, "She's right... she's been trying to push these emotions away, and if I were to come back, would reuniting those emotions with herself only hurt her and force her away from me... She was going to walk outside, wasn't she... and because of me... she broke down... and it was my fault."

"That was... the plan. Cynder never left her room or this building for that matter for three years cause she... she wanted to experience the world with you as she had before..."

"Like when I helped her swim, when we flew with one another... and... when I showed her what it was like to feel alive..." The fact that Malefor didn't have to finish what he was saying and Spyro summed it well, the others looked at him with wide eyes, and even Cynder took and step forward into the Guardians Chambers, "I messed up her life by being in it... and I'm messing up her life even now just by coming back... Which means... I... don't belong here anymore."

"No, Spyro, look, we think you're a fake, that doesn't mean you should go off and leave us."

"And the only reason we think you're a fake is just cause of what's happened in the past," Carith joined in as well, and having support of others, it didn't do much for him.

"Even with what happened... I couldn't... erase your memories... I would've needed to know for sure cause... we all miss you, Spyro," Ignitus spoke, and for him, he believed it was his son, but he needed a little more proof, and he hoped they would get it some how, "And it does make this hard for all of us though. We've had multiple fakes that we believed, and just as we were getting attached... they would do something and reveal that they aren't who they say they were."

"They've all tried to get with Cynder, basically. No matter the cost," Claire spoke, and finally, his words made him lift his head.

"No one has been successfully of course. Neither in kissing her or... trying to mate with her either. She slit a dude's stomach in half for trying something like that. We almost weren't able to save him, but unfortunately, we did," Terrador growled, thinking of all the dragons that have come by through the years of their lives.

"So you could see why it's difficult to trust you, Spyro," Cyril murmured.

"Not to pat you on the back if you are a fake, but you're the closet to a Spyro of our past then any of the others. Your moves are incredible, flexible and nearly unpredictable. And taking Cynder out of your equation is," Not wanting to give him anymore information, Volteer coughed to stop himself as he apologized, "Sorry, but in case you are a fake, I don't want to give out information that you could use to get with her, and or give this information to someone else."

They all watched as Spyro was thinking, wondering about something, and for them, they all believed this was a bad thing, knowing that he must be faking to get with Cynder. Now knowing what it is he wanted to do, Spyro turned and gave a sigh, "Malefor," With Spyro turning around, Cynder quickly jumped back and hid behind the wall, once again listening to what he had to say, "I don't want to be one of these fakes. As far as this world knows... Spyro is dead, and my journey has ended." Walking to the entrance, he stopped a couple of steps and sniffled as he tried to hold back his tears, "Malefor... Everyone... Please... continue to watch over her while I go and... live my life as a ghost from now on. I can't control the darkness surrounding my brain, but once I do, Ignitus, contact me like that so I may help. But if I don't respond... it's most likely cause I'm dead... Hehe... but the good news is... you can't kill the dead... right?"

Watching as he took another step, the Guardians stood up while Malefor cried out to him, "Spyro, wait!" With his name being called, he stopped and listened to what he had to say, "And what do I tell Cynder? If she learns you're another fake, it will hurt just as bad as all the other times. Leaving her would make things worse for her, so if you are the real Spyro, go after her, give her the kiss she needs and desires."

It was an obvious bait for everyone to see through, but for Spyro, all he did was answer honestly, "She doesn't love me anymore... She's moved on from me, so saying nothing will help her forget about me more then before, and soon, I will just let my body be consumed in my darkness so she'll never have to remember me. I will only make things worse if I stay, if I... tried to change her mind," Everyone looked at one another as now they all stood up, wondering if they should go after him or not, "I'll never give up on Cynder though... If she needs me, I'll be there, even if she doesn't love me... Even if she doesn't know it's me."

"Before you leave, at least tell her goodbye!" Malefor cried out, and while it seemed serious, Spyro chuckled with a very noticeable cry.

"Apparently I told her goodbye years ago, and she just said goodbye to me so... what else is there left to do?" Waiting for a response, he knew he wasn't to get one either way, and letting the darkness consume his body, Spyro gave his final farewell, "This is what I get for not being strong enough to protect her as I've trained so long for... And I must must pay the price... So... for now... Malefor... please continue to take care of everyone as you have... as I've trusted you to do for so long... And... for me... I guess this is goodbye... Everyone."

"Spyro! Don't!" Everyone cried, but with his speed, he disappeared in a dark cloud of smoke.

With the room filling in with nothing but silence, they could all only stand there, looking at one another, taking more breaths then normal as they were once again getting attached to a once long lost friend. Since they had nothing to say, they looked back to the entrance to see Cynder had walked backed into open space, and even for everyone else, while they were taking this situation bad, for her, it was much, much worse. Making it to the middle of the room, she nearly fell as she sat down in the middle of the room, tears constantly forming in each of her eyes at separate times with no end or way of control. Seeing as her condition was only becoming more of a worry, Ersa once again needed for Cynder to get the help she needed, "I'm sorry, but... We can't risk this," As she was the only one speaking, everyone looked to her, especially Cynder as she wanted to know what everyone else was thinking, "I miss him, I really do, but look at us. We have a hint of him back once again, but once he reveals to be a fake, it's just another part of us to be destroyed, unattached and desensitized from that of our real, friend," Unfortunately to everyone, what she was saying made sense to everyone, and even as bad as it was, Cynder herself wanted to agree, "Forget the fake, Forget this interaction we had. For now, Volteer, Cynder needs the medication I've made."

"Now, hold on, Ersa," Cyril spoke before anyone else, surprising everyone as he seemed to disagree, "We can't just focus on what's happened before, but instead, what just happened. I mean, that small but simple fight. Just that right there is enough to convince me that, maybe... Maybe that really was... Spyro."

"And during the entire fight, he never tried to hurt anyone," Volteer also had to disagree with his mate, but he understood where she was coming from, "We all don't want to get attached and have this be another fake, we've been through it enough. But, as me and Cyril said, that was the first time that someone has ever spoken to Malefor in such a smooth, non kind of a threat manner. Remember, as I've said, explanation is far different then execution."

"Like that one dragon who was told what to do and say, but because he didn't remember or see who we were, he failed rather quickly in trying to be a fake," Claire understood that of which Volteer was saying, and even for her, this seemed too real, too quick, "That was the first dragon that was able to react rather quickly, easily, like he's practiced for years. Ever since Spyro had even passed."

"Or he's had the experience since the day he met us," Ignitus murmured, feeling worse and worse about this situation the more they talked about it, "He has been only two of all the others whom have noticed me as a father to him, and not just someone he knows."

"But that was just the last dragon we had. This fake could've learned about that to use it against us," Terrador pointed it out, making it worse on this fake or real version of Spyro.

"Unfortunately... Even as much as I wish to agree for him to be a possibility, there is nothing we can do," Malefor sighed, wishing he could agree after all he had seen, "Hehe... Maybe word got out he was a drama queen but... Then again... when we first saw him... at the door..." Cynder watched as he thought about it, hoping he would change his mind about what he was saying, but to her dismay, he shuck his head, "There's nothing more I would love to do right now then fight my good old friend... But I feel like what we need to do is wait. See if this fake is devoted to his words. After a couple months, then we can know for sure."

"Months?" Carith asked, and while it seemed like a good long while, it really wasn't compared to how long they've already waited, "Then again, we've waited three years and counting for him, so... Maybe waiting another couple of months would be a great idea."

"And what's my say in this?!" Cynder cried out, taking a couple steps back away from everyone as she had faith.

"Cynder... don't do this," Volteer warned, getting ready for a fight as he knew what would happen when she got like this, "You need those gems to help you. This... fake, will turn you against us as others have before, and how some have tried on purpose. You remember it."

"We can't let our emotions blind us, Cynder," Ersa also agreed, backing up Volteer in his decision, "Please, let us help you. We will deal with this and you can..."

"Move on?!" Cynder growled, clenching everyone part of her body in frustration as she wanted this to be real, for this nightmare to be over after years of punishment, "If you lost your mate, you wouldn't wait another month! Hell, you wouldn't wait a day if you knew you could have him back! Each of you would do the same thing! So let me be the one to face this, let this one be on me, and let me, as a nearly twenty year old adult, make her own decision!"

"And if he's fake, will you be able to keep your darkness in check to not kill him and turn on us?" Malefor murmured, making everyone frown as they remembered that fake, "If that darkness around your heart that Spyro gave you gives out, what then? Without Spyro, I can't train this darkness at all, and with his darkness around your heart attacking as a defense against anything else... I was barely able to save that dragon you sliced in half, let alone you." Talking about the darkness that surrounded her heart, she put her paw against her chest and clenched it, begging for his return, "Please... Just let us discuss this more while you get some sleep. We have high hopes that... in the morning, you'll feel even better then before. Volteer and Ersa have found a way to help keep your anxiety levels almost no existent."

Slamming her paw down to the ground from her chest, Cynder yelled as she didn't want to be who she was any longer, "I can't be this! Anymore! I don't want to take these gems, I don't want to feel this way any longer!" Feeling her breathing starting to get out of her control, her body was starting to shut down to control her emotions, which she hated, "Stop trying to make me feel like how I want to! How I use to! Both you all and my damn, worthless excuse of a body!" Turning away from everyone, she threatened as she wanted to do as she believed, "If this is a fake, I will deal with his death with ease. But when I wake up tomorrow, I'm talking matters into my own paws!"

While Cynder ran away from everyone and up to her house, Malefor and everyone else tried to call out to her, "Cynder! Wait!"

Letting out sighs, everyone felt the same way about what was happening as well, wanting to break down and wish this could all just end, but with still no end in sight, Malefor for the time being just wanted to help, "I'm going to go... talk to her," Walking around and past his lover, he looked at her and nudged his head for her to follow, "Come on, my love. She might need your help as well."

* * *

With the doors to the main hallway of the house opening, Cynder ran inside, turned right and straight over to her room. Flinging the door open as she grabbed the door knob, she turned around as she entered the room and slammed the door shut. Standing by the door and looking at it, she couldn't believe what she was doing, how she was acting to everyone, and looking down at her paws, she sat down and looked down as she trembled, having flashes of how, no matter how long it's been, she's never been able to move on. Clenching her eyes shut, she put a paw around her wrist while using her other paw and holding it close to her chest, _Please... Spyro... come back to me._ Using her darkness, she listened as his heart continued to beat, but she couldn't understand why, _Why... Why can I still feel your heart beat... my love._

"I'm right behind you, silly," Jumping from a sudden voice, Cynder spun around and showed her tail blade by her side, but seeing who it was, she gasped and eased up as Spyro spoke, "Sorry. I didn't mean to spook you," He laid on his stomach in the middle of the bed, and with the sunlight lighting up the room, his colors around his body shined as perfectly as she could remembered them being, "I... would ask if you'd want to sit by me but... I... just came her to talk. Not make a move, not, to try and get with you... I just want you, and no one else."

Hearing his last words, instinctively, she both smiled and laughed as she took a step forward. Freezing up with fear, she tried to suppress those emotions as she didn't want to get her hopes up so high and give this dragon, if a fake, the smile that he was fishing for, so she had to growl at him instead, "I told you I didn't want you here. What ever you have to say, I don't want to hear it," Walking up towards the bed, she watched as he frowned, even more so as she threatened him, "Now get out," Feeling a stab to her heart, she knew this was wrong, and couldn't do this, but she didn't know what to do, and seeing him stand up, she stopped him, "Wait!" Hearing a knock at the door, she turned to look at the door, but before saying anything, she looked back at her bed to see he was gone, "Sp... Spyro...?"

Opening up the door, Malefor peaked in some before opening the door fully, "Hey, Cynder. It's just us," Watching as she turned to look at the two in fear as they walked into the room, he wanted to apologize, "We're... sorry about..."

"It's fine!" Cynder cried, making both of the two look at her with wide eyes, not understanding why she changed so quickly in her emotions, "If you really want to make me feel better," Turning from the two, she jumped up to her bed, and once she was on it, she turned and faced the two, continuing what she had said, "Please just... let me get some sleep. I apologize as well for what I had said and I will... back off. Just... please... go back and talk with the others."

They were both confused by what she was saying and doing, but seeing her curl up into a ball and close her eyes, making her tears fall down her eyes and onto the bed, staining it for the time, they both sighed, but agreed to what she had said. Turning away and trying to stay as quiet as they could be, Carith was the first to leave the room, then soon following behind was Malefor. Grabbing the door knob with his tail, he slowly shut the door behind himself, and waiting a couple more seconds, Cynder listened and heard as the door clicked shut. _Now wait a couple more seconds..._ Listening as hard as she could, she heard as the two started to talk before their voices got further and further, become less and less understandable and later, quiet. Picking up her head now and facing straight at the door, she hoped that what she was about to do would work. Looking up at her ceiling, she gave it another couple of seconds, and knowing she was in the clear, she closed her eyes and let her darkness activate that of which was around her heart, _Please... come back._ Opening her eyes very slowly, she didn't hear or feel anything happen, not even the movement of the bed which made her fear. Shedding some more tears, she begged in a cry, "Spyro... please... come back to me..."

"Where would you like me to sit, though?"

Hearing his voice, her head snapped back down, and looking in front of her was once again the purple dragon of before. Seeing his smile, she smiled wide as well, and even though this feeling was coming back, she knew which one to fight and which one to use, "Look I'm... I'm sorry about what I've said but... I... I have so many questions," Seeing him smile, she could tell he was happy to answer, and for her, she wanted to put him to the test, "Now don't act like you're getting with me. Just want to test my bull shit meter. So, for the time being," Patting a paw next to her, he raised a brow as he viewed this as a test, but she assured him it wasn't, "This I'm telling you to do, not asking," Watching as he scooted over and put one paw up, he didn't want to move any other part, and seeing this, she giggled, "You're fine. I'm not going to bite."

Trusting her, he put his other paw on the bed and pulled himself up. Now on the bed, he turned to face the door as she had, laying down on his chest, and now comfortable next to her right, he wanted to known what she was playing at, "First you tell me goodbye, and now you want to talk to me?"

"Says the one who did the same thing," Cynder smirked.

"Hehe, you got me there. I saw you once I had... left... and I had hopes that, with what you heard, you would've changed your mind about me."

"Well, for now, my mind is... somewhat change. You have a chance to prove me that you're Spyro, but you'll only get this one chance, okay? And if you do have the right proof and attitude that he once had... I may change my mind and... fall back in love with you."

"Really?!" Spyro cried happily, and watching his smile as his head straightened out, along with his tail shaking from side to side, she giggled once again, but he tried to control himself, stopping his tail in the process, "I mean... Ahem... May the test begin? But then again, I can assure you, no matter what test it is... Hehe, well, I'm sure I know myself better then myself knows myself."

"Hehe... You have a way with words, don't you."

"I've learned being with you," Seeing her raise a brow, he backed his head up and mentally slapped himself as he walked right into that one, "I'm so stupid... I'm assuming that I'm leaning more to the fake side... aren't I?" Seeing her nod her head, his body nearly locked up, so for now, he took a deep breath in, and then out, and tried to be on his best behaviour, "Once you know it's me, we can go back to doing stuff like that, but I'm not jumping on it! It's your word... And your word is final. I just have to be myself and I shall and will, be fine."

"Alright then, Spyro... Let's put you through a couple of test, each one getting more and more difficult. First, we will start off easy, then medium, and then hard," She paused for a second, blushing as she remembered this tactic that Ersa and Volteer once spoke of, but seeing he was getting a little confused and not saying anything, she continued, "So, for the easy test. I want to ask you three simple questions, and I'm going to test something else of which I will... keep a secret. But for now, are you ready," Seeing him nod, even smiling, she wondered why, but for the time being, she continued with her tests, "When did we first meet? When did we first kiss? And finally, when did I say I loved you?"

Waiting to see if she had anything else to say, she now only looked at him, so this gave him the good to go to speak and answer the questions that were given to him. Giving a chuckle to her questions, she wondered as to why, but hearing his response made more sense to her, "Hehe, well, this is definitely an easy test. We technically first met was after I saved you in another dimension after I used all my powers to help you, even more technically, it was at the Dragon Temple after you had finally woken up. As for when we first kissed, you pecked me on the cheek in Avalar, but for our first real kiss, it was in our forest room after our battle with Malefor... I mean! The Dark Master," She was surprised at how in depth he was in his responses, but surprising her while also making her more suspicious was that he was who he said Malefor was, but his final response was what got her the most, "And for when you said you loved me... Well... You first told me that in the Volcano."

His final sentence made her eyes grew somewhat wide as it was something no one had ever said before, always making up such stories or even finding out the truth from other means. Correcting her emotions as she watched him smirk as though he was cocky, she growled and shrugged that off as a fail, "Many dragons before have used trial and error to found out such things. I told someone the truth before, so for now, I will count that as a failed test," She was surprised to see it didn't really seem to effect him, and she growled once again as she didn't understand why, "You just failed the easiest test. Why are you still smiling?"

"Well... It's the easiest test, which means others are going to pass it rather easily. Which means failing now doesn't mean much. As long as I pass the harder test, that helps me kick my rear in high gear and get my mind back to what it was," Once again, she was surprised by his response, how quick it was, like it flowed off his tongue without much thought whatsoever, "I am pretty pissed though that someone tricked you into saying that about our past."

"Pissed at me?"

"What?! Absolutely not. It's upsetting that others used you to get such information."

"Oh..."

"I hope you dealt with him."

"He was the one that... got closest to me," Cynder admitted, looking away from him as she frowned before facing forward at the door once again, and for Spyro, he was getting more back story as to what happened without even having to ask, "He was exactly like you... He tried everything in his power to act like my lover... and it worked... we never kissed or anything like that, but... after a couple of days... he grew angry that I wasn't being his lover. So... One day, in the training room, while everyone else was in the Chambers, he pinned me to the ground and I... Used my tail blade to cut through the entirety of his stomach."

"You seem upset about such a thing," His words made her look to him, wondering what he meant by it, "I would've been fine if you had killed him being honest. He used you... and the fact this has happened so many times over the years while I was gone... This... also is on me... and it's another reason I'm torn between staying... or leaving," Seeing he wasn't making the situation any better, he chuckled and smiled, thinking about something to help brighten up the situation, "Hey, Cynder. What do you say, after we're done talking, want to go kick Malefor's teeth in?"

"Hehe..." Giving a giggle, it seemed like fun to her as she hadn't heard someone say that in forever, "That... Sounds amazing," Looking at him with her smile, she could see he was enjoying this a little too much, and getting her control over these emotions, she snapped back to her other self to continue, "Anyway. Let's just move on to the hardest test then so I don't have to take up your time," Thinking about what she could say or do as a test to up the difficulty, a couple of things came to mind, and so she had a couple of questions for him to answer, "Last three questions. No big answers, just the answer." Once again, she watched as he once again paid close attention to her words as she spoke, "Who are your foster parents, who is the Chronicler, and who... Are my parents?" He had to think for a second, only mainly on the last question as he truly had no idea, and seeing him taking his time, she warned, "You have three more seconds to answer."

"Sorry sorry sorry... The first two are easy: Flash and Nina were my parents and Sparks was my brother. As for the Chronicler, there were two; The one whom we didn't know the name of who died and my father, Ignitus, took over. But for your parents..." Waiting for a response from him, he put a claw up to his chin, and not being able to find the answer, he shuck his head as he never even remembered hearing such a thing, "I guess I... fail... I don't ever remember you or anyone saying anything about your parents. I tried to use my wish to help but... you wouldn't let me. And I didn't want to learn of my parents before you after all that I've said of you being first so... I'm... sorry. But that's... all I remember." Giving a sad sigh, he frowned as he looked away from her, already knowing of what he should do, apologising even, "Maybe I did... and maybe when my darkness is done with my brain, I can remember... but I can't use that as an excuse." Watching as he stood up, Cynder did the same thing, and he was confused as to why, "Cynder... I'm... just going to leave..."

"No your not!" Cynder cried, making him back up slightly, which was enough for her to extend her left wing out widely and put it to his left side, "You're staying here!" Pushing her wing against his side, he fell to his side towards her, but jumping to her right, spinning around and ending up where he was, he was surprised to see how nimble she was, already on top of him while he was against his back on the bed, facing up at her, "I can't let this information get out, not any more. After what I've told you, you'll tell everyone else! And now by killing someone, they'll know how serious I am about these, fakes! Such as yourself," Bringing her tail blade around and raising it slightly above the side of her neck, she planned to use it, "You tried your luck! And now, unlike the others, you got burned."

It was confusing to him, seeing her anger towards him, and even though he didn't have all the details, he understood, and tried to understand all that he could by putting the pieces together, "Cynder... I get it... After all that's happened to you, you just want it to end... I know... cause I've seen it before," The more he talked, the more she eased up, letting her tail blade fall more and more below her neck and soon, to chest level, "At the Dragon Temple, you didn't want such emotions because you believed you didn't deserve them, you didn't deserve to be treated anymore then how those are treating you now. You've raised your tail blade to me before, and each and every time, I've never flinched. I know you'd never hurt me, because as I am to you, we love each other."

Clenching up from his words, she had enough, wanting it all to end. Taking her tail blade back up to the top of her neck, she cried out as she was done, "You won't be able to flinch when you're dead! With you gone, I will know he's dead, that my Spyro will never return, and I never have to worry about these... emotions... ever again!" She watched as he closed his eyes, easing up his body entirely, even giving very comforting breaths which only pissed her off more as she viewed this as a challenge, "You think this is a joke?! Fine! I've been the Terror of The Skies before, and I can be her again!"

Swinging her tail blade right to his head, she moved her blade last second, missing him and stabbing right into the bed next to his head. Letting out her heavy breaths, she saw as the entire time, he never seemed worried, never seemed scared or affected by what she was saying, only making her feel worse. Clenching her eyes shut and laying down on his chest, she later let the rest of her body follow as she laid on top of him, not even knowing what to do anymore. Feeling his wings drap over her back, she shivered for second, but feeling a comforting warmth come over her back and the rest of her body that eased throughout his scales, she felt this sense of ease, something she hadn't felt as well in years. Picking her head up and seeing he had opened his eyes, he smiled as well, giving off a soft voice as he chuckled, "I had this dream where you tried to kill me. Hehe... but don't worry. Not even the Ancestors can change my mind of who you are, my love."

His words got her to her breaking point, unable to hold back any longer as she had high hopes, hopes to the point where she put all she had into what she did next. Taking her tail blade out from the bed and standing above him, he wondered what she was to do, but suddenly, even for someone of his speed, he didn't expect for her lips to connect to his so suddenly. While he kissed, he felt terrible as he could feel how dry her lips were, not having kissed anyone in so long, but lucky, as before, he made sure to wet both his lips and her own as to make the kiss even more enjoyable. Luckily for him, hearing her give out a moan was good enough for him to know he did good, and now, for himself, he gave out a groan for the enjoyment of pleasure. Letting her lips back from his with ease, once she had disconnected her lips from his, she stood above him, smiling wide and crying in a murmur as she really believed it was him, "Sp... Spyro...? My love... It's you... isn't it..."

Giving a smile, he wanted to say one think to assure her, but with what had all been said now, he didn't know just how delicate she was until he made his joke, "That was crazy!" A snap of fear shot throughout Cynder's mind and body as Spyro change up his voice to a completely different dragon, making him seem as though his normal voice was a fake, "They said it couldn't be done, they said her lips would never touch any other males, yet, here I am! Oh man, I can't wait to tell the other guys! They are going to flip!" Giving out a chuckle as he thought it was funny, once he had stopped, he looked to see Cynder tensing, growing dark as her darkness started to consume her body, letting go of all control to anything which he immediately put a stop to, "Cynder!" Returning back to his normal voice, he rolled her over on her back by tossing her to her back with his wing, and now standing above her, he put a paw to her cheek and tried to calm her, "Cynder, Cynder! It's okay... It's okay... It's me... Spyro... It's, Spyro."

Seeing her trying to get back control, she looked up at him, struggling in what to do, whether giving control of letting go, "Spyro..."

"I'm so sorry... That was... stupid of me... After all you had said and... all that everyone else had said... I did that way too soon... and even still, it was... inappropriate and uncalled for," Moving his head down and nuzzling the side of his against hers, he stopped for a second and whispered as he believed this was something that wasn't spoken of or brought up, "You know, I don't believe this was ever brought up since everyone was thinking of... other things. But... you remember the first time we nuzzled? In the Volcano, after I believed Ignitus had died in the wall of fire?"

His words were enough to make her wings go around his back with ease, holding him close and making him fall more to her chest as she cried over his shoulder, crying with a smile and gaining control over her darkness as she now knew with a fact who it was, even after knowing for some time now, "Spyro... It's really you...! It's really... you... my love... It's really you..."

Instead of saying anything, he smiled and held her close, and now, for Cynder, she finally felt at peace, able to enjoy her life once again. For her, now having kissed him, her shivers had disappeared; Her fear, anxiety, and anger, it had all left her, now once again being replaced with all she had missed; Pleasure, Joy, and excitement. Taking her wings back, she watched as he backed up, standing above her and looking just as amazing as he always looked to her, "It took you long enough to save me, my love," Giving out a giggle to her own words, he chuckle while still feeling bad for what all she had been through, "With you back, I... My shaking, my panic and anxiety attacks feel... tamed. I don't feel scared anymore, I don't feel... depressed... I feel... Amazing..."

"Well, if you want to go do something, I'd be down. Though, first things first, I do need to have the others now understand it's me. But that posses another problem; If every ass hat out there spilled our history together, what do I do to convince them I am who I say I am?" Spyro asked, wondering if there would be a way, or if it would be pointless to even try, but luckily, his lover had his back.

"I don't think you have to worry about that. I wanted to find someone to love, so, it's either you came back and I fell in love with you, or, I found someone else, and fell in love with you. Simple."

"And while that does work... I don't want everyone to still think I'm dead. And by pushing it, what if someone else or you starts back with those... thoughts... and they hurt you once again?"

"Spyro, a couple of things. One, I've never discussed that nuzzle part. That right there already makes me want to throw you against the wall and make out with you. Second, you were the first of all whom never flinched when I attacked. Even making a joke like threatening them with my tail blade for love, it would make them fear."

"You don't mean?!" Getting off her, she wondered why, and seeing as he stood next to her, he reached out a paw and wanted to help her up, "Just... want to know if you're saying what I think it is you're saying." Smiling to the help of his paw, she grabbed it, and being pulled up, she now sat back as they were before with her being on the left and him being on the right, "Now, can you do the tail blade threatening thing with the voice? I know I have an idea, but, still want you to do it."

Giving a sigh while also blushing, she couldn't help but smile as she knew what he was trying to do, but she played along. Getting her tail blade and using the tip of it, she went from the bottom of his neck to the top as she threatened him, "Alright then, Spyro... just know, if you are a fake, I will not hesitate to take this neck of yours," Getting to his chin, the tip of her tail blade stood there, and getting close to his lips, she smirked, "But if you're not... I wouldn't mind you taking my neck... with those teeth of course." Giving off his normal shivers, she watched as he bit his lip in anticipation, and while tacking her tail blade back behind her, she giggled, "Now with you back, there's going to be a lot more of that."

"Me nibbling on your neck, or threatening?"

"Both!" Cynder responded rather quickly.

"Hehehe," Spyro laughed, also making Cynder laugh, finally enjoying herself and hoping this wouldn't change ever again, and once the laughing died down, he wanted to know what's next, "So, what do you say, my love? Once we go down there, I can threaten them all, take you as a hostage for fun and see how they react?"

"As fun as that would be... When we, do go down there... Be easy on them, Spyro. We were all affected very severely by your passing. And with all these fakes, we were all to our snapping points each time one of you, or, them, tried to show up. Malefor has always wanted to be your friend, and after losing you, he... Well... Like I said... We all didn't take your passing well."

"So then... I guess I have some what of an idea to calm everyone then and make they believe it's me. I do know that, once they are calmed down, do you want to come up her and make out till we run out of power," Seeing her open her mouth, he didn't know if she would've agreed or disagreed, but instead of waiting to hear her response, he declined what he said, "Wait wait wait. Never mind," It made her frown as she didn't understand why he would say no to something she had hoped for, but he was correct in his line of reasoning, "Sorry... It's just... every time now that I try to be romantic, I think about those other fakes and I... don't want to be like them."

"Hehehe," Hearing her laugh a little too hard, he chuckled himself even though he didn't know why she laughed, and watching as she turned and walked off the bed, she explained, "Well, for starters, you aren't like any of them, cause unlike them," Getting off the bed and looking at him, her lustful eyes and words made him blush red, "You got a taste of me," Seeing her words had stunned him, she giggled before waving a paw for him to follow, and once he had snapped out of it, he climbed off the bed and ran over to her, "Then again, you're the only one who's ever done such a thing so, you shouldn't surprised."

"Oh, I'm not surprised. It's just... the way you said that," Spyro smiled as he walked up to the door with her, but he admitted that he did like it, "And I feel... horrible for saying this but... I like... how you said it."

Watching as he grabbed the door knob and opened the door for her, she teased him on her way out. Getting her tail blade, she started from his chest this time, and making her way out to the hallway, the more her tail blade made it's way to his chin, "You better get use to it," With her blade gently going off his chin, she watched as he shivered once again, and now with her making it over to the main door, he quickly ran up to catch up next to her, making it to her left side in seconds, "But since you were the one that's been gone for so long, I get to pick the games that we play, okay?" The doors opening muted his sound as he swallowed hard, but she still saw this, and before she continued, she walked with him out of the room and to the Chambers, "Most of our games is going to end with you being the victim, and on your back of course. You no longer have power over me."

"Hahaha!" Spyro laughed, making her giggle as she knew exactly why, "You think I don't have control over you?" Seeing her look away from him with a smirk, Cynder blushed as she knew his words were going to make her change her mind, even though she hoped she would be victorious for once, "Seems my dark power over your mind has weakened and needs to be fixed. I shall have you locked up with me, and till you kiss my lips, you shall never leave."

"Hehehe... well... then I'm not going to be there for long... But better yet, what if I fought you against your ways?"

"Oh... Well, even if you did, you'll end up on your back with me above you as you've always have."

"You don't have to rub it in that I like looking at you."

"Hehehe. So did those other females apparently," Not noticing while he was talking, he instinctively walked into the Chambers with everyone looking at him with wide eyes while he made his way over to where he normally sat by the left side of the wall as they walked in, "Still didn't understand what they meant by that paint stuff though," While everyone looked at one another, even some showing their teeth as they watched him trying to get with Cynder, he was still clueless and continued to talk as he looked to his right and talked with his lover, "But as always, I stay loyal to my love. And always, hehe, I always have to urge to wake up and kick Malefor's ass."

"You think you could beat him up after these three years?" Cynder asked, trying to get the others to not do anything as she waved her paws for the others to stay away.

"Hehe, hell yeah I can! Dude is all fat and not bite. I beat that bitch up no problem."

"Says the bitch!" Malefor finally yelled out, startling Spyro as he didn't know they were in the Chambers.

"Wh... When... How..." Putting his wing up and getting into a fighting stance, he growled at everyone, "This is a hostage situation! Or... wait... I don't want to alarm you but, this is a robbery! Everyone stay where you are or she gets it."

"Sure hope I can, get it, when we get back up to our room," Cynder purred, making Spyro blush, even to the point where he let his wing drap back to his body, "I was talking about our little games, Spyro," Seeing him chuckle, she gave a sigh, even blushing as she murmured, "But I would be fine if I could, get it," Seeing everyone gasp as they saw what she had said, she waved her paws in front of her face and was quick to say something, "Now, Wait wait wait! That's not what I meant by this!"

"You sick shit!" Malefor growled, taking a step forward, opening his wings out completely and looking straight at Spyro as he had an idea of what happened, "After what she's been through, you think you can show her... You're sick! And just an fyi, that dragon who's stomach she slit in half, she made it to his tail to! Guess what's in the middle of the tail and the stomach!" Putting a paw on her face as Cynder blushed, Spyro was confused as to where this was even coming from in regards to anything, "Gems couldn't heal everything, and he sure as hell ain't having any Hatchlings! If I need to do the same to you, and if you try anything like he did, you're dead! Plus, I'm sure you ain't even got that much to show anyway!"

"What the hell are you..." Now finally catching on, Spyro growled, doing the same as Malefor by taking a step forward and extending out his wings completely, "Says your fat ass! And from what I'm seeing, my wing span is far bigger then that of yours, short stuff, so you really want to talk big?! How about you, grow, a couple of inches before you eat shit from embarrassment?!"

Watching as they were about to get into a fight, and the others were to join, Cynder ran up in front of the other Guardians and extended her wings, stopping the others and confusing them, "That's not a fake," Getting wide eyes from some, others weren't so sure, but she made sure to tell them all about what had happened, "Look, long story made short, he proved to me he really was, Spyro. Not in the way you all are making it out to seem as... great as that would be..."

"Cynder?!" They all cried.

"I'm almost twenty! You all know I've had such hopes for a while."

"But not with him!" Terrador growled, still declining it.

"That's Spyro," Ignitus spoke, making everyone look to him and seeing him shed a tear, "Once you had kissed him, Cynder, his mind had cleared of the darkness that protected him. I saw everything from him once again, all about his past," Earning gasps from the others, Carith was also there with the other to hear over the yelling as she had scooted past the back of Malefor and wanted to listen, "This is why, to all of you, this is why I shed some so tears, and I even broke down crying because... My son's alive... He's truly alive..."

"Bu... But how?" Terrador asked, completely dumbfounded as everyone else as they couldn't believe the truth was revealed.

"I don't know... All I know is, when he woke up, he was surrounded by what looked like shards of glass... But... lets all just... smile... cry with joy that... our friend... our family... is back from the Volcano."

Rejoicing after years, everyone watched as the two had fought back and forth, and in order to help, Ignitus spoke to Malefor's mind to get him to stand down, _"Malefor... you don't need to keep fighting him... he isn't a fake... That really is our long lost friend..."_ Seeing Malefor smile and not even responding back, everyone was confused, especially Ignitus as he told him the truth, but he didn't seem affected in the slightest. Backing up from the fight happening in the middle of the Chambers, Malefor chuckled as he put a paw on his chest and revealed the truth, "Ignitus, please, I knew this was Spyro all along," Hearing everyone gasp, they then later growled, especially Spyro as this pissed him off even more, "I just wanted to keep him away from Cynder for a little longer is all."

"You better take that back," Carith threatened, and her voice was enough to make everyone lock up, and for Malefor, it was a point to where his lungs had even locked, "After all that Cynder has been through, she could've been reunited right then and there. So if you knew this and didn't say anything, then I'm going to know this other guy and not say anything either," Hearing everyone gasp, she sat down and watched as he looked at her with tears, and snapping her fingers and pointing beside her, she commanded him, "Come here and tell the truth."

Unfortunately for him, he was telling some of the truth, and even as he sat down next to his lover's right, he tried to chuckle as he looked to her, but instead of her smiling back, she crossed her arms. Shivering once again, Malefor gave a sigh as he looked to Spyro, being honest with him about his suspicions, "Alright... I will... tell the truth," Preparing for the worst, he wanted to make sure he didn't end up without his lover for more then just three years, "Spyro... I... Had an idea that you might've been who you said. But I didn't want to say anything cause I thought you were another fake who came back better then the others as they all had. We've seen Cynder suffer for... entirely too long... And after the War, after the death... I didn't want her to feel worthless, and used... as the Dark Master made her feel."

To everyone, it made sense, and even Carith had to frown, but still, she made sure to shrug it off and try to make things better, unlike how they've been for the past years, "While you prove a good point, my love," Taking her eyes off of him, she smirked as she wanted to play with her lover now as he did to Spyro, "Spyro, he, aside from Terrador, gave you the most trouble. So, I want to leave what happens up to you," It was confusing to some while others understood it right away of what she was saying, and seeing this confusion from the others, she clarified, "Should I stay with Malefor or... Leave him?"

"What?!" Malefor cried, backing his head up in fear, and looking at Spyro as he smiled wide, which made him fear even more.

"I... I get to choose his fate?!" Spyro cried with a smile, and seeing her nod his head, everyone watched with wide eyes as he started to laugh, "Heh... Hehe... Haha... Hahaha! HAHAHA!" Looking up and laughing to the ceiling, the others laughed while Malefor stood there in fear, watching as his life was about to end before him, and once Spyro looked back down and to him, he gave his verdict, "This is a real tough one, Malefor. But even still, you put me in a lose-lose situation here. I either let you stay and I get no joy, or I tell you to leave and you cause another whiny bitch war for losing Carith," Earning small chuckles and giggles from the others, he was right, but lucky enough for Malefor, Cynder had has back, "But... Then again..." Wondering what he was thinking now, they all listened, "Cynder did back you all up when it came to my death. She said you took it worse, even after how bad everyone else took my death. Is that true?"

"Wh...? No, of course not. I stayed a man unlike the others," Malefor tried to stay true to his mainly ways, but unfortunately, seeing everyone open their mouths, he knew he was screwed.

"Bull Shit," Everyone all said at once, laughing with one another once they had, and all Malefor could do was grumble with a blush, angry that they would all call him out for it.

"Now I do feel like starting another war..."

"Thank you... Malefor..." It was a surprise to everyone to hear Spyro say that, and even Malefor had to pick up his head as he thought he was lying to him, "You kept your promise to me, about keeping everyone safe while I was gone, and I... I appreciate that... And since you've helped keep Cynder safe from some of those other fakes as well... I will... let you stay with Carith," Smiling wide, Malefor looked to her and moved in for a kiss, but he stopped him to his dismay, "But first!" Stopping his lips right in front of hers as he was ready, Malefor turned to look at him, "I'm going to break your neck in the training room first," Looking at the others, he pointed a claw at each as he called their names, "Then you mister big shot, Terrador. Then Cyril, and then you, Volteer."

"Spyro..." Some of them murmured, and even though they felt bad, they understood for what they had done and decided to agree without question.

"And what if I stop you?" Cynder asked, making them all look to her as they wondered what she was getting at, "Putting what I said aside, how about I make sure that the next time you move that neck of yours," Walking up to him and watching him smile as she threatened him, she still tried her best, swinging her tail blade around and putting it against his neck, "It'll be across my tail blade? I've already used this quite a lot against some of those fakes, and I think I'm getting that blood lust back."

"Blood lust?" Spyro asked with a raised brow, understanding what she had said, but he wanted to turn this against her, "Weird you say that, cause usually, the lust you feel is to me. But if you'd like to choose blood over me, then, go ahead," Pushing his head forwards, she had no choice but to back up her tail blade to the point where it touched his and her neck, connecting the two as he was close to her lips, "Instead of tasting some of that blood, how about we go back to what we use to do when it comes to... taste."

While uncomfortable for the others, listening and watching as they kissed finally made them all sigh to see Cynder shed a tear of joy, finally being reunited with her lover after so long. Sniffling as a joke, Malefor clapped to embarrass the two, but as he did, everyone soon followed, making them all smile and laugh. Even as the two pulled away from their kiss and rested their foreheads on one another's, they gave off their own smiles, giving off a small laugh as well. With the clapping dying down, Cynder walked over to where they normally sat over by the right wall facing out the Chambers, and soon following was her lover. Now sitting side by side with Spyro to her left, Cynder smiled along with everyone else to see he was finally back. Wanting to hope for the best, Malefor was the one to point this out, "So then. Does this mean we can all, finally, get back to who we were? Just like how the War took three years, we've all made it through another one, and I... miss having fun."

"Not yet," Cynder spoke, getting everyone's attention as they wondered what was left, "I... Need to change just... one thing," Looking to her lover, Spyro gave a slight shiver as he didn't know what she was going to say, but as before with her tests, he believed this was another one and listened very closely, "Spyro... Now that I'm an adult, and I've seen so many... families, I've had, so much time to think of my future and I... I wanted to know if... in your future... you'd like to... have me as your... mate?"

Everyone gasped, watching for Spyro's reaction to see what he would've said, and just as they all were, he was speechless. Giving a slight smile, they all watched as he opened his mouth to respond, holding in their breaths as they listened with anticipation, "Well... about something like that... Cynder... I would have to say..."

 _Opening her eyes in the dream world, Cynder eyes shot wide and saw Ignitus standing in front of her with Claire right next to him as it had been before, "What?!" Jumping up on her paws, she growled at him as she couldn't believe he would do something like that, "What the hell?! You could've at least let the dream go a little longer, Ignitus." Giving a chuckle, Ignitus knew this was to happen and apologized, "I'm sorry, I swear. Unfortunately, I couldn't give a full reaction of how Spyro would respond if you asked that cause... I don't know how he would feel; whether it be anger or joy," His words made her frown as it was a little unfortunate for her to hear that was something that was still unknown, but for him, seeing her reactions made him wonder, "Do you... want to be my son's mate when you become an adult?"_

 _"What?!" Cynder cried, backing her head up and sweating with a blush as she tried to make up an excuse, "I still have my whole life to think about and there are other things to learn if we did, and if we..." Now growling, she shuck her head as she wanted to turn this against him, "Claire! Can you shut him up for me?!" Giving a smirk as she looked at her lover, Claire agreed as she put a claw on his lip, "With... pleasure." Giving a chuckle to see her lust, he had to deny for now, "Save your strengh for later, my love," Once she had taken her claw off his lip, he continued with his explanation about all that she had seen, "But just remember, Cynder. This is by far best case, even though this doesn't count for things that could happen in the future without Spyro; The other Guardians maybe finding love, some of us becoming mates to our loves and having Hatchlings, death, and or even scars of what's happened after maybe even another war." Giving a fearful shiver, Cynder once again frowned, scared to ask, but she needed to know, "What is the... worst case... scenario? Just not the worst of worst... something I could... calm myself down with after you told me." Trying the think, he gave a slight sigh, feeling terrible for even having to bring something like this up, but he had hopes she'd understand, "Easy worst case... You kill everyone and then yourself once you see Spyro look over their bodies." Feeling a pain in her chest, Cynder didn't want anything to happen to anyone, and so, she asked with hope in her eyes as she feared, "Please... What do I do to stop... what ever it is that's happened?"_

 _"Use all the information from this and use it as the days go by. Remember that of what was said. Unfortunately, I know some, of what's to happen, and while the Ancestors don't give a damn about you all, I do... And... I just wanted to know one thing before we do let you go from this dream as Claire was wondering as well... How would you have reacted?" Ignitus asked, and watching as she frowned, he immediately knew he made a mistake, so, he wanted to change the subject as to not make things as they were in that dream, "Actually... never mind... To help you out though, I gave everyone else the same dream with some points taken out that aren't important or personal." Shedding a single tear, it made him feel even worse as he had hopes he wouldn't have done such a thing, but she giggled at his dream, "Not having seen Spyro for three years... And even after his death... I... I would've acted way worse... Way... worse," Sitting down and thinking to the dream, Claire was about to say something to help, but she had already spoken before her friend, "The one thing the dream nailed though was... I... can't live... without him. And me seizing to function is... very accurate."_

 _"But you wouldn't allow him to leave you, would you," Claire smiled, and her words were helpful to Cynder as she tried to make light of the situation, "After all, only you get Spyro, not death. And I know my friend has fight in her to take on anything. If you need to put Spyro in his place and tell him not to die, he damn well better not... cause you'll always be there for him... as well as are we." Picking up her head and smiling from her words, she was a huge help in changing her mood, and even for her, Cynder giggled as she looked to Ignitus and asked him, "Did you see how easy that was, Ignitus?"_

 _"I'm not a girl so I have no idea what to say or do half the time. Bringing her into this dream worlds now is definitely going to be very helpful as it's already proven," Ignitus chuckled, getting his lover to nuzzle his cheek, and seeing those two snuggle up, Cynder giggled once again as it was something she wished to do with her own lover. "Thank you, Ignitus, for the warning. But now... after seeing another hell filled future... I need to be there for Spyro... I have to... stop what ever it is to happen and I... I just... Need his words, his warmth... to comfort me." Nodding his head, Ignitus completely understood and didn't want to take up anymore of her time, "Of course. And once again... Thank you, Cynder, for all that you've done for my son."_

 _"Hehe, yeah, well, that works both ways," Getting chuckles from the two, Cynder laid her body down, and closing her eyes, she made sure to give one last joke in before she left, "Oh yeah... Ignitus. Another thing you got wrong about that dream; If Spyro does... I mean... when Spyro supposedly died in that dream, one thing that would be a for sure if that happened, I'd want Malefor dead right then and there." Hearing the two laugh, she giggled, smiling as she slowly faded off and left the dream world._


	22. Chapter 22: Another Purple Dragon

Chapter 22: Another Purple Dragon

Taking in all that she had learned, rather then jumping to wake up, Cynder made sure to think carefully in the comfort of her lover's wing, which only made it easier for her to stay calm as she thought, _Ignitus is once again giving me a chance to save my love once again, and I can't mess this up as bad as it was before. I just need to think, remember, and understand what he showed me. I couldn't live with the thought, knowing that he would have to make a sacrifice once again when I should be strong too... as I once was before._ Having an idea come to mind, she wanted to train and needed a way to get from out of her lover's comfort, and it was rather easy for her to think of an idea without much thought. Nuzzling her head from underneath his and opening her eyes, Spyro grumbled as he felt her move, and only barely opening his eyes, he looked to his left and asked in a mumble, "Cynder...? Wh... What's wrong?"

Watching as he let out a big yawn, she giggled to see he was still so tired while she was up and ready to do stuff, and to make sure she was able to get up, she went with her plan, "No, my love, nothing is wrong. Though, I was hoping I could get up and talk with Carith some in their room," Watching as he laid his head back down, she waited and watched as he closed his eyes, and she hoped he was still listening, "Then once we're done talking, we could come by and wake you up, if you aren't already."

"Something else is wrong with you, my love," Spyro murmured, and she was confused as to why he would think such a thing, and giving a chuckle while opening and showing his purple eyes, he looked to her, "Your muscles, while not severe, are teased, either cause you're scared, or cause you're looking to stretch your body by training," She was surprised he caught on so quick, and seeing her surprise, he once again chuckled as he picked his head up and continued, "I did say you could train, my love. Don't want to hold you back from doing something you love. All I ask is that you don't over do it as I have."

Giving a nod and a smile, she agreed, "Yes sir."

"But may I ask, what brought up this need to train? Did you have a nightmare that I wasn't put into?"

 _He knows me entirely too well,_ Licking her lips as she thought about it, it made her smile, _And I love it._ Now that she was thinking about it, his words changed her plans of what she wanted to do, and she even sighed, blushing in defeat even though he didn't try and change her mind at all, "I should've just up and left. Now that you are talking, I just want to lay here," Giving a chuckle, he did feel a little bad as he wanted to apologize, but she didn't let him speak for the time being as she was the one to talk, "But, hey, I actually have a great idea. How about you help me train then instead? Rather then learning slowly, you apparently know me a lot better then I do, so you could see what I can't."

"Well, your body is amazingly slim, so I'm sure that your strengh would of course be speed," Once again, he didn't mean to sound romantic as for him, he was pointing out her obvious features, and she once again enjoyed it, "The good thing about your wind powers is that, you'll be able to redirect an attack and get the upper paw. I have similar interests in your powers as well, but my biggest fear, and hope, is that you'll use these powers against me," She gave a slight frown as he made it seem like he meant that as an attack, but he smiled and assured her, "I meant like your poison. Giving you too much power means I'm going to be on my back more then you, and that scares me."

"Oh," Now realising what he meant, she did have thoughts about using her powers against him for pleasure, and thinking back to her dream, she smiled as she had some ideas she wished to test, "You don't really have any abilities you can use against me to, neutralize me, but all of my abilities I can use against you," Seeing the evil smirk go across her face, he swallowed hard, even sweating a little as he gave a nervous chuckle, "Now with these ideas, I feel like I should train to see how you handle my poison. Like way back when we pranked Sparks, sure would've been nice if I did poison you. Then I would've had full control as I made out with you."

"You're definitely playing with fire my love," Spyro chuckled, as he had his own way of turning the tides against her, "I don't have to move to use my dark power against you. Just remember, my darkness is far stronger then the darkness inside of you, so now, only I can control you," Using his dark power in show of strength, she looked down at her paws to see her left one crossed over her right one, and looking back at him, seeing his smirk, she playfully showed her teeth to take on anger, "Now, when you play with fire, you get burned, but as I don't wish that to happen, let's just say, if you don't get on your back now, you'll be... forced."

Taking her paw off of her right one, she slapped it back down on the bed, and challenged him, "Well how about, first, you let me kiss you," He wondered what this would accomplish, rather then keeping it a secret, she wanted him to fear her as she told him, "You'll have to kiss me sooner or later. You, nor I, can resist one another. And once you do, same as the taste of my lips, you're also going to get a taste of my poison, and you can't stop that."

"We are enjoying this way too much."

"Fun, is it not?"

"To the victor, it shall be."

The two looked to one another, wondering who would make the first move, and for Cynder, she wished he would make the move after the dream she had, _That dream is beyond fake. I can't lose him, i wouldn't be able to live, or function at all. Finally having time with him once again is so... soothing._ Feeling the darkness light up in her body, she could feel as he was taking control over her body, and since she wasn't fighting back, it was rather easy for the darkness to spread from head to tail. Moving his head in more, she was forced to the same, but just as their lips were to touch, a knock came from the door, snapping Spyro out from his concentration and control over his lover. Looking to the door and away from her, he asked, "Who in the hell? That didn't sound like a bitch knock, which means it's not Malefor."

"Who ever it is, they're going to deal with the poison from my claws instead," Cynder growled, having been interrupted with her fun.

"Hehe, oh no," Spyro chuckled in fear for who ever may be at the door, so in order to protect who ever this was, he stood up and took lead, "In case it was my father, I don't want him to get hurt, and if it's the girls, I'm sure you wouldn't hurt them," Showing her claws, he saw as a green liquid formed at the tip of her claws, and this made him shiver as he didn't know how strong her poison was, "I can see you are ready though, so, noted. If it's anyone else, they're fair game," Getting off the bed and to the ground, Spyro walked to the door and before he got to the door, he asked from the other side, "Who is it?" Grabbing the door knob and opening the door, the one standing at the door was both Ignitus and Claire, and surprisingly to him, it wasn't just those two, but the whole group in the back looking at him, "Um... What are you all doing in my house?"

"Can I poison one of them," Cynder asked, getting off the bed and following up behind him and seeing all the others as they crowded the hallways, and she had a good idea as to why, "You know we all would've met in the Chambers. You didn't have to come up here so quickly."

"Just wanted to spend some time with you sooner is all. It's been a while since we've talked," Ignitus smiled, but his words only made Spyro more confused.

"We just talked yesterday."

"Yeah, but I mean, you all have been asleep for an extra hour then all of us, so, instead of waiting for you all to come down, we just came up here."

"What's with the rush? Maybe even the desperation?"

"Nothing to worry about, Spyro," Claire stepped in as she could see her lover starting to sweat which was getting Spyro's suspicions even higher then before that something was going on, "Ignitus believed something was to happen, but doing some more in depth research, he founded it to be false. But what he saw still shuck him up. And if you really want to know, it was a possible death for one of us. But once again, it was proven to be false."

Accidentally giving out more information then she would've liked to, it still helped enough to give Ignitus more of something to work off of as he frowned and went off her words, "Claire's right... I needed to tell her of course for her to comfort me but... even still, seeing your death will always scare me. So, I needed to talk with you, and just needed to know you were still breathing."

"Who's the death by? Malefor? That's a pretty funny joke, Dad."

"Ha!" Malefor laughed in the back of the group, "You know it's true."

Raising her claw, Cynder wondered with the poison dripping from her claw if she needed to use it, "You know, my poison is still fired up. Do I need to use it or not?"

"Hehe, not just yet. I want you to save that poison for me of course," Spyro admitted right in front of the two as he looked to his lover, having tunnel vision as he only focused to his lover, "Want to see who has more of a chance at winning our little love battle. Hehe, I mean, of course I can since I have more power, but it's still cute to see you try. Oh wait, I mean, fail."

"You are asking for it," Cynder growled, turning to him and pulling up her tail blade, she put her paw to the ground, and instead of her claws, she let poison now drip from her tail blade, "I've given you too much control, and I'm sure with this amount of poison, you're body should be rendered useless enough to be paralyzed for a while, but you'll still be able to feel pleasure. Though, if you want to keep talking, I could take that away from you as well."

"You wouldn't, cause you like hearing me as I enjoy the kiss."

"Hey, can you two chill the hell out," Malefor grumbled as the two talking was getting everyone to blush, "Just poison him and get it over with."

"Remember when it didn't take us using poison to be parlayed, just are two bodies," Ersa giggled, making Volteer blush hard as Cyril and Terrador were right there.

"Please, don't you two start too," Terrador grumbled.

"It's getting way too hot up in here even for me," Cyril admitted.

Taking his time, Spyro wondered if he should try his lover or not, but for the time being, he decided against it as he wanted to use his own weapon when others weren't around, "Let's wait, my love. Cause for me, I wish to control you as well with my own powers, and for that, we need privacy for what I am to do," Hearing Malefor almost throw up in the back while squealing, Spyro gave a sigh and wanted to do something first, "Before we do go to the Chambers, I need to hurt someone real quick," Moving out of his way, everyone did the same, and since everyone had been blocking Malefor's view, he looked now to see Spyro was right in front of him, so he now shut his mouth, "Come on, say something, I freaking dare you," His mouth stayed closed with wide eyes, even shaking his head as he wished to live, "Know your place, peasant."

Popping his own mouth open, Malefor growled at him now as he didn't want him to be known as such, "I'm no, peasant, unlike the others..."

"Did you just call me a peasant?" Carith asked, making him immediately stop.

Walking up to Spyro, once she had made it to his side, Cynder pulled up her tail blade once again, poison dripping from her tail blade and asking if she heard him right, "Did you just call me a peasant?" Ducking his head back, Malefor wasn't to say anything, but knowing what he could say to save his scales, he tried to speak, but Cynder didn't allow it, "I think you need a signature bitch slapping, and since you pissed off Carith, I'm pretty sure she wouldn't mind."

"When I meant others!" Malefor finally got his words out, "I meant the others out there, outside this building, not here."

"Yet it took you a while to think of an excuse," Cyril spoke, making Malefor growl at him.

"Hey, Cyril, how about you go back in that raining room and actually die this time," Now getting Cyril to growl at him, Malefor once again tried to defend his actions, "Anyway. Last time I tried to speak without thinking, I made Carith's life hell as I did yesterday, so I wanted to make sure I correct without hurting her," It made sense to her as she remembered how bad he felt in the morning, and after what had happened, he made sure to not make the same mistake, "Which means, Cynder, you can't slap me as I've done nothing wrong."

"Uh-huh. Remember how I told you to jump back in the Volcano and die? You still haven't done that," Cynder smiled, raising a brow, but Malefor called her out on that.

"You said I didn't have to!"

"Yeah but, like with Spyro's words; All cause I said that doesn't mean I meant it."

"Hehe, Damn, that's pretty harsh," Spyro chuckled as he knew what she was talking about.

"This is such a hostile work environment. I've been harassed, abused, been name called. It's times like these where I miss my power," Tapping at his mussels as he flexed them, he still believed what he thought back when he came back, "It's because I was the Dark Master that I'm so weak now. When I came back, my mussels were turned to nothing but fat... or so I believed. Then again, no one exactly said anything. You all just watched as Carith made out with me on the ground you damn creeps."

"You just came back after nearly fourteen years!" Terrador growled at him.

"And I was mainly focusing on the fat on your arms, but I didn't want to say anything," Cyril admitted.

"For me, I just wanted you dead," Volteer chuckled, but he had good reason to still be suspicious, "I mean, for Ancestors sake, you had your tail blade at Cynder's neck."

"You had your tail blade at my lover neck?" Spyro growled.

"To help her up! To help her up," Malefor quickly explained, waving his two paws in front of his face as he hoped he wouldn't get the wrong idea, "Cynder had fallen, it was a bad day for her, and even though she had healed, she collapsed on the floor, dropping you. So, I helped her up, but then Volteer tackled me against the wall, ready to kill me, but Cynder stopped him."

"Unfortunately," Cynder sighed.

"Harassment... Harassment!"

"Better watch your ass, Malefor," Spyro warned him, but before he could say all of what he meant, Malefor joked.

"Don't think I can stretch my neck that much."

"Becuase!" Spyro called out, continuing what he was trying to say, "In case you've forgotten, today is the last day till me and you, could, be friends," Realising how important this day was now, Malefor swallowed hard as he knew he needed to be on his best behaviour, but as of now, he already wasn't starting off good, "So if I get any complaints from my lover, I'm going to judge whether or not you're good. I would let the others decided as well, but getting death threats to you won't help me even as helpful as they are."

"They wouldn't give me death threats," Hearing laughs from everyone, and a sinker from his lover, Malefor grumbled, "Why do I bother."

"So, for the time being, I need to talk with you some more. And for you, my love," Looking to his lover, he continued, "Is it okay while I'm up in front talking with Malefor, would you like to spend time with the girls? Or do you need to stay and talk with me some?"

"I can stay with the girls of course. Don't want Malefor to worry too much since I am of course one of the judges to your friendship with Malefor," Cynder giggled, making Malefor let out a short sigh of relief, and to make sure they didn't hear, she made sure to keep quiet, "Just remember; Enjoy that body while you can, cause soon, it'll be mine."

"I said the same thing to you, Volteer," Ersa snicker in a whisper, making Volteer once again blush.

"Why are you so naughty," Volteer asked with a chuckle.

"You're the one who wanted such a thing."

"That was you who wanted me more somehow."

"I know," Ersa smiled, giving a blush.

"Alright, let's go then," Spyro spoke, waving his paw at Malefor for him to follow, and since Cyril was so close to the main door, it stayed open, allow the two to walk out of the house rather easily, "Just need to ask a couple of question," Following behind the two was Carith and Cynder, followed by the other Guardians and their lover's as they followed behind, "To make sure you're paying attention, I'm gonna ask my three questions without spacing them out," Getting a nod from him, Spyro asked his three question, "So then; If you turned to the Dark Master without Carith around, what would you do? If the Destroyer did return, what would you do? And if I didn't really become your friend, what would do?"

It was questions that, each, were rather difficult to answer, each seeming more difficult then the next for him to think about and answer. For Malefor, he needed to think a little more in depth about these questions as he didn't want to give a right or wrong answer, but rather, the answer he felt comfortable with, _I don't want to just say what I think he wants to hear, but rather, what I really would do during such a situation. And unfortunately, with the Destroyer out there, his last two questions will become a reality._ Giving a sigh, he had an easy answer for the first question as he remembered what he had been taught, "For the Dark Master, I need to think of the saddest thought possible, balancing out my anger and sadness without giving one more control over the other. This can help me use the power, and in case this is a fight, I will need the power to assist you," For his other two questions, he had a good idea of what he needed to say, but for the time being, he gave his answer to his next question, "For the Destroyer, since you broke the Crystals, the only thing to do from memory... I guess you'd just have to use your darkness against it and hold it back."

"Which is a question for me though," Spyro spoke, once again asking a rather difficult question for him to answer, "If I sense the Destroyer and it's darkness, who put the darkness in it, and also, since I did destroy the Crystals powering it, that would mean someone out there is controlling it. So, how would you explain that," His questions were rather difficult to answer, and since each question Malefor had to think about in depth of how he would explain it without making him think he's a villain, and for the time, since Spyro saw the Chambers, he put a holed on the questions, "Well, you have time to think of something. They may be difficult if you're evil, but if you're not, just speak the truth, and I'd be fine with that two. Hearing the truth is what I want."

Turning in the Chambers, Spyro looked into it and stopped, gasping as he saw someone sitting in the middle of the Chambers, looking all around the room. With Malefor looking as well, he did the same as Spyro, and soon followed was everyone else, each having the same reaction as they stood behind each other and saw this dragon. Turning around and facing everyone, the dragon blushed to see them all staring at her, especially Spyro as the dragon saw his body. _No way..._ Malefor thought, looking as the dragon tried to smile, and this didn't seem to be fake, and while everyone else was still in shock, he asked, "Are you... Another purple dragon? A purple... Dragoness?"

She smiled at all the others, and walking up next to Spyro, Cynder raised a brow, and even looked to Spyro to see he was still looking at her. Looking back to the female, she made sure to inspect what seemed like competition to her. The females scales were purple, from her head to tail, including the tops of her wings. Her wing flaps gave a cool, slightly darkened look to them with fins connected together all down to her back like the back of a sea creature. On her head were four horns, two that stuck out as normal horns, and two small ones was each having one resting next to each of her horns. Her eyes were the same as her wings, giving off a cool, darkened blue look, and to her arms were similar to her fins down her back, taking up a small portion of the side of her arms. For her tail blade, it wasn't meant for battle, but rather for comfort as it had a similar look to a fish fin with two splitting from the right and left. Giving a slight growl, unfortunately, even for Cynder, she agreed to herself in her mind, _I hate to admit it... But she really isn't that bad looking._ Once again, to Cynder's dismay, Spyro walked up to her and spoke, "H... How," Smiling at her, he greeted himself, "In case you don't know, my name is Spyro."

Giving a blush to see his body so up close, she blushed and introduced herself as well, "Nice to meet you, Spyro. The name's Celia."

"Celia? That's a pretty nice name."

"Oh... thank you."

Seeing her blush, everyone looked away from the female and over to Cynder, watching as she growled and walked up and over to the two. Celia watched as Cynder walked up to Spyro's side and making sure this was known very early on, Cynder stood to her lover's side and said, "And in case you needed to know, the name is, Cynder. I'm the, lover, of Spyro, just in case that isn't known."

"Oh, I didn't want to intrude on your love of course," Celia backed up, seeing as Cynder wasn't very happy with her presence.

"Cynder, it's okay, she just wants to talk," Spyro spoke, defending the female to Cynder, making her now back off, "It's alright. I just want to talk with her and maybe see what moves she has," Getting a sigh, Cynder frowned as she turned and backed off, but once she did turn, Spyro didn't see her sadness as he went right back to talking with her, "It's okay, she doesn't bite, just protective as other's out there aren't exactly the kindest in the world."

"Hehe, don't worry, I know that from experience," Celia giggled, making Spyro chuckle as he assured her.

"Hehe, well, don't worry, I can assure you that everyone here is nothing but friendly."

"That's good to hear."

Making it over to the others, Cynder turned and sat down, looking to the ground and listening as the two spoke, and seeing her sadness, everyone wanted to say something, but she picked her own head up and remembered Ersa's words, "He's never given me a reason not to trust him. He said he only wanted to talk to her and that's fine," Growling as she admitted, it was an annoyance to her, "The problem is... she's a pretty nice looking female... unfortunately... And I definitely don't think I'm in her league."

"Cynder, don't you remember what I said when it came to how you looked?" Carith asked, trying to help her out.

"Yeah but... I don't know how true that is. I saw myself in that dream but... even still, I'll never believe that I'm good enough for him."

Laughing once again, Cynder frowned to hear Spyro was having fun with the it her female, on my making things worse. Wanting to get into more detail about who she was, Spyro asked a couple of questions as he wondered, "So, hey, I hope this okay but, may I ask a couple of questions about your life."

"Of course," Celia agreed.

"Great. A couple of questions I have is, how come it took you so long to show up and speak to me? I would've loved to have seen and asked about your powers sooner."

"Well, I'm almost seventeen and I thought, now that I'm coming up on being an adult, I should take a step and meet you all. It took a while to even get to Warfang as, with the War, me and my family lived pretty far away so... I thought now would be a good time. I also wish I could've came here when I learned more elements, but for the time being, I only known ice as my parents were very protective of me."

"I can definitely help train you if needed, and having another purple dragon is definitely a huge surprise. And it's also pretty cool to hear that you're seventeen. Me and Cynder were frozen in a Crystal that made us age up. Instead of being thirteen, we are now sixteen years old. Don't know when our birthdays are coming up, but I believe that here soon, I will also be seventeen."

"Whoa, that's pretty cool."

"Yeah. I look forward to being an adult as I've always wanted to reach for all the power I can."

"Well... Not to be inappropriate but," Looking at his body up and down, blushing to see he was a perfect male, she agreed, "It definitely shows that you are a rather prefect male."

"Hehe, I did it all in order to protect those that I love."

"You know for others, they get stronger just to flex off to other females to get dates. But then when they get what they want, they up and leave."

"Good news, they'll die sooner then those who respect others. The more enemies you make, the more of a chance that will come back to bite them."

"Yeah, they definitely deserve it."

"Well, I don't want to not smile and think of the bad out there, I just wish to make you feel comfortable. So what do you say, would you rather sit here and talk with the others, or do you want to train your abilities?" Thinking of which one she would rather do, he chuckled as he thought that she may be afraid of the others, or even shy, so he gave her the easier option, "If we do go and train, it'll just be me and you, no one else."

Hearing this made everyone's scales stick up on end, especially Cynder as her heart nearly stopped as she believed this meant something else, _He's not trying to be alone with her just to kiss her, is he? Or maybe even worse?!_ Everyone wondered what she would say, and unfortunately, Celia did agree to everyone's fears, "That does sound nice," Hearing small gaps from everyone, she tried not to be called out from hearing them, and instead, just spoke her mind, "I've heard that you're a rather comfortable dragon to be around. There was a time where the yellow Guardian, Volteer, was crying in Warfang, and you were clam, helpful, making everyone respect you for it."

"It's my job to make sure everyone's safe," Turning around and waving a paw, he looked at her and spoke, "Follow me up to my house. There's a training room built into it with a door, so we can easily close it and get some privacy," Walking over to the others, Celia followed behind Spyro, and with everyone moving out of the way, he stopped for a second to see Cynder looking away from everyone and him for some reason, "Cynder, are you okay?" Turning to her and reaching a paw out to rest on her shoulder, he asked once again, only in a smoother voice, "Cynder."

"Hey, Spyro," Celia spoke, getting Spyro to stop his paw and look at her, "I told my parents I wouldn't be gone too long, so if it's okay for me to say, can we hurry to the training."

"Oh... Yeah... sure," Spyro murmured, taking his paw back away from her, and looking to Malefor, he asked him, "Watch after everyone, for me," With Malefor his head, Spyro walked in the middle of everyone since they had moved, and once again continuing his walk, Celia ran up and followed next to him instead of behind him, "So the main thing we can work on is your flexibility to help keep you nimble during battle." Walking down the hall, the two could still hear the two as they spoke for a little longer, "Do you know how to work your body, or do you need help?"

"Oh, I could definitely use your help working my body," Hearing Celia words and giggle, Cynder shot stiff as this wasn't good for her in the slightest.

Everyone stood there in silence for a little while, fearing for their lives as they didn't know what to say, but trying their best to help out, Ersa spoke as she had a similar experience, "Cynder, it's not so bad. I once believed Volteer left me for someone else and had a Hatchling, so this could just be one of those time where we are just mixing a situation out of just emotions," They all watched as she walked from the group and over to where she normally sat; to the left wall from the entrance of the Chambers, and since it seemed everyone was going to where they normally sat, they did, "And if Spyro does try something, you have your poison, I have my pressure points, and Malefor has his own strengh. We can all back you up."

"Yeah but, even still, imagine how you'd feel if you saw your mate kissing someone else," Malefor spoke, sitting next to his lover on the right wall from the entrance, and it did feel like a stab to the gut for the others, "I mean, Ignitus, how would you feel if Claire stabbed you right now and left you for dead even after falling in love. To me which is kinda messed up, that's pretty funny. And I'm sure Carith, after what we've been through, she'd be pretty devastated as well," No one said anything to his words, and for Ignitus, he looked to his lover and smiled, and lucky enough for him, she nuzzled him before kissing him, "But let's not worry about it. I don't see Spyro ever going against your love, Cynder, especially not after what just happened in the morning."

"Ignitus did tell me his dream wasn't very accurate," Cynder sighed, now speaking what was on her mind.

"You really doubt him?"

"I just... I will always be afraid of competition. And with him so quick to talk with her... He never once called me his love during his talk with her... We haven't even kissed at all today," Everyone gave off a slight hiss through their teeth, especially Ignitus and Claire once they had pulled back from their kiss, "Yeah... that doesn't really help... And since he was so quick to answer yes to everything about her, if she says something to trick him into kissing her, like to activate her powers... would he... And then his lips would be tainted by someone else."

"Then take charge, Cynder, show your dominance. Volteer has tried for the past couple of days and failed, but," Hearing everyone grumble while backing their heads up with blushes, Volteer gave a sigh, putting a paw on his face and trying to hide his blush and his smile, "My point, you're the boss, remember that. He may have control over you, but you'll always have the most control. If needed, poison him, go for it. Show who's stronger of the two in your relationship."

"Hehe, Volteer... You're such a bitch dude it's actually funny," Malefor laughed.

"Oh my fu... Malefor, shut your damn mouth!" Volteer growled, slapping his paw back down to the ground.

"How red is your paw there after slapping it to the ground."

"Not as red as your face is going to be when I slap you!"

"Shut up! Both of you," Terrador stepped in, trying to help with Cynder, "We need to help our female friend, not you two girls who won't shut up. Anyway, Cynder, while I'm not really into relationships, this is another reason I don't believe in them. But to help you out, I do have to agree with what Ersa said; Show who's the real boss around here. Purple dragon or not, you've been through hell and back. Show your strengh, put her in her place, don't let her do that to you."

"I would but... Spyro seemed happy with her and... if I did interrupt those two, what if he gets upset at me for interrupting the two. Then I really am out of luck," Cynder murmured, seeing at it as though she was looking at nothing but the bad of the situation.

"Cynder, when it comes to something like that, do what I was going to do," Claire spoke, and wondering what she was talking about, Cynder picked her head up some, "The Guardians tried to keep me away from Ignitus, and in order to be with him, I would've killed each and everyone one of them to be with the one I loved," Hearing nervous chuckles from the others, they were glad that didn't happen, "It was Spyro that saved their lives, and he's always been nothing but helpful. And while I do fear that he can use his statues and body to be with someone else, I just don't see that happening."

"Another part that does pose a problem, we can't piss off the only and most powerful force against what is to come. If something happens or she takes him somewhere else, we are as good as dead. No offense to you, Malefor, but with all that is to happen, you'd die trying to protect and attack everything even with our help," It didn't really help what Cyril was saying, but it made sense which was another reason it wasn't helping, and seeing he was making things worse, he corrected and tried to make things better, "But just, remember back to when we separated you two. The next day, Spyro was pretty pissed at us for what we did. I don't think he likes the idea of you two separating."

"I definitely don't either," Cynder once again murmured, but from their words, she did keep her head up now, and it was a little saddening for the others as they watched her open her wings and look to both sides of her, but Spyro wasn't there.

"If it makes you feel any better, I have a clone watching the two in case something happens, and thankful, nothing so far," Ignitus assured her, and seeing her want to say something, he cut her off, "Nothing so far as in won't happen. I believe in my son's love for you, and as a father, if he does try something, I would gladly smack him across the face for it. But this is something I'm not giving much thought."

"Spyro did try and die to get away from you though," Malefor chuckled, but it was way too soon, and seeing her duck her head, he looked to Carith and saw her shake her head, "Ahem..." Looking back to Cynder, he corrected himself as he felt terrible for saying now, "That was... way too soon of a joke. But Cynder, just remember what I said to you when we were flying back to Warfang after the battle; 'He must really want that kiss'. With all he was doing, he did it to protect you. Even before he passed out, he asked me, even with fear, to protect you."

It gave Cynder a smile as she remembered back to it, and since he changed his words around, she giggled with what everyone was saying, "Man, we sure are having to remember a lot from the past. What's up with that?"

"Well, past experience is what we learn from," Volteer stepped in, being the scientist he was and adding that into what's happening now, "Think of this like a perfect scientific method; For short, we do a hypothesis, experiment, analysis, and conclusion. We hypothesis you and Spyro are a perfect match, are experiment was separating and keeping you two together. Are analysis shows better results when you two are together then not. So our conclusion turns to fact that you two are better together separate then apart. So our hypothesis is correct."

"Why do you know things no one cares about," Malefor asked, putting a paw on his head for a second as his brain hurt before putting it back to the ground.

"Those who do care know he's one sexy ass dragon," Ersa bite her lip, loving how he was able to put two and two together so well, and her words made him smile.

"Then thank goodness I don't care, cause that's a damn lie."

"Hehe... I do thank you all for your help," Cynder thanked, and since they had been remembering so much, she wanted to take a jab at Cyril, "But, going back and remembering something. Cyril, you remember when we played a prank on Sparks and you were up and ready to kill me?" He gave a nervous chuckle as he did remember that time, and she herself gave her own giggle, "That was a fun day for me... I can't believe Spyro went along with it too... That was a time where I wish I could've kissed him right then and there. But then Ignitus would've been like, 'You would've died if you did'."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," Ignitus chuckled, still feeling bad to this day about what he had said.

Since everyone had given her so much words of encouragement, she agreed to get up and make a stand, "Well... Since you all were such a big help, I'm going to go and establish my dominance on him."

"You should wait a couple more years before you do that, Cynder," Malefor chuckled.

"Malefor... Shut up."

"Then again, my clone chuckled as he told me something," Ignitus spoke, smiling as he remember something else from the past, "You all remember the day when Ersa sadly went down with that deadly disease?"

"The day? No," Putting a claw on Volteer's chest, she giggled, "But the night..."

"Ersa," Volteer grumbled, trying to act disgusted, but seeing as everyone looked away with blushes, he looked to her and whispered, "You passed out towards the end anyway, so."

"That was your fault you sexy piece of meat you."

"Going back! The stuff that Spyro needed to collect was a flower and a gem. Sparks found him and joked that the stuff he had was a way of proposing to you, Cynder," Ignitus continued, and his words got to her, and he was curious as to what her response was, but she didn't want to show too much interest and get the others suspension too high, "Unfortunately, there were some dark creatures around so he didn't give a response as to what he was going to say."

Giving a sigh, they all noticed, and seeing them all smirk with raised brows, she growled at them as she looked away with a blush, "I'm glad that Spyro made it out safely, okay!" Seeing that everyone still hadn't changed their reactions, she growled, blushing even as she didn't want them twisting her words out of embarrassment, "Why am I even still down here. I said I was going to talk with my lover," Standing up and walking to the Chambers entrance, she spoke to her blue friend, "Carith, if you'd wish to join, I wouldn't be against the company."

"You don't have to ask me twice," Sitting up along with her lover following, Carith walked out of the Chambers with the other two, saying something that everyone was interested in, "I want to see how you'll handle this situation, and instead of stories and lies, I get to see what your dark side really holds," Making it seem as though something we're to happen, Carith assured her, and trusted that Cynder's lover wouldn't do such a thing, "I've seen, Spyro, and he's a rather... emotional dragon."

"Ha!" Malefor laughed behind the two.

"Malefor, hush. Anyway, going back, you've been through a lot with him, so I don't see why he would turn and leave."

"And Cynder, that's how almost all women are. When their man goes somewhere, they'll be like, 'He must be out there cheating with some other bitch'. But then the reality sets in, and it turns out they are jumping around in circles around fire while they chant a secret language for a sacrifice," His words made the two shiver, even making his lover look back at him with a raised brow, but he assured her before she looked back forward, "Not that I would know! You know I have some weird ass thoughts... And in my thoughts as well... it's scary to know some crazy ass dude has done it."

* * *

"Okay, first off, making sure to keep your body nimble. Need to stretch out your body before you get into a fight as to not cause a charley horse, or any other bone busting nonsense," Sitting down in the middle of the training room with Celia, Spyro continued to explain exactly what they were going to do, and how they were going to prepare themselves to do it, "For me, my darkness can keep my body nimble, so I never need to stretch, but just for you, try just stretching out in anyway you can."

Celia had to look away with a blush, flirting in a way as she spoke of his mentioned, "The way I stretch though, you'll see all of me."

"I'm not here to look at your body, but instead to study how your muscles move. Having known how the body works when it comes to training, I can tell if you haven't stretched a muscle right," Spyro rejected the idea rather quickly as he was more focused to the work out side of things, "For an easy exercise, stretch and reach to your left, then your right. Standing on your back two paws can help as well, stretching out your body from top to bottom. It's like first waking up; just stretch like that if needed."

"I have no problem... Standing on my back two paws."

"Okay. I will see if anything needs to be helped, possible improvements that may be needed."

Stretching out her wings outwards as she let them out, she stood to her back paws and stretched upwards, revealing her entire underside, trying to get Spyro to smile on her body. She even watched as he checked her out from top to bottom as he said he would, and while she blushed, he shuck his head, and getting back to her paws, she asked, "What's wrong."

"Well, I can see you've never really been in a fight before," Once she tucked her wings back, he walked up to her left wing facing him, and grabbing a hold of her wing, he massaged it, "Your wings are completely stiff. Usually during a battle, your wings would be flexible, easy to move and control even with the wind hitting your flaps. But your wings will take longer to hit a target as there's no way to make that quick decision and delivery you need," She frowned as she had hoped it would've been about her body, and not in the way he was making it out to be, "And we can find a way to help even out the ratio between each wing as one wasn't as vertical as the other," Backing off away from her, he saw her frown, and thinking what it could be, he helped her, "Don't worry. This is only your first day. You'll only get better the more you practice."

"Oh... Hehe... Yeah. I guess I just need your help to move my body."

"Of course I can help," Walking around and to her side, she blushed to see how close her side was to his, but he didn't think much of it while he continued his explanation, "Alright, first, let's start with a simple attack before we get into an actual battle," Spawning an adult sized dark dragon in front of them, Celia shiver for a second, but he once again assured her everything was fine, "Don't worry. These are just simple dragon dummies basically. What I think to do, it does. Now," Putting his paw over her left one, she blushed as their paws touched, and as he picked up her paw, she let it happen without much thought, "Now, we need to see what power is behind your elements," Flipping her paw to make her palm face the dragon, Spyro took his paw off hers after lining her up, and doing the same as her, he put his palm forward, near neck level, "Just a simple, non-moving target," Watching as a cool aura formed around his paw, an ice shard formed from within his paw, "Do the same as I do," With a decent sized shard of ice across his palm which hovered in the air, spinning from the air, he shot it right to the dragon.

The shear power of his shot was enough to kick up the air, and as it made it's way to the dark dragon, it's head split into two, killing it nearly instantly. The shard of ice ricocheted from the dragon and went to the ceiling, slamming into the the concrete with enough force to crack a small portion of the surrounding area. Celia was surprised by his show of fire in his power, and looking to see him smirk, she started to sweat, and accidentally let slip as she couldn't hold herself back to not say something, "I love you..."

He wasn't paying attention, and knowing he heard a voice, Spyro looked to her and asked, "Did you say something?"

"What?! Uh! No..." Seeing his suspicions were still there, she looked straight forward and diverted the conversation, "Anyway! I'm ready when you are," He smiled to see she was ready to train, and so, he brought back the dark dragon once again, appearing from the ground like molten lava, "So, do as you did; Line up your shot, build power, and then," Doing as she was saying, she lined up her shot, built her power around her paw, and as she spawned an ice shard, it was more then half the size of Spyro's, "That's it?" Growling and shaking it off, she used her power and shot it forward, but as it traveled, it didn't travel with enough force, and instead, it just simple hit the dragon in his chest before falling to the ground and shattering to pieces, "Damn..." Looking to Spyro, she had to know how he was able to do such a thing, "H... How did you... How did you get such power?"

"Hehe, that's a long story. But to keep it short, let's just say I was done watching those close to me get hurt, so I fought and trained to protect them," Once again, his words made her blush as she wished to say how she felt to him, but he was too focused in training, "Let's start off with something simple," With the dark dragon disappearing, Spyro walked up to where it sat, and turning around, he took back his spot from before, "You're going to go up against me, and it can be your decision if you wish to fight me, or my dark side."

"Uhhhh... Dark, side? As in the villain?"

"Hehe, no, dark side, not darkseid. And in case you have any fears, I'm only going defensive, not offensive. That's your job. Hopefully by getting your body to move while fighting me, you'll unlock one of your other abilities. I can tell you right now, going against my dark side is completely ill advised as we could be here all day and you wouldn't touch me."

"Oh? So, if I get to you, I can touch you and win?"

"Yep," Spyro agreed, not seeing what she meant at all.

"Hehe, Alright then. Since the reward is so high, I wish to go up against your dark form," Sitting down with a smile, she believed to have the power to touch him at least once, "Having you play hard to get is sure going to be fun, and since I believe in my own strengths, I will let you have a head start."

"Hehe. If you say so."

Closing his eyes for a second, she smirked as she believed she could touch him right now, so she snuck up on him, standing up and tip toeing to his position. Making it up to his face, she let out a low snicker and thought, _Got you._ Waving a paw up, and then down, she went to tap his shoulder, but as she did, his body shivered before disappearing, and she nearly fell as she didn't understand how he moved so quickly. Picking her head up, Celia gasped, backing up as Spyro had been consumed in his darkness with his signature pure white eyes. Seeing his smirk, she viewed this as a challenge, and running up to him, she went in with both her arms and wings, spreading them wide to grab him, but just as before, he teleported away, making her almost fall flat to the ground, but to her luck, Spyro used his wing and tucked it underneath her stomach, holding her up before she fell. Once having gain balance with his help, she swung her paw around to touch him, but he was gone, and in fact, he was all the way over at the front door, even though they were near the back of the Training Room, "How... In the hell," Turning to face him, she called out as she believed him to be a fake, "No way you're really Spyro... That power is... That speed I mean is... Hehe... Tell me, how's your stamina?"

"I can go for days," Spyro smirked, and to her, she blushed hard as she had other ideas behind her words.

"Just make sure to let this girl have some fun too, okay?"

"Bring it then."

Opening to the hallway of the house, Cynder ran inside and took an immediate turn to her right, running over to the Training Room door. It took the other two a couple more seconds to catch up to her, and once they did, they saw she had already opened the door some to peak inside. Once she had, Carith looked over her head, and for Malefor, he had to walk to the left side of the door as the other two took up space on the right, and once he walked to where he needed to be, he peaked inside the room as well. They weren't able to see much as the door only cracked open a little, letting them see the middle and the left side of the Training Room. They watched as a black figure bounced from the floor to the wall, constantly moving at speeds indescribably too fast for them to make out to whom it was, but they all knew once they had seen Celia jumping at the dark dragon, trying to attack him from the looks of it. Once Spyro landed to the ground, he smirked, came from without his dark form to show his purple scales, and once he had, he agreed with himself, "I don't what for you to pass out from exhaustion. So, what do you say we take a break. Once we return, we can have another battle against one another." Feeling defeated, she gave a sigh and walked over to him, admitting defeat, "It's okay. It's taken me going through hell and back to get such power."

Walking up to him, she stood in front of him as he faced her, and giving a smile to her, she smirked at him, making him slightly confused as to why. Jumping up and tackling him, he didn't expect it, and he fell to his back with a loud thud. Growling as she was sudden with her tackle, she stood above him in victory, even pinning his paws down to the ground. Looking from his chest and up to his head, she licked her lips as she was desperate to now get what she wanted, and she even moved her lips closer to his face, teasing him with her cool and easing voice, "Now that I've touched you, I hope it's okay I can get a reward."

Cynder watched in horror, and now feeling as though she had enough, she swung the door open and took a couple steps in, but before she could say anything, she watched as everything went down. With her lips closing in on his, his arm slipped from her grasp, and using his claw, he put it against her lips to stop her. With slightly widened eyes, Celia didn't understand what he was doing, and to her dismay, he told her the truth in a whisper, trying to sooth her as he didn't wish to hurt her, "I already have someone I love, and I'm not going to betray her. I do apologize if you love me... But I don't wish to move on," She gave a defeated sigh, even shedding a tear as she knew she wouldn't have the chance she wanted, but, taking his paw back and to the ground, he smiled as he had an idea, "You know, you are and can be a very sweet Dragoness. I have someone I can introduce you too."

"And who's better then you?" Celia asked.

"Hehe, well, I'm not perfect, but the dragon is named Blitz."

"One of the dragons that helped save Warfang?"

"Yep... And I'm sure he would be happy to meet someone like you."

Giving a blush, she wondered about him as she had seen him before and felt too embarrassed to talk about. Now with her blushing, Spyro smiled, but for Cynder, everything about the situation spelt trouble; Her lover on his back with Celia above him, the two blushing and smiling, and now having had enough, she took a couple more steps forward and yelled, "SPYRO!" Watching as the two shivered from her sudden yell, Spyro immediately tried to get from underneath Celia, and once she backed off him, he opened his mouth to explain, but she cut him off, "Don't! Save it for later!" Pointing at the door, she commanded him, "Get in our room. We are going to discuss our relationship," Seeing him once again try and say something as he stepped forward, she yelled again, "I don't care! Get in our room!" Ducking his head down, he dragged his tail as he walked over to the door, and looking at him with anger as he passed by, she focused away from him and pointed a claw at Celia, "Stay the hell away from my lover."

The two lovers watched as Spyro made his way out from the Training Room, and seeing him nearly depressed as he made his way to the door on his right, and to help, Malefor ran up to the door and opened it for him. With the door opened, Spyro walked inside, making his way into the middle of the room and turning to face forward from where the door was open. The two then watched Cynder as she came from out of the Training Room, pissed off and ready to hurt someone, and passing by Malefor and walking into her room, she growled as she spoke, "Shut the door."

Doing as he was told, Malefor shut the door behind her, and once the door had clicked, Malefor looked to Carith, both sad and scared as to what was about to happen. Backing away from the door, he walked to his lover's side, scared as to what is about to happen, "If that door blows open... Then... I don't know. I kind of want to back up some more as I'm scared to hear them fight," She nodded as she feared the same thing, and he tried to smile as he spoke, but his words only made it worse, "Well, I guess that room was built for when those two were to fight... Which... Now saying it out loud... You don't think one of them would leave out of anger, do you? Wait, then again, if one of them does take over our room, the hell do we sleep at?"

"If needed, I wouldn't see a problem trying to help them out. You spend time with Spyro, and I spend time with Cynder in separate rooms," Carith suggested, but saying this out loud, she already knew this wouldn't work for one main reason.

"Hehe, so, you want me to die? If Spyro's already pissed, his blade will go through my neck so quick. And he'll be like, 'You wanted to help, so let me kick your teeth in'. I thought you loved me."

"Yeah... I realized how bad that sounded just as I said it, so... I guess we'd have to help Cynder while Ignitus and maybe Claire help out Spyro, but for now," Getting up and walking over to the Training Room door, she looked to see Celia whom was sitting in the Chambers, rubbing the side of her shoulder in shame, "I want to get some more information as to what's happened," Looking to her lover, she waved a paw and heavily suggested he followed, "In case to avoid a fight between the two, let's try and help out now by talking to Celia."

"Hehe, it's not going to get this knot of fear in my stomach to go away, but... Hopefully it'll help."

* * *

With the door shutting behind the two, Cynder sat down near the front of the door, sitting up straight and crossing her arms as she tapped her claws in a row on her arm, and she was wondering how she approach this, _Haven't used my dark side in a while, and instead of crying about it, I said I would take charge on this, so I have to do so._ Seeing him try and smile while opening his mouth, she shuck her head, immediately crushing all hopes he had of explaining himself. It was quiet for a while as she looked at him, seeing him frowning with his tail and wings still hanging low to the floor, but feeling as though she was being a little too harsh on him, she spoke, though aggressively, "Spyro, I'm going to give you a run down of my day so far," He picked his head up to see what she had to say, but with everything she was saying, it made him duck his head with one by one of her words, "You haven't kissed me today, you never told her I was your lover during the entire conversation you had with her, you ignored me when I was upset, and even now, I saw you on your back, putting up a claw and what looked liked you were teasing her, smirking and smiling with her," Now that his head was ducked pretty low to the ground, she didn't want for him to die of sadness, so she once again tried to ease her aggression, "You know, this happened before, where you put training over me, and you promised you'd never do such a thing again. I can take this as a different scenario where you were putting someone else over me, but you also promised you wouldn't do that after how much you were helping Volteer," Resting her two front paws back to the ground, she backed her head up slightly, feeling as though she over did it with how much she brought up, and feeling terrible for it, she whispered, "Spyro, I'm..."

"Right...?" Spyro murmured, and to his surprise, she didn't stop him, and getting to a more comfortable way by picking his head up, she saw the coldest in his eyes for what he did and what was said, "I... messed up... again... And I don't want to have to become this, pitty party for my actions. So, instead, maybe it... would be better if we... did... you know... split..." Gasping at his words, he waved two paws in front of his face and tried to make the situation a little more calming, "No no no, Cynder, that's not what... I want... But, you admitted all that I've done, just today alone. Which... makes me wonder if there were other times where I disappointed you then too... I can promise you... again, that I'd change... This, I can do, I just... Her being a purple dragon and all, I..."

"Do you love her?" Cynder straight up asked, trying to keep her aggressive act together even as a slight tear tried to shed, which she fought back for the time being.

"Celia? No, of course not."

"Then what were you two doing."

"Cynder," Taking a step towards her, she wondered why, but hearing his words, it made sense later, "I didn't want to kiss her. She tried to kiss me, but before she tried, I stopped her; told her I already loved someone else, and I would never betray her trust in me," Getting closer to her, she knew what he was doing, but it was working, and for her, she found it rather soothing, "This entire purple dragon situation, I should've just... backed off from, yet..." Stopping in front of her, he looked her in her eyes, knowing more as he came to with what he did, "You... just didn't want someone else to take me... And I pushed you away over her."

"So, since you don't feel like a promise will heal what you've done, what will you do then?"

"I... want to leave that up to you, especially after what I did."

"Up to me?"

"Cynder, from the bottom of my heart, I'm sorry. I should've kept you under my wing, I should've told her to wait, I should've... I shouldn't have... put something like this before you."

Thinking of a way of punishment, she put a claw to her chin, and once she had an idea, she took her claw from her chin and snapped her fingers, "There's a couple of things that I want to be, up to me, for what you've done," She was surprised he didn't shiver or anything of the sort even as she had a threatening glare in her eyes, but once again, it was clear to her why he acted in such a way, "First, I want to ask of two things, third of which I will reveal later. But the first one; break this, and I will leave you, but Spyro Promise that everything that was just said in this room, you will understand and never make such a mistake ever again."

Putting a paw to his chest as he sat down in front of her, he used his other paw and raised it slightly up to head level, "Spyro Promise to understand."

"Second; I'm asking just to make sure, but tell me the truth as I won't be upset either way. Do you even feel any kind of love to Celia?"

"No."

It was a rather quick response, but an idea came to mind of which she needed to act fast on. Activating the darkness around her heart, it activated his, making the two have slightly widened eyes, and for him, he chuckled as he knew what she did. Cynder gave a smirk, but even more of a smile as she was rather glad with what she found out, "You're heart rate is steady, beating as it's always has been when I'm near you. And since you didn't skip a beat, or even show signs of a sweat, I will give that one to you," He nodded his head, smiling as well, making her give a pleased sigh, glad to see she was getting her old Spyro back, "Now, this next one can turn this entire thing around, but... If you don't want to..."

"Of course!" Taking his paws down and over to her two paws, Spyro wanted nothing more then to make up for what he did, "Please... I don't want to see you as you were when we were in the Chambers, and even with how you were when we came to our room. The sadness, the... disappointment... The anger... Please... My love, what do I need to do?"

Giving an evil smirk, she couldn't hide it, but to try and hide it, she went back to her final want, "All you have to do is kiss..."

It was an instant, enough to give her a feeling of ease as he put his lips around hers. Once he had closed his eyes, she did as well, both giving off pleased moans to have finally kiss, but for Spyro, he didn't know what was really to happen. _Oh my love, you fell right for my trap,_ Without him noticing, she eased slight poison in to his mouth one by one, and since he was still far beyond into the kiss, she smirked to see her plan was working. Having him swallow enough poison, Cynder was the one to pull from the kiss, and with her giving a pleased sigh, he chuckled and hoped it was everything she wanted, "I will stay in the room and give you a million more for what I've done, I swear on my life."

"Hehe, you're Damn right you're going to stay in this room," Seeing her evil smirk, he backed up slightly as he didn't know what she was playing at, but he knew she started something, "I'm assuming while you kissed me, you couldn't distinguish my... well... saliva, to my... well," Pausing as to build tension, she gave an evil smile, laughing in a sense as she revealed what she had done, "Poison?" Hearing him let out a loud gasp, she watched as he tried to move back some more, but all he could move was his head as he looked from right to left, before finally looking straight at her in fear, "I'm surprised I haven't killed you yet. You're so gullible, my love," Walking up to him, she was happy with what she had done, and being in front of his face, she placed a claw on his lips, "Got anything to say?"

Giving a chuckle as he started to sweat, Spyro invited the challenge, "Bring it on, Beauty Of The Skies... Hehe, and also, good luck picking up my body and..." To his surprise, he watched as she placed a paw on his shoulder, and in an instant, he went through the ground before reappearing above ground on his back on their bed with Cynder standing above him, "Hehe... Wow... You being evil is the most fun we could ever have. Well, aside from you playing the hopeless female who needs to be rescued. So, which one would you rather play?"

"You'll get your way more if we do it that way, so for now, to change up what's happened for my own experiences, let's start with today," Taking her tail blade and swinging it around to his neck, she pushed it hard enough against his neck to basically have control over where he looked, "Let's see... You tried to talk with Celia, but I didn't appreciate that at all. So my anger took over, I paralyzed you, and now I'm ready to do... something... But what?"

"Cynder, this isn't you! It's me, Spyro!" Spyro cried, playing along with her, but the two couldn't help but smile to one another, "Am I making this more fun?"

Moving her tail blade back, she smirked as she laid down on his chest, using a claw to feel the scales on his faces, making him chuckle, even blushing. Breaking character for a second, her voice changed from flirty to a little concerned as she wanted to assure him, "Hey... Spyro, just real quick, if you get... scared with what I'm doing, just, say something, please," He was confused of her request, and even though he had an idea, he wish he had said something before she got herself more downed, "Well, I mean, I am... in a way, evil. And with you being paralyzed, and me threatening you, I..."

"Cynder..." Spyro whispered, and seeing his smile, she shivered joyfully at his soothing words, "I trust you, my love."

His simple yet touching words were now enough to make her shed a tear, giggling even as she nuzzled her head down under his neck. Resting her head underneath his, she let out a small sigh, glad to hear, glad to know, everything was alright, _I knew I should've trusted you... Spyro... my love._ Using her head, she eased her way up his neck, moving her head ever so slightly before meeting his lips, and rather then wait on temptation, she had to cover his lips with hers, thankful for what he's said.

* * *

"Okay, I've done some stupid things in my life, but nothing that would haunt me," Malefor spoke, looking to Celia as they sat in the middle of the Training Room in front of her, and now knowing of what she was doing and said, it was almost something suicidal, "Aside from killing, but, we're not on that. Anyway, you tried to basically threaten the most deadly female to live? You know if you were to take him, she would find where you live real quick, watch... waiting... before finally, killing her prey."

His words were enough to make her shiver fearfully, but to help her out, Carith slapped him on the chest, making him chuckle, "Stop scaring her my love... But, Celia, I do have to admit, you got guts. But I do have to ask; you were talking about how something else about you is a lie that you wanted to admit. If you don't mind me asking, what is it?" Watching as she rubbed her arm, looking to the ground and not wanting to say anything for fears that were known, Carith assured her, "You're not going to be banished or anything like that, and I'm sure Cynder and or Spyro would like an apology of course. But other then that, you're safe."

"Unless Cynder singles you out for the two splitting from their relationship."

"Malefor!"

"But he... is right," Celia spoke, picking back up her head and wanting to tell the truth now, no matter what the outcome was, "I didn't expect their love to be a lot more... in-depth then I realised. Of course, everyone knows of the stories of what they went through, which is why others also know how hard it is to get with one of them. But I wanted to see if I could test my luck, and, well... I'm glad... I fail," Looking at her arm and her body around, they wondered if she was searching for something, but she gave a sigh and they knew she wasn't search, but inspecting, "These... aren't the real color... of my scales."

"What?" Carith cried, but not hearing another cry, she looked to her lover and saw he wasn't surprised, and she asked him, "You aren't surprised... In the slightest?!"

"Me?" Malefor asked as he looked to her, "Of course not, though, now that you've said something," Looking to Celia, he had a serious question of which he was afraid of, "The stuff you used to color your scales; is it called something along the lines of, paint?" Seeing her nod, this sent chills down both his and his lover's spine, and now knowing what he was getting at, it shouldn't have been a surprise, "I don't like how this nightmare is become more of a reality... Celia, you're an ice dragoness, correct?"

Giving a sad sigh, she nodded, "Yes... Sir."

"No no no, don't feel sad. I just needed to know is all. I can wash off the paint from your scales now rather then later. I need to talk with Spyro more about what's he's asked me. But for right now, while I'm washing the paint off, my love, can you get the two?" Malefor asked, and seeing her nod, she turned rather quickly to run and get the two, knowing how dangerous this situation really was, "Celia, is there anyone you can go to for safety, someone strong to protect you?"

"Wh... Why? Is Cynder really going to kill me?" Celia shiver, backing up and ducking her head.

"No no no, forget those two, they'll be fine... I hope. But we have suspicions of a battle that may happen here soon, and last thing we want is for someone to lose their lives."

"All my friends are just females. And while we can fight obviously, we'll probably trip over our paws as we have no fighting experiences. Everyone around us is rather nice."

"Hum..."

"What about that... Blitz, guy?"

* * *

Getting up to the front of Spyro and Cynder's room, Carith grabbed the door knob rather quickly, twisted it, and swung the door open, "Cynder, don't fight! Spyro's..." Seeing the two were doing nothing but making out, she gave a sigh, smiling as she didn't even know why they worried, "You two..." Seeing as Spyro was on top with Cynder on the bottom, Cynder seemed to have passed out as his lips slipped from hers, making her head go from looking up to laying left on the bed, "I guess you're my best bet, Spyro," Looking up to his standing figure, she knew he wouldn't understand what she was talking about, but tried her best to explain, "I'm sorry if this... upsets you Spyro, but Celia isn't a purple dragon at all. Her scales were covered in purple paint just to get with you."

"Paint?!" Cynder cried, quickly swinging her head around to face her friend, and seeing Carith give a sad nod, this made things worse for her, "No no no, she can't have paint on her!"

"What's paint?" Spyro asked, confused as to what was happening, but seeing Cynder tap his arm, he backed off of her body, and seeing her jump up, he asked again, "What is this paint stuff?"

"I will explain later, but for... Wait! How did you end up on top of me?! I kept putting poison down your throat!"

"Oh, that? Hehe, yeah, well, it was rather easy to find your poison the first time, and once I found it, I destroyed it with my darkness," She gasped once again, rapidly kicking up her breathes as everything was coming full circle, and it was all happening so fast that she had no time to calm things down, "I stopped the poison all together as it went down my throat, and after a while, you stopped, so I took charge and rolled you to your back."

Cynder couldn't believe what she was hearing, and while Spyro was chuckling, she was looking away from him with fear in her eyes, which Carith felt terrible for.

* * *

 _"It's okay... Cynder..." Hearing his comforting voice, she looked back at him, trying to calm herself as she watched him try and stand, and everyone gasped as to how, "Now that the poison is slowly but surely being destroyed by my darkness," Reaching a paw up, Spyro asked with a smile, "Can you help me up, Malefor?"_

* * *

 _No... no no no..._ Cynder cried in her thoughts, and wanting to know for sure, she kicked off the bed in a panic, enough to make the back of the bed slam to the wall and making Spyro nearly fall off. Hearing Spyro yell something, she couldn't make it out, but instead, she had tunnel vision, running past Carith and immediately looking to her left as she looked in the Training Room. Bolting into the Training Room, Malefor's back was in the way, and he was doing something of which she couldn't see, "Where's Celia?!" Running around him, she froze, seeing her purple scales had now turned to a slightly light cool blue, now showing off her true scales, which now made this true that she in fact been using paint to color herself.

* * *

 _Clenching her claws and teasing her body, Cynder used her fear powers to try and control herself, and while it didn't do much, it was enough to calm at least her fears, "Hehe... And then you have dragons out there painting themselves to look like my love just to mess with me... just to get to my body... not even understanding what I've gone through... not understanding what that does..."_

* * *

"Damn it!" Just as Spyro and Carith had entered the room, Cynder walked away from everyone and over close to the gem room, and hearing someone once again say something, she couldn't handle it, "SHUT UP!" Sitting down, remembering what's happened before when she first had been revealed of such a past, she tried her best to think and remember what she was told, even with the throbbing in her head and her sweat dripping from all around her body of which fell to the ground, _Ignitus told me to look for hints to help him, but I barley remember anything being said aside from him saying he woke up in a grassy field, but that was three years later... But what else did he say?!_ Looking to her right and seeing as Spyro rested next to her side, she looked away from him and spoke, looking down at the ground as she did, "Spyro... Hypothetically... If we learned once again of a past in which we fail, what would you do...? Ignitus has next to no knowledge unlike how he had before, and we are the only universe, the only timeline to first experience this... what do we do?"

It was rather a deep and difficult question, and even for him, Spyro had to think about it for a second, _I technically failed my first time, promising I wouldn't allow Cynder to get hurt... But it still happened._ Giving a slight out from the nose sigh, he wanted to be as calm as he tried to answer, "If something did happen again... I'd be there, as I always have been before."

"But what if it costs your life?!"

"Oh... Well... When it comes to something like that, giving my life to protect millions more is just something that I wouldn't think twice about."

"Even if you know what you're leaving behind?"

Her question unfortunately was enough to make him think twice, and while he could tell she didn't want him to sacrifice his life for anything, he unfortunately had to be honest, "It's either I leave everyone behind, or I lay the weight of what I did for not. Every death, every mother, father, Hatchling... It would all be my fault, and I couldn't handle thinking that everyone, you all, would know it was me, who killed every living thing," After hearing his answer, she didn't wish to accept it, looking away from him as to not show her anger, and not for him, but for what the world has become, "I'm... sorry, my love... It was like that for Volteer, and everyone else. I knew the consequences of all the power I was using that day... The power I used in the Volcano... And if something else comes up that no one else can face, then I will be there, ready to sacrifice my life for those around me."

"And what if you need help," Malefor asked, taking a step forward as he spoke, "Both times you almost died, I was your enemy, but now that I'm not..."

"It wouldn't matter!" Cynder cried, turning around and facing him, calling out for his lie, "Ignitus specifically put what he believed what was to happen, power and all, which means even with you, we'd still lose!" It was rather sudden of an outburst which was correct in what she had said, "The army from the last attack on Warfang is nothing compared to... This!"

"This...? What did Ignitus do?" Spyro asked, as now it seemed her fears were of something, and it seemed he might've found out what it was, "Is this why you were all in my hallway, because Ignitus showed my death or something?" No one answered, all looking away from him as they didn't wish to answer, but this only made his question a rather easy answer for himself, "Come on, guys. What could it possible be that I can't face...? Is this about the Destroyer or something? Is it really going to come back."

"Spyro..." Carith now spoke, walking up to him and continuing what she was saying, "Ignitus gave us specific instructions to not tell you what it is as, before when you wanted to kill Malefor, you wished to do it alone, and with now of what we know, you'll want to fight what's to come all on your own. And also, I'm not going to say if it's the darkness or not, but not only would you be fighting in a war... But even my lover," Thinking of what that might mean, he looked back with a raised brow, but looking to Carith as she stood next to him, she shuck her head, "But he's not your enemy... Malefor... Has never been, your enemy... So you'd be fighting a battle never meant to be fought."

"I don't know. Fighting Malefor has always been a dream of mine," No one said anything to that response, making it seem as though they might still be enemies even when they are attacked, which, seeing them all stay silent, he gave a massive sigh, turning and walking over to Malefor, "Everyone! It's, fine! I said I was going to make Malefor my friend tomorrow anyway, we've already agreed if there's some scrub ass dark army, we can take care of it, so what's the problem?" Standing in front of Malefor now, he put a paw on his shoulder, and shaking his shoulder a couple of times, he swore to him, "As much as I want to, I'm not going to kill you. Severely wound, maybe, but never kill."

"But... Yeah we can take out a dark army, but what if one attacks and hits Cynder? That'd be on me, both from your anger... And because I was the one that created them," Malefor murmured.

"No, the Dark Master created them, but there isn't a Dark Master, is there?" Once again, he was making things worse for the others who knew of what was to come, and at this point, they all wondered what they were to do, "If Cynder did get hurt, I might, might, I should say, slit your throat, but, because I'm such a nice guy, I will be quick and then heal you, okay?"

"That... Doesn't help one bit."

Taking his paw from Malefor's shoulder, Spyro sighed, and getting this feeling of heavy sadness in the air, making him start to feel sad as well, he tried to keep things fine, "And you said I cry a lot. Carith," Looking behind himself, he waved his paw over to him, and she knew what this meant, walking over to him and taking over, "Help little sour patch over here. He's pretty sour, but soon he'll be sweat..."

"And then gone, dib shit, that's how it goes."

"Not my problem," Spyro smiled, waving a paw as he turned away from him and over to his lover, "I'm not going to be the one to kill you, so I can help with your life anytime else."

Growling at him, Malefor spoke under his breath with a growl, and since Carith was there in front of him, she heard him, "Definitely takes that lying side from the Dark Master."

"Cut him some slack, Malefor. He doesn't know how serious this is, and what's to come of this war. For all he knows, we could all just being say this stuff out of fear for what Ignitus said, but he's trying to hide it. Or he believes this all to be a lie... We don't know what is truly to happen... But we all know, if we can't stop that Destroyer... Spyro will have to, and I don't think Cynder could wait three years. She will kill herself or even one of use," With Carith going through all the possibilities, it made sense to him as he knew that Spyro truly didn't understand of what was to happen, nor of what Cynder would face of heartbreak.

"We'd all split from one another, possibly become dull... just as we all once had been... So as of right now, we are in a lose-lose situation."

"Spyro, what will I do if you die?" Cynder asked, still sitting and looking to her left, away from him as he sat to her right, "What if there was something else that could've been done? What if you never had to die, but you did anyway, trying to be a hero that you didn't need to be? The life I'd live without you, if I met someone else and you came back, what would that do to you?"

"You'd leave me if I died?" Spyro whispered, trying to keep the tone up and good.

"Spyro... please..."

"Okay, okay, my love... For, what you've said, hehe, that would definitely suck if I did die when something else could've been done. But in the moment, you only know what to do that you know is right. Like with the Destroyer; waiting wasn't an option, and all I knew at the time was to do what I knew best; protecting you and everyone that I cared for. And by dying a hero, that... means my life is over. Coming back would make a sacrifice a little... pointless as that's the point of a sacrifice. I'd just have to, live my life as how someone dead should; A ghost, whom helps those from the shadows."

 _"I don't want to be one of these fakes. As far as this world knows... Spyro is dead, and my journey has ended." Walking to the entrance, Spyro stopped a couple of steps and sniffled as he tried to hold back his tears, "Malefor... Everyone... Please... continue to watch over her while I go and... live my life as a ghost from now on."_

Sitting there, nearly lifeless, there wasn't anymore she wished to say, as the more she did, the more he would say something that only made her future more sealed then ever. His words weren't enough to make her talk, and unfortunately, Spyro didn't want to lie to her as it would only do the opposite of what he wanted, "Cynder... I'm sorry... It's just... I don't want to lie to you. That would only make my death hurt you more, and that's not what I'd want."

"Then what happened to together forever?! Back when we were helping our Hatch-I mean, Cora? What about all the other promises you made to me? Are those all just turned into lies now?! Then nothing you've ever said to me ever mattered?!"

Feeling as if all this was her fault, Celia took a couple steps to Cynder, wanting to apologise for what she had done, "Cynder... I'm sorry for, what I did."

"I don't give a shit what you did," Cynder growled under her breath before turning to face Celia, nearly with killer intent in her eyes, frustrated and upset beyond what she's felt before, "You wouldn't be the first whore who's tried to take Spyro from me," Celia backed up, even ducking her head at what she had said, and while the other wanted to step up to help, she declined before they could, "Everyone, get out! Me and Spyro are going to fight and none of you need to be here to see this."

"Fight? Cynder, calm down, everything is going to be fine," Carith tried to see if her voice would work, but without luck, it did nothing.

"Get... Out."

"Are you talking about that one book with the dude who goes to the house and the others want his eyes?" Malefor joked, trying to laugh at what he said, but this only proved to piss her off even more, "Hehe... Okay... Never mind... Celia," Waving a paw and turning to walk to the door, he didn't want her to see what was to happen, even though he himself didn't know what was to happen either, "Let's take you back down to the Chambers. We can intrude you to Blitz for the time being."

"I... Don't know if I'd want to anymore, but... I can follow," Celia murmured, knowing all this was her fault, and after what Cynder had said, she felt as though she really was who she said she was.

Spyro turned and watched as everyone made their way off of the room, walking past the doorway and walking out of the room. Once they were all out, Cynder walked to the middle of the room, tensed and ready for a fight, and even as he tried to calm her down, it wasn't working all too well, "Cynder, I've gotten strong to protect all of you. You don't need to worry about my death. As long as I'm strong, I can successfully do as I've wanted," Once she had sat down near the left wall that faced the entrance of the door, he saw her waiting, moving her tail from side to side as she stretched it, "I can correct my words, Cynder. Everything I've said will always stand true, because I'm not going to leave you, ever, my love. No matter what, I'll always try what I can to be with you, while helping keeping everyone alive."

"I can't believe you're lying to me," Cynder growled before snapping her fingers and pointing at the wall across from her, close to the gem room, "Get over there and fight me," His mouth opened as he didn't wish to do this, remembering what he's said every time they were to even attempt a fight, but she was confused, not knowing what else to do, "I know what you've said! But if you're truly strong enough, you'll fight me without hurting me, running out my stamina. And if I hurt you... I'm just going for poison, but not enough to burn, just enough to get through your scales," He gave a sad sigh, doing as he was told and walking over to where he was told to sit, and once he did, she stood up and ready herself for a fight, "This is all about endurance."

"Cynder... I've fought to keep a smile on your face... What could you have seen in the future to turn you around so badly?" Spyro asked, fearing as it seemed this anger and sadness was taking over her body, slowly but surely looking as though it was becoming permanent, "I know it's my death, but how bad is it? What else happened that you're afraid about that I should look out for?" Making her remember something that he had no knowledge of made things worse for her, and from where he was, he couldn't see her tears and continued to speak, "If Ignitus really made you suffer through such a nightmare, do I need to talk with him, or should I do as I always have, and stay with you, keeping you save as I wish to do to the end of the time."

 _The end of time will happen soon, especially when... if... you die,_ Cynder cried in her thoughts, disappearing into the ground with her shadow, making her way over to her lover. This was immediately a losing battle, but she knew she needed to try all she could, to try and win, to try and make something happen. Popping out from the ground, Spyro simply jumped to the side, which she anticipated, spitting poison at him while he was still in the air. Using his wings and tucking his body, the poison passed right under him, and watching as he landed perfectly back on the ground with ease, she blushed, but couldn't let this distract herself. Running to him and keeping the pressure on, she used her wind powers to swing her tail blade all around his body, yet he was much more nimble then her, _If he losses, this only proves the failure for the future, and if he wins against someone as weak as me, would this not even matter? As I've said about his words, does anything matter without him?_ Growling at her thoughts, their battle made their way to the middle, and now with more aggression to think about, she had the perfect idea of an attack. Slicing underneath to his paws, Spyro gave a small jump to avoid her attack, but using her wind powers, she twisted her tail blade upwards, blew it upwards and let poison fly out from her tail blade. _You lose... My love._ Without even using his abilities, he kicked himself backwards with his wings, touched the edge of her tail blade and pushed himself off of it with ease before doing a back flip off of it and landing perfectly back on the ground a couple of steps away from her. _Wh... What...?_ Watching as he sat down, Spyro saw her look at him in awe before watching as the poison splashed back down to the floor and over her tail blade. He didn't smile, but instead, tried once again to help, "My love... Please... Tell me what it is that you saw. This will be on me, and I will deal with my Father, but this... side of you, scares me. Similar to how my darkness is, it scares you, because that isn't me," Brining up once again about what she saw, her tail blade slapped to the ground, and once she pulled it back, he approached her and continued, "You've always been the most loving in this world compared to how others see you, and I know the truth of your love. But what I don't know the truth of, is what happened..."

"You died! Okay?!" Ducking her head down, unable to deal with these feelings any longer, Cynder needed to reveal the truth of what's happened, "You fought someone and didn't come back till three years later. Many fakes using paint tried to impersonate you, and every thing about that dream keeps happening! The paint, my poison that you stopped with your darkness, your ease and effectiveness in attack while keeping everyone safe when they tried to attack you," Picking her head up and now facing him, it seemed as what she was saying now made him understand the severity of the situation, "Because of what happened, I had panic attacks, anxiety attacks and near heart attacks because of... not being with you... And the worst part, that's something that could happen... There's no guarantee you'll even... survive... no guarantee everyone else... Will still be alive."

"Why would my father give you such a nightmare," Spyro growled, letting his darkness show as his anger was focused to what Ignitus had done.

"Ignitus tried to give me the easiest dream possible, that... was the easiest, not the most realistic... So if I lose you, my darkness could set off and I... could kill everyone."

"That's not likely to happen."

"Why's that."

"I made sure to keep that darkness around your heart for many reasons: If anyone else used the darkness to control you, if your darkness tried to take over, or anything else that may bring harm to you, then the darkness will start around your heart. So, even if someone puts darkness in your head, it could still be detected, neutralizing it before it became permanent. It's like a white blood cell."

"So... even if you were to die, you'd still protect me... From others... And myself."

"My darkness that I've given you is finite though. If it's over used and doesn't have enough time to regenerate, it would be gone forever. It doesn't have a source unlike your darkness so it can't make more, nor can it manifest with all of your darkness as I've controlled my darkness to not let such a thing happen. And since it's such a small amount, it wouldn't be able to take over your body either."

* * *

 _"And if he's fake, will you be able to keep your darkness in check to not kill him and turn on us?" Malefor murmured, making everyone frown as they remembered that fake, "If that darkness around your heart that Spyro gave you gives out, what then? Without Spyro, I can't train this darkness at all, and with his darkness around your heart attacking as a defense against anything else..."_

* * *

Having another memory flash of the future, Cynder sighed, knowing what might happen is only coming closer and closer, but for now, she only wished to ignore it, "You... really thought the darkness through that you've put in my body, haven't you."

"I... needed to make sure even after that, you were safe... I needed to make sure nothing would happen, and there weren't any drawbacks to doing what I did," Seeing Cynder give a small smile, he gave a small smile back and after what was said, he apologized for what he said, and what he shouldn't have joked about, "I'm sorry for acting as though all your words, and the words from everyone else, were just fear over a nightmare that wouldn't happen. I didn't want you all to fear for such a thing."

"And... it doesn't help that, with us being the first timeline and all now after getting through the first nightmare Ignitus showed us... If we fail... We are, the failed timeline. We have no way to go back and undo what happened... No way to go off of help as Ignitus had once given us once before."

 _Damnit, Ignitus. Why did you show her the future and not me? I need to keep up my training then for when the day comes when ever that may be,_ Spyro thought, and going through everything in his mind of what he needed to do before paw, he made sure to first ease and calm Cynder of her anger, shooting forward and kissing her lips. Giving a pleased sigh through her nose, her body was finally able to rest, to feel at ease after so long through the day. _Another one... another pleased feeling of pleasure,_ Unable to think of much more, she kept herself in the moment of the kiss, and the feeling was everything she's wanted since the day had started. _Even if it's only been a couple of kisses... They've been... Amazing._ In order to make it feel better of a kiss, he made sure to slide his lips off of hers which she appreciated, smiling much more then she had since Celia showed up. Seeing her give a pleased sigh once again as she looked up at him with a smile, he gladly smiled back, "There she is."

"Hey, I can be aggressive when I need to be, alright. I didn't change, I just showed who I really was."

"And which one is that, the aggressive beauty, or the flirty beauty who wished to fight over who's to be on top?"

Give a blush with her sigh, she knew which one it was, and so did he before she even said anything, "Fighting to be on top with these stories... And, since we're talking about it... Can we please go back to our room and have some fun with said stories. Being calmed thanks to you... I don't want to go back to being like that... to who I will be in the future... Me being who I was right there is who I was shaping up to be."

"I'm keeping my promises to you, Cynder," Spyro whispered, taking a step up and being nearly face to face with her, "Unfortunately, I can't... lay with you, not just yet. I need to train to make sure I can successfully protect everyone without having to die for it. And while I could stretch out my muscles with my darkness, I'm pretty sure you don't want to feel my body move and adjust as my darkness works," Seeing her shiver rather uncomfortably, he chuckled knowing even for himself that it was rather gross, "Hehe, yeah, it's not great."

"Well... I won't stop you. I just, need to know you're here, so I'm just gonna go lay down by the door."

"You sure you don't want to train with me?"

"Wh... You'd... allow me?"

"You said you missed it, and I already did agree, and having you as an ally for battle I do miss, so... Why not."

"Hehe, I already have some many stories ideas we can play around with, you don't even know."

"Can I have one of them?"

"Well, one of them is about how I successfully poison you during our battle, and doing as I did before, I will try my best to keep you poisoned for what you said."

"You can try, that's for sure."

"Cocky dragon you are."

"You love it."

"Of course I do. You know you have me trapped under my love for you."

* * *

"So where does Blitz live, Ignitus?" Malefor asked as he sat in the Chamber near his usual wall with Carith sitting next to him and Celia sitting next to her, "I know it's a weird question, but it's pretty funny when you think about it. One, he'll wonder how we know where he lives. And two, we'll know where he lives. Hehe, which means, if needed, instead of picking on you all, I have another one to mess with."

"Uhhhh... He, lives... Down from the right side of the Chambers," Cyril answered for him.

"That close!"

"After helping save Warfang, we found it only fair that he could live up here."

"Hehe... Hehehe!"

Running around the two who backed against the wall, Malefor made it to the entrance of the Chambers and called out, "Blitz! Blitz! Your death awaits!" Running to the right of the Training Room, they all heard a slam, followed by a voice of which they all looked at one another with wide eyes, "Hereeeeeees, Malefor!" Hearing a crack, followed by claw steps, they heard as he opened another door and yelled in that room, "Blitz!" Once again hearing his claw steps, they started to fade the more and more he ran down the hallway, "Blitz, Damn it, where are you at! I have candy!" Hearing as he shut the door, his claws were now getting louder and louder, and once he made his way back to the Chamber entrance, he looked at the Cyril and asked, "You sure?! Cause I just looked through like three doors."

"Three?" Volteer asked, knowing the lay out of the entirety of the building, "You know there's ten doors down there that they could be in."

"Ten?!"

"You've already been to three. Just go through the other seven."

"Ughhhhhhhhh, that would take so long."

"Seven?!"

"You know, there's something I couldn't find ever since these Chamber were built, and even when we all came here and lived in this building."

"Yeah, and what's that?"

"Where I asked for your opinion!" Malefor laughed, looking to the ceiling and putting a paw on his chest, "Got his bassen ass!"

"Damn dude," Cyril chuckled, "He got you pretty good."

"And here I thought I was the only one who could get a piece of Volteer," Ersa snicker, making Malefor look down and now reject his joke.

"You are! I was making a joke... But wait, if you're getting a piece of him, does that mean he's missing scales?"

"I do focus on his scales here and here as he does for me, but then we..."

"SHUT UP!" Terrador interjected, causing the two mates to snicker, and while they were having a good time, he sure wasn't.

"It's Ignitus's fault. Well, technically Flint's, since we could've had a night, but he had to be another evil halfwit. As if we don't already have to deal with one whose a Hatchling."

"Who do we know like that?" Malefor asked, having to think for a second, but seeing Volteer cross his arms and look at him with a smile, he growled at him, "Damn it, man! I knew killing you would've been a decision I would've never regretted."

"Yes, you really would've," Ersa spoke, and knowing more as if he hadn't already, it made sense to him, "We've been here before, Malefor. You kill him, and I'll make sure my pressure points snap the ligaments in your arm before I use a microscopic virus that'll slowly eat away your entire body. Then, I'll make an antidote once you have half a working body."

Getting wide eyes from everyone, Malefor was the main one to have such fear of her, "What the hell, women. What did I do?"

"You just said you'd kill my mate! Whom of which I wish to have a Hatchling and family with!"

"Speaking of, guess who absolutely got laid last night," Everyone looked to Malefor's right side facing the Chamber's entrance while he looked to his own left side, and seeing who it was, it was the three friends with the one who had spoken being Blitz, "Haha! I'll give you a good hint, it wasn't this guy," Pointing at Malefor, it made him growl, but everyone else laugh, and seeing as though he was about to die, he corrected in his own way, "Hey man, I was going to say myself, but you definitely don't look like someone who would ever get any, that's all I'm saying."

"You wish to die," Looking away from Blitz, Malefor looked to the Guardians and said once again, "This Hatchling wishes to die."

"Blitz, you're such a liar," Carith murmured.

Looking over at the blue female, Celia, Blitz blushed, giving wide eyes to see her beauty, and seeing him look at her, she blushed and looked away, smiling as she did, "Excuse me, Malefor," Moving around Malefor and walking over to Celia, he tried to act like a cool guy as he stood in front of her, trying to put the moves on, "Hey. The name's Blitz. And while I would love to know your name, I wish for you to feel more comfortable with me. Being without a male, I can assure you I can be the man to give you such comfort."

"Whoa! Blitz, dude, what the, H, are you doing," Malefor cried, running up to him and trying to get him to stop.

"Trying to flirt man."

"That is not how you do it. You are going in full force. Like everything, just, take it nice slow and easy."

"Hey, Ersa, remember when you said those words to me?" Volteer whispered to her, making her slap his chest from embarrassment.

"I need a new spot in this line up, I swear I'm going to hurt someone," Terrador grumbled, ducking his head in anger.

"Is that not what I was doing?" Blitz asked, a little confused of what he was meaning.

"Jumping up and telling a female to get under your wing and to snuggle up to your body so quickly is not the way to talk to her. Look, this is what you need to do, alright. Walk up to her, put your paw to her shoulder, look her the eyes, and go... 'Hey'," Malefor suggested, and since he didn't catch on to his reference, he heard Volteer laugh, "My man! Anyway, just, ease up, man. Calm yourself while being yourself. And don't use the fact that you saved Warfang as your back up. They want to see your strengh, not hear about it. They want to be protected, not threatened. While it's nice to talk and all about such things later on, now isn't the time."

"How... I know you have a lover, but how do you know all this?"

"When I started dating Carith, i wanted to make sure I didn't mess up my chances. So I practiced with the Guardians on what I should and shouldn't say to her."

"No way, you did not do that."

"He did," Terrador grumbled, remembering back to such a horrible time, but he smirked as he remembered, "But the good news is, every time he failed, I slapped him so hard across the face, and it was the most fun I've ever had in my life! Just, slap, then thud."

"Meet the Guardians; The biggest shit heads since the beginning of time," Malefor growled.

"What did I say? What did I do?" Ignitus asked, trying to play incident.

"You slammed my head down on your tail!"

"Because you set it on fire!"

"Oh wow, play the blame game."

"Says you!"

"I can't handle such lies."

"Now I'm remembering why we were fine with Spyro and Cynder killing you in the Volcano."

"Yeah yeah yeah. Anyway, Blitz, going back to you, just, simple is better then bigger," Seeing Ersa open her mouth to say something to Volteer, he cut the two off before anything was said, "I don't care and neither does anyone else about your disgusting mate stories!" She looked away from Volteer and growled at him, angry he interrupted her words to her mate, "I can't say anything around her without it being a innuendo or some bad phrasing."

"It's okay, Malefor. Thanks for your help, and I will, try my best to use what you taught me," Blitz thanked, and giving a nod with a smile, Malefor backed away, and seeing Celia pick up her head while looking dead in his eyes, he swallowed hard, shaking and blushing from her beauty, "H-H-Hey... My name is... Blitz... Oh, well, I already said that, and I..."

"Oh, this is so hard to watch," Malefor spoke under his breath, shaking his head along with his uneasiness.

"Ahem!" Correcting himself, he tried once again to fix what he was to say, not wanting to mess up his chances to be with her, "I just wanted to talk with you and, get to know you of course as you seem like a rather nice and gentle dragoness. If you'd like to, I'd love to maybe take you somewhere nice where we can talk or something... But I don't want you to think I'm being a creep or anything, please feel free to say no, but... If you'd like to... I would... love to address you properly as to not be rude when I need to get your attention."

While Celia giggled from his words, Malefor hissed through his teeth and laughed, "Damn dude, she giggled at you attempt."

"Don't listen to him," Celia spoke to Blitz, making her voice shine which only made Blitz sit straight up as to not make a fool of himself, "As to who my name is, I will gladly tell you, it's Celia. It's a pleasure to meet you, Blitz."

"I'm glad I can make you smile. It's a pleasure to know your name, Celia."

"And for your request," Purposely pausing, he held his breath as he wondered what she was going to say, but he's been rejected plenty of times before, so he knew this wouldn't hurt him too bad, "If you're making this out to be as I believe it sounds, I would have to say... Yes, to your date."

Getting a gasp, especially from him, Blitz's tail wagged as he gave a huge smile, and once she giggled, he realised what he was doing and stopped his tail before he made an embarrassment of himself, "Ahem... Sorry, I don't wish to disrespect such an beauty that can stand even with the likes of the Ancestors. If you wish to, I want you to feel comfortable, so do you wish for our date to be today or tomorrow?"

"I need to return to my parents for tonight, but I'd love for us to go tomorrow."

"Then... It's a date?"

"It's a date."

"I won't disappoint you."

Giving a slight frown as she remembered what Cynder had said, Celia looked to Carith and asked as it still got to her, "About what... Cynder said... Is that... true?"

"I don't see why it would be? Your try to get with Spyro was off of what everyone else has said, but feeling of real love and dedication is different. Love who you believe, not who others want," Carith assured her, and hearing that Celia had feelings for Spyro, Blitz gave a slight frown as he knew it was too good to be true.

"Celia... If you love, Spyro... Then try and be with him... I want you to feel happy, and..."

"Blitz," Looking to him, her words were enough to make his head stick back up from his sadness, "The only thing I'm thinking about now and looking forward to, is our date. Please, don't worry about that as I don't either. I want to know you, to see your smile, and know who you are. But if this is how you are, then I will just note it down for the time being."

"No no no! It's not, I swear... I promise, and as with ever other promises that I can make to you, I will make sure never to break any of them."

"Then if you act as yourself, our date will go smoothly. I look forward to seeing you tomorrow."

"You too."

Now with the date set, she sat up, turned left, and walked off from the Chambers, giving a smile on her face as she was rather excited for her date. Now with Blitz the center of attention, both him and Celia cried out joyfully in unison, "Yes!" Malefor heard both while everyone else only heard Blitz as he celebrated, "Wait! But now I have an issue to worry about, and it's all about me! It is me! What do I need to say, what do I need to do, and what about getting prepared! I need to make sure my hair is good!"

"Dragons don't have hair," Malefor pointed out.

"Sesal, Bolt, what do I do?!"

"Blitz, clam down," Ignitus stepped in, and he watched as Blitz spun around and looked at him, "You were such a help in keeping my clone calm that I wish to help and do the same. Just, take a deep breath in, and then out, and just, as she said, be yourself. There's no reason to be afraid. If you do play this right, she really would like to meet someone to be with, so as long as you are yourself, you stay calm, don't make a joke about seeing any females sexy wet body, you'll be fine. And especially don't look at any other female."

"That should be really easy then, especially since she's so beautiful, it won't be that hard to take my eyes off of her."

"Make sure you listening. If you're only after her body, one, that's pretty disrespectful..."

"Which I would never disrespect! Neither her nor your all's view point on me. I need to make sure to listen, keep things slow, and hold off on my jokes till later," Keeping himself calm, he knew the best way to do that was to take half his mind off of it and ask other questions before he did something stupid, "Oh, hey, off topic, what was with the hole in the door? I heard Malefor yelling for us, and I heard the door next to us open, but then he just walked away."

"Oh Kill Me!" Malefor cried in frustration, "One, More, Door."

"If you need us to kill you, we're all ready," Cyril chuckled.

"F-U."

"Your boy would be like, kisses."

"I just need to get some rest and not look like a slug when I meet her," Blitz told himself, keeping himself calm and not wanting to mess this up.

"Dude, you've struck out like, nine times. Maybe your tenth will do it," Bolt brought up.

"You struck out nine times?! Holy shit dude, that sucks so hard!" Malefor snickered, trying his best not to laugh and be rude.

"Hey, Malefor, with your last couple of words, can I say something to Volteer?" Ersa asked with a raised brow.

"Oh my fu... Will you two just go to your room and wait for us to go to bed before doing something? You two are disgusting," Malefor grumbled, and immediately, they agreed, getting up and running behind Blitz before running past Malefor's right and to their room, "Just breath... Just breath."

"You should've seen his first strike out. He walked up to a girl, she looked at him and said, 'Nope', then walked away."

Seeing as Malefor was about to burst from laughter, Carith and the others cried out, "Just Breath, Malefor! Breath!"

"You two are shitters for saying that," Turning and walking over to his friends, once he walked past Malefor, they watched as he fell to the floor, slamming a paw to the ground and trying to stop himself from laughing, "I was going to thank you Malefor, but now... Eh... As for the others, thank you for your help," Waving a paw at his friends, he walked past them and to the right side of the hallway as they went back to their room together, "Come on, guys. I need some help with practicing my talk with the girls. And no, Bolt, you can't slap me if I say something wrong."

Now with the three leaving, Malefor looked to his left and knew he needed to wait just a bit longer before he could proceed. Once he picked up his head and saw as the door closed, he let loose his laughter that he'd been holding in ever since his friend said what had happened, "HAHA! Hahaha! Holy Ancestors, that is friggen hilarious! And not even just that, but nine times, nine, times? Oh my goodness, I need to tell the other two about this one."

"If they aren't fighting anymore," Carith murmured.

"They weren't really fighting though... aside from the fact that she wanted to fight him, but I mean, they wouldn't really fight each other."

"We don't know for sure."

"Then let's get back up there and find out," Waving a paw over for his lover to follow, she walked up to his side, and giving her some more time to walk over and joked with the two, "Hey, in case we need some extra space to sleep, I don't want to sleep in these other rooms as they are cursed for me, so is it okay if we lay in the Sleeping Chambers with you all?"

"I mean... There is always Volteer's bed," Cyril suggested.

"Hehe, hell no. I'm afraid to lay anywhere that him and his mate have slept on. I guess my best bet would be to just pull the mattress across from a room and into the back."

"You'd go through all that effort just to get a bed in the back room."

"It's not that much effort."

"You can't just stick the bed through the door. You have to angle it upwards, avoid the lanterns that light the hallways, and if you were to hit one of those, it could light the bed on fire."

"Now you're making it sound annoying."

"Because it is! That's the whole point!"

"Yeah yeah, what ever. I will find a way. Goodnight,"

"Oh wait! Malefor!" Calling out his name, the two turned back around to face what sounded like Terrador, and seeing as it was him, the two lovers turned to face him, "This is, rather stupid of me to ask, but do you think you could change the Guardians ultimate attack name?" Seeing as Malefor raised a brow, it was a rather simple thing for him to answer even though he wish he didn't have to, "The Elements Of Devastation? I really, really hate that Damn name. I was talking with Ignitus and had hopes you could change it."

"You want me to change the best sounding ultimate name in the entire world?" Malefor asked, and hearing everyone hiss through their teeth, he blew a raspberry at all of them for that, "Alright, fine, I will change it. And since I want to be completely original with my name, Ignitus, I wish for you to judge my ultimate names if you'd be so kind," Getting a nod from him, now all Malefor had to do was figure out what name he was going to make for his new friendlies ultimate attack, "Oh, I got it! Gouken's Ultra!"

"Taken," Ignitus quickly spoke, declining the name.

"No, Taken is a dark corrupted enemy from another book."

"Not a move name and way too long."

"Oh... It's gonna be like that."

"Hehe, Oh yeah. I'm gonna enjoy this."

"Alright... fine. I got another one: Falcon, Punch!"

"Nope."

"Omni Slash?"

"Um... No."

"Get Over Here!"

"Are you trying?"

"I'm trying Damn it! Cut me some slack... Anyway, what about, Shoryuken!"

"That's a fighting move."

"Spirit Bomb!"

"Only requires one user."

"Death's Reaping Rampage?"

"Still no."

"Raiden's Chiropractic Kill?"

"You didn't even take the dudes name out of the attack."

"Deathstroke's Body Blender?"

"Still didn't take his name out."

"Ugh! I'm trying!"

"Not really."

"I'm gonna slit your... freaking... throat!"

"Dumb ass name."

"AAAHAHAHA!"

"Breath Malefor, you can do this, little one."

"YOU...! Wait..." Now finally having calmed down, an idea did come to mind of a complete idea he had for moves that he knew weren't taken, "I have a perfect one. How about; The Four X Elemental Disintegration?" Seeing that they were kinda on the fence about what he had said, for Malefor, he rejected his own idea as it seemed way too long for an ultimate name, "Wait wait wait, that's way too long. I know there's bigger ones out there, but... No one remembers those anyway so, something simple... simple... Oh! What about: Elemental Desolation?" Seeing everyone gives wide eyes as it seemed like a perfect name, short, yet simple, Malefor believed he could do better, "Actually, maybe..."

"No!" The three Guardians cried, making Malefor jump as he didn't expect their voices.

"Elemental Desolation is rather fitting. And since we don't even know how my fire will work now even after the power boost, it could actually have such an effect," Ignitus smiled.

"Yeah. I even have to agree. Great... Job... Malefor... Ehehehe," Shivering in uneasiness, Terrador never knew he'd say such a thing in his life.

"Looks like we're all in agreement then," Cyril also agreed.

"Are you sure? Cause I could do..."

"Go to bed!" The Guardians all cried.

"Alright, Alright... Damn."

Walking with his lover out of the Chambers and to the left of the hallway, Malefor thought of a rather dangerous yet fun little prank he wanted to pull, so, once they got to Volteer and Ersa's room, he whispered for his lover to wait, "Wait wait wait, come here real quick," Grabbing the door knob, Carith eyes grew wide at to what he was going to do, but luckily, it wasn't as bad as she thought his prank was going to be, "I'm gonna scare him by acting that I'm gonna open the door and see what they do," Not wanting to make a sound, she ducked her head back before waving a paw across her neck, hoping he wouldn't, but of course, he did, "Volteer! Oh Volteer!" Shaking the door knob as though he was about to enter, he snickered as he continued, "Volteer, you haven fun in there? I need to ask you a... UGH!"

The door knob electrocuted to the point where he couldn't let go of the door knob, and all of his body tensed up nearly to the point where it felt as though his scales were closing in on themselves. Finally able to let go of the door knob, Malefor fell to his body, still shocking and twitching from here to there before finally getting back to his paws. Coughing up some smoke, Carith shrugged her arms in a smile as she knew this was to happen, but he growled at Volteer for that, "Wow... What an-UGH-Ass munch."

* * *

"This was a lot easier when I was, eh... Actually trained," Cynder spoke, spinning around to avoid two attacks before landing back on the ground, spinning and cutting the legs of two dark creatures, "I'm definitely... running out of... breath," With more attacks coming towards her, she backed off the two who attacked her, sensed another one behind her, and moved to her left by jumping off the ground, but with another dark creature, she used her wing to flip herself upside down, grabbing its chest, twisting it, and slamming him to the ground as she got back to her paws, "May need some... assists here."

Being surrounded by the dark forces, a black blur went around the training room, one by one killing all of the creatures around her as to give her some space to breath. Once there was enough room, Spyro appeared in front of her and raised a brow at her, "Running out of breath so soon?" Getting a raised brow from her, he chuckled as he understood what she was getting at, "Yeah, I know, I've definitely trained way more then you have, but just remember your wind powers to control you air."

"It's definitely becoming more and more difficult as I need to control two elements at once here and there."

"Well, I can be here to support when ever needed. Should we continue the call for support or do a two on a hundred?"

"We can still do a call. Learning how to use this dark power you gave me will help me better control it."

"Alright then, see you later."

Jumping upwards into the air on his back, he spun downwards into the middle of the group of dark forces, and she watched as the entirely of the middle was burned in a blue explosion of fire. Getting her breathing back, she questioned herself when it came to her own strengths, _I remember with that chain we had, the strengh I had then, and even when trying to protect Spyro. It's crazy what's happened to me since I haven't trained... I can't even synchronise with our powers to get into our mode from before._ Being deep in her thoughts, a dark enemy took the opportunity to take a stab to Cynder's body, and being successful, it came from her side and stabbed her right in the arm. Letting out a painful growl, she swung her paw around, grabbed its neck, and snapped it in two. Dropping his body and looking at the spear in her arm, it looked rather painful as blood spilled from the wound, and she twitched just seeing it, _How does Spyro... do this?_ Grabbing the spear and ripping it from her arm, she let out another painful growl, falling slightly down to her right as the blood still spilled from her wound. _I can't let something so simple take me out... So... Just walk it off._ Getting back into the battle, she did as before, mainly using her wind powers to keep her body nimble, spinning when in the air, sliding, and dodging attacks from here to here. Feeling herself start to lose her breath again, she took to the ceiling and tried to catch her breath. Once she made it up top, Cynder watched from above as Spyro tore through the battlefield like it was nothing, and no scratch or wound she could see at all. _Calm down my love._ Giggling at his strength, she looked at the door to see Malefor and what looked to be Carith. The two walked in and waved at her, and waving back at them, she lost track of the battle. Charging its bow, the creature sent it's arrow right to Cynder from a blind spot behind her. With the speed of the arrow, it flew at a speed to go right through the top scales of her wing, digging itself halfway through her wing, "UGH!"

Taking out her left wing, she fell to the ground, and watching in horror at the dark forces bellow ready to kill her, though she wanted to keep going and see what she could do, but that didn't happen. In the blink of an eye, the dark forces beneath her were gone, with the only thing under her now being Spyro. Catching her in his wings, he zipped past all the dark forces, burning them all around and incinerating them from the heat he gave off from his scales both front and back, but making sure he didn't burn her, he kept his wings, chest, and anything near her cool. Making it over to the two, he eased her body off, making her give off a slight growl as she could feel the pain from the arrow still in her wing. Seeing as the dark forces were closing in on them, Malefor got into a fighting stance, calling out to Spyro as he stood ready, "Spyro, they're still here!"

With Cynder eased to the ground on her right side, Spyro turned around and watched as they all stood around them in a half circle, all ready and blood thirsty for a kill. _I don't know if this could work, but thinking about it, it could,_ Spyro thought about what he wished to do, being in a fully consumed dark mode, he knew he needed this power to pull it off. _If I could split the darkness from me, could I make a clone of myself? With that clone, could we do the same output of power?_ Taking a step forward, Spyro saw this from Malefor and put up a wing to block him, getting a confused look from him. Concentrating on his darkness, they watched as it looked like his darkness started to split into two, with it stretching outwards to his left side, manifesting into something more. Being fully flesh out, they gasped to see it was another copy of Spyro, same look, and for Spyro, hopefully the same power, _That was much easier then I thought it would be._ Raising a paw up, so did his clone, and as he snapped his fingers, so did the clone. Snapping their fingers forwards and pointing at the army, two explosions of blue fire lit up the entire room in all directions in front of them, leaving noting left as the shock wave of fire swept through. With the job done, the clone disappeared back into Spyro's body like a cloud of smoke, becoming one with his darkness once again. Giving a sigh, Spyro came back to his normal form, and with the threat being eliminated, he turned his attention to his lover who laid down on her right side, exposing her bleeding wing and her arm. Seeing him give a sad sigh, Cynder could only smile and hope he would accept his apology, "Sorry, my love... I was doing good till I started to get exhausted. And before you say anything, look on the bright side; A dark creature hurt me, which means you get to hurt Malefor."

"That is the most bull ass thing you've ever said, Cynder. Trying to get me killed is beyond you... Wait, everyone wants me dead around here... I guess that's just normal Cynder then," Malefor whimpered, feeling as though death was around every corner.

Watching Spyro inspect her wound, Cynder was prepared for the worst when it came to the arrow that was still stuck half way through the top of her wing, "Hehe, this is gonna suck, but... I'm ready when ever you are to pull the arrow out from my..."

"I'm not pulling that out," The three had seen that he had been inspecting her body for a while, and it seemed he had an idea that he wanted to try, "My darkness heals my body so I don't have to use my time power. This, combined with you constantly giving me power is what kept me alive during our battle with the Dark Master. Ignitus and I experimented in it by me purposely hurting myself, and now I wonder, does it work for others as well,"

Easing his paw on her arm, his darkness swirled around his paw, and preparing for the pain of his arm touching her opened wound, she looked away, clenched her teeth, even closed her eyes. But after a couple of seconds, she felt his paw touch her arm, but didn't feel any pain. Slowly opening her eyes, she eased up her breathing and looked over to see Spyro taking his paw from her wound, and to her surprise, along with everyone else's, the blood from her arm was gone, along with her wound. Studying his work and taking mental notes, Spyro wanted to study more of this healing aspect, "So, using my darkness further prevents pain. And if it travels around the body, similar to me, it gets rid of the blood," Making it over to her wing, they watched as he did the same think to her wound, only a little different as he placed his claws in between the arrow, "I don't wish for this to cause you pain, so, instead," Hearing a metal piece of something hit the ground, Malefor and Carith saw it to be the metal end of the arrow, and looking away from the metal piece as it disappeared, they once again gasped as the wound and blood was gone, and Spyro held the wooden piece in his paw, "In case anything is in the scales, I can deconstruct it to the point of incineration... I still need to know more of what I can do with my cloning powers, and these... Healing, powers."

"Dude, Spyro," Malefor called his name, breaking his thoughts, and while they spoke with one another, Cynder stood back up on her own, feeling herself out as she was able to once again move with ease, "Ho... How are you doing all this? Did you just think about this right here and now, or is this because of something else that you've done in the past?"

"Well, the healing part, me and Ignitus already tested, just needed to try it on someone else. And for my cloning, it was something I was thinking about during me and Cynder's battle with these dark creatures. So, with us getting swarmed, thought it would be as good of a time as ever," Sitting down and putting a claw to his chin, he started to get right back into his thoughts about these such powers, "And I really want to know more of my cloning powers: Can I split into more, do they work off the same power as me, and if so, would it be risky even making some as it could split my darkness by half."

"Hey, Cynder," Calling her name, she looked back to see it was Carith who called her name, "Does this mean you and Spyro aren't... or, are done, fighting?"

"Oh, no, we weren't fighting. I just... I... told him about how bad the future could be. Once he understood that, he turned around completely with his emotions," Turning to face her friend, she frowned as she was honest with her, "I can't handle what the future has in store for us, and having Spyro understand the danger will just help more... hopefully. But now comes the unfortunate part; When will this attack happen, and will we be prepared for it."

"Will be prepared, Cynder, I promise you," A voice spoke, and turning around to see it was Spyro, she listened to his words, "It seems like this entire problem is revolved around me and Malefor's friendship, and while it could be a dark army attack, if Malefor could answer my questions I gave to him, then I can guarantee that there's going to be no bad blood between the two of us," Looking over to Malefor, he wondered if he had the answers to his questions yet and asked him if he did, "Well, Malefor, do you have your answers yet, or, do you need more time? Maybe you need some kind of easier questions?"

"No no no, I can answer the questions you gave me, I just..." Sitting down and trying to think back to the questions, Malefor had plenty of time to think about what the answers could be, though he didn't use his time wisely, "I can get your answer to one more of your questions, but unfortunately, not one other. With all that's happened, between Celia, your and Cynder's fight, it was rather difficult for me, especially if you two were to break up... I... I was scared to come back up here if I'm being honest."

"Scared? Malefor, we weren't fighting. Cynder was scared, that's all that was happening, she didn't know what to do, especially since she couldn't come to me about what was happening. Once she did, I understood why you all were acting the way you did. Now understanding why you all said what you did... I probably shouldn't have said anything at all as that only made the situation worse on all of you, and I apologies for that."

"Speaking of apologising... Does Celia feel... bad about what I said to her," Cynder asked, feeling rather terrible for what she had said.

"I helped her look past that the best I could," Carith spoke, comforting her friend as to what had happened, "She just wants someone to love, and they heard how devoted Spyro was to his lover, and she wished to have someone like that. Lucky enough for her though, she was able to score a date with one of the friends. The red one, Blitz."

"Blitz? I wonder how she would feel if I told her all the times Blitz looked at me."

"He's gonna fell terrible for that."

"Well, now with him being with someone else, hopefully he won't make that mistake again."

"Oh! Speaking of Blitz, did you know that dude fell out of nine relationships?!" Malefor laughed, remembering back to the most memorable thing that had been said during that conversation, "The funniest thing that was said, is that, the dude walked up to someone, she looked at him, and went, 'Nope', then walked away from him," Laughing once again, Cynder snickered, trying not to laugh at something so bad, but for Spyro, he gave a small laugh as it was pretty funny, "Oh man, now that we are on the topic of lovers, I really wish we were all with the Guardians. There's this funny mate abuse story that I remember."

"That sounds horrible," Carith hissed through her teeth in uneasiness.

"Oh, no no no. They weren't mates, my bad. They were friends with benefits... Or, well, just a one and done kind of thing."

"Is this about someone else you were with?"

"What? Hehe, hell no. I've seen plenty of females in my life, and you've been my one and only. But, hey, Spyro, now that I'm in a better mood, I should be able to answer one of your other questions," Now getting all eyes on him, Spyro wondered what question it was going to be, and for the question he chose, it was rather surprising for Spyro, "If the Destroyer came back because of the darkness, the only thing I could think is that, it might really be me, or someone else who's found and used the Destroyer for themselves. It's not hard to summon the Destroyer. The main thing though is that, the Destroyer needs I running start. Kicking off and having a head start gives more speed then just being right there. The Destroyer needs time to build up speed before flinging itself into the volcano, so we'd have time to destroy it."

"So... We'd have time to destroy it is what you're saying?" Spyro asked, and seeing him give a nod, he had another question he wished to have answered, "What about the wall of fire?"

"Couldn't happen. Only on first summon could such a thing happen as to where it is. It can't be summoned from the ground, but if you have the strength, patience, and willpower, you could find where it was born, put it back, and do this birth of it all over again basically. Lucky for me, I still have the thoughts of the Dark Master, so I know what can and can't happen with the Destroyer."

"That's good to hear... And, what about the friend question?"

"That... would definitely hurt... But, I can understand your uneasiness when it comes to seeing such a thing, so if you'd need more time, I'd understand."

"Which is good to hear of course. I think the main issue right now is, when does my supposed death happen of course. Since we are already on good terms, I would say I should focus more on power building. For tomorrow, I do wish to train more to get myself ready. Putting myself through intense training as I once had done before could help, or..." Seeing Cynder was already against such training ideas, he gave a chuckle as he knew he was going to get such a reaction, "Hehe, yeah, I guess that wouldn't be a good idea. But, hey, Malefor, we could always do your idea. Before becoming friends tomorrow, we can have a spar to get out any other feeling of anger. And while I don't have any towards you, I'd still be a good idea."

"So then, for the time being, do you want to rest up?"

"I have no problem with that."

With everyone whom sat now standing up, they all made their way out the Training Room entrance and out into the hallway. Walking over toward their respective rooms, Cynder was the one to open her door, and for Carith, she opened her door once reaching it. Knowing of the threat to come, Malefor had to make sure one last time, wanting to be at ease before he went to bed, "Hey, Spyro, one last thing," Stopping before entering his room, Spyro looked to him, wondering what he wanted, "I do have fears that the darkness really will return, and I just want you to know that... Well, just remember what I've said before about the darkness; let's see who can rack up the most kills."

"Hehe, easiest challenge anyone has ever given me," Spyro chuckled at such a challenge.

"Yeah yeah, so you say."

Walking into their own rooms, Spyro turned back around, walked into his room, and using his tail, he shut the door behind himself. Seeing as his lover was already on the bed, laid down on her belly with crossed paws, he wanted to be honest with her about this whole situation that he's been in as he made his way to the bed, "I'm going to be honest; I'm rather scared that this really does have to do with the darkness," Hopping up on the bed next to his lover's left, he spun around and laid down on his belly as well, facing the door and putting a paw on the side of his face as he thought more about it, "Everyone keeps telling me that it's not Malefor, he's not my enemy, he's your friend. And then when it came to all the Guardians being up here, that only proves such suspicion."

"Like we've all been saying, and I do want to be a little honest with you... Let's just say that someone has gotten a hold of the darkness and wishes harm upon the world... But... It's technically my fault for what is to happen," Taking his paw down from his cheek, he wondered how this could've been her fault, and already brining it up, she knew she needed to tell him the truth, "Let's just say, this dragon, wants me. By giving myself up, he wouldn't attack us. And while I don't know who this is, Malefor or not, I could easily just give myself up, keep you safe along with everyone else."

"Malefor doesn't care to love you as his devotion to Carith is beyond what I ever expected. And for this dragon, tell him to go to hell. I'd rather die then give you up."

"And that could be what he or she is hoping for."

Giving a sigh, Spyro once again put his paw on his left cheek to support his head, thinking and tapping his paw in a row as he tried to think of something, _Who could want to take Cynder from me? Out of all the others in this world, why her? He can't control her cause of my darkness being inside of her, and even if it's someone we know, who could that be?_ Blowing a raspberry and laying his head down on his paws, he gave an annoyed sigh of what's to happen, "We end a war just to be engulfed in another one... I'm not gonna lie, if Malefor really is my enemy as it turns out... It's really going to hurt.," Looking to his right and seeing her shaking her head, he chuckled, knowing he was worrying for no reason, but he questioned if something else was going on, "I'm starting to think Malefor is just using his darkness to fool both you and Carith."

"That's what you really believe?"

"Just a little suspicion."

"Spyro, I've been what he's been through. Being accused and having an identity that we never wished for, something we didn't have control of. That's why I trusted him so early on when he came back. That and cause of the help he gave when it came to protecting you and healing you."

"I know, I know, he did a lot to prove his innocence."

"Then stop worrying so much. If needed, you could always check me for his darkness."

"Would you, be upset if I did."

"No, because I know this will help ease your mind."

"Thank you, my love."

Using his darkness, her eyes grew slightly wide as she felt him moving his darkness all throughout her body, going up to her brain, then down through the rest of her body before finally moving back to her heart. Feeling the darkness rest back around her heart, it was a rather strange feeling for her having the darkness not around her heart, and she had to be honest with him about that feeling, "It's rather crazy, but... I feel rather alone without your darkness."

"Alone?"

"Well, having your darkness around my heart for such, what feels like, a long time, has made me feel comfortable when I'm both with you and when I'm not. I don't know, maybe it's just me."

"Hehe, no, it's not just you. I've felt the same ever since we traded our darkness."

"I still can't believe you let my unstable darkness near your heart."

"Oh please, I wasn't even afraid. I knew how to calm it, so it's fine. But now knowing you're telling the truth, I will definitely feel better going to sleep."

"Should've trusted me."

"I know..."

"Still love you of course."

"What do you say we kiss the night away then?"

"You won't get any sleep then."

"You'll be out in three minutes."

"Prove it then, Spyro."

* * *

 _"Ignitus, we need to discuss what is to happen in the future,"_ A voice spoke in Ignitus's mind, waking him from his sleep. Stretching out on his bed, he gave off a yawn, making Claire shift in the bed, moving her head more down his paws as she laid to his right. _"We've found out more of what's to come. Flint wasn't lying about his army. There's about fifty to a hundred dragons with more and more joining his hideout. And with his darkness, he really is bringing the Destroyer to the battle."_ Giving a deep sigh, this was rather upsetting news. Once Ignitus had blinked and looked straight, his clone appeared in front of his bed, and muting out the sound from everyone else, they were freely able to have such a conversation without waking the other three, "We trade a war for another war. Well, in any case, what else information do we have that we can work off of?"

"Well, the Ancestors are not answering any of our questions so we are flying in dark. This is both good and bad, but with Warfang being our territory, you've already said and have been given permission to protect Warfang. So, combine you, the friends, the other Guardians and Claire's assassin works, he have the army to protect Warfang. The biggest problem is, even with Spyro and Malefor, how do we deal with the Destroyer?" The clone spoke more and more of what they could do, what information they could use, and what they have against the Destroyer, "If Spyro used this black ball he once used before, it could hopefully do significant damage, maybe even knocking it out of commission. And while I don't like the idea, Cynder getting hurt could prove to be... rather helpful."

"Unfortunately, that is rather true, but that should only be a last resort if needed. We could always act with some fake blood to act as though she had been wounded."

"I don't know if we have to worry about Spyro and Malefor's friendship splitting the two apart. After hearing of their talk, I'm sure Spyro would never do such a thing to upset and disappoint the others."

"That's good to hear at least."

"Do I need to keep you updated on anything else."

"Do we know when the battle is to happen."

"From the looks of it... It may happen tomorrow."

"Tomorrow?!"

"Yes... He's moving the Destroyer rather far, maybe about ten or twenty miles. One step from the Destroyer can make about about one tenth of a mile. But when the fighting starts, he will make it rather quick," This was rather frustrating news for him to hear, and even for the clone, it did make him shake from the fear of what's to come, "I wish we have more time to prepare, but... I'm guessing he doesn't want Spyro to get any stronger. So with the strengh everyone has now, this is it, the start of a battle of strengths. But for now, me and another clone are trying to figure out what to do if the Destroyer reaches the volcano."

"Making a rock square in the Volcano with a think center to stop it?"

"That's the problem; dealing with the weight. It's a million, maybe billion pounds of force going down into a volcano. It's called the Destroyer for a reason. Nothing can stop such a thing."

"Damnit..." With nothing really to do, the only thing they could lean on, was the strengh hidden within Spyro, "Faking Cynder getting hurt might be our best option. If he could use that ball of elements and darkness, it may put a hole within the Destroyer. And I don't think Spyro would have enough time to take control of it as, with what Flint is doing, he's putting beyond the amount of darkness that he just, wouldn't have enough time, especially since the Destroyer fights back."

"Then for the time being, should I just continue our research?"

"Yeah... We can't end up as a failed timeline. As I feel bad for what's happened to the other failed timelines, we can't end up like that, not after everything we've been through."

"Understood."

Disappearing in a light mist, Ignitus gave a sigh, resting his head back down over Claire, wondering what was to happen, what was to come of this battle, _If only Flint was stupid enough to bring the Destroyer into Warfang as the Dark Master once did, but since all the information from the previous Dark Master stays with him as Malefor said, then... He won't make the same mistakes. Taking the Destroyer out will only piss him off more, and hopefully, we can just end this... I can't let my son die from this._ Closing his eyes, his body shivered, knowing that, once he opened his eyes, he may be waking up to a fight of his life, _And so, history repeats itself._


	23. Chapter 23: The End Of Trust

Chapter 23: The End Of Trust

"There, right here. Set it down gently," Flint commanded to the other earth dragons.

Out near an open field, Flint, along with the help of more then thirty earth dragons, helped moved the Destroyer out to a field of where it'd rest for the time being. With the earth dragons, they had been using a square made out of earth to lift it over the tops of the trees, hiding it from any of those whom may see any kind of damage, and for Flint, he believed this to be master plan. _Now with the Destroyer out here, no damage to the wildlife, and for nothing to be observed, things are going very, very well._ Unfortunately, as they had set down the Destroyer, the square underneath it disappeared, letting it fall to the ground with a massive thud. The shock wave was enough to kick up pounds of dust and dirt, even making the surrounding wild life run away, or even fly for their own safety. With this massive thud, parts of the Destroyer sprawled out, smashing them to pieces all around it, and unfortunately, for how hard it fell into the ground, its body dug slightly deeper into the ground then he would've liked. Growling at this sight, Flint snapped around and looked at the earth dragons, yelling for what they had done, "Idiots!" Now seeing at what had happened, he had to improvise now, "The sun will come up any minute now, and while I would've wished for this to have been done before everyone woke up, your dumb asses just F'd up the whole plan! So instead of looking at me, GET IT OUT OF THE GROUND!" Watching as they all scrambled from behind him and made their ways all around the Destoyer's body, he snarled through his teeth, upset that he had to said anything at all, "Great... Of course as soon as I say something... No matter. This should still be done sooner rather then later, and then, once this is done, I shall see you soon, my love, either in the day, or the afterlife."

* * *

"Oh, come on, hurry up hurry up hurry up! I can't keep waiting this long," Malefor spoke to himself as he laid to his bed, watching from out his window for the sun to rise, but so far, it was still rather dark, "Ugh! I can't do this, nor can I sleep, so then... I'm kinda screwed," Looking to his left and seeing his lover sleeping so peacefully next to him, she laid on her right, sprawled out with her wings and paws, but all he could do to pass time was lay down with his body on his bed and his wing that draped over her back, "Sure do wish I could be sleeping as easily as you, my love." Turning his head back around to face out his window, his eyes grew wide along with the smile that went across his face as he finally saw the small amount of sun light lighting the sky from dark black, to light yellow and blue, "YES!"

Swinging his head forward to face straight, he stood up on his bed, was gentle as he climbed down, but once his claws touched the ground, he bolted to the door, making it there in seconds. Grabbing his door knob, he yanked at it, forgetting to turn it, "Oh, yeah, oops." Finally twisting the door knob and opening his door, he ran out to the hallway and to his left, over to Spyro and Cynder's room. "Don't want to pull a Spyro and yank my door knob off the door."

Making it over to the room, he did the same as his other door and opened it. Once inside, he stopped halfway through, watching as they slept peacefully, curled up with one another, smiling even. Since they had snuggled up together, worry started to set in as he thought, _Well, hell. Do I wake them or not...? Wait! I have the perfect idea. Spyro would kill me, but Cynder wouldn't... maybe... Hah, I made a joke._ Walking up to the two, Spyro's head rested over Cynder's, so he had to look down a bit to speak with her, whispering to keep quiet, "Cynder... Cynder, it's me, Malefor."

Seeing her body shiver, he knew he got her attention, waking her even, and so far, things were going good for Malefor. Giving a grumble and readjusting herself, Spyro adjusted himself as well, getting more comfortable with her as she moved her head more inwards against his chest. Only opening her left eye slightly to look at him, her smile turned to a more bland and normal resting face as she asked him, "Malefor...? Wh... What are you... doing in our room so... early in the morning?"

"Oh, yeah, I, want to apologize but I, uh... Just wanted to say that, now that tomorrow is here, I was hoping to wake up Spyro and get the okay on friendship before going back to bed," Unfortunately for him, she didn't really seem to care all that much, shifting her head more to the point where her head now rested against his chest, listening to his heart beat as she closed her eye, wishing to go back to sleep, "I, guess you probably don't care, I... I just am really excited to finally hear him say it. Hehe, and hey, he might even think I was waking you to prepare to destroy the world... Hehehe..." Not getting anything from her, Malefor felt a slight stab to the heart as he had hopes that his plan would've been a little more effective, but unfortunately, it wasn't, and he murmured, "Never mind... Sorry for, disturbing you..."

"Malefor..." Hearing now as Spyro spoke, Malefor looked up to him, and while his eyes still remained closed, he spoke, "Me and Cynder were up pretty late last night after what I did yesterday. We're just both really tired."

"Oh, my apologizes, I didn't know..."

"That's why I'm saying now. Just, give us some more time, we will have our battle, and then I will make our friendship official, okay?"

"So then I should..."

"You should leave before you piss off Cynder."

"Ahem... Yeah, better go."

Backing out of the room slowly but surely, he made it past the doorway before grabbing the door knob and shutting the door. Now this posed a bigger problem for Malefor as he was without anything to do, even with all the energy he had, but making his way back to his room as he turned, he was deep in his thoughts, wondering what there was to do, _Well, there goes my hopes of anything happening, and if I'm being honest, I'm definitely not ready for me to get my head bashed in during our battle._ Looking into his room and sitting down by the door, he looked in to see Carith was still resting peacefully, and while an idea came to mind, he didn't know how he'd be able to work two jobs at once, _With that Dark Master around, I wish to train, but because he is around, I don't wish to leave Carith all by herself. So... maybe she would join me in the training room._ Walking into his room and over towards the bed, he made it over after about a minute as he had walked rather then running, and once he made it to his bed, he whispered to her, "Hey, Carith, my love, can I ask you a question?" Getting her attention, she grumbled as she woke, moving her head a little straight to look to him, opening only one eye as she did, "Do you mind coming to the Training Room while I, well, train? I don't wish to leave you all alone, so, could you join me?"

"You want me to go in there and... Ugh," Pausing for a second as she stretched, she continued once she was done, "Be under possible fire, along with the fact that I can't go to sleep while in there?" He gave a frown, and she could see he didn't wish to go back to bed, so, for a compromise, she had a better idea, "How about I rest out in the hallway near the door to the Training Room. That way, I'm near both you, and the two?" His face lit up with a smile, glad to see that she made up a better plan then he could've thought of, "But first, I want something in return."

Giving out a chuckle, Malefor knew what she wished of, and so, he moved his head forward and kissed his love. It was a nice way for her to wake up, closing her eyes once again as he did the same. Feeling now satisfied for the two, he pulled his lips off of hers, and now opening up his eyes, she did the same as he spoke, "Thank you, my love," Getting a nod from him, she smiled, slowly getting up, and watching as he turned away from her, he trusted that she would make it over with him, "I will wait for you in the hallway then." Making his way now back out to the hallway, he exited his doorway, making his way over to the Training Room, he talked out loud to himself, "This is perfect. And maybe, I should train with my dark power to get a feel for it. And with Carith right outside the door, I can call for her."

"Who are you talking to?" Carith asked as she made her way into the hallway."

"Oh, just, talking out loud to myself. I'm thinking about training my dark power."

"That sounds like a terrible idea."

"Well, think about it. Ignitus doesn't plan for me to have my dark power under control. Getting such a strengh similar to that of Spyro, it could be a deciding factor in winning this war," Unfortunately to her, it made sense, and even Malefor knew that getting his darkness under control would be beneficial to the up and coming war, "I won't go over board, and I will use what Spyro taught me to control it. If I feel uncomfortable, then I will stop, or even call you if I feel that something is off."

"Eeeehhhh... I... Guess. Just, try and not scare both me and you when you attempt such a thing. This is supposed to be your special day. Last thing we need is for us to lose you too."

"I will be fine, promise."

"Alright then... I guess I can't stop you."

While she made her way to the side of the Training Room door, Malefor turned his own way and made his way into the room, and just as she had laid down, he opened the door, cracking it just a little so she could hear him in case anything happened. Now in the Training Room, he made his way to the middle, and once reached, he sat down, closing his eyes and focusing. _Alright... I need to focus on just trying to gain a small amount, just not enough to screw me over._ Brining in his thoughts and memory, he remembered back to the moment of which Spyro spoke to him of how to control his dark powers. _Think of the saddest thing possible, control that, balance it out, and make it yours._ Feeling himself gaining control over the darkness, he focused, eased his body, and while he tried to control his darkness, he also did the same to his breathing, making sure everything was as easy as it could be. _Breath... take charge of the anger._ Snarling only slightly, he still tried his best, but his best wasn't enough, and since he had more excitement then anything else, his eyes shot open, and he coughed a good couple of times towards the ground. _Damnit! It felt like my lungs were being crushed... This is a lot harder in execution then that of explanation. But I have to keep trying._

* * *

Feeling a sense of darkness starting to surround the area, Spyro opened his eyes, somewhat a little angered as he wondered who could be using the dark power. Sliding his paws from under his lover's head, he stood up, moved slightly to his right to avoid her head and climbed off the bed. Using his own darkness, he prepared for a battle, and making sure to take it slow, he hoped it wasn't who he thought it was. _Malefor... What are you doing?_ Opening his door, he looked into his hallway to see a sleeping Carith laying next to the door, and this confirmed his fear, _Damn it, Malefor, why are you messing around with your darkness?_ Sensing the darkness coming from the Training Room, he made his way over to the door, and pushing it open, he saw Malefor sitting near the middle, looking down and darkened only slightly. Shutting the door behind himself, Spyro didn't wish for him to be training the darkness so early and decided to put a stop to it. While Spyro was sneaking up behind him, Malefor was still in his thoughts, eyes closed and unaware of his surroundings, _Carith could die if you don't control yourself. Spyro's friendship and view of me is on the line, and hurting Cynder or anyone else could ruin my life as it once had before. Don't make the same mistake that you once-UGH!_ Having someone smack his back, his eyes shot open wide once again, and he watched as the darkness launched out of his body and forward before disappearing. Looking to his left, he saw Spyro smirking at him, "Spyro?! What are you doing in here?"

"Stopping you from making a mistake and causing problems for everyone around," Spyro admitted, sitting down in front of him and turning to face straight towards him.

"I remember what you said to me, and like I said, this is my special day, and I don't wish to ruin it."

"Then hold off on your darkness a little longer. Last thing I need is to deal with the Dark Master during our battle."

"Not the Dark Master, but Master Malefor."

"Yeah, well, I have a question for the Master. Why do I still sense darkness looming even after stopping you from using your darkness?"

Giving a gasp as to what he said, this made Spyro rather suspicious, but he knew he needed to say something to cover up what was really happening, "Oh, well, I'm still trying to train my darkness even after what you just did of course."

"Yet, this darkness feels much different then yours."

 _Flint couldn't possibly be attacking so soon, could he?!_ Malefor cried in his thoughts, hoping that he wasn't to attack so soon. Wanting to hurry with their friendship, he wished to fight now rather then later, and to seal their friendship, "Hey, Spyro, I honestly don't know why you feel this other darkness, but is it okay, now with you being awake, could we have our battle?" This sudden and quick talking still made Spyro suspicious that something was to happen, but Malefor made sure to keep talking as to keep his thoughts to a minimum, "It's just that, if something does happen, I don't wish to be your enemy, but a friend. I need you to know that."

"I'm surprised you wish to battle so soon, but if that's what you so please to do, I'm down to battle," Erupting into his dark form, Malefor was surprised he was quick to accept his challenge, and he was scared something was to happen to the females, but Spyro assured him even though he didn't know it, "If Cynder needs me, she could always use her darkness to call me. But now that I'm awake and you wish to get this friendship going, what do you say we have our battle as you wish: Now, rather then later."

"You couldn't just let me have a fighting chance, could you?"

"Nope."

Feeling a tap on his shoulder, Malefor jumped, turning around and seeing who it was. It was a clone of Spyro, and before he had time to react, he was punched right underneath his chin, sending him flying into the air, and with his clone, Spyro juggled him in the air, punching him where ever he could to keep him in the air, and now closing in on the roof, he grabbed Malefor by the throat and threw him out of the Training Room. Slamming his back against the top of the Training Room, Malefor's body flew out of the building and out into the open. With the attack Spyro made, this sent Malefor to the back of Warfang, and making sure he stopped his descent, Malefor kicked his wings backwards, doing a back flip and using his wind powers to ease him down to the ground and on his paws. Wiping his paw across his nose, blood already dripped down his nose, and seeing as Spyro landed in front of him, Malefor snickered, "That's some cheep shit my guy."

"We are battling, are we not? And I must admit, I'm not use to waking up so soon, but at least this helps me stretch my body now rather then later."

"Feels like this is all happening so fast, so what do you say we take things a little slower, get a feel for this day."

"You were the one who wished for this day to start off so soon, but if you wish to slow things down," Using his clone, he made one on his left side, and pushing himself to his limit, he made a clone on his right, and using his clone to make another on his left, he now had four of himself which made Malefor laugh, "This will help me see what powers are in store for myself, and you. So, pushing myself to the limit, I also wish to do the same to you. Now would you wish to take things even slower, or do you wish to speed things up?"

"What happens if we take things even slower?"

"I can try and make another clone, making five of us that you have to deal with."

"That's some bull shit right there. First you stop me from gaining an advantage and now your using an expert ass move against me?"

"Well, tell you what. Hit the right me, and you win."

"That seems rather easy."

"Or is it?" A clone next to Spyro spoke from his left side.

"Because I could've changed directions without you knowing," A clone on the right side spoke.

"You're literally breaking the laws of how the world works," Malefor cried.

"Guess it's a good thing the laws don't apply to me," The last clone chuckled.

Knowing exactly where Spyro was, he shot an ice shard forward at the front clone, and passing right through his chest, the clone disappeared, now making three Spyro's. Giving wide eyes and taking a step back, all the clones laughed before disappearing, "Wrong again, Malefor."

Now disappeared from out of sight, Malefor looked all around himself and wished for this to be a simple and easy battle to end rather quickly now, "Now now, Spyro, how about we calm down and I just forfeit?" Not getting a response, he heard the sound of a cracking leaf behind him, and jumping forward before turning around, nothing was there, "I forfeit! I give! Uncle! Uncle!" Feeling something tap his shoulder, he once again jumped forward, turned around, and saw that nothing was there, making this all too creepy, "Come on, Spyro. I've already given the safe word basically, so you can't attack."

"You really don't understand, do you?" A voice spoke to his left.

"You are a very true and dear friend to me," A voice spoke to his right.

"And I say that from the bottom of my heart," Spyro spoke from the front as he emerged from the shadow of the trees, making Malefor look straight at him, "And while it's not official yet, your strengh, your enthusiasm, almost everything about you is the opposite of the Dark Master, and I never knew I would see you as such an ally. But now opening my eyes, I understand just how wrong I was," Turning his eyes from white back to his normal eyes, he gave a smile to him, admitting all about how he really felt, "I love having Carith around, and the family that you wish to protect along with me. Cynder never knew she'd have so many friends, and it's thanks to you, helping keep everyone protected, and for that, I deeply thank you."

"Then why does it still seem you wish to kill me?" Malefor gave a slight nervous chuckle.

"Because after this, I don't wish to fight you as an enemy anymore. For now on after, we will fight to spar, to train together, and I wish to see the growth that you've gone through. So, from one almost friend to another, give me that fight that I crave. Show me the strength that I wish to see, and to understand from what you've trained for, to protect others," Turning his eyes back to a white color, Malefor gave a huge sigh before getting into a fighting stance, and this was rather pleasing to Spyro as this is what he wanted, "Thank you, Malefor."

"I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die."

"Relax. If I stab your heart, I can just heal you up."

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?!"

"Hehe, hell no. I'm gonna put the fear of everything on you."

"You're such a bitch."

"I don't like your tone," Splitting his clone into another one, it walked behind Malefor, now making him completely surrounded, and slamming his fist into his paw real quick before putting his paws back to the ground, he knew he was going to enjoy this, "Alright you Hatchling! You ready to lose some teeth?"

"No," Malefor whimpered.

"Heh... Too bad."

* * *

Hearing what sounded like a bang, Carith opened her eyes and immediately stood up, fearing for the worst, _Malefor!_ Running around and over towards the door, she opened it and wondered, _Why did he close the door?_ Once she made her way inside, she looked all around to see that no one was in the Training Room, but hearing and seeing a piece of rubble hit the ground, she looked up to the roof and saw a hole in the ceiling. _Who... Spyro?!_ Turning around, she made her way over to the other bedroom, and just as she got to the door, Cynder had stood by the doorway, rubbing her eye and asking, "Are those two fighting," Both giving sighs, she hoped that they at least wouldn't kill each other, and taking her paw down from her eye, she spoke "Well, they did say they would have their fight. At least they can get it out of the way now and be friends. Then, it's over, and we never have to worry for those two ever again."

"Yeah but, even still, how far is Spyro going to take the battle?"

"If Spyro takes too long, I will call him and stop the battle. But for now, should we head down to the Chambers?"

"Yeah... Once we get down there, let's give it a couple more minutes at least. Don't want Spyro to come back and want to hurt him some more in the coming days."

* * *

"Malefor! Where are you!" Spyro yelled out, unable to find where Malefor went after their slight battle, "Alright then, let me get rid of the surrounding area." Brining all of his clones back to his body, he felt his power light up within him, and this gave him the strengh that he needed, "And... snap," Brining his paw up and snapping his fingers, the entire surrounding area was flattened out, taking down trees for a good quarter mile, "There we go," Seeing for a second, he saw Malefor booked it away from him, running and flying over to the ocean, "Hehe, oh no no no." Kicking his wings outwards, he flung himself forward, putting a hole in the ground where he was, and with his speed, he turned into a dark blur for the time being, "I'm about to bust your ass."

Hearing a snapping wind coming towards him, Malefor looked behind himself to see Spyro flipping his body around, ready to kick him in the face. Ducking down on the floor, Spyro went right past him, and this was a great sign for Malefor as he went to attack, shooting an ice shard at him. Using his wings to snap himself around, Spyro eased his body on the ice shard, grabbed it with his paw and did a front flip before throwing it back at him. Just barely passing by his face, Malefor stood there in fear of what he just saw, both in speed, skill, and flexibility. Landing down on the ground, Spyro admitted, "You know, kinda wish you were much stronger then how you are now. First my love, and now you. I miss the challenge back with the Dark Master, though... he shouldn't have hurt Cynder, which I should've prevented."

"I did try and train my dark power, but even I have to admit, you using your dark powers puts me at a hella disadvantage. From one to another, could you fight without them?" Giving a sigh, it did seem more of a challenge for him, so, giving a sigh, Spyro let the darkness go back into his body, bringing back his bright purple color for his scales and eyes, "There we go. Now I have more of a chance," Getting back into his fighting stance, all Spyro could do was chuckle, sitting down and mocking him, "Cocky dragon you are."

"Cynder said the same thing."

"Well, unlike Cynder, I'm gonna kick your ass."

"Hah! Funny joke."

Kicking off the ground, Malefor swung his fist forward, but all Spyro had to do was move his head and avoid the punch. Now with Malefor exposed, Spyro twisted his arm underneath his, wrapping it around his arm and slamming his palm from his other paw into his chin. Hearing what sounded like a crack, he let Malefor go and watched as he backed off, holding his chin and growling, "Damn Dog! Where in the hell did you learn these... moves... Holy hell," Rolling his eyes, but still smiling, Spyro knew this fight wasn't to last long, but Malefor had to chuckle at himself, "You know, Cynder might like these moves, especially in bed."

"Oh, ha ha, very funny. You call Volteer a bitch in bed, yet, I'm thinking Carith's gonna be on top more then you."

"So, you believe she will be my mate?"

"I mean... You are rather an easy target, are you not?"

"Alright, you know what!" Flexing out his body and busting his paw into the ground, he wanted to fight for real now, "I'm gonna show that I can work and play just as hard as you do! I'm gonna give you the fight you want so badly!"

Kicking off his back paws and doing the same as before, he sung his paw over the left of Spyro's side, and seeing as he was ready to do the same move, Malefor anticipated this. As his arm was grabbed with Spyro ready to hit him in the chin once again, he used his wind powers to flip himself forward, over him, and grabbing a hold of the back of his neck, he flipped Spyro backwards and over him. Landing down on his paws, Malefor tossed Spyro to the ground, making him head straight to the ground and land right on his head. Just as he was about to hit the ground, Spyro used his dark powers to faze through his paw that had grabbed his neck. Kicking off the ground with his front two paws, he now stood in front of Malefor, and seeing how dumbfounded he was, Spyro could only chuckle, "Yeah, not going to let that work on me."

"The hell kind of bull shit was that?!" Malefor cried.

"This is fun, that's for sure."

* * *

"I was thinking of a hypothetical question just to have some fun," Cynder spoke, wanting to have a little fun as they made their way to the Chambers, "Hypothetically, if you were as strong as Spyro, what would you do? Where would you go? You'll still have your slim body of course and nothing will change, but would you make Malefor pay for what he's done, or, what?"

"Hum... Well, since I could bust the sound barrier, I would like to explore the world some more, see what I'm missing."

"I wonder how the Guardians would react to that question," Seeing as they were right at the Chamber entrance, she knew she didn't have to wait long to get her answer, and with her and Carith turning into the Chambers, the Guardians of course were already sitting in the row they normally did, "Alright guys, and Claire, I have a hypothetical real quick just to pass the time." Sitting down at the left wall from the entrance, Carith sat down near her right wall and knew what the answer was going to be from the others rather quickly, "If you had the same powers as Spyro, what would you do and or where would you go?"

"We'd kill Malefor," Everyone agreed, laughing even from everyone saying in unison.

"You all are horrible. Let that poor man live his life," Carith whimpered.

"He is living a life, and that's the unfortunate part," Terrador grumbled, giving a slight smile even.

"Well, backing off from the hypothetical, what are we to do today? I do kinda wish we could go somewhere rather then being in the Chambers," Cynder wondered, and everyone else did as well aside from Ignitus as he worried for today, but he made sure to stay calm and not be suspicious, "Don't get me wrong, I love being here, but I wish to do something fun. Oh, I have a great idea. Ersa, do you have any potions that we could test and have fun with as before?"

"Oh, well... Ahem... I've been rather... preoccupied," Ersa gave a blush, smiling even, and everyone else blushed as they knew what she was talking about.

"Damn... Can you two go one day without... doing... stuff?" Cyril asked, feeling a little uncomfortable just to ask.

"Look, unless you understand yourself, don't come at me with your aggression."

"Don't make a joke, Ersa!" Terrador cut in, seeing she was to say something, so in order to make another conversation, he asked, "So where are the other two at?"

"Fighting... again. They are having their last battle as enemies," Carith answered.

"I don't mean to rush this but, Cynder, may you call Spyro back," Ignitus's fear was very noticeable in his voice, and even though he controlled his shivers, he couldn't control his voice, and since he saw everyone's suspicion, he gave a sigh, "Look... I can say right now, Flint is to attack rather soon, and I don't know if it could be today or tomorrow, but I know, last thing we need is for those two to blow through their powers," Giving a nod, Cynder used the darkness around her heart for a second, and once she felt his heart beat, she let the darkness fall back down, "Thank you."

"You do make a good point, so, it's the least I could do. And, also, we don't know how long they've been fighting, so it's just best to stop them now and let them become friends," Cynder agreed to everything Ignitus was saying, so it was a rather easy task for her to do.

The Chambers grew quiet for the time being as no one knew what to say, especially with Malefor gone, so they didn't have someone constantly talking. After waiting for a couple more seconds, they heard what sounded like glass breaking, which came from their sleeping Chambers. With everyone looking at the door, another crash was heard. From above the door, Spyro and Malefor came crashing through the wall, sending rubble all throughout the room, and using their wings, the Guardians protected them selves while Ignitus and Volteer protected their lover's. During front flips on the ground in the middle of the room, they exited the Chamber entrance and hitting Malefor's back against the wall, breathing just as heavily as Spyro, he was pinned against the wall, tail blade by his neck and on his back two paws along with Spyro. Trying to control their breaths, they both gave smiles to one another before Spyro backed off him and the two fell back down to their front paws. Taking his tail blade back, he shuck it off, turned, and asked his lover as he looked to her, "You called, my love?" Seeing everyone was still in shock of their entrance, Malefor walked to where Carith was, and for Spyro, he walked over to the left wall where Cynder was, "My bad. I knew I needed to get Malefor back to the Chambers so, I tackled him."

"Hehe, yeah, that shit hurt too. When he means tackle, he means he grabbed my neck first and threw me to the window before actually tackling," Malefor laughed, but once he looked around his body and seeing how dirty he was, along with Spyro once he picked his head up, he asked to Ignitus, "Hey, Ignitus, can you help us out and use your powers to clean up our dirty bodies?" Getting a nod from him, he brought up a paw and snapped his fingers, and once he did, their bodies slowly cleaned up of their dirt and some blood that had been spilled, "Thanks... And also, Thank Ancestors that was our last fight, Spyro," Pausing for a second, he watched as the rubble cleaned itself up while also cleaning the others bodies from the dust, and once Spyro sat down next to his lover, Malefor continued, "I'm definitely going to need your help when it comes to future training. That bull ass move you did with that ice shard was broken."

"What ice shard move?" Cynder asked.

"I shot an ice shard at him, he twisted in the air, stood on it, grabbed it, did a front flip, and threw it back at me," Getting wide eyes from everyone as they looked to Spyro, all he could do was chuckle as Malefor talked more of his powers, "He also snap his fingers so hard that it leveled the damn forest. And for another one which hurt like a bitch, I went to attack him, swung my fist, but as I passed his face, he wrapped his paw around my arm and slammed his palm from his other paw to my chin."

"Uhhhhh..." With everyone at a lost for words, Cynder looked to Spyro and asked as she wondered, "So... You want to make out or what?"

"Hehe, I mean, if you want to," Spyro chuckled

"Please don't. We already have to hear of Volteer and Ersa. Please no more mushy stuff," Terrador begged.

"Spyro did the same thing to me as well. When I went to attack him, he jumped to my tail blade, touched like the top of it, did a back flip and landed to the ground with ease," With more and more of talks about Spyro's skill, Ignitus wondered if he even needed to worry at all about the battle to come, and with Cynder talking more about what Spyro had done, it only made him feel more comfortable, "Mind you, my tail blade had poison dripping from it, so he somehow managed to avoid that as well."

"Hey, I know that we are talking about your skill and all, but, if it's okay with you... could we make our friendship official?" Malefor asked all the sudden, and everyone looked to Spyro as he wondered what he should say, and feeling as if he was still on the edge of what to do, he assured him, "Look, Spyro, if you do need more time, I understand. I don't what you to have anymore doubts about me."

"No... You're right, I just need to call it as it is..." Getting a wide smile from Malefor, Spyro rolled his eyes, smiling as well, "You've... done a lot, and I already gave my speech from before, so I don't believe anything more needs to be said," Everyone smiled as they looked to Malefor, watching as tail wagged from joy, and they listened to what Spyro had to say, "Malefor... After everything that has happened, I hope I can trust as my ally, and no longer as an enemy, but rather, my frien..." Hearing a loud explosion along with a massive rumbling, Spyro cried out, "What the hell was that?!"

"No... No no no!" Ignitus cried, standing up and running out of the Chambers, and since he was so panicked, everyone quickly got up as well and followed, "I knew he was going to attack! I shouldn't have let those two fight, I should've let him heal, I should've let him rest!" Making it around to the ground steps, his body skid as he bashed his shoulder onto the wall, but shrugging it off, he continued his way over to the door, "Spyro, my son, please understand what is to happen, who your enemy is."

Bashing into the door, Ignitus turned to his left and gasped as he looked over Warfang. With the others making it outside as well, they all did the same, turning to their left and looking over Warfang. With everyone else giving out a gasp, Spyro was the main one to look over the battlefield in shock, unable to give out anything. Three holes were blown in Warfang; one to the left, another to the right, and to the front, the massive sized door had been blown down. From each of the three holes stormed in apes, dark creatures, and even dragons. Now looking up, his eye grew wide to see something else that he didn't understand of how. The Destroyer started to make its way over to the Volcano as it had once did before. With everything going on all at once, it was rather overwhelming to him, but immediately, his body stood straight up as he knew who this could've been tied to. The other all backed off from him as his darkness slowly started to take over his body. His body tensed, his frustration was heard through his teeth as he growled, and watching as he turned, he yelled at Malefor, "No... No no no! I TRUSTED YOU!" Watching as he tried to defend himself, Spyro threw his paw sideways, kicking up wind and causing everyone to slide back even more, "YOU USED ME! You knew this was to happen today! You made me blow through my power! YOU SON OF A BITCH! Shedding tears from his eyes, he took a step forward, burning the ground as he did, "I trusted you... I believed you... AND YOU TOOK THAT TRUST AND DESTROYED IT! Just like the same as you're to do to the world." Taking another step forward, Cynder and Carith jumped in front of him, blocking him with their wings to defend, "CARITH! CYNDER! MOVE!"

"NO!" Cynder cried, knowing this was to happen, and she needed to calm him as quickly as possible, "I knew this was to happen, we all knew this was to happen, Spyro, and we've told you constantly that you'll be fighting someone of which you didn't need to! Malefor is not your enemy. Someone else is out there, controlling the darkness," Getting wide eyes from what she was saying, this confirmed his suspicions of another Dark Master, "Spyro, please, if we don't focus, your death really will happen, and I will lose you... Please, don't do this."

"Carith... Cynder... Please back up," Malefor whispered, and seeing them look to him, he pushed through their wings by walking between them, causing them to take their wings back, "Spyro..." Sitting down in front of him, Spyro was ready for an attack, but it was rather the opposite, "If you don't believe them, then kill me. You've always wanted to, and if you don't trust me... I understand," Giving a growl, he watched as more tears dripped from Spyro's eyes, and seeing this was difficult for him, he begged for his help, "I didn't plan this, I didn't want to betray your trust in me, and I never will. But the longer we sit here and wait, the more that could die, so please, just believe me, trust me as you always have, and I will never let you down."

The Guardians and girls looked to see the friends and Celia flying over behind Spyro and Blitz spoke, "We can keep them busy while you all get together. My and Celia will take the left, Sesal takes right, and Bolt will take the middle. We will need back up as soon as you can." Flying away, he looked to his friends and begged for them to be safe, "Bolt, Sesal, watch your backs. I don't want to lose either of you."

Still unable to think of what to do, Spyro came up with his own plan, making two clones, one to his left, and one to his right, "Stay here, all of you! I've worked my ass off to make sure I could protect you all and that's exactly what I am to do," Turning away from everyone and facing Warfang, Spyro whispered to Malefor, hoping he would keep his word, "If you really are still, Malefor, keep everyone safe for me while I battle. I can't have a distraction or else I will fail."

"You need me, Spyro. What about that battle of who is to kill the most dark creatures..."

"THIS ISN'T A GAME!" Spyro yelled in frustrations over his words, "Stay here, don't move, and don't say anything else to me ever again," Kicking off the ground and cracking the concrete of where he stood, one clone went to the left, another to the right, and for Spyro, he made his way to the middle.

Everyone watched as the Spyro's went their own separate ways, and the others wondered how he would deal with this battle. Seeing each clone have a massive shine of something from within their paws, they threw it near the hole of each of the openings, and once they impacted, Warfang lit up like a fire work, killing hundreds of the enemies to the point of where the attack stopped for a couple of seconds before they continue pouring in again. Seeing his display of power, they all walked up to the front and watched more of his battle, and Terrador wondered if they even needed to do anything, "Spyro... really could single out this war, couldn't he?"

"Yes, but then the earth will be destroyed if he does," Ignitus spoke, and everyone wondered what he meant by this, "His power is the only way to stop the Destroyer, and with his battle to Malefor, and his use of powers now, he's going to run out before he even gets to the Destroyer," Looking over to his friend, Volteer, they needed a plan quickly, "Volteer, we need that smart brain of yours. I don't wish to put pressure on you, but we need one right now."

"Uh... Oh... Okay," Giving a huge sigh and trying to control his breathing, he had a perfect plan for the time being, "Terrador, help Sesal as he might be the weakest. Cyril, help Bolt, and for Ignitus, you said you could fight, and since the most are coming in from the middle, you and Claire fight there."

"About time I can put my assassin skills back to work," Claire smirked, pulling up her tail blade up as she was ready when ever.

"Me and Ersa will make some red gem potions to help all of you around, along with some stamina ones as well," Thinking of what else there was to do, he needed to know where the others were to go, "Malefor put effort to the right. Cynder, since Spyro's real body is middle, go middle. Once you all are done, help assist other sides as soon as you can," Seeing as a dark dragon was heading for them, he called him out, "But first, we need to deal with who ever this is."

With the dark dragon landing more towards the steps, everyone looked to him, and this dark dragon was made of complete darkness and not completely real, "Hello, Cynder, my love," Snarling at him, Cynder knew it was Flint's voice, and with her growl, he growled back, "You could've prevented all of this. This isn't on me, this is on you. But tell you what; If you join me now, I can call off the attack and the Destroyer, and we can live a rather happy life together."

"Go to hell!"

"Not nice, Cynder. But tell you what, how about I take control of you real quick and force another problem?"

In an instant, the dark dragon and his darkness split into two, one going into Cynder and another going into Malefor. Both of them fell to the floor as they tried to fight back this darkness that felt like it was tearing up their bodies from the inside. The others backed up from them, unknowing of what to do, but Cynder had an idea of how to fight back. Using a slight portion of the darkness Spyro gave, she heard his heart, and it was beating rather fast, but she knew she got his attention. For Malefor, this was a big fear for him, and he didn't wish to turn, _Carith is here! The Guardians... Claire... Cynder! I can't put them through this pain! Never again!_ The Guardians looked up to see Spyro had came over, still in his dark form, and as he walked up to Cynder, he helped her up first. Putting a paw against her chest, he pulled his paw back, grabbing the darkness away from her. With all the darkness extracted from with her, the darkness formed in a ball in his palm, and crushing the darkness from within his paw, the darkness was completely destroyed. Giving out a huge sigh with sweat dripping down her body, she thanked him, "Thank you... for the save... my love."

Reaching his paw forward and putting his paw on her chest one again, he erupted darkness into her body, keeping her safe from any other future attempt. Walking past her and around her side, he walked up to Malefor and was about to do the same, but he cried out, "No! Don't!" Raising a brow, Spyro wondered as to why he would say this, and he believed it was cause he wanted to turn, but he was proven wrong, "I won't harm you... all... ever again... I'm not turning... I never will!" Tensing his body, he stood on his back two paws, extended his wings and yelled, "NEVER AGAIN!" The darkness exploded from within his body, and feeling the darkness from within him, he landed back on his two paws, but while gasping for air, he saw he was still darkened, "Why... Am I still... Dark?" Looking up to Spyro, he didn't feel anything wrong with him, and looking around his paw, he laughed, "He... Hehehe... Hahaha! I did it! I got that shit down, I shut it down, and look at me!" His body, similar to Spyro flexed, now having control over his darkness, he cried happily, "Spyro! I did it! I... I did it... And it's all thanks to you."

Carith gave off a blush to see this new form of his, and she wondered as she asked him, hoping that he would hear, but he didn't, "Take me..."

Hearing cries from the citizens from Warfang, Volteer canceled out her voice and quickly called out, "You all need to go! And change of plans with this new development! Terrador, Cyril, go middle! That's where the most are coming from. Ignitus, Claire, go left! Malefor and Carith, take on right," Getting nods from everyone, they all did as they were told, opening their wings and flying to where they needed to be, and now all that was left was Cynder, "Spyro, you can't stop Cynder. If she wishes to fight, you need to bring your clones back together and fight along side her as you have before."

Looking behind himself, Spyro wondered how she would react to his words, and Cynder already had her tail blade ready, "Now with this extra darkness you gave me, we should be able to synchronize as we did once before," Giving a sigh, he understood where she was coming from, and watching him open his wings, she did the same, and once he took to the skies, she did the same, "Don't worry, I will stay by your side the entire time."

"Well then, with the darkness I gave you, I can control your darkness, so you should be able to hold that darkened form as well," Spyro finally spoke, and reaching the front of the door entrance rather quickly, he gave a smirk as he did see this as fun, "Now, let's deal with these enemies," With his clones coming back to his body, he erupted his body back into full power, and once he did, he spoke to her, "Now, use the darkness within you, and we will synchronize," Doing as she was told, the two floated into the air for a second, being lifted off the ground, and once their darkness was synchronized, they fell back down to the ground, "Your body will stay the same color, you'll just have a slight dark aura."

"Enough talk! I want to kill!" Feeling blood thirsty with this new power, she rushed in head on, and following behind her was Spyro as he stayed close by her.

With the two running in to assist Bolt in his attempts to hold back the enemy combatants, he jumped back from one of their attacks, but as he did, the dark creature was slashed in two as Cynder ran past him. Then looking to his right, he watched as Spyro ran into battle, nearly invincible once he ran head first into the fight. Watching as the front of Warfang was being rather protected very well, he backed up some more and wondered, _Do they... really need my help?_ His question was answered once he saw the two shooting out a black beam that leveled the battle field, and now knowing what to do, he turned around, opened his wings, and thought of what to do next, "Guess I should assist Blitz and his army."

* * *

With the forces that stormed the left side of Warfang, Blitz and Celia had some trouble trying to hold the forces back, and both hoped here soon that they would have some kind of reinforcements. Being slightly over whelmed, both him and Celia took some slashes from the apes and dark forces, each slash making it more and more difficult to continue. Now being overwhelmed herself, Celia fell to the ground, taking a spear to her arm that went through her body and touching the concrete as it came out the other side of her shoulder. Turning to see this, Blitz cried out, "Celia!" Running over to her, he kept a field of fire near his right side to cover him like a shield for a time being, but once he made it to Celia, he knew he had to act fast, "I got you, I got you," Picking up her body with his wings and falling back, he backed away in towards Warfang, wondering what he should do, "Damnit... They are going to swarm this area." Hearing a snap, he watched as all the forces that stormed the area disintegrated into dark ashes, even the apes, which made him stop, "What the hell?"

"Blitz, go to the Training Room," A voice spoke, and watching as Ignitus landed in front of him along with Claire, he continued, "Spyro made a hole in the roof already, so go through there and go to the gem room right under it. We can hold the line till you get back," Giving a nod, he did as he was told, and switching her to his arms, he opened his wings and flew to where he was told, "Now with Blitz out of the way, you seem ready to murder, my love."

"Hehe, well, not being able to kill you all, I've wanted to hurt something, and knowing I can kill these troops will make me all too happy," The troops poured into the side once again, now making them prepare for another battle, "Leave some for me of course, and I don't mind this at all but, do you mind, watching my back?" Hearing him give a chuckle, he knew what she meant by this, and giving him a smile, she knew he agreed, "Just try and attack normally. Using your powers would make this rather too easily."

"Well, I can only do so much. My power for this battle has been limited by the Ancestors, so."

Blocking a spear that was thrown to Ignitus by using an ice shard to knock it out of the air, it was a little frustrating for her to hear this, "Of course the Ancestors would want us dead."

"I could easily end these enemies if they allowed me, but I most fight normally after what I just did."

"Then normally we shall fight."

* * *

With Terrador and Cyril standing on a building, over looking the front entrance battle, they looked at one another, wondering if they even needed to help as it seemed the other two were handling things just fine. They looked away from the battle and watched as Bolt flew away from the battle and over to the left side of Warfang, hoping he could be useful somewhere else. Hearing screams and cries behind them, the two turned to see that the enemy still made it in, and slapping Cyril on the shoulder, he knew what they needed to do, "We need to just protect the citizens. Me and you will be damage control." Jumping off the building, they used their wings to ease their descent, and now to the ground, they ran in to help defend those around the area, "Stay close. We don't need to be making things more difficult for the two of us."

"But, what about Malefor? Do you really think he can do everything on that side with just him, Carith, and Sesal?"

"We just have to hope."

* * *

Landing down on the battle field to the right of Warfang, Malefor watched to see Sesal was struggling, bleeding down his arms, legs, and wings. Unfortunately, he was unable to get the enemies from coming in to Warfang, which made him fall to the ground in defeat. _I... Can't... do this... I... failed._ Hearing steps to his right, he saw something dark, similar to a dark creature, letting him know what was to happen, _So then... This is where I die._ Watching as the dark figure walked in front of him, it seemed like a dragon, and once he spoke, Sesal knew who this was, "Go and recover. Ersa and Volteer will be out any moment now, and last thing we need is a death," Sesal chuckled at his words, but Malefor smiled as he knew what he was thinking, "I will be fine. Just go," Doing as he was told, it took him a bit to stand, but once he did, he turned and flew to the air, not really knowing where to go aside from assisting else where, "Now that he's gone, let's see what this power holds."

With Carith sitting down at the back of the battlefield, she smiled and wished to cheer him on, "I'll be watching my love! If you need me to join, just say so."

Giving a huge smile, he was happy Carith was with him, and since she was with him, he thought to himself, _don't mess this up. You must, protect her, protect my love._ Pulling up a paw and pointing one claw forward, he shot a black beam from out of his finger, sniping through the enemies and going far enough to put a dent in the forces. _Whoa... I wonder what else I can do._ Seeing himself being surrounded, he stood up on his back two paws, putting a thumb up and his finger forward, and with this, he shot his sniper shot from both of his paws. The shots penetrated through everything, wiping out enemies in a line, but as cool as it was for him, he saw he was still getting surrounded, so he wish to try something else out. Opening his wings and flying upwards, he let his wings go, flying just a little bit more upwards from his momentum. With his body hurtling back to the ground, he raised his two front paws upwards. Once reaching the ground, he slammed his paws to the ground, exploding the ground around him, sending out his dark powers throughout the area and dealing with all those around him. Smiling wide, this reminded him of another similar power, "This is just like that titan from that one book! If I sent out an electric attack that was blue, I would be exactly like the striker! Hell yeah man! This is friggen AMAZING! And with my fingers, what if I made my own golden gun?! Oh ho ho HO! I must try!" Looking behind himself, smiling wide once again, he wondered if she had seen that, "Carith! What do you think?!"

"I'm thinking about grabbing those lips of yours with my own if you keep this up!"

"Hehe, Hell Yeah!"

* * *

Swinging his boulder tail around which knocked and killed an enemy as it slammed to the wall, Terrador turned to his right and watched as a building was coming down, but making things worse, dragons were running from it who seemed like a couple. Taking some steps forward, he believed they should be fine to make it out of the reach of the building, but the green female fell to the ground, hitting her head on the pavement and knocking her out for the time being. Gasping, Terrador ran over to her, and turning to look to his left, he saw the red dragon waved his paw and left her. _Bastard!_ Making it over to the female, he didn't think wise enough with his reaction, so, standing above her body, he let the building fall down on his back, breaking the ground around his paws from the weight of the building. _DAMN! This shit is... heavy!_ The female came to, and with her coming back, she looked up, gasping to see Terrador above her, keeping the building up and trying to protect her. With her now awake, Terrador tried to speak, but he mainly growled, "GO...! Run...!"

"Bu... But why did you... Where did the red dragon go?" The female asked.

"He... left...! I would... love to talk more, but... I can't... hold this...!"

"Let me help."

Crawling from out underneath him, she stood up once she rolled to her paws. Using her powers, she made a couple of pillars made out of earth to help him out. Now with the pillars supporting the building, Terrador gave a huge sigh, falling down to the ground as his body felt horrible, like his limbs had just ripped. Walking up to his side, she used her wings by putting one over and around his body. Helping him out from underneath the building, just as they got away from underneath it, the pillars cracked before they broke, causing the building to fall to the ground, making dust kick to the air with the thud. Giving a sigh and a smile, he thanked her for the help, "Thank you... And also, sorry. I should've just used my powers to help, but I just... reacted."

"That building could've killed me... I should be the one who's thanking you."

"Did I just see you get saved by a girl, Terrador," Cyril snickered, running up and to the front of him.

"What's wrong with that?" The two asked in unison.

"Nothing... I wonder what Malefor would say to this."

"Do not tell him anything! I don't trust him."

"Because of... what's happening."

"No, we all know the truth. I'm talking about what he would say. I will hurt him."

"It will be brought up sooner or later."

"Unfortunately... Keep going around and helping those around us... I need to recover just... a bit," Getting a nod, Cyril opened his wings and flew up to the sky, looking around for anyone whom may needed help, and now with him gone, he was able to get back to his paws, angered by what Cyril had done, "I told him to stay with me, and he could've helped but, why would he have done that? He's too busy cracking a Damn joke," Hearing her giggle, he surprisingly gave a chuckle himself, and now getting his energy back, she felt him ease back to the ground, so she took her wing back from around him, putting them back to her side, "I know I already said this, but... Thanks."

"Anytime."

"Anytime?"

"Well... Now that I've been able to talk with you... I... Wondered if I... could some more?"

"Are you scared to talk with the Guardians."

"Of course! But... Seeing that you two were joking as normal dragons... I... I wonder what else is... normal about you."

"You don't have to be so scared to speak. I'm just here to help."

"Would it be... rude for me to... stop by and talk?"

"Absolutely not. We all wish to smile, and I'm sure if you wish to as well, you'll feel right at home."

"Really?!" The green female smiled, even wagging her tail, but trying to control herself, she wanted to apologize, "Sorry, it's just... After what my boyfriend just did, I... Want to move away from that life and hopefully start another one without him..." Wondering what she meant by that, she blushed and waved her paws in front of her face, "No no no, not like that! I just mean like, a change of atmosphere. It would be really nice to meet those who are also rather nice and... comfortable around me."

"Well, the girls would be happy to see you of course."

"It... Really does sound nice."

"So, after this war is over with, would you... like to stop by tomorrow?"

"You really would let me...?"

"We are just normal dragons."

"Oh, right, sorry... Tomorrow sounds nice."

"For now, seek safety and we can meet up later."

"Once again... that sounds rather... not rather, but... very, nice."

Smiling at one another, she turned and ran to a safe place, and it was rather surprising for him to smile as wide as he did, and even he thought about it himself, _Why am I smiling?! I shouldn't be doing such a thing. Just, remember what's happened before! Don't get attached to love or anything like that anymore._ Landing down next to him, Cyril smirked as he had saw the whole thing, and bumping his shoulder with his, he asked, "So, uh, what was that little spiciness that I just saw? I haven't seen you smile so big in your life."

"What?!" Terrador growled, shaking his head which got him back to himself, "I wasn't smiling! Wh-why aren't you helping around the area?!"

"Oh, I met up with Sesal and Bolt. Sesal was rather hurt, but he said he could still fight with help. Once we split up, I came back here to help and see you two... flirting I assume? I saw some blushes between you two."

"I want to hurt you so damn badly... Just forget what you saw, understand! I'm done with relationships, alright!"

"Okay, okay, calm down."

* * *

"Alright, we have everything we need here. The only problem is how long it will take to mix the chemicals. We need to snap the Crystal right and we need the right mix," Volteer spoke rather quickly, running back and forth with his mate from their tables as they made their potions, "We need to make sure these work better then red and green gems. Giving a boost will help them out, similar to Spyro's time power," Being quick about it, he snapped a red gem, grabbed some dust, dropped it in, grabbed a spoon, mixed it, and for his finale, he threw in a small little purple crystal, "Alright, now just to mix and electrify it." Hearing someone or something fall, he looked to his left, seeing it was Ersa as she nearly passed out from her anxiety, "Ersa!" Taking the spoon out and putting it down on the table, he ran over to her, comforting her as he put his wings around her as she sat there, "It's okay, my love, it's okay."

"I... I'm sorry, I just... I... I couldn't handle the Destroy the first time, the wall of fire, the panic, the fear, the world being destroyed... Thinking you could be dead-Volteer... I... I don't want to lose all of this," Ersa cried, shivering and snuggling up to him as she enjoyed his comfort.

"That's not going to happen. Ignitus will never understand everything, and remember, the Ancestors tried to scare you during that nightmare and failed. So just the same, they will fail with what ever they have planned now, okay?" His words helped her back her head up and look to his eyes, which, to give her more comfort, he wiped away a tear, whispering to her in a soothing tone, "We will be fine... Work with ease, don't push yourself... I can do the work as I'm most trained in this. All I need are the gems that I ask for, okay."

"Oh... Okay... I can... do that."

"After this is all done with, I know how to calm you better tonight, okay?"

"Hehe... Giving me something to look forward to definitely gives me the energy to stand up and keep going."

"You just love me."

"Yeah. Everything, about you."

* * *

Now with the entire front of Warfang having been dealt with, Cynder smiled wide, happy with all of the destruction that had happened, "I haven't felt this alive in forever!" Turning to see Spyro smirking with a raised brow, she giggled as she corrected herself, "What I meant was, I haven't felt so blood thirsty in forever," Turning back and facing the Destroyer, she knew what they needed to do next, "Everyone else should have Warfang covered, so what do you say we live some of the past and deal with that big bitch."

"Cynder..." Spyro murmured, getting her attention as she turned back around, "If... he makes it... and... I can't stop it..."

"NO!" Cynder quickly growled, "You and Malefor, we, all of us, together, will take it out!" Walking up to him, putting her tail blade tip against his chest and threatening him, it was rather scary for him, but he still enjoyed himself, "We are going to deal with it, then, we are going back to our room and make out with the remainder of your power, do I make myself clear!" Giving a hard swallow, he didn't reject what she said, fearing for his life as he knew there was nothing he could do, "Save that swallowing for my poison, understand? Now, let's go and figure out a plan on how we could deal with him."

* * *

Letting out his fire, Ignitus killed a couple more troops to end off their side. Looking over to his right, he saw Claire stand above an ape, slitting its throat before falling back to the ground as it disappeared. Giving a hard swallow for this, Claire turned to see this, and seeing his fears, she used this for her own advantage, "Man you're a lucky dragon. Sent to kill you just to end up loving you. Now that I've used my tail blade, pretty sure the Guardians are safe now for what happened," Standing in front of him and putting a claw to his lips, she gave a sad frown as a joke, "Someone's lips need some loving, don't they?"

"Hehe... Not just yet. We've almost cleared out the enemies, and then, we just have to deal with the Destroyer."

"Yeah, he's going to be the biggest problem," Claire sighed, taking her claw from his lips.

"Ignitus!" Hearing his name called and looking behind himself, they saw it was Blitz and Celia once again, and he was the one to speak, "We are here and ready to... back you... up... where's the threat?"

"Dead."

"Oh... I, apologize for being absent for such a thing."

"I probably would've been more pissed off if you stayed. Killing those dark forces was rather fun. There were some dragons as well but, they turned and ran so, what ever, I guess."

"So you don't need any assists over here?" Bolt asked, landing next to Blitz, along with Sesal.

"No," Ignitus responded, and since it seemed like the battle was dying down for now, he gave his own plan on what they should do, "Now with you all here, regroup up at the Guardian's Building entrance. Volteer and Ersa should be out any moment and it seems to me you all, especially you, Sesal, need some medical attention," They all knew his words to be true as the friends looked to Sesal and his banged up body, so now all that was left was a couple other dragons, "Where's Terrador and Cyril? And does Malefor need help?"

"Um... Yeah... About... Malefor," Blitz chuckled.

"Is he doing okay?" Cyril asked, sitting on a building with Terrador by his side and watching as Malefor was having way too much fun with his new powers.

* * *

"GOLDEN GUN, BITCH!" Malefor laughed, standing up his back two paws and shooting fire from his paw, flicking his thumb with his other paw as though it was a revolver, "Bam Bam Bam! Oh no! The gun only has six shots, what do I do?!" Launching as he flew to the sky, he spun in a circle, throwing ice shards down on the enemies with fire inside of them, "BLADE DANCE!" With the shards of ice hitting the ground, the fire inside of them exploded, killing the entire rest of the army, but Malefor didn't know this and raised a paw into the air, pulling back out his gun "GOLDEN GUN!" Landing back to the ground and on his two paws, he looked around the battlefield, and seeing he had killed everything, he fell to his knees and cried, "No... There's no reason for me to live... NONE!"

"Should we help him?" Cyril asked.

"Naw... Let him cry a little more. Makes me feel good to see his pain," Terrador smirked as this was way more enjoyable then he thought.

"Yeah... You're right."

Walking over to her lover, Carith felt bad that he was having some much fun, only for it to be taken from him. Making over to his side, Malefor looked to his left, whimpering with quivering lips, but she saw something from his lips, and she called him out for it, "I can see you're already getting your lips wet with water. Does someone want a kiss now that the big bad monsters are gone," With him giving a nod, she smiled, putting a wing on his back and easing him down to the ground, "Just lay back then," With him on his back and her over him, she licked her own lips, ready for a well deserved kiss, "I shall do all the work for you."

Now with the two making out on the floor, Terrador grumbled, turned away, and suggested something else, "Now I just want to leave."

"Yeah... You're right," Cyril agreed, saying the same words as last time.

"Didn't you already say that?"

"I don't know, Terrador, did I? But if I'm being honest... Yeah... You're right."

"Keep doing that and I'm really going to break your neck."

"You're a mean one, mister Terrador."

"That joke was already made!"

* * *

Running down the hallway of the Guardian's Building, Ersa had her satchel on her right side as normal with Volteer by her left side. Once the two reached the door, they pushed it open and saw that most of the group was already there, waiting for them. All that sat there was the friends, Celia who now joined the group of friends, Ignitus, and Claire. Giving a sigh of relief, Ersa was glad to see that everyone so far made it out safely, but a couple were still missing, "Wait... Where's Malefor? Terrador, Cyril, Carith, and the other two?!"

"Whoa whoa, Ersa, calm down," Ignitus spoke, trying to calm her as he understood her stress, "Don't worry. We've all spoke together on what's happened and I decided to follow with them. While I'm speaking, can you please heal everyone that's around us right now?" She first focused Sesal as he was the most damage, so she grabbed a bottle and gave it to him, but seeing he didn't understand, Ignitus explained, "Just break it in your paws," With him healing himself and Ersa helping the others, he continued with his words, "Terrador, Cyril, Carith, and Malefor are together near the right wall and should be heading back soon. As for Spyro and Cynder... We, don't really know. But I'm assuming they are going to deal with the Destroyer?"

"All by themselves?!" Volteer cried out in unison with Ersa.

"Are we really that surprised though? It's the biggest problem as of right, but the question is, will they have enough power to deal with the Destroyer?"

Sitting down and thinking of what there was to do, Volteer had a thought that came to mind, but instead of thinking about it, he thought out loud, "Maybe we could destroy the Destroyer. Combining our elements into the Elemental Desolation, adding other elements within our fire power, Malefor and Spyro using their attacks; if we focused one specific spot, we could knock it out. Maybe it would help, or it would slow his progress," It sounded like a rather good plan, but it was all about execution of how they would preform this, "We'd all need to be lined up though. If one of us isn't using our full strength, then we could fail, but then again, we don't even know if he could heal himself."

"What are we talking about?" Terrador asked, landing in front of everyone and nearest to the edge with Cyril by his side.

"Dealing with the Destroyer."

"Wait, where's Malefor and Carith," Ersa tried her best to keep calm, and lucky for her, Terrador assured her of their safety.

"Malefor reeked havoc, and now, because of his show of power, Carith is now making out with him... on the ground... during this battle."

"I could use a make out session right about now."

"I think we all would like one with our loves," Claire admitted, wishing to have done the same with Ignitus.

"I know Terrador might want one with that female, that's for sure," Cyril joked, elbowing him in the shoulder, but now taking it too far, Terrador punched him in the shoulder, "UGH!" Falling down to his knees and holding the left side of his shoulder, his forehead ducked down to the ground as he cried, "Holy hell... Man down... Man... down!"

"Instead of waiting here any longer, I'm going to say we go with the plan I've already made," Volteer spoke, trying to get everyone's attention, "We all will go while the friends and Celia help around Warfang and make sure everyone's alright. And, instead of saying friends and Celia, I hope it's okay I just say friends which will include Celia."

"Well, me and Celia aren't... Friends," Blitz spoke, blushing even, but for everyone else, they saw this as him being rude.

"Thought you said you wouldn't do anything that would change our view of you?" Ignitus spoke with a rather unpleasant tone.

"No no no, not like that! When I mean we aren't friends, I mean that she's my... Lover..."

"WHAT?!" Everyone cried in unison.

"But... How... When?!" Ersa was the one to ask.

"Well... After he helped me in the Training Room... We had a little talk and I... already felt so comfortable around him. He made me some promises, and I... trust him to keep those to me," Celia spoke, and everyone smiled now as this was rather good news to hear all around as of right now, aside from the Destroyer, "I didn't want to rush it as of... What Cynder had said, but I've never met someone like Blitz before, and so... Like I said... I trust him."

"Now if you screw this up, we will definitely be pissed at you, Blitz," Terrador warned.

"I would not destroy this chance of a prefect life," Blitz spoke with a smile as he wasn't worried at all.

"While you might not, the Destroyer will," Ignitus spoke, looking to the Destroyer as it was only getting closer and closer to the Volcano, "We need to get the other two and head over to the Volcano as soon as we can."

* * *

Circling around the Destroyer in hopes of finding an opening, Spyro growled in the air as he flew, thinking as nothing made sense to him, _Why is the Destroyer moving with darkness? Why is it different then Malefor's darkness while still feeling like the Dark Master?! Who's really behind this?!_ His anger grew to the point that his darkness started to get out of control, but once he saw Cynder at the corner of his eye as she flew over to him, he controlled the darkness and spoke, "I can't find anyway to deal with the Destroyer. As of right now, our only best bet is to do as we did before when it attacked Warfang. The problem is, without those Crystals, it's next to unstoppable, and after it grabbed you the first time when we woke, this bastard still pisses me off."

"We will think of something," Backing up with Spyro and avoiding the shoulder of the Destroyer, Cynder spoke once again, "Maybe I can use my poison to help melt him down. As of right now, or beam of darkness could be our best bet, but even as strong as it is, it couldn't do anything to the thickness of the Destroyer, would it?" Seeing that her lover was thinking rather intensely, she continued to look around the Destroyer, now looking to his back and wondering if there was anything they could do, "Maybe... With Malefor's help, we could figure out where the darkness is originating from and take that out."

"Malefor would know where since he's using it."

"Spyro..."

"Sorry... I meant, used it."

"Maybe it's head?"

"Maybe it's chest, Maybe his leg, Maybe his eye. There's too many spots for us to go through, and at that point, he would just destroy the world anyway," Looking down and seeing everyone had been waving at them to come down, Spyro nudged his head to the ground, and she followed, "Maybe there is something I could do, but there is only one problem with it," Landing down in front of everyone along with Cynder, he gave out his idea to everyone, "The only thing I could think to do is to make it my power. Either I let myself become corrupted beyond what my mind could handle..."

"Please tell me there's an or," Cynder hoped.

"Or... I take the darkness from you, and Malefor, try my best to control it into my ball, and hit it with everything I have. But if that doesn't work, then... I don't know."

"We had an idea, Spyro," Volteer spoke from behind the others, "If we all use our abilities into one spot, we could theoretically be able to take it down."

"And what spot do we focus on?"

"It's leg for sure, taking out it's way of transportation basically."

"I... guess... But that thing knows how to use it's hands to climb, so he could just drag himself to the Volcano," Seeing that Malefor hadn't put his input in, Spyro called him out for it, "What's wrong, Malefor? You know how we could destroy this thing, but I'm assuming you don't want to say anything as you wish death upon us."

"Back off of that shit!" Malefor growled, upset that he didn't trust him, "There's nothing we can do. It's was made and used to do exactly what it's name stands for. Even if we did hit it from anywhere, it will just get back up. As long as there's darkness in there, it will continue. So the only thing we can do, is either kill the user, or let it complete its mission. Or better, you let the earth blow up, you try and pull it back together and die trying."

"Kill the user, huh. Well, you're right here, so I could end it right now and save billions."

"Try it then you puss!" Malefor growled, exploding into his dark form.

"Back off!" Spyro yelled, exploding out his own dark aura, "Know you place."

"My place is here on earth! You think I want to die?!"

"You've always wished death on others."

"As a joke! I'd never hurt my friends ever again."

"Yet your about to kill all of them."

"I'll kill you first then!"

"Malefor!" Carith cried.

"Spyro!" Cynder cried

Now with the two backing down from one another, Ignitus wanted to speak on behalf of Malefor, defending him even, "Spyro, my son. Since the very beginning, I've told you that he's never been our enemy, he's never wanted to be. I'm disappointed in you that you don't see..."

"I DO SEE IT!" Spyro yelled in frustration, turning and backing away from everyone before turning back around, "Malefor was supposed to be my friend. I trusted him, I called him that as we spared, but I never made it official. One of my supposed biggest enemy was now becoming my biggest friend, and now seeing all this, knowing that I was lied to, and that you all knew... You didn't tell me the truth to protect me, yet, now, because I didn't know the truth, I couldn't train up as I have, before this all happened!" Shedding a single tear, it made sense to all of them, but either way, it would've been a loss-lose, "And if I did know, I would've fought against Malefor anyway, so... I get it... This isn't easy for me... Ever since the day you came back, Malefor, I hated myself. But by betraying you, and for what you've done, I did the same to Cynder."

"Then why..."

"Because of my parents! Because of Cynder's parents! Because of what you did, because you didn't pay attention, you let the Chronicler betray you, and now, I feel I'm doing the same thing," His darkness along with Malefor's started to fade as there wasn't a balance of anger and sadness, but rather, just pure depression, "Now... With nothing to do, I may have to die even after the promises I've made to all of you. I've put darkness inside Cynder to protect her from anyone, and I did more after you had gained control of your darkness cause I didn't trust, you... And if I'm gone... It will protect her."

"But remember the dream, Spyro!" Cynder cried, "It's your darkness that kept me from turning. I know you weren't there to see it, but without you... what I will go through... Even if you do come back in three years, Ignitus gave us an easy future nightmare... Not the real thing..." Spyro didn't say anything for the time being, and looking behind herself, she asked Ignitus to get an idea of what they needed to do, "Ignitus, how much time do we have left until the Destroyer reaches the Volcano?"

"Well, with how far it was put back, I'd say only an hour," Ignitus answered.

"Spyro... In the next hour," Looking back over to him, she gave a frown as this was it, "This hour will decide if I live my life with you, or to never see you ever again... So what will you do?" This left him with a rather difficult decision, even though he knew which one to do, she made sure to give him a choice, "You sacrifice your life, and I'd probably later kill myself from the fears I have, or we fight this thing together, we make it through this, and we all go home."

"As we've always said we would, Spyro," Malefor murmured, and seeing Spyro give a sigh, he made a joke as to why this could be, "Let me guess, are you sighing cause you know I got more kills then you?"

"Volteer, What's the plan," Spyro asked, ignoring Malefor all together.

"We all attack his leg as I've said. If needed, Ersa has increased stamina gems that will give us an over boost if we need it. We will take out his body one by one, destroying his legs, then his arms. This should take it out for good," Volteer gave off the plan, and it did seem rather simple for a task, but he knew it was going to be much harder then what he was making it out to be, "Then again, we will need to use our ultimates basically twice; One to get through the left side of one leg, then the right on the same leg."

"Then I guess we should get started. Just follow me and we will get set up. We need to get some distance from the front of the Destroyer," Opening his wings and flying up to the sky, everyone followed Spyro one by one, but the one who flew next to him was Malefor, "I've already told you everything I have to say. You said it would suck, but you'd give me more time to think, and so, that's what I'm doing. I'm not going to give it much thought, but I will think about it."

"You really don't care for me or Carith, do you?" Malefor straight up asked.

"I found it rather annoying that someone so nice like Carith fell in love with someone like you."

"You say you won't kill me cause of how everyone would feel... but, if no one cared for me... would you kill me then?" It was a question that not even Spyro could give an answer to, so, he brought up more of the dream that had happened, "You know... The dream is right about one thing. Three years later, I will still be there to protect everyone. And even for you, Carith gave you the choice of her leaving or staying with me, and you, chose for me to stay with her."

"It is just a dream, is it not. It's just hopes and dreams, maybe even nightmares. It's not real."

"So if Cynder died and you saw her in a dream, you wouldn't care."

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HER DEATH!"

Now having felt like he stepped over the line, the two once again grew quiet, but luckily, they didn't have to stay quiet for too long as they reached their destination of where they wanted to be, about half a mile away from where the Destroyer was. With everyone stopping and landing down to the ground, they all lined up with the Guardians and the females in the back while the front lines stood Malefor and Spyro. With everyone ready, Spyro and Malefor let their bodies be consumed in their darkness, and same to them, Cynder let her dark aura show as well. With everyone charging up an attack, Spyro was the last one to do so as he was the one who wanted to call the order, "When I say so, fire. I can charge faster then all of you, and instead, I'll be using my ball of elements," They did as they were told, building up more on their attacks, and while they did this, Spyro raised up a paw to chest level, building up his ball of elements, "Ready..." With the ball of elements now complete and the darkness wrapping around his elements, he ran forward and yelled as he did, "Fire!"

Busting out all their elements, with everything activating all at once, the ground around all of them cracked. Combining all the elements in a single beam, the darkness from Malefor and Cynder only combined more into the powers, making them even more powerful. Just as the powers all connected and hit the Destroyer in the leg, Spyro kicked his wings upwards, flew as close as he could to the leg, and threw his elemental ball right at the leg of the Destroyer. Being so close to the blast, everything exploded all at once which sent him flying backwards. Trying to keep their abilities active as long as possible, Spyro's body skid on the ground, passing right to their side before popping up off the ground and snapping his back around a tree. With their powers running out, they all had to stop, closing their mouths completely, trying to control their breaths. Getting up to his paws, Spyro, along with everyone else looked to see the damage, and once the smoke cleared around it's leg as it kicked forward, the plan had worked. With Malefor crying happily, this was rather great news, "We did it! Just need to do it once more!"

"There's no way... we can..." Ignitus gave a painful breath, and even after the attack, fire still surrounded the inside of his mouth.

"What?! Why are you tired? Aren't you supposed to have the powers of the Ancestors?!"

"We are... outside of Warfang... Now I'm just a... normal dragon."

"They took your powers?!"

"Pretty... much."

"Ersa, what about your potions?! What happened to that?"

"While we could build up another... we are running into more problems than we thought," Ersa sighed, getting control over her breathing and trying to explain, "With our elemental use, our control over our elements is out of control. Even with the potions, we could maybe do it once more, but even if his leg was destroyed... he still has his other leg and arms. Me and Volteer wouldn't be able to make anymore in the time that we have."

"But you all were so sure of the plan?! What happened?!"

"I planned too much... We are weak... And I expected us to have more... but... we failed," Volteer murmured, falling to his rear as everyone had as well.

"Then there's only one thing we can do," Ignitus spoke, and looking to Cynder, everyone knew what this meant, and continuing, he whispered, "Get close to the Destroyer. Once he attacks, duck, but act like you got hit. Malefor, use your blood to act like she hit herself. It needs to be as real as possible," Hearing paw steps coming over, he looked over his shoulder and saw Spyro coming over, limping even as he lost a lot of power, "Spyro... if I'm being honest, your attack probably did the most. Our attack just contained the explosion and pushed it inwards."

"Then... Ugh... What do we do?" Spyro frowned, walking over to Cynder and seeing she wasn't doing all too well either.

"We just need to all attack it at once. Hopefully one of us will do some kind of damage to it."

"Well then..." Spyro's darkness exploded outwards but didn't consume his body as all it seemed to do was heal his body, "My darkness needs to recharge after that. Any more and I will lose control," Opening his wings and ready to battle once again, he locked eyes with his love and gave her another promise, "I'm not going to fail... Not after what you've told me, not after the promises I've made," All she could do was shed a single tear, trying to get herself up after that attack, but not seeing her fear, he looked to Malefor and asked him for help, "Malefor... I... Can't do this alone."

"Finally brother from another mother!" Malefor happily cried, but even for himself, it seemed as he lost his dark power as he went back to his normal form, "When ever you're ready!"

As they stood ready to fly, opening their wings even, everyone looked straight, seeing something heading straight for them from the runes of the destroyed remains of the forest. Giving an annoyed sigh, Spyro made out who they were, which only made this even more difficult for them, "Great... more dark creatures," Getting into a fighting stance, Spyro stood ready, but Malefor didn't, "You know, if this is you, Malefor, can you piss off with these dark creatures? They're just becoming annoying at this point."

"No... No no no, this is... This is great!" Malefor cried happily once again, confusing everyone with his words, even making Spyro show his teeth, but his words changed everyone's perspective, "I get to use my powers again! But which one should I use? Golden gun? Striker? Blade dance? Or maybe I could use another one, such as the flaming hammer, but how could I do such a thing... Sun Breaker! That's what the class was called! Now all I need is a sentinel shield."

"Hey, you can't just steal all those moves," Volteer called him out as he knew all about what he was saying, "You're literally taking the move names, acting out the same move, and making it seem like you were the one to create it. Make up another name for your move set."

"Hell no. That's like saying, if I call you a dragon, then someone else said that to someone else, then that would be stealing, even though it's not, it's just true. So by me using the same move and names, I'm not stealing, but just making it true as it needs to be. And it'd be plagiarizing if I used these abilities and said I came up with it, which I didn't, so, what is the problem here?"

"For the love of fu... Just kill me."

"See, no argument."

"Because your stupidness is beyond what my brain can handle!"

"Unless you become a badass, you'll never understand."

"They are coming at us!" Spyro growled, bursting into his dark form to prepare, but Malefor stopped him.

"Wait! Don't," Taking steps forward and walking in front of everyone, he smiled wide as he wished to use his powers once again, "You go deal with the Destroyer. His wound will heal over with darkness if we don't keep pressure on it, and don't worry; While you're gone, I can keep everyone protected as well," It seemed like a lot for him to handle, but watching as Malefor ran into battle, jumping up in the air and setting his paw on fire, it seemed as though he had everything handled, "GOLDEN GUN, BITCHES!" Landing to his back two paws while shooting out flame like bullets, continuing to act with his other paw and flicking his thumb to show a revolver, he cried, "Spyro! Go!"

"Alright, fine!" Spyro growled, already wings opened and jumping up to fly away.

"Cynder! You have to go and follow him!" Ignitus quickly called out, getting her and everyone else's attention that surrounded him, "Malefor will deal with the ads, you stay just long enough for us to recover. Once we are there, we can fake your injury," Getting a nod from her, she turned, ran forward, opened her wings, and flew straight to help with the Destroyer, "Ersa, make sure to save some gems, or, bottles, for Malefor. He needs to injury himself as we've already discussed. And since Cynder didn't heal up, nor Malefor yet, they need the potions later."

"We do have extras as we planned for the friends and a couple more to go along with it. So, in total, we still have six," Ersa spoke, looking around and knowing they wouldn't have enough for everyone, "If we healed ourselves, we'd be out. Malefor, Spyro, and Cynder wouldn't get anything. And since Carith also needs assistance, I'd gladly back out and let her heal up herself."

"Well, Spyro doesn't need one as he wouldn't take it. For now, I suggest the six be: Carith, Terrador, Cyril, Malefor, Claire and then you, Volteer."

"I can hold my own for now," Volteer rejected his portion of the potions.

"And I've been able to still stand for some time now," Claire rejected, same as Volteer.

"Then... With two left... Ersa, you need to keep your strengh. Then the last one will go to Cynder. While she's trying to keep strong, she's struggling," Everyone gave a frown as they knew why, but he still spoke out about it, "She knows this may be the only way, and if I'm... Being honest... If Spyro can't stop the Destroyer here and now... That nightmare will come true. We know this, and so does she. So we need to all give it our all."

"Spyro knows not to piss off Cynder, so I believe in him," Ersa giggled, making the others give a small laugh as well as they hoped that would stay true.

"Damnit... DAMNIT!" Hearing Malefor curse up to the skies, they looked over to him, seeing him growl as he turned around, walking back over to them as he stood back on all fours, "Why is this so easy now?!" Sitting down in front of them, he gave a sigh, but still tried to smile as he spoke, "I think I figured out the hammer thing, but all it takes is my golden gun. After that, if I blade dance, it's over in seconds... I wonder if putting everything I have into my golden gun shot would do some significant damage to the Destroyer?"

"Malefor! You're so stupid yet so smart!" Ersa cried out with a smile.

"Uhhhhhh... Thanks... maybe... That kinda hurt if I'm being honest."

"Think about it though; If your golden gun really is as powerful as you say, just do the same as Spyro does by channeling all of your power to your finger tip, and fire everything you have into it!"

"I could maybe increase the blast radius to count for the rest of its leg."

"How do you still have so much power?" Cyril asked as he felt beat.

"And why didn't you do this shit earlier?" Terrador growled, "Were you holding back?"

"I stopped cause you all did!" Malefor defended himself.

"So then you and Spyro could've taken out his leg?" Ignitus grumbled.

"Look, let's not play the blame game, okay. I will just fly up to Spyro, we will take out his leg and go from there, okay," Seeing everyone giving him a rather annoyed look, he even saw his lover as even she had to shake her head, "You know what, before I die here, let me just... you know... I'm gonna go," Turning and running away as quickly as possible, he opened his wings and flew over to help Spyro, and while he did that, he mentally slapped himself, "You keep letting this power get to your head...! Great... Now I see what Spyro goes through when he trains and puts one thing before another." Making it up to the Destroyer, he watched as Spyro flew around it, lighting up its body with blue flames, but he could see his dark power starting to fade, so he had to stop him, "Spyro! Stop!"

Hearing his name called as he made it to the left side of the Destroyer, Spyro saw Malefor fly past the Destoyer's arm and over to him as he was now flying behind it. Since he had been stopped, he growled at Malefor for what he was doing, and with the two now flying face to face, he was easily able to show his anger, "You just said it would heal! Why would I stop now? And why aren't you back there protecting the others as you said you would!"

"Cynder took over, and she nearly slit my neck when I said I'd stay. But I'm also here because, me and you are going to focus that leg again," Malefor spoke, "With this new technique I have, we can combine a charged golden gun shot with your four elements and darkness, which, by the way, we need to get it named so you can have a technique as well," Getting a huge angered sigh from Spyro, he waved his paw and told him to follow, "Yeah yeah, kill me later. But for now, follow me to the front of the Destroyer." Unfortunately doing as he was told, Spyro flew with Malefor passed the side of the Destoyer's left side, and using their speed to their advantage, they made it a good half mile away from the Destroyer in no time, "Alright, get ready while I focus my golden gun. Hit it right in the middle, and it should fall down like a ton of bricks," Doing as he was told, the remainder of Spyro's darkness went to his paw as he encapsulated his elements into one, and making one last joke, Malefor looked at this as a game, "Dude, if we're lucky enough, we're about to do like, a million damage to the boss and his health," With Spyro's ball ready, Malefor charged his darkness into his golden gun, letting it shine a red with a dark black, and having a fantastic idea, he gave it to Spyro, "Spyro! Put your ultimate in front of mine!"

"What? Why?" Spyro asked, confused as to what he meant at first, but once he understood, it was a rather smart idea, "Wait... If I put my ball in front of your shot, it could combine the two while sending it flying! That way, I wouldn't have to get so close to the blast radius, and it really would do massive damage to him," Getting a huge smirk from Malefor, Spyro unfortunately smiled back, knowing this was a rather smart idea, "Fine... You get this one. Just make sure to shoot as straight as you can. Line up your shot in the middle of my dark elements," Moving his paw right underneath Malefor's finger, the ball of darkness lined up perfectly with the shot Malefor had from his paw, "Now, fire when ever you get the shot. You got about a minute before he gets out of range. And don't shoot my friggen paw."

"Yeah yeah, but, I'm guessing with this shot, I'm hoping it will keep your ball together, right?" Malefor asked, closing one eye as he made sure to line up the shot well.

"With how small it is, your darkness and flame will cover it, holding it together long enough for it to hit."

"Dude... This is some cool ass shit we are doing right now. Can I give it an ultimate move name."

Giving a sigh, Spyro knew he wouldn't let it go, so he agreed, "Fine... But you better hurry! You got about twenty seconds."

"That's all the time I need," Keeping his aim steady, he knew exactly how he used his wings and how Spyro used his, so he was able to predict where he needed to shoot, "Alright! Ready!" Just as his wings flapped up, in almost slow motion, he lined up with the middle of Spyro's dark ball and yelled out the ultimate move name in joy, "SINGLE SIX ELEMENTAL SHOT!"

Firing all the darkness he had with the fire from his finger, the bullet traveled right through the darkened ball, wrapping itself around it and traveling at sound breaking speed. The sound breaking explosion was heard for miles, even getting the attentions of the others as they had just healed up. Even as they stood, the wind that whipped throughout the area knocked them down all while also sending Cynder flying back. Trying to use her own wind powers to keep herself in the air, it proved to be successful. The two in the sky watched as it hit the side of the Destoyer's leg, digging itself from within and for a second, it went quiet. Giving a raised brow, Malefor asked, "Uuhhhhh... What...?"

His eyes went from raised to shut as the explosion lit up the ground in a bright light of all kinds of colors, ranging from their elements, to the darkness, to even just a bright shining light. The light and explosion consumed not only the Destroyer, but Spyro and Malefor as well as they were caught in the blast. Since the Destroyer was still rather far, the others weren't hit with the blast, but rather another huge blast of wind, making them all roll backwards as they couldn't stand their ground from the shockwave. For Cynder, she was sent flying backwards in a spiral as she herself couldn't contend with the wind either. The explosion lingered for some time, showing a cloud of smoke that raised from the ground, and since the explosion was enough to move even the clouds above, the sun gave a clear shine down to the battlefield and what it had become. Once it seemed things had died down, Spyro and Malefor pulled their bodies from out of the ground, growling in pain as dirt fell of their backs. Once to their paws, the two held their shoulders in pain, but once they saw what they had done, their paw dropped back down to the ground as they looked in awe. The ground surrounding the area was nearly a mile deep, and anything surrounding it was reduced to rubble. Limping over to the hole, it stretched out like a crater, spanning nearly half a mile from where they had used their powers, and once Spyro made it over to the edge of the crater, he, along with Malefor, sat down next to each other, believing it was done. Reaching a paw over and elbowing Spyro in the shoulder, Malefor heard him give out a growl, and he apologized, "Hehe... Sorry... I guess me and you are... ugh... not feeling all too good from that... But hey... What did you like about my ultimate name?"

"Hehe... Well... what did the six stand for?" Spyro chuckled, feeling good that things were done and over with, but he still saw that both him and Malefor were still bleeding from what they had done.

"Well, Six elements of course, along with the fact that I was using a six shooter and putting it all into one shot."

"Six?"

"Fire, Ice, lightning, earth, darkness, and wind. The wind helped give that shot some kick of course. And I guess we... over did it."

"Hehe... That was over powered as hell though... Definitely a million damage to the boss right there."

"Hehe... You think so?"

"Yeah."

Feeling the ground start to rumble once again, the two looked at one another with fear, and out of the ashes came a huge darkened hand that reached up to the two. Jumping back with the help of their wings, the hand grabbed the ground, almost as if it was pulling itself up. _No... no no no... this can't be!_ Spyro cried in his thoughts, similar to that of even Malefor. With the two opening their wings once again, they flew up to the skies, wondering what had happened, what could've been the one to have grabbed the ledge. Reaching a height of which they could see everything, the two gasp, seeing as it was the Destroyer pulling himself up and out of the crater. His body spilled magma as his left side had been completely destroyed, but even still, his left side had been replaced by darkness, filling in for his missing body parts. For his right side, it had cracked completely around him, but with the darkness, his wounds were healing slowly but surely. Once the Destroyer pulled himself from the crater, it continued his path, slowly healing his body one piece at a time. The two looked to one another in fear, not knowing anymore of what to do. Letting a tear drip down out of his eye, Spyro growled as he turned, "We need to regroup with the others..."

With everyone standing back up to their paws with those that had lovers helping each other out, they all looked to see the destroyed form of the Destroyer, still walking as it had once before, only halfway destroyed. Looking away from the Destroyer, they watched as Cynder flew down in front of them, and she nearly fell, feeling rather scared now, "Ignitus... they... that didn't do it... Wh... What else is there to do?! At this rate, I really will lose Spyro and I... Damnit!" Hitting the ground with her paw, her body tensed up as she wished there was more she could do, but she knew her, nor they, could do anything, "Even if I tried with everything in my power, I... I can't let this happen...! Spyro's... Spyro's gonna..."

"Not yet!" Ignitus cried, standing up and running over towards her, "We are still going through with our fall back plan!" Sitting down in front of her, he raised up his right arm, used his other paw and stabbed a hole in his arm, spilling blood down his arm, "We need to fake you being hurt as we've discussed. This should trigger Spyro into a fit of rage, hopefully giving him the power that he needs," Touching his paw around his arm and patting his blood around her head, he told her what to do next, "Alright, Cynder, lay down on the ground. We will act like you've been knocked out."

"Do you... Really think this will do it."

"We have to try."

"We need, to try," Doing as she was told, she turned her body around, laid with her back facing Ignitus and let her mouth hang open only slightly, but she spoke one more time as to give her idea of the plan, "I'm going to use my wind to keep my breath held so he really will think I'm passed out, or even worse."

"Try not to act dead."

"I will try not to."

"Spyro's coming back with Malefor!"

Playing dead and closing her eyes, Cynder heard as the two landed down to the ground in front of her. Spyro was immediately first to notice, running up to her as he cried, "Cynder!" Sitting down in front of her and feeling the blood on her forehead, he couldn't see Ignitus's arm as he hid it from behind Cynder's body, making sure he didn't put two and two together, "No... No no no, my love!" Easing her body upwards as he put out a wing underneath her head and body, he tried to get her to wake, "Cynder! Cynder, my love... Cynder, please..." The plan was working as his darkness started to radiate once again, but now it felt as though the plan was back firing on them, "This is on you, Malefor!" Yelling to Malefor, he eased her body to the ground and turned to yell at him, "I told you to stay with her! You said everything was going to be fine! I don't care if Cynder threatened you; take your death like a man you puss!"

"Spyro, I..."

"SHUT UP!" Backing off from him and turning back to his lover, Spyro placed a paw over his lover's body, and resting it on her side, darkness went throughout her entire body, healing any wounds she may have had, and even the blood on her forehead, "Please... Please please please... Wake up," Even after his use of darkness, she still didn't move, almost as if she really was dead, and he believed so, but nothing made sense to him, "Cynder...! Please... your heart still beats so, why... what, happened..."

"She was hit in the head by a piece of the Destoyer's body. It was small, but it hit her rather hard in the head. Right now, she's probably in a... coma," Ignitus gave the bed news, and this sparked the darkness with Spyro rather quickly, sending his body into a fit of rage, "She could be just knocked out, but..."

"SHUT UP!" Spyro yelled, backing away from her, and letting the darkness take over completely.

"Spyro! Stop!" Malefor cried, but since he wasn't listening, he ran over to protect Carith as quickly as he could.

His teeth grinded, his body tensed, his tail blade was eager to kill, and instead of the darkness heading outwards, it headed inwards even as it tried to make an aura, but it was pulled back into his body. Clenching his eyes shut, he threw them open, and now, instead of his eyes being white, they turned a dark yellow, shining slightly and taking form along with his body. His darkness eased his muscles slightly down while extending his body and everything on him to an adult form, even now being as tall as the others. Snapping his body outwards, stretching his arms, legs, wings, tail, and neck, his body now shined with an eased darkened look, now seeming more contained then it was before. Slightly opening up one eye to see what had happened, Cynder gave a huge blush to see this new Spyro. His now near eased body, slight loss of muscle, gain in height and even his angered look that felt rather soothing to her, but she couldn't tell why until he had spoken, "Everyone, you need to run," His voice was deeper, but still rather soothing, and this control over it made it's way known, and now, even hearing his voice, she opened both her eyes now, picking up her head even as she wished to see and hear more, "Cynder... You're awake?" Walking up to her in his new body, she stood up, still blushing rather hard, and now that he stood in front of her, she swallowed hard, "I'm sorry. I made a mistake once again, but I'm not making another," Out of instinct, she quickly touched his chest as he had it puffed out, and she couldn't contain herself with his new form, "Please get to safety."

"Spyro... It's, me, my love... Don't you... remember?" Cynder murmured, still trying to smile as it seemed like he was forgetting, or rather, letting go.

"Cynder... The mistake I made was getting you hurt. There's only one more thing I can do to stop the Destroyer, and if it doesn't work... I don't wish for you to be here to see what happens next."

"No... No no no! You aren't going to die! Do you understand me!"

"I've tried all I can... Even with this darkness, it's made it rather clear that, nothing we do will work... So unfortunately... I must do what needs to be done."

"NO!" Backing up, Cynder took Ignitus's spot as he had backed up and joined the others, staying out of what was happening, "If you want to sacrifice yourself, then I will see you up there then too!" Swinging her tail blade to her neck, everyone gasped, taking steps forward even, but Spyro didn't seem fazed at all, "I have no problem with killing myself! You think I can live three years without you?! I can't even go seconds, and knowing you could possibly die, or one of us could in the future... Things will never be the same... I... I just want things to go back to normal..."

Taking a step up towards her, he gave off his voice, eased with a rather evil yet soothing tone, "You know I can't let you kill yourself..." Standing in front of her, he gave a slight smile as he saw this as something different, "Look on the bright side; I'm not going to die a hero, I'll die as an enemy to you all. I don't want to... call you my love because... well... I've failed you, so... why do I deserve someone like you...? Why do I deserve anyone."

"Stop with this darkness shit and wake up! This isn't you, and if I have to hurt you, I will! You saved me from my darkness, and I will do the same to you!"

"A kiss would save me... But it won't save the earth."

"Spyro... please... we can think of another way... there has to be another way."

"Cynder... I don't want you to go through this nightmare," Easing his nose against hers, Spyro looked to her eyes and smiled, "When you wake up, you will feel eased, and I will make sure you never feel pain ever again for what I did," Moving his lips down to hers, he let his breath linger around her lips as to warm them, and he gave off a slight whisper, "Rest easy, Cynder... Please... When you find someone else... make sure they are better then I ever could've been to you."

"Spyro... Don't... do this..." Cynder cried, and feeling his lips touch hers, she jumped back, growling even, unable to deal with the future, "NO! You think I want to forget! You act like you know what I want, but you don't! You're a fake compared to my love! He promised me, swore on his life he wouldn't leave me! If you're going to die, let your darkness take the hit, not you!" He didn't say anything, but rather shed a tear from her words, and knowing he wasn't to say anything, she watched as he walked up to her once again, "I'm not... I can't... live without you! So then... I'll just end this myself," Trying to slit her own neck, her body wouldn't allow it, the darkness wouldn't allow it as it held her back, making her body tense with sadness while she watched Spyro stand in front of her, "Don't you dare... Damnit, SPYRO! Don't you dare... don't... do this... please... I... I can't... SPYRO, LISTEN TO ME!"

"I'm sorry, Cynder. I'd rather you forget about me then to feel the pain of remembering me. While are... time was short, I enjoyed every second of it," Now as he was to do before, Spyro rested his nose back on hers, letting his breath linger around her lips, "I don't want you to feel such pain any longer. Me being around has only made things worse for you, all of you. When it comes to my darkness, our love... my life, has been nothing but a block of what you all could be living."

"You do this now... I will kill myself in the future... I will find a way, you understand me... So... don't... leave me."

"I shall always been in your heart... I'll never leave."

Taking his nose down, his lips now pushed against her, but for the two, they could only shed tears, rather then to enjoy it. The kiss he gave her, she knew this was his way of saying goodbye, and even though she still tried, she couldn't use her tail blade against herself. Feeling her body starting to fade, getting drowsy and shedding tears, she cried in her thoughts, _Please... No... I can't live without... you._ Now with her body falling to her side, his lips slid off hers, and using his wings, he caught her body before easing her down onto the grass. Taking his wing from underneath her body, he put a paw to her cheek, but before she passed out, he saw her tear, so, he gave as soft of a voice as he could to her, "I'm sorry... Cynder... Just know... I love you."

"Spyro!" Malefor yelled at him, stepping in front of everyone and tail blade ready, he threatened, "You sacrifice yourself, and I will kill everyone in a heart beat! I'm the Dark Master, remember?!"

"Malefor..." Spyro cried, getting control of himself as he came from without his new dark form, revealing his normal purple body while making up his mind, "Without a doubt, you truly weren't the Dark Master of this all. So... because of this... I need you... all of you, to keep Cynder safe for me while I'm gone. Don't tell her about me... I don't wish for her to feel the pain of remembering who I am..." Looking down to the grass in front of him, he then picked up his head and saw the Destroyer closing in on the Volcano, and he knew his time was up, "The most I can do is encapsulate the Destroyer into a time crystal with myself... We will fall down into the Volcano and I... don't know what will become of me... or even if the Crystal will hold up."

"Spyro, please don't do this," Everyone spoke in unison, each with their own way of saying what they hoped would get to him.

Shedding more tears, his words only made it worse for everyone, even more so as he walked up more to ready his final end as he faced the Volcano, "I love you all... Dad... friends..." Looking behind himself and to Cynder's resting body, he whispered the same to her, "I love you too... Cynder," Turning back to face forward, he opened his wings, readying himself for his final goodbye, "Take care of each other, don't make the same mistakes as I did, and... I... Hehe... If I'm being honest... I'm scared to die... I... I don't wish to die... But... At least I'll die knowing I saved you all and... that's what counts, right?"

"Spyro! Stop!" Everyone cried out, but he still flew up and over to the Volcano without even thinking twice.

"No... No no no, Damnit, Spyro!" Malefor growled, knowing he needed to take action, "Carith! Come over to Cynder with me," Running over to her body and past the others, Carith turned and followed as well, wondering what he was going to do, "I need to wake her! We have to think of something, and if he's trying to keep her safe, he's doing a shit job at it," Reaching her body and sitting down in front of her, Carith did the same as she sat next to his right, looking down on her sleeping body, "These memories will make Cynder suicidal. And even if she... sees... his death... she needs to know who he was, not who he wasn't," Tapping a claw on the side of her head, he sent some darkness in her mind and explained what he was doing, "I need to destroy the darkness he put around her mind that knocked her out, and it should-UGH!"

Flinging his claw back, Carith cried to him, "Malefor! Are you okay."

He wasn't able to respond as the two looked to see Cynder moving her paws, rather frantically as she wished to wake. Flinging her eyes open, she pushed her body off the grass, slamming her fist down and getting herself up, but with the help of Malefor and Carith's wing, she made it up a lot sooner then she thought. Coughing some even as she looked straight, she then looked to her left and saw the two, "Malefor... Carith... Wait! Spyro! Where's Spyro?!" Once the two took their wings from around her, she ran beside Malefor and looked to see the Destroy grabbing a hold of the edge to the Volcano, "No... No no no, it's going to... Wait..." Seeing a bright yellow light going around the Destroyer, Cynder cried as she knew what this was, "The time crystal... But only..." Gasping as she realized only Spyro had that, she ran up a couple of steps and yelled out, "SPYRO!"

Watching with everyone in horror as the Destroyer fell into the Volcano, they expected something to happen, but nothing did, instead, it just turned silent. The silence was slowly interrupted by cries, knowing they had all failed, and falling down to even her back side, she looked to the ground, cold and lifeless, _I... Failed... He... NO! He can't be gone!_ Slamming her tail blade down to the ground, she turned to Ignitus and wanted him to tell her the truth, "Spyro can't be dead! This is all a trick... The... The dream... That nightmare... Please... Don't tell me..." Seeing tears go down even his eyes, tears ran down her eyes just as everyone else cried together, knowing they had lost a dear friend, "Spyro... Spyro... My love..." Remembering back to something from her nightmare, one thing came to mind which only made this even worse for her.

* * *

 _"I don't know... All I know is, when he woke up, he was surrounded by what looked like shards of glass... But... lets all just... smile... cry with joy that... our friend... our family... is back from the Volcano," Ignitus spoke with a smile._

* * *

Having this thought in her mind, Cynder's heart slammed from her chest with enough force for her to hear it. From the beat, her eyes grew a little wide, the cries from everyone became muffled, but most of all, the color in her eyes started to fade as did the feelings in her body. Hearing only a couple more breaths from herself, her body went from sitting to falling down on her side and to the floor in seconds, gasping for air as her body hit the ground. Hearing muffled cries, voices that sounded deeper then they should've been, more thoughts came to her mind, only making her feel more dead then alive, _My... life is... passing before me... As soon as I wake... Three years will pass... and... where would I be... where would Spyro... be._ Cynder's breathing almost stopped completely, her mind started to fade, and with her eyes closed, she passed out with tears dripping down from her eyes and off her nose.


	24. Chapter 24: Three Years Too Early

Chapter 24: Three Years Too Early

 _Picking her head up and now facing him, it seemed as what Cynder was saying now made Spyro understand the severity of the situation, "Because of what happened, I had panic attacks, anxiety attacks and near heart attacks because of... not being with you... And the worst part, that's something that could happen... There's no guarantee you'll even... survive... no guarantee everyone else... Will still be alive."_

* * *

 _"I'm keeping my promises to you, Cynder," Spyro whispered, taking a step up and being nearly face to face with her, "Unfortunately, I can't... lay with you, not just yet. I need to train to make sure I can successfully protect everyone without having to die for it."_

* * *

 _"I'm not... I can't... live without you! So then... I'll just end this myself," Trying to slit her own neck, Cynder's body wouldn't allow it, the darkness wouldn't allow it as it held her back, making her body tense with sadness while she watched Spyro stand in front of her, "Don't you dare... Damnit, SPYRO! Don't you dare... don't... do this... please... I... I can't... SPYRO, LISTEN TO ME!"_

* * *

 _"I really am... a screw up..." A voice spoke from the mist of nothing but darkness, "I couldn't keep my promises, I couldn't do as other's trusted me for, and now... here I am... Alone... As I might've always been... how things should've been." Unable to adjust, move, breath, or see anything gave off a sense of death as the darkness that surround the area was all that could be understood for the time being. "I should've never met up with any of them... should've just stayed as a shadow, been who I was meant to be... and die... alone..." Giving off a sigh that encased the surroundings in sound for only a second, the voice finally spoke his own name, talking to himself out loud to help deal with the lifeless feeling around him, "Don't think like that, Spyro... You're better... You're just... scared... scared of everything that was learned... what... would be missed... and... would I... be missed...? For now... all I can do is wait... hope that, when I wake... I will see everyone again... and to... apologize... for what I've done."_

* * *

The kiss he gave her, she knew this was his way of saying goodbye, but before she could use her tail blade against herself, she felt her body starting to fade, getting drowsy and shedding tears as she cried in her thoughts, _Please... No... I can't live without... you._ Now with her body falling to her side, Spyro's lips slid off hers, and using his wings, he caught her body before easing her down onto the grass. Taking his wing from underneath her body, he put a paw to her cheek, but before she passed out, he saw her tear, and gave as soft as a voice as he could to her, "I'm sorry... Cynder... Just know... I love you."

Freezing time to a stand still, Spyro's body fell downwards on his back side, unable to handle what he was about to do. Two clones came out from his right and left side, both with instructions on what to do, "GO! Go find something, anything that you can to keep me alive! I... I can't lie to her, I can't live without her... I... I don't want to die... I... I can't," The two darkened clones did as they were told, each splitting off and finding some way to help, and while they were doing that, Spyro struggled with his decision in what to do, "I put on this act, to be strong for everyone, BUT I CAN'T!" Yelling with tears, he used his paw, slamming it down close, just underneath Cynder's chest, and kicking up dirt before it stopped in time, "Even with this power... moving fast enough to stop time for myself to think, I... I can't... I don't know what to do," Hearing his clones zip back over to him in no time, he asked the two, begging for them to have a plan, "Please... tell me there's something we can do."

"The only thing for me to think of is to lose control. If we take on the darkness from within the Destroyer, let it consume us to stop it all together, that would stop it, but in the process, corrupt us to the point where we'd become the next Dark Master," The clone to the left spoke, and seeing Spyro shake his head, he gave another secondary plan that they had, "We could try and over charge our power as we once did before in the Training Room. Our darkness is now ten times more powerful then before, but if we jumped up even further to that midnight looking form, we'd be able to do it."

"Why can't the strength I have now do it."

"Because even with that strength, the darkness would still protect his body. If we were to destroy all that armor around him, that darkness would still shoot down into the earth's core. So, even if we stopped the Destroyer, the darkness would take it's form and jump in itself," It was a terrible thing for him to hear, only adding to the fact that there was nothing they could do, but they still tried to put together what they learned, "We have less then half an hour to think of something. While we are moving fast, our time is slim in power. But to give some good news, there may be a way to stop the Destroyer and keep us safe."

"And how's that?"

"By using your time power," The clone to the right spoke, getting the attention of Spyro as he looked over to him, "If we trap him, the darkness can't escape it as the light is stronger then darkness. But unfortunately, you'd have to do it fast enough as he's already so close, and in order to do it quick enough... You'd need to start from your body, shooting it outwards around him, trapping him, but also you. And since we are trapped as well, our darkness wouldn't work either. So... there's no way of breaking out as, you can't move either."

"But I'd be alive..."

"Hopefully. Even if we break out of the crystal, we should have the power to make it out of the Volcano. But if we don't, we'd be trapped, same as him."

"But how do we break the time crystal?"

"That's another problem we are figuring out. We can in theory, save the earth, ourselves, and stop the Destroyer for good, but... Breaking the crystal isn't going to be easy. To clarify, a special tool was needed the first time. Our strengh could break it, but since we are already trapped in it, how could we? Even if we did, it would destroy the link between you and him, and so, it wouldn't surround him completely, there in letting the darkness destroy the earth."

"So all we know right now is that, if I surround him completely in time, we'd make it."

"But that would only prove that we'd make it through after three years," The clone to the left spoke, making Spyro look to the ground as he listened, already knowing what he was going to say, "We supposedly died, but came back three years later. What if all of this that we are doing all comes full circle and we really do just have to wait three years... No matter what you do, no matter how you think, your life has already been planned. If you think you were smart in doing by taking a step left, rather then right, it wasn't because you made it, it's because it was already planned to happen. So for our deaths, supposedly, this... Has all already been planned for."

"No... No, it hasn't," Spyro spoke, standing up now as he had an idea come to mind, "When I'm in my dark form, light and darkness can't meet. I can't use my time power with my darkness, and same goes both ways. I'd have to shut down a specific part of my darkness in order to use the time power. And this is because, the two aren't meant to meet. So if the Ancestors are light, and we're dark, they can't plan nor see what we do, same as how Ignitus can't for others in a darkened state. So, with what we do and say now, they can't plan for. They didn't plan for Malefor to get his power, they didn't plan for my darkness to become something more because they don't understand it," It made sense to the other two, and so, picking up his head and smiling, Spyro had an amazing idea, "Why don't we get the others to help save me after I go into the Volcano? We tell them what's going to happen, leave, and they'd save me."

"That wouldn't work," The right clone spoke.

"What? Why not?"

"For a couple of different reasons. One, what if that was planned for? What if the Destroyer rolled over in the Volcano with you at it's back pointing down, and then Malefor or whom ever else would jump in, wouldn't be able to see where you fell in. Also, Malefor is out of power. No one else can survive in that lava, and since Ignitus can't help, he couldn't jump in either. Even if someone stayed near the Destroyer with you and broke the crystal before you fell in, the time it would take is very, very slim."

"How so?"

"Well, once the Destroyer is halfway in, that's when it would work, but at that time, there would be too much momentum for Malefor to hold onto. He would fling into the lava, lose sight of you, and have to back out. We've thought of multiple different ways for you to survive, but at the end of the day, it's become rather impossible. The main thing we have is; Destroyer time to encapsulate in time is halfway through. Once that is done, we have the question of; what can we do to save ourselves, or, have someone else do such a thing."

"I'm assuming you two already thought of this."

"Unfortunately, yes," The clone to the left spoke, "If we're being honest, the only thing we could say is just, come out from your dark form and let what happens happen. The darkness will keep Cynder safe from killing herself, ease her memories of us, and later, she'll just forget us all together. It's a rather... painful, reality. But with her thoughts of us gone, her pain, suffering, anything she may feel towards what happened, it'll be gone, forgotten about... As we will be to her."

Looking down on her resting body, Spyro knew he still had some time left, so he used all he could to think of a way out, _forgotten about...? No... I need to use this time wisely... I can still be with her, I just need to think. If I die now, this really will have been my fault... and I... I can't let her down._ Once he thought about it for a couple of seconds, an idea of what he wanted to do came to him, so he gave a smirk from his perfect idea, "Halfway through, huh?' Well then, I have a crazy ass idea, but I'm putting a lot of faith into the darkness to do this, so, can I trust it, or, you two, I should say?" Getting a nod from both of them, he smiled at their help and thanked, "Thanks. But for now, there's one thing that can break the time crystal; that being the darkness. So, since the darkness can't be used inside the time crystal, how about outside of it?"

"What do you mean?"

"We learn exactly the right time of which a shot would split us in two. If one of your shots hits at the right time, it will split me and the Destroyer away from one another, sending me hopefully, flying forward," It sounded like a rather crazy idea, but the two wanted to know where they fit into this, "Malefor could do this, but from his stress, misinformation, and overall time, I wouldn't be able to tell him all of what he needs to hear, so for now, follow me," In a second, the three zipped over to the top edge of the Volcano, and looking down into it, Spyro explained his plan, "Alright, so let's think about this. If he flies down and into the Volcano, from his speed and from it flinging me forward, I'd land right about... There," Pointing close to the bottom of which the lava was to come up from, it was a perfect spot for him to land, "We can get a rather reinforced stone edge right there once I fall. Then as for the other, you'll need to hit the shot off just as the time crystal covers the Destroyer. When you feel no darkness left from him, you take that shot, and for the love of Ancestors, don't miss. Then lastly, one of you warn Malefor of what he needs to do; get Cynder up and head to the Volcano if this works out, so wait just a bit."

"I guess I can take the earth edge at the bottom. If I wait, I can determine where you'd land after the Destroyer has passed into the Volcano, so hopefully, I can just barely catch you," The left one agreed, "And since I'm also getting the easy job, I will tell Malefor to wake her up. I would say we should warn him of the shock, but it's gonna be real funny to see him hurt himself from our darkness.

"Then I guess I will take the shot. If I get low enough, I should be able to see the crystal go around him, and once it does, I will take my shot," The right one agreed to his side.

"So what I'm hearing is, you all are ready?" Spyro smiled wide.

"You owe us one if we do this."

"What could the darkness possibly want."

"We are you, remember that. You keep Cynder safe. If you ever do something and lose her, we are going to take control over you and kill everything. Understand?"

"What about the others?"

"They will be safe if you don't screw up," The left clone warned.

"Yeah, now that I have you two, does that mean you all can help me evolve into another dark form?"

"That's not how this works. Just as you, we have to train. We are, you, after all."

"So, I'm going to have to learn more about this in the future."

"Pretty much."

"Hehe, Alright then," Zipping back over to where they had stood, Spyro sat down in front of Cynder's body, and once again, needed to know they had his back, "For this, I'm going to let you two roam free from me. I will have to deactivate my darkness earlier to get control over the time power sooner. So... Once again... Can I trust the darkness to not turn it's back on me?" Getting a nod from the two, he smiled to both once he looked at them, but once he looked straight at Malefor, this was one thing he still didn't know what to do about, "Do you two have... Any idea what I should do about him...? I'm... on the fence of whether or not, after all this, I should become his friend or not."

"We are here to help save you, and protect Cynder. Anything else, good luck."

"Hehe, yeah, I... guess you're right. You all will definitely help a lot if you do this. But I'm, ready when you all are."

"Ready," The two clones spoke, spreading out their wings and ready to take flight.

"Alright then... In case this... doesn't work, I will... give my goodbyes to everyone. But for now, all I can do is hope... So, here we go," Un-freezing time, Spyro slowly tried to come out from his new form, and just as he did, he could already tell things were kicking off as they once did, and he had to play his character still.

"Spyro!" Malefor yelled at him, stepping in front of everyone and tail blade ready, he threatened, "You sacrifice yourself, and I will kill everyone in a heart beat! I'm the Dark Master, remember?!"

"Malefor..." Spyro cried, getting control of himself as he came from without his dark purple form, revealing his normal purple body while making up his mind, "Without a doubt, you truly weren't the Dark Master of this all. So... because of this... I need you... all of you, to keep Cynder safe for me while I'm gone. Don't tell her about me... I don't wish for her to feel the pain of remembering who I am..." Looking down to the grass in front of him, he then picked up his head and saw the Destroyer closing in on the Volcano, and he knew his time was up, "The most I can do is encapsulate the Destroyer into a time crystal with myself... We will fall down into the Volcano and I... don't know what will become of me... or even if the Crystal will hold up."

"Spyro, please don't do this," Everyone spoke in unison, each with their own way of saying what they hoped would get to him.

Shedding more tears, his words only made it worse for everyone, even more so as he walked up more to ready his final end as he faced the Volcano, "I love you all... Dad... friends..." Looking behind himself and to Cynder's resting body, he whispered the same to her, "I love you too... Cynder," Turning back to face forward, he opened his wings, readying himself for his final goodbye, "Take care of each other, don't make the same mistakes as I did, and... I... Hehe... If I'm being honest... I'm scared to die... I... I don't wish to die... But... At least I'll die knowing I saved you all and... that's what counts, right?"

"Spyro! Stop!" Everyone cried out, but he still flew up and over to the Volcano.

Kicking off his wings and hurrying over to the Destroyer, he looked to his left and right after he made it halfway, and doing this, he saw his dark clones flying by his side which made him give a smile, giving out the plan one last time, "Do you all remember to warn Malefor to wake Cynder up if we do this?" The left clone nodded, and so, he continued as he got close to the Destroyer, "Alright then, just remember; get the stone edge ready, the other, get ready on the shot. I'm trusting both of you," Both flying back away from him, heading to where they needed to be and positioning themselves, he made it to the back of the Destroyer, putting a paw his back, he shed a tear, "Please work, please... work."

Using his time powers, the crystal shot around the Destroyer, covering it like a cocoon. So his clone could make the shot easier, he eased his body a little more upwards as to give some space for him to shoot between him and the Destroyer. Making its way around his back, over the Destoyer's arms, legs, head and shoulder, it had already grabbed a hold of the edge to the Volcano, and once it pulled itself forward, it was now in full swing. Falling down into the Volcano, the dark clone watched very closely to its chest. Once it's head ducked into the Volcano, he didn't feel the darkness, nor did it see any remaining spots. So, lining up the shot, he shot a small black like blade line at the time crystal. Just barely hitting in between it and Spyro's paw, he nearly missed hitting his paw. With the successful slice of the crystal, it snapped in two from both the Destroyer and Spyro. Flying out of the Volcano, the other clone did his job rather easily. Now with the shard of Spyro heading down to him, the Destroyer had fallen into the Volcano now, and as the lava raised, he had it right as the lava didn't reach up to him. Using it's powers, an edge made of rock erupted out from the side of the Volcano, and watching as the crystal flew over to him, it slammed down on the edge, landing perfectly on it, sliding back some and hitting the edge wall of the Volcano. _You're a lucky dragon, Spyro,_ The dark clone thought to himself before taking off and out of the Volcano.

* * *

 _"I don't know... All I know is, when he woke up, he was surrounded by what looked like shards of glass... But... lets all just... smile... cry with joy that... our friend... our family... is back from the Volcano," Ignitus spoke with a smile._

* * *

Having this thought in her mind, Cynder's heart slammed from her chest with enough force for her to hear it. From the beat, her eyes grew a little wide, the cries from everyone became muffled, but most of all, the color in her eyes started to fade as did the feelings in her body. Hearing only a couple more breaths from herself, her body went from sitting to falling down on her side and to the floor in seconds, gasping for air as her body hit the ground. Hearing muffled cries, voices that sounded deeper then they should've been, more thoughts came to her mind, only making her feel more dead then alive, _My... life is... passing before me... As soon as I wake... Three years will pass... and... where would I be... where would Spyro... be._ Cynder's breathing almost stopped completely, her mind started to fade, and with her eyes closed, she passed out with tears dripping down from her eyes and off her nose.

 _"Back off! I've killed hundreds upon thousands of you already! You've already killed our friend, what more do you want?!" "You really are a pain in the ass, aren't you. I can see why Spyro doesn't respect you." "Stop throwing his name around like you know him!" "We are only here for Cynder. Get in our way, and we'll kill you, or your lover." "You don't know who my lover even is." "We know all Spyro knows because we're him. While we wish for him to stay alive, we have no problem killing you first."_ Her heart kicked up from hearing something during their conversation, and even as it dragged on, she focused on one thing, _We're... him...?_ Now with something to go off of, her body started to wake up, letting her have control over herself. Growling as she tried to move her body as it was still shut down some, she cried out to ourselves, _Get... Up... Get Up!_ Getting clarity back to her vision as she wiped away some tears, she was finally starting to stand up on her own, getting hope back into her eyes. Carith and the others that surrounded her looked to see her standing, which they cried happily for, "Cynder, you're...!"

"Where's Spyro...?" Cynder whispered at first as she still hadn't gotten her voice back after trying to recover.

"Fine then! Kill me! But I've dealt with enough of you punk ass bitches today that this should be a cake walk," Malefor growled, letting his dark form consume his body slowly as he wished to make them fear, "You're nothing but shadow, and that's good. That means I can go all out without the worry of blood or anything of the sort," Sitting down and now having been consumed in his own dark power, he raised up his paw, pointed a claw forward and a thumb up, lighting it on fire was his darkness combined into it, "Let's see who's tough. Just stand right there for me, okay?"

"Malefor! Stop!" Cynder yelled, getting her voice back and running over to the two dragons.

Falling to the ground, still not fully aware of her limit, Cynder slid on the grass before finally landing next to him. The dark dragon ran up and over to her, making Malefor fire a bullet from his golden gun. The bullet went through the dragon before being caught by the other one. Gasping, he turned his attention to the other dragon whom reached a paw down to her, but trying to prevent this, Malefor swung his body around, slashing at the dark dragon with his tail blade. Once again, his attack faded through the mist of the dragon. _Wh... What the hell?!_ Malefor growled in his thoughts, unable to use any of his dark attacks. Seeing as the dark dragon reached down to help her, Cynder quickly backed away as she helped herself up, which made the dark dragon do the same. Shaking her head to get herself back together, she swung her tail blade to her side and demanded, "You said you're Spyro! You said he's alive! Where!"

"Whoa, Cynder, calm down... It's okay," The dragon's voice went from anger to pure ease as he spoke to her, and this voice she remembered just before she passed out, "We came here by Spyro's orders to tell you about his whereabouts. As of right now, he is in a time crystal resting inside of the Volcano. We could pick it up ourselves but... If our darkness touches that thing, we'd disintegrate as it's pure light," No one knew whether to trust these dragons or not, so even as he approached Cynder, she stood there, looking at him as he sat, "We only care about your well being. Everyone else we may kill if you wish us to, but as of right now, we are here to help."

"You truly are Spyro then," Malefor growled, coming out from his dark form as he spoke, "Spyro doesn't care about anyone else except Cynder."

"After the talk he had with you before he flew away, do you really still believe that?" The other clone spoke, now making Malefor shut his mouth for what he said, "Look, we are only here to get Spyro to safety, go back into his body and make things normal again. And for my other clone, we are still darkness. But because of Spyro's pure of heart, we act with a motive now. So we truly don't care for any of you. If you wish to die, step up. If not, then know your place."

"Don't kill anyone!" Cynder yelled at the two, backing away from the dragon, "I... I don't want to waste anymore time! If Spyro's alive then I need to see him... But unlike with Malefor back then, how do I know I can trust you, both, of you?!"

"Well that's rather the easiest thing you've asked, Cynder," The dark dragon spoke in front of her, "Let's make this real quick. One," Flicking a claw to his left, Cynder's arm moved outwards to her right, making everyone look with wide eyes to see this control, "Are darkness of course is the same as yours. But I don't wish to move you like that ever again, please know we are friends. We want you to be reunited so we can go back to our lives as well."

"Take me too him!" Cynder cried, now believing for this to really be the clones of Spyro.

"Cynder, Don't...!"

"If you're so damn worried then come with me!" Cynder yelled at him, cutting Malefor off from saying anything further.

He understood where this pain was coming from so he did nothing more to reject, but instead, opened his wings, ready when ever she was. The dark dragon in front nodded his head for her to follow, and once the four all had their wings opened, they flew up and headed for the Volcano. Wanting answers themselves, the group looked to Ignitus, wondering if what was being said or seen was even true. Giving a growl, Ignitus wasn't sure himself, but he had to admit something, "Spyro's put a lot of darkness in Cynder just this day alone. So... the only one who really could have control over her would be my son..."

"So then... He really is alive?!" Cyril cried happily.

"We're about to find out... And... I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hopeful."

"I'm also assuming you're Spyro since you're the only dragons I've seen with yellow eyes," Cynder spoke to the dark dragon on her left, while the other flew by her right and Malefor following behind, "I need to make sure you are who you say you are so, I apologize for the questions. But for the first question I want answered is; When did you... become real or, something like that. Are you like, your own living thing, basically."

"No. We are merely a manifestation of Spyro himself. Compared to a normal clone that he was making, he now made real versions of himself. Though we aren't real and still just living darkness, when we go back into his body, we'll basically be dormant. And it's a little more complicated as he even asked if we could help him control his darkness. The problem with that is, we're technically his number two form now. His number one form wouldn't have us."

"Hehe... That sounds rather confusing."

"It very much is," Making it to the edge of the Volcano, the dark dragons landed with Cynder, and for Malefor, he landed next to the left dragon, and watching with her to see the dark dragon on the left pointing a claw down to the bottom left of the Volcano, he spoke, "Spyro's down there. I hope the ledge I made for him will hold. He did hit it at a rather high rate of speed. I apologize for you not being able to see. The smoke from this volcano has been rather bad ever since the Destroyer fell in."

"So he could be in danger?!" Cynder cried, still trying her best to look down and see past the smoke.

"Would you trust in following us down?"

"How will she deal with the heat? The volcano isn't exactly cold," Malefor growled, still untrustworthy of these two dragons.

"Stay near me, Cynder. My body will let off a heat shield. The more power I use though, the shorter the field, so we'd have to hurry."

"Then I'm ready when ever you are. And, Malefor," Cynder looked past the dragon and over to him, getting his attention as he looked to her, "If something does happen, I'm sure Spyro would appreciate that I told him that you protected me within the flames."

"That's a double edge sword though. He'll yell at me for doing his job by protecting you," Malefor chuckled.

"We can deal with that when he's alive then, but for now..." Giving a huge sigh, she turned to her left, opened her wings, and agreed, "I'm ready to fly," As she flew down into the Volcano and around the ash, the others all followed close, making sure that each wasn't to fall into the magma or get lost in the smoke, "Come on, Spyro... Where are you... Where are you," Once around the smoke, she looked down and saw the small ledge they were talking about, and once seeing the gem and the purple body inside, she cried, "SPYRO!" Kicking off the air with her wings, she shot down towards him, landing on his platform rather quickly, but now being away from everyone, her paws burned as she touched the ground, and her body felt like melting, "Hot! HOT!"

The dark dragons were quick to surround her, one flying down and sitting to her right while the other flew down and sat to her left. Malefor himself landed on the other side of the gem, facing down on his laid out body that was entrapped in the crystal. Now with the two being there, Cynder cried with tears of joy, putting her paw against the shard with hope now more then ever, _Spyro... Please... Please be alive in there..._ The dark dragons moved a little more forward towards the crystal, and the one to the left of Cynder spoke, "We are going to touch the crystal and fade. We are becoming unstable not being controlled for this long so we can't help anymore," Looking up to the dark dragon, Malefor watched as both their faces turned to frustration even through their mist like bodies," And Malefor, if you don't get Cynder out of her safely, we'll slit your throat in your sleep."

Touching the crystal, the two lifted up in smoke, similar to the ash rising out of the Volcano. Now with the two gone, Malefor grumbled his words, "Can't kill me if Spyro's dead."

"Malefor!" Cynder yelled at him.

"What? I was joking."

"Not the time or place right now."

"I'm using my powers to keep you safe right now, aren't I?" Feeling a crack underneath them, the edge started to break off from the main holding position from the Volcano, adding on to their slightly borrowed time, "Oh no... That's not good."

"Quick! We need to get him out of here!"

Grabbing underneath the gem with her wings, she wasn't strong enough to lift it, only move it, and trying with her wings and paws proved to be useless no matter how hard she tried. She knew she couldn't do this alone, and looking to Malefor for help, she saw an evil grin appear across his face, and his voice changed to a dark and menacing one, "Well now isn't this perfect," His voice was enough to send shivers down her spine as what he was doing was working, unknowing if this was for real or a joke, but he didn't make either one shine, "'Cynder kills herself because Spyro was really died himself'. Catchy, is it not? So I will be able to walk out of here, unscathed, and slowly but surely, put the rest of my plan, into action. Everyone will believe..."

"SHUT UP!" Her voice was enough to crack the back of the edge even more so, and not only did it do that, it also made Malefor shut his lips rather quick, "I've always trusted you since the day you came back! I know what you've been through, I've been through it too! You should know this by now! Nothing your doing will make me change my view of you cause I know you're good! The only one you have to convince is Spyro, and I'm sure without me, that's gonna be real hard."

"But... I..." Letting out a sigh, Malefor knew that he couldn't continue with his joke after what she just said, but he still chuckled, "But, if he's dead, who's left for me to worry about?"

"ME! Dumb Ass! I will slap you across the face with my damn wind powers! And once again, not the time... Ugh! Or place! Now help me lift this damn thing!"

"My plans have now been replaced with fears. Here, I don't want you to break your arms or anything," Backing up from the gem, Malefor put his wings underneath the gem to help lift it to his paws, and once he did, he let out a growl, "Damn, Spyro! Maybe you could... Lose a few pounds, don't you think?!"

Lifting up the gem with his paws, Malefor was able to open his wings and fly off the platform with Cynder with only seconds to spare as the edge broke off with them hopping off of it. Cynder didn't want to say anything and jinks the hopes that she had, so instead, she looked to Malefor as he struggled, then to Spyro, and then straight, rinse and repeating in order to make sure everything was doing okay. _Please hold on, Malefor. We're almost out, we're almost out._ Just as she finished her thoughts, they made it up and over the edge of the Volcano, making Cynder shed tears of joy, _He's... he's out... But... something else could happen! I... I don't want to say anything else just yet._ Keeping a serious tone, she looked to him and asked, "Malefor, can you hold him until we get back to our location?"

"Shit dog! That's... pretty Damn... far!" Malefor chuckled, trying to hold up the gem with all his might.

"Can't you use your darkness to help you?"

"Hell no... After seeing what happened to those dark... dragons... what the hell would happen to my arms?"

"They'd burn off. It's a win win for me."

"I will take Spyro back to that volcano real quick!"

"But your close to half way to where we need to be, and I know you hate extra work."

"Damn it... I hate when you're... right."

Making their way back over to the group, they looked down to see the others were looking up to them with widened eyes, and while she could see where they were and flew down to them with ease, Malefor dropped down like a ton of bricks. Landing down on the ground, Cynder smiled and opened her mouth to speak, but hearing something crash behind her, a skid mark through the ground was seen past the gem that now rested on the floor. At the end of the skid mark was Malefor, gasping for air and on his side, waving a paw for them to continue on without him. Turning around to face the gem, she walked over to it with them, just as surprised as they all were, "He's... He's really alive... But I'm still scared that... what if he's... what if he's dead in there?"

"I... I'm not even so sure myself," Ignitus spoke, passing up to the front and putting a claw over the top of the crystal, "Cynder... The time crystal would heal him, keeping him safe... But... I'm not so sure it would heal a dead body..." Getting gasps from everyone, he cut off any thoughts of such a thing, "But we can't have that happen! Spyro... He... Has to be alive in there... He... He has to be."

"Then we need to find out!" Cynder cried.

"And... What would you... we... do, if he's... dead?" Terrador murmured, fearing for the change that Cynder could undergo.

"He won't be! He... He..."

"Cynder... It's okay... Just, get to the other side of the crystal. I'm gonna open this crystal and we'll... find out," Ignitus gave her directions, making her now swallow hard as she now had fears of her own for such a thing.

Walking around to the other side of the crystal, Cynder kept eyes on him the entire time, begging and hoping that he was to be alive in this crystal, _Please be alive, my love... Please don't be dead._ Getting over to the other side, she looked up at him, both giving tears as they held on to their breaths. Using the paw he held over the crystal, Ignitus pulled it up and tapped his claw on it. Once he did, he backed his paw back to the ground, watching along with everyone else as it cracked all around from where he tapped his claw. Making it's way down the middle, then the back, and finally, the sides, the crystal broke with a bright shine. Covering up their view with their wings, they waited for the light to die down, and once it had, they all took their wings back to their sides and looked down on his body. Cynder was able to see him for all he was as he laid on his side, facing her and surrounded by the glass like shards she remembered being spoke of from the dream. _He's not in the Volcano anymore... But what else could happen... Like..._ Gasping, she had an idea of what could happen, _But what if he's taken back?! What if... What if that wasn't when lose him?!_ Ready with her tail blade, she made sure to stay alert, but for the time being, she, along with everyone else was confused, scared, as he still hadn't awoken from his slumber. Taking a step up to him, Cynder eased a paw over to his side, whispering as she shed another tear from fear, "Sp... Spyro...?"

Getting a grumble from out of his mouth, everyone gasped as they watched him move his body only slightly. Turning from his side and to his back, Spyro looked up to the sky, blocking out the sun with his wing and once again, grumbling. Blinking as much as he could to adjust his eyes, once he was a custom to the sun light, he pulled his wings down to see smiles on everyone's face, but even tears. Once he looked to his left, he saw the same thing from Cynder, and instead of feeling calm, he was rather questioning of his surroundings, "I'm not falling for this again. If I'm dead, I'm not giving up and going to sleep," Hearing a chuckle, Spyro looked to his right and to Ignitus, wondering what was so funny, "What? Don't like what I have to say?"

"Hehe, no, of course not, Spyro. Just look around you. Don't you remember what I said to you? 'They kept you in your room to make you feel safe that one time as to avoid any other kind of detail'. I can promise you right now, the one who did it can only split themselves more then five times, and do we look like only a group of five?" He watched as Spyro looked around at everyone, making sure that things were how they needed to be, and once looking back to his father, he gave his son a smile, along with one last tear, "Welcome back, my son."

"Wait... So if this is real, then..." Looking back over to his left, Cynder gave him a smile, even giggling as she tried to hide her sadness, "Cynder..."

Dropping her body down, she snuggled up to him, laying down on his body and nuzzling her head underneath his, wanting to once again feel his comfort. Feeling her nuzzle underneath his chin made him let out a nice sigh. Now resting back to his chest and feeling his wings come over her back, she whispered to him, dripping down a tear off of her face and to his body, "You kept your promises to me... Hehe... And here I was about to kill everyone too."

"Hehe, Damn... Too early then."

"Good to see you too, Spyro," Claire giggled, making everyone else laugh together, finally getting the satisfaction of their friends returned.

"Well, while Carith does seem to be smiling, I'm assuming Malefor isn't dead either."

"I'm about to be," Malefor cried from behind Spyro.

"Thank goodness I didn't wake up to see his face. Then I would've thought I was in hell."

"F you too, ass hat."

"Spyro... I... have to know though," Ignitus spoke, almost in awe as he couldn't understand how he was able to make it out of what he did, "This, might be a little long in me saying, but I'm sure we all need time to... come back, from your... almost... and thankfully not happened death so, I'm going to give you the run down," While Ignitus spoke, Volteer and Ersa snuggled up together, same as Claire as she snuggled up to her lover's side, and while this was also happening, Malefor made slow but good progress over to the others, "The Ancestors... Well... You pissed them off. They don't understand how you made it out of that. Even for me, I believed you to be dead. Even after giving Cynder the nightmare along with the others, we... failed... But you didn't... and with barely any information to boot. So I have to ask... How did you survive?"

"Hehe... That is going to take a lot of explaining," Spyro was honest as he laid the back of his head to the ground and rested, "For now... Let's just be happy that the Destroyer has been dealt with. I can explain more tomorrow, but for now... I just wish to be with my family if that's okay with all of you."

"We all have no problem with that, of course."

"Hey, Spyro, I have to ask though," Malefor spoke, walking up to Claire's side and looking down on him, "Were those two dark dragons with you? They came down here saying they would kill everyone else, but not Cynder."

"So they really did as I asked," Spyro smiled as he closed his eyes.

"To kill us?!"

"No, idiot. To go and get you and Cynder to help retrieve my body."

"What the hell happened then?!"

"How about you tell me why you wished for all of us to die," Spyro growled at his constant pushing, and now getting him to shut up, he opened his eyes, looking up him with anger, "Even if we would've destroyed that thing, even if it had a piece left and it made it to the Volcano, that darkness would've made it's way to the earth's core anyway and killed all of us," Malefor was silent as he didn't know anything about this, and even with his surprised face, Spyro scuffed at him, closing his eyes and trying to ignore him after he said, "Don't give me some bull shit excuse. I'm done with you anyway."

"Wh... What do you mean."

"I'm done talking to you. We can help each other out and what not, and I'll have your back, but don't ever expect us to be friends."

"Bu... But I... I did everything to protect everyone... I even did as you asked..."

"And so the past repeats itself, just as what happened when you first came back. Guess we shouldn't be friends after all."

His words stabbed Malefor in his heart, making him fall to his back side and look to the ground with both anger and sadness. Walking around everyone and making to Malefor's left side, Carith draped a wing over his back and hoped this would help ease him. Showing her teeth and looking over to Spyro, she wished to say something, but instead of her saying something, they heard as Cynder spoke, "Spyro..." Backing her head away from his, he opened his eyes, locking eyes with her as she looked down to him, "The past does repeat itself. If it wasn't for Malefor, you'd be dead. I... wasn't strong enough to help you again. And instead of repeating the past, why can't we change something of the past?"

"I've tried, Cynder, I really have, but every time I try to change something from the past, it always comes back to bite me, whether it be from Malefor or not. I mean, even after the darkness was supposedly gone, dragons had gotten a hold of it, it infected Claire's mind, and every step of the way, it seems to always make itself know that it will never go away. Even today, I scanned the darkness all around me. While some felt different, there was still a hint of darkness from the Dark Master, from Malefor's, darkness."

"And have you dealt with those dark spots that Malefor spoke about yet?" This made him think, finally giving him a reason to ease off of what he was saying, "After what you've been through today, I couldn't imagine the amount of emotional stress you've gone through today... same... as all of us, but to help you out, I want to make this clear once again; Malefor wasn't the enemy and we can figure out who it is later. But for now, we won, we're all safe, and now, all I want to do, as well as everyone else, is to go home and rest. I need... to rest... with you, my love... After everything that came true, I... passed out on the floor, had a panic attack and I... gave up on my life."

Not having known anything that happened while he was gone, he didn't know how bad things had gotten for the others, so for now, all he could do was apologise with sadness, "Cynder... I... I didn't... know..."

"That I loved you? That we all cared about you and that we'd do anything to protect you?"

Giving a frown, she was right about it all, but he didn't want her to be right about one thing as he knew it would hurt her for it. So, to make things right, Spyro looked to Malefor and apologized, "Malefor... I'm... sorry... And, I understand that, this is another thing that is repeating; It takes Cynder to convince me to stop you from leaving but I... I'm scared... Not of you, but of what's out there. I wish to say something to change of what I did in the past, but I... just for now... can't call you, my friend," This didn't seem to change his mood at all, but he still tried his best to help, "You, nor Cynder, killed my or her, parents. I know who it was, we all know, who it was. But all I ask is, was this from the dark spots, or not... Can you please tell me if you know this."

It was silent for a bit, but after not hearing anything from him, Spyro went to speak again, but stopped once Malefor chuckled in a cry, "You've always been such a stubborn ass to me, Spyro, and I just need to get use to that," Picking up his head and wiping away his tears, he was honest as it was much easier for him, "With my new darkness, I felt it the same, but was having too much fun to think about it. I had hoped we could just, deal with this and look past it, but... Hehe... My luck is pretty shit. So to be honest... Yes... Someone has taken all of the darkness that I laid around. I didn't feel any of it in any of the places I placed around Warfang."

"Do you, know who got a hold of that?"

"If I did, we'd already find and kill the son of a bitch," Malefor lied.

"Then you, aren't mad that I'm rejecting our friendship?"

"I said I'd give you time, did I not? But now the question is, how much time?"

"That... I... don't know..."

"Hehe... Damn... I guess."

"We can discuss this more when we get back to our hallway, but for now; Ignitus. Do we need to fly back, or can you take us back?"

"I can teleport us back,' Ignitus answered him.

Getting off of her lover's body, Cynder helped him stand, and seeing as everyone else already sat and closed their eyes, she did the same once he stood. Feeling terrible for all of this, Spyro sat down next to her and gave a whisper to apologize, "Cynder... I'm... sorry for... everything... I didn't know how bad things were... I didn't know, how bad things had gotten for you."

"We, just the same, will talk later."

Giving a frown as he closed his eyes, he heard a snap, and once being back into the Chambers, he, along with everyone else, opened their eyes. Not wanting to say anything now, he just looked to the ground and frowned, not wishing to say anything else as he felt it would only made things worse and worse for everyone, _What am I doing...?_ Feeling a paw rub his back, Spyro looked to his right and saw it was his lover's, and once she took her paw off, she nudged her paw over to the others to speak to them all. Looking up to everyone as they all sat to where they normally did, him and his lover were the same, so now having his surroundings, he needed to get his words. Fearing he would say something wrong, he connected back with his emotions and apologized, "I'm sorry... All of you... First the new dark form, freezing time and thinking for so long, and even being in the crystal... I've forgotten how to be who I am."

"You froze time? But the Ancestors didn't feel you use your time power at all," Ignitus questioned, only make him wonder more of what had happened.

"Because, I didn't. All of what I did aside from the time crystal, was all with the darkness, so they don't know what I did at all," This was what made it obvious to him now as to why he, and the Ancestors, couldn't see where or what he did for the time that he was using his darkness, "Thank you, all, for caring about my well being, and... Hehe... Not trying to move past my death as you three once did, "Getting chuckles from Terrador, Cyril, and Volteer, they knew what he was talking about, "That's another reason I didn't really know if you all would care... except for Cynder... you all seen my death once again... so I thought you all would try and move on now, rather then later."

"You gave us hope to look past such thoughts. Now without you, without any of us, we'd never be the same. We all, as you know, care for you, Spyro," Volteer comforted his friend, getting him to smile, which in return, made the others smile.

"And for you, Cynder," Looking to her with the most anguish over all, Spyro wanted to apologize most of all to her, "I'm... sorry for not comforting you when I was broken free... I thought you were still passed out and that, when my clone would come and wake you, he'd give you hope... So... what did, happen then."

"You tried to get me to forget to protect me, but you know, and so does everyone else, that was a terrible idea. So, Malefor woke me with his darkness and when I got up, I saw it all; You going into the Volcano, the time crystal... me thinking back to the nightmare where it was said that you woke up three years later on shards of glass... And so... I... believed that I...failed... So I... all I heard was ringing... fell to the ground, passed out... and wished to die," Snuggling up to her and nuzzling his forehead against the side her neck as she started to tear up, Spyro shed some tears of his own, not knowing any of this at all, "If it wasn't for those dark clones... I... I... thought... I was going to wake up three years later... And you'd still not be with me..."

"It's okay, my love... I... couldn't let that happen," Taking his head back, he made sure to keep a wing over her back, and once he did this, she snuggled up to him, staying close to him as he spoke of what happened, "When I helped ease you into a state of sleep... My darkness took over, and I... was basically moving so fast that I froze time. I had about less then an hour to think, because I... couldn't leave you..." Making sure they all knew, he looked to all of them, making it very clear, "I couldn't leave all of you, and this family."

"You were moving fast enough to freeze time?!" Malefor cried out with everyone having the same surprised looks.

"Hehe, yeah... And that was when I meant my two new, dark dragon, helpers."

"Broken! That's a broken ass ability! What could possibly stop you now that you can do that? Or are you going to forget about that power, we all gloss over it, and then we get into a bad position and it's like, 'Shit, if only we had a way to freeze time'. Is it going to be like that?"

"Um... That was rather, very specific."

"He's referring to someone else who could do the same, but he only did it once when a bomb went off. But after that, he didn't do it ever again," Volteer spoke on his behalf.

"Remember back when I said, If you have a broken ability, spam it unlike others. That way, there's no need to be scared of anything at all!" Malefor happily cried as this seemed like a perfect idea.

"Malefor, I still don't even know how to exactly use that power. It was in the heat of the moment, and until I learn more of it, it's going to take a bit for me to fully control it," Getting a sigh from him, he at least understood where he was coming from and explained some more to give him at least some hope, "But that doesn't mean I still can't use it for at least some time. I still need to understand if I can trust my counterparts or, what ever they are. I'm glad they did as I asked and didn't infect one of you to kill each other so... For now, that new dark form of mine is going to be off limits for a bit."

"So, you can't at least use it one last time?" Cynder murmured, biting her lip even as she talked about it.

"Why?"

"I just want to see your... your... well, you know..."

"WHOA! Cynder, no ma'am. That's a man's privacy," Malefor laughed, making everyone else feel uncomfortable.

"His body, you shit head!" Cynder growled, now wanting for him to be dead, "Now I agree with what Spyro said about you!"

"You're joking... right...? Hehe..."

"I still will slap you with the help of my wind powers, so watch your damn words."

"Spyro, can you hurry and say something before that happens."

"Is my, body not good looking?" Spyro frowned.

"What?! No no no, it's just... You seem so deadly... And I just... feel... comfortable to know, same as you to me that, even though we can be deadly, it's much more romantic for us to be easy with one another," It made sense to him even though he didn't know what he looked like in his new dark form, and she couldn't tell if he was thinking sad thoughts or not, so she rejected against it, "No. Never mind. You just came back, and I want you to be safe. So instead, can we just, stay snuggled up together instead. Last thing I need to feel again is losing you... Then i really would have to kill Malefor."

"I need to make a harassment box. I've already had two yesterday that I said, so that makes three," Malefor made a mental note, which Volteer called him out on.

"If you don't write that down, you're going to forget," Volteer chuckled.

"No I'm not."

"What about the one the day before the first one?"

"There's only been three!"

"Are you sure?"

"Yes! I... Wait... Damnit, Volteer! Shut up!"

"Cynder..." Now with Spyro speaking, everyone wondered what he would say to her words, and it was a surprise to everyone, "I will do it... But all I ask is that you stay close to me in case anything happens. You've always been able to keep me in control and see what I don't. If you need to kiss me, don't hesitate," Giving a quick peck to his lips, he blushed as she backed up, and he chuckled from the sudden peck, "Thanks, my love."

"Wait till we're in our room. I will be doing that a lot more later on," Cynder smirked, licking her lips as to get his taste that she got from his.

"Gives me something to look forward to, and also, hopefully help control my darkness."

Walking away and to the middle of the entrance way for everyone to see him, Cynder followed next to him, but not to his side, instead, to his front right shoulder. This was rather difficult for Spyro to go back into such mode, giving what it took to get it, and he expressed this feeling, "I don't like... showing my form off as a trophy. First time, Cynder was badly injured... And then... you... we're knocked out."

"Whiiiiiich..." Stepping in to help with this, Ignitus told him the truth, "In case we did fail against the Destroyer, our fall back plan was to fake Cynder's injury," Getting a raised brow from Spyro, Ignitus chuckled at this idea as he believed it was rather an ingenious idea, "So, she faked being passed out, I used my blood to fake blood going down her forehead, and we just kinda... played it off. So lucky, unlike in the past, Cynder didn't need to get hurt for this new form, only... mentally from the... well... let's all just look past that."

"That... does make me feel better, knowing she wasn't hurt... But... Ignitus, can you, do me a favor," He wondered what it could be as Spyro paused for a second, looking to his lover and continuing, "If it's okay with you, Cynder, could I, see what all happened when I left?" Seeing her give a little of a frown, he believed what it could be, and used his knowledge of her to help find out what it could be, "Is this because your scared of me seeing you in such a depressed and destroyed state... or because I'm... making you remember?"

"It's... both... But, I can, understand why you're asking. And... it would be best if you saw so you know that, we all didn't, they, didn't, give up on you. Even Terrador had to shed a tear from your supposed passing."

"He... did...?" Spyro asked in surprise, but once he looked at him, Terrador growled as he knew what was to be said, "No no no, Terrador, I'm not going to pick on you about it. It's... refreshing to hear as... You were one of the main ones whom wished to push me away with my death last time. So... thank you for that."

"You're... welcome," Terrador gave a sigh, glad he didn't pull a Malefor and make fun of him for it.

"I can give you the memories if you so wish for. But as Cynder said... This was... Tough, for all of us," Ignitus agreed to what he was asking.

"I'm also asking for these memories to help control my darkness a whole lot better, and to, understand," Looking back to Cynder once he paused, he then proceeded to continue, "Just how much I need to comfort you, my love," Once he gave a smile, she gave a slight one herself, hoping that they would forget about this sooner or later, "Okay, Ignitus, I'm, ready when you are."

"I will inform my clone."

It took a second, but to prepare, he gave a sigh, loosening up his body and looking down to the ground in case he needed to show any kind of emotion he didn't want them to see. The Chambers went quiet as everyone waited to see his reactions from what had happened, but at first, it didn't seem like anything was happening, making the others think he probably didn't care. Seeing the tears that dripped down and off his eyes, his body started to shiver, though he tried to stay a float himself, not wishing to make anything worse, _Everyone... Cynder... I... didn't know things would be so bad._ Having a claw go across his cheek to take care of a tear, his eyes opened up a little more, and looking to his left, he saw it was Cynder whom wiped the tear off his face. While he wished to smile, Spyro couldn't bring himself to do it, instead, he could only apologize, "I'm... so sorry... All of that... was because... of me."

"No... It was the sick son of a bitch that activated the Destroyer. Whether it was someone who knew or didn't understand, at least now... It's gone... It's been dealt with, and that's all that matters. You being alive... is all that matters," Cynder comforted him, making him feel only slightly better as the thoughts were a lot more then he would've liked to see.

Wondering why this all even happened, Spyro looked to his father and asked, "I thought you said that thing burned in the magma."

"I thought it did. But I also knew you were under enough stress, and telling you that thing could come back was not what you needed to hear," Ignitus defended his words, and once again, it made sense to him.

"Well... after seeing that... after you, fell to the floor and... almost died, Cynder, I..." Shaking his head and blinking his eyes a couple of times to clear off his tears, he stood ready, now wanting more then ever to do as she asked, "I've been wrong about this whole day, and to make up for it, for what I've put you through, I'm going to do as you asked and show my new dark form," She felt terrible, now hearing as to why he was doing it, and even though she wished to clarify, he was already starting to let off a dark aura, "This day has been nothing but hell, and all I want to do now is end it off on a high note."

Doing as he had once again, he closed his eyes to control the darkness within him, passing by his other dark form and skipping to the new one. The pitch black aura went out from his body before being sucked back into his body, transforming into a more dark purple, letting his body shine along with everything else. His body smoothed out, his muscles shrunk some, and as before, he grew as tall as an adult dragon. Giving out a sigh of heat, a growl also followed, making the others shiver while Cynder both shivered and blushed. Once opening his eyes, he once again had darkened yellow shining eyes, giving more to his threatening look. Now into his darkness, Spyro focused over to Cynder, making her jump with a shiver, but now with him able to understand her emotions better, he didn't react. Stretching out his wings wide and now showing off all his body, Cynder had to take a step forward and walk right against his chest. Once against his chest, he closed his wings around her, wrapping them completely around her and holding her close. Giving out a pleased sigh, she rather enjoyed this new form, whispering to him to show her thankfulness, "Thank you, Spyro... This is very... soothing."

"Hey, Spyro, now that you're in your new dark purple form, totally calling it that by the way, can you get those other two out here so I can kick their ass?" Malefor asked, hitting his paw against his palm of his other paw and igniting into his dark form, "While I only have the pitch black version of your power, and you now have the dark purple form, I still believe I can beat them. I shall just blade dance as it's the most broken ability I have," Not getting an answer, but instead, watching as Spyro ducked his head over Cynder's as the two sat, Malefor now stood up on his back two paws, extending his wings out as much as he could and demanding to be answered, "I am your lord! You answer to the Master! Master, Malefor...!"

Malefor didn't expect it, but being slammed against the wall by Carith, she also stood on her back two paws, locking lips with him, making out with him even, making him lose his dark form rather quickly. Even though he wished to show his strength, it disappeared all together as he started to fall back down to his four paws, sliding down and off the wall as he did. Once he landed to his four paws, Carith did the same as she backed off from him. Once she slid her lips off of his, Malefor, same as her, gave a pleased sigh, and he was the one to chuckle, "You can't let me have fun, can you?"

"Not unless I'm the one controlling you," Carith smirked.

"You dare try me?"

"I tried your lips, that's for sure. Rather tasty they are."

"How am I supposed to be evil around you if you'll just kiss the darkness out of me."

"Sounds like a personal problem. Now go back into that dark form again so I may save you again."

 _I guess I should give credit where it's due, and I... want to thank you two for your help, with not killing any one of course,_ Spyro thanked in his mind to the other two from his now new formed party, and surprisingly to him, he got a response from one of them, _"Remember what we said, understand." Hehe, you know, it's gonna be a little wired having not only my voice, but two other of my voices in my mind. "We still sound a little different in tone then you, but just remember, we're basically you." Which I wish to learn more about. But for now,_ Taking his head back from the side of her cheek, he watched as Cynder had opened her eyes, looking up at him and wondering what he was doing. Since the two were looking at one another, it was perfect for him as he gave her a kiss from above, and for her, the kiss he gave from above felt amazing, something she's never felt, moaning even, closing her eyes once again with him and thinking, _Did I... die... Or is this all... really... my life now?_ Feeling his lips slip off hers, the two gave pleased sighs, opening their eyes and smiling at one another, _If this is real... and if it's my life now... I have no complaints whatsoever._ His face turned back to a normal resting face, which for his new form was rather angry looking, but it smoothed out his face, "I'm sorry, to all of you... I wanted to protect you all, without thinking just how bad it would get, and I... Will never make such a mistake again... I promise."

"Spyro, it's fine. You made it out, and that's all that matters. Because of you, we are as happy as we are now," Ignitus smiled along with everyone else, "Thank you for... hehe, well, saving yourself basically. You've kept your promises to us, and to Cynder, and we all very much appreciate that. And, to also help give some good news, there were no fatalities during that entire battle, only minor damage here and here," Terrador and Cyril nodded their heads, knowing they did most of that help, and the others gave smiles to know their efforts weren't for nothing, "Malefor's defense, you two, me and Claire, and the others that helped protect the citizens, we did much better then last time."

"WE?!" Malefor and the other three Guardians cried.

"You weren't even there for the last battle!" Cyril cried to him.

"Okay, okay, fine, let me correct myself, you, all. But, why are you saying something Malefor."

"Because I was able to stop myself and prevent another death from this family," Malefor grumbled, crossing his arms and knowing he did something right as well.

"Are you sure you're still not the Dark Master, because you're a great liar," Terrador growled at him.

"Yeah, wasn't it Carith who stopped you, not yourself," Cyril also stepped in.

"Yeah, cause you were too busy balling your eyes out that she would leave you," Volteer was the last to make a jab at him.

"I'm gonna add that to my fifth harassment box," Malefor made a mental note.

"Don't you mean fourth?"

"Wh... No, I... Shut up!"

"Hey, if it's okay with everyone else, I would like to get this day over with," Ersa spoke, getting everyone's attention, "I mean, I'm down to stay here with you all till when ever, but... with how today's gone... when you, Spyro, give us the go ahead to leave, I don't wish to be rude as I wish to be here with you. It's just that... with how the day has gone, I need to... recover... same as everyone else."

"It's okay, Ersa. I'm about to head up to my room with Cynder here soon anyway. So if you all wish to sleep, I will... talk with you all in the morning then," Spyro agreed to what she was saying.

"Recover? I thought you wanted to..."

"Thank you, Spyro!" Ersa cried out, blocking out Volteer from speaking and keeping it unknown of what they were to do, "Just remember, Spyro, we will always be there, to have each other's back. And through think and thin, we will all stick together," Hearing her words, she gave a blush, giggling even, and this made everyone fear of what she was to say, which unfortunately, their fears were true, "Speaking of back, and, sticking together, Volteer...?"

"NO!" Everyone cried out in disgust.

"You two just had... a night, last night. Calm down you damn bunny rabbits," Malefor growled, shaking his head and blushing as hard as everyone else was.

"Malefor, do you have a mate? Have you ever done it before? Oh, that's right," Nudging her mate in the side, she gave a smile, standing up and walking away while waving a paw for him to follow, "You did promise me that night, did you not," While she stood next to Spyro's right, she looked up to him, then down to Cynder, and thanked her, "Thank you, Cynder... If it wasn't for you, Spyro may have never been the way he is now, and having you around as well is always, very welcoming."

It was rather strange for her to say, but Cynder had an idea as to why and thanked her friend, "This isn't like the past. Volteer will still be there for you, same as we said to Spyro, it also relates to you."

Giving her friend a nice smile, Volteer walked up next to Ersa, nuzzling her tail with his own, and giving a shiver, she turned away from the two and they headed for their room. Now that he could see everyone else was getting ready for bed by either stretching or yawning, Spyro wished them all a good nights rest, "Thank you all, for everything. I hope that, when we wake up the next morning, we will all be as we were yesterday. I don't want anything to change... and I... don't want this to effect us."

"Spyro, we can move on when ever. This day was a success. We're all still here, some stuff needs to be fixed around Warfang, but other then that, it's fine with me," Ignitus gave him some helpful words of which he appreciated.

"Don't worry, Spyro. When we wake up in the morning, we will go back to a normal day; Us in the Chambers, chilling out and talking to one another, just having fun and letting the day go by," Claire spoke as well, wanting this to be the case, and since everyone else smiled to her, she knew thay all agreed as well, "The darkness almost made me miss all of this... But I will never turn my back on any of you ever again."

"But when you walk into the Sleeping Chambers, won't you be turning your back on us then?" Malefor snickered, feeling as this joke was a masterpiece.

"Oh... Malefor... How I wish I could've at least killed you."

 _"Spyro, we can't hold this form any longer. We can only help protect your mind for so long, unless you kiss Cynder of course,"_ Hearing one of the voices in his head from the darkness, Spyro understood, _Thanks for the warning._ Taking his wings from around Cynder's body, she looked up to him, seeing as he gave a sigh, and so, she backed away some. Once he had calmed himself down, he came from out of his new form, slowly coming back to his bright purple, gold, and orange color. Returned back to his body, he looked to everyone, still seeming as though something still wasn't quite right, "Thank you, all, for your help during our war efforts. When we wake up tomorrow, I will be sure to help in anyway that I can," Spyro turned away from everyone, and with him walking away, they knew where he was to head, "Come on, my love."

Before she did, Cynder saw everyone's concerned looks which she took into consideration as even she herself still knew something was wrong. Once she went to follow, so did Malefor and Carith as the two had followed behind. Making it up to her lover's side, she saw the way his body looked; tensed, worried, rather angry, which she couldn't understand as it seemed everything had already been resolved. Every lantern he passed on his way down lit up with more fire, making the others around him rather fearful as well, feeling the anger starting to radiate from his body. Every step he made, he made with thought, like he was planning everything that he was doing. Not wanting to keep quiet about what was happening, Cynder knew she had to say something to get him to calm down, "Spyro, if something else is bothering you, you can tell me. Or, is it something you don't wish to talk about?" Not getting an answer from him, she wondered if she needed to change up her tactic, or maybe even her attitude, "Do I need to bring up my terror attitude as I did yesterday? I have no problem taking control."

"What is Malefor doing?" Spyro asked with a growl in his voice, almost as if he was still in his dark form.

"He's just hanging out with his lover as he always has... Is he still bothering you?"

"He's always bothered me."

With Cynder looking behind herself, Malefor saw she looked to him, and while he gave a smile, she gave a frown, shaking her head even, making this even worse for him. Giving out a sigh, Malefor didn't wish for this to get to him, but he had hopes he would be able to do something about it. Rather then keep his thoughts to himself, he was rather afraid of him now more then ever, "With him pissed off about what's happened, what should I do?" Asking his lover, she hoped he had more to say for her to go off of, and luckily, he did, "His new dark form is rather... intimidating, and it makes me wonder if that's how he'd look in the future. I mean, having back my normal form compared to the Dark Master, I look rather intimidating too, but him... I don't know."

"He'll come around sooner or later. And, hey, look on the bright side; I'm not scared of you at all compared to back then, when you were the Dark Master, of course," Her words made him think, even her as well as she wondered what Spyro would say, but even worse, what he'd do, "Even back then, Spyro never would've killed you. I mean, hell, he would've killed you in the hallway when you first came back if he wanted to. Spyro's told us how he's felt, and now, all we need to do is hope there's something we can do."

"Yeah... I... definitely need to talk to him."

With the two in front walking into the hallway, taking a right once inside, the two behind followed, walking to the right as well as they hoped to talk. While Cynder stood in the middle of the hallway, Spyro was already walking over towards his door, opening it and walking inside. Just as he got to the doorway, Malefor ran up and called out to him, "Spyro! Wait... I need to talk with..."

"BACK OFF!" His yell made Malefor stop halfway, standing just a little in front of Carith and Cynder, "I've already told you everything you need to know, I told you I don't wish to be your friend, and I told you this all was happening, and since you had already known, I could've been training with Cynder yesterday, rather then playing with a DAMN FAKE!" Now turning to face him, Spyro's face was no longer filled with sadness, but frustration for this day all together, and he couldn't handle it any longer, "I don't care if Cynder knew! She was busy crying her eyes out because her lover was to die! She cared for me, and since no one else said anything, it was another reason I believed that everyone turned their backs on me!"

"You were having such a good time, Spyro. You and Cynder have never been able to enjoy the peace that you've fought so hard for," Malefor tried and help defend what everyone had done, including himself.

"Peace... PEACE?!" Walking up now towards him, touching his chest with a claw, he pointed out his words to be false, "You call what happened out there peace?! You call anything that I've ever done, peace?! Let me give you a run down of this so called, peace. First, we have Claire who was sent to assassinate us, having darkness infect her mind! Problem! Then we have Volteer whom wanted to turn against us because of what's happened in the past! Problem! We even had to deal with Ersa's almost, death! Another Problem! So you tell me during which day that you've been back where there hasn't been a problem?!"

Using his paw and wiping Spyro's claw off of his chest, Malefor growled, not understanding why this was such an issue, "You know this better then anyone else that we will continue to fight for those we love, to protect them, and to never give up on them. Even after what happened, even if you turned out to be the Dark Master, I wouldn't turn my back on you. Even after what you said to me, I'm not giving up on becoming your friend. With this war done, my war to be your friend will never end."

"You really want to come at me with those words, words that I've used in the past? For the record, I've protected everyone. I was the one who helped Cynder, I was the who helped Claire, I was the one who helped save Ersa! I was the one who saved the whole planet! So you back that shit off where you think you're in the right. It's because of you, your choices, your actions, that the darkness in this world even exists, and you think you're the good guy here?!"

"I've tried my best to make up for it!"

"Oh really? You've tired your best, huh? You didn't deal with those dark spots when you knew where they were, so because of you, another catastrophe happened, and guess who's fault it was?" Once again, Spyro made Malefor look like the bad guy, even without him knowing he was, not even wishing to be such a thing as he has been his whole life, "You're weak. If it weren't for me, we'd all be dead. If it weren't for me, you might've killed everyone behind my back. You betrayed your friends, and you betrayed Carith, because you didn't give a shit about anyone else's well being expect your own. You've never done anything to prove you're a man."

Finally having enough of his words, Malefor swung his fist around rather quickly, and even for Spyro, he didn't expect it as he was too busy yelling in his face. The punch was enough to at least move Spyro's face to the side, forcing him to look to his right. Taking his fist away, he returned fire against Spyro's words, trying all he could to do what was right, "You act like you're any better! You failed to protect Cynder on your way back to Warfang, you failed to protect her when the Dark Master almost killed her, you failed to stop the Destroyer, forcing Cynder into a breakdown! Instead of you stopping time sooner, you forced everyone to watch your supposed death! You should've just died when you had the chance!"

Easily moving his head back to face Malefor, Spyro wiped a paw across his face, seeing as blood had fallen down his nose. Looking to his paw, then back to Malefor, he grabbed him by the neck, stood on his two back paws, slammed him to the wall and stabbed him in the gut with his tail blade. While the girls gasped, Malefor let out a cry, feeling as his tail blade moved from within his body, forcing him to cough up blood over the back of Spyro. Squeezing his neck a little tighter, this was something he wished to remember, something he wanted Malefor to understand when it came to who he treated, "I have no problem killing you here and now," His voice was low, somewhat of a whisper, sending chills down the threes spines as it seemed he was serious, "I can take my tail blade to your heart and surround it in darkness, making sure no one heals you. You'll die alone as you should've, so you better watch who you're talking to. Do I make myself clear," Not getting a response, but rather a tear dripping down from Malefor's eye as he had to use his wind power to breath, Spyro tensed his paw around Malefor's neck even further, "DO I MAKE MYSELF CLEAR?!"

"Spyro, stop!" Carith and Cynder cried in unison, stepping in as he was being more aggressive then they would've liked to see.

Growling for having been stopped, he did as he was told, but he still made thing worse. While he did take his paw off Malefor's neck, Spyro turned his tail blade inside his stomach before yanking it out, causing blood to spill out from his stomach, making him let out a painful cry. While he backed off of him, Carith ran up to Malefor's body as it slid down on the ground, bleeding all down his stomach, which made it worse as blood even dripped down the side of his mouth. With Malefor down, Carith in fear, and same for Cynder, Spyro scuffed as he looked down on his body, "Crawl your weak ass body to the gems and heal your own self if you think you're such a man. Or figure out how to use your dark power to heal yourself with your dark power. Hopefully you'll turn so I can kill you later."

Now having enough herself, Carith stood up and defend her lover, "How are you any different then the Dark Master right now?!" This got Spyro's attention to see she had yelled out against him, and he wished to see what she had to say, "You lie to him, you betray him, you use him, and now you turn your back on him! You said you don't wish to be the previous Chronicler, but you're acting like him. You said you didn't wish to be the Dark Master, yet your as cold and lifeless as he was to everyone else except himself!"

"Carith... don't..." Malefor murmured, holding a paw over the wound in his stomach.

"No! If you wish to attack me, then do it! I'm not going to let you push him around as you once did before!"

"Let's get one thing straight here, I'm neither of those two. The chronicler was his friend, I am not. The Dark Master hurt Cynder, I have not. So let's say you are the role of Cynder. I haven't hurt you, have I?" Spyro tried to defend himself and his actions, and rather then say anything, she looked to him with anger, "I'm trying all I can, I really am. You, nor any else understands what I'm going through. Malefor's right; I've done nothing but fail for others that I wish to help. I wasn't fast enough to protect Cynder, to help Ersa, to help Volteer, to help anyone. It always took me longer then it should've, and because of that, they suffered, because of me... I... Am more of a failure then the Dark Master was... which is another reason... I'm not the Dark Master."

"You're not a failure. You're still young, your mind has been through more then anyone should experience, and I will give that to you. Even for me, I've never seen as much as you have."

"Yet you'd think I would learn my lesson by now... Learn from what I've done... And by acting the way I have, not only have I hurt you two, but I did the same to Cynder by showing her this side of me," Looking to her, she gave a frown, not wanting to say anything, but he did, "I'm... sorry, my love. I don't know what to do as of right now. If I wish to leave, I'd hurt you, but what if staying hurts you too. So then... what do I do."

"If you really wish to change back to who you are, you heal him, apologize for what you did, clean yourself and him off, and you get in our room so we can talk," Cynder gave her instructions for him to make the much needed change that he needed to undergo, "Ever since this day has started, you've never been yourself. In the morning, having you smile and laugh is who I love. I understand your anger, but... not against those around here. During that entire fight, I never even got hurt, and it was not only thanks to you all, but Malefor as well."

"Hehe... she's right," Malefor chuckled, trying to help change up his tone of mood as well, "Pretty sure I took out the most amount of dark creatures with my golden gun."

"Yeah yeah, but I took out the boss which counts for way more experience points," Spyro chuckled, changing up his tone as well, making the other two feel rather at ease.

"What? That's so bull. I'm sure that defeating a boss wouldn't add up to half a million enemies defeated."

"Half a million, huh?"

"Carith can totally back me up on this one."

"Hehe, well, it was about, more then half a million," Carith helped him out some.

"Hehe, yes... score."

"Alright, clam down. This ain't a contest," Spyro rolled his eyes, but at least smiling as he did.

"You said it wasn't, but is it at least a game?"

"I... would be lying if I said... I didn't have a little fun myself."

"What moves did you use? My mains are of course golden gun and blade dance."

"Haven't thought much of it aside from that dark ball."

"Dude! That moves was-UGH!" Letting out a loud growl, he clenched his teeth before apologising, "Hehe... Let me not, do that with a hole in my stomach."

"Oh yeah... let me, help you with that," Kneeling down to help, Malefor moved his paw out of the way, and taking his place was Spyro's paw, "To make this easier, I just need to get rid of all this blood... I... don't like knowing that I... made another mistake in my life..." Using his dark powers, a sphere of darkness erupted from his body, making its way throughout the hallway before finally disappearing, "That should've helped," Taking his paw back, Malefor saw his gut had been healed, but was crazy to him was that the blood was all gone, and seeing he already had questions, Spyro answered, "Think if I had a class, I'd be a medic, but as a secondary, could be an assault. But, anyway, as for that, it was rather simple. My darkness already gets rid of wounds and blood stains, so, ejecting it outwards helps make things faster."

"When did you learn that?!" Malefor asked, just as astonished as the other two.

"While me and the other two were trying to figure out how to keep me from dying, I was thinking of other means to help in case something happened while I was... away."

"Who are those two by the way."

"They will explain more when ever I train some more. But as of right now, I feel like just, sleeping for the next twenty-four hours."

"Hehe, yeah, same here. Or, are you not going to sleep well cause, you'll think I'll hurt you?"

"Heh, no. I'm more worried of Carith hurting you if you try something."

"I could get Cynder on you for stabbing me though."

"You punched me. We're even."

"What?! That's bull shit! A punch isn't the same as nearly choked to death while being stabbed in the gut."

"You have no proof I did any of what you said."

"WH...! Carith, Cynder, back me up please." Carith looked to Cynder, both smiling at one another as they already had a plan which made Malefor fear, "Oh no..."

"Malefor, why are you lying? Spyro just went through a traumatic event," Cynder giggled, walking up to her lover's side.

"I can't believe I love a liar. Cynder, you and the other girls need to help me find someone else," Carith giggled, joining along her, making Spyro laugh even.

Letting out a huge sigh, Malefor grumbled, "Damn... it..."

Getting the three to let out small laughs, Spyro was the first to die down on his laughter, and once the other two stopped laughing as well, it went quiet for a second before he finally spoke, "Malefor... I'm not saying this to get out of punishment as I deserve it from Cynder, but..."

"Oh please, your punishment is gonna end up with you two making out, lets be honest," Malefor called him out for it, making him and Cynder laugh.

"Hehe, that does sound like something that would happen, but... Right now, I don't deserve that. I just, need to apologize for what I said. Me and you, along with everyone suffered a lot today, and rather then thinking about myself, I need to look after you all as my family. Hearing from you three and everyone else, it seems everyone just wants me to... hopefully move on... and I just... need you all to be there for me for that to happen... if that's okay..."

"Seriously?!" Malefor cried, "Bro, we can travel the world with you if needed. You need to talk with us, wake us up without hesitation and we'll be there. You are basically suffering from PTSD, and last thing we would do is leave you. I also feel, horrible that you thought we'd all forget about you. It seems we all need to have another beach day or something so you know we'll have your back."

"That... really does help me, Malefor... And I'm... very sorry that I... still can't call you my friend."

"Hehe, yeah, that does suck, but, at least from today, a lot of good also came from it: Everyone made it out, I got new dark powers, and you got your own new time stopping dark power. Once you figure out how to control that, we'd be unstoppable! None shall challenge our greatness. And just think, maybe me and you should take the throne of the Guardians. Not only of Warfang, but the entire world!"

"You just want an excuse to rule the world, don't you."

"Hehe, hell yeah man."

"Well, just for now, let's keep protecting our friends before we do something like that."

"You really want to do something like that?"

"Hell no."

"Oh."

"But then again, we already rule the world."

"We do?"

"Of course we do. Just as the world means everything to mean, Cynder is my world."

"Awwwww," Carith teased Cynder, and since she blushed, it made it that much easier.

"Yeah yeah, Spyro. I'll make out with you later," Cynder said, trying to hide what else she was going to do.

"What happened to his punishment?" Malefor asked.

"For what?"

"YOU... ugh... why do I bother."

"Hehe, well, for now, we can talk some more in the morning, but for now, see you two in the morning?" Spyro asked, and getting nods and smiles from both of the two, he gave his own smile back, "Thank you. And, Malefor, I, do wish to talk more in the morning. Nothing bad, I just... of course, need to know if I can still trust you," This made Malefor frown, but then again, Spyro didn't mean for it to sound like this and corrected, "No no no, sorry, not like that. What I meant is, I just need to know if you're still, Malefor, basically. I'll never not trust you, even as bad as it seemed today."

"Uh-huh. That's not what I saw today."

"This is why I need to talk with you some more. I've made some mistakes, and I need to fix them. But for now, I will see you two later."

"Good night, Spyro, Cynder," Carith wished them a goodnight, watching as the two had walked to their room and getting a smile from Cynder before she had turned and followed her lover, "Now, Malefor... I need to talk with you as well," He ducked his head, somewhat fearing for what it was she was to ask, but once the door had closed from the other two, she made sure to whisper some so the others wouldn't hear, "Life hasn't been good to you. When we go to our room, what do you say, I ease you with either my lips, or my words."

"I'll take the kiss first, but after then... Maybe a cuddle, and your words," Malefor was honest, making her giggle.

"We can definitely do that."

Getting up to his bed, turning to face the door before laying down, Spyro gave a huge sigh from the day, speaking as his lover made it to the bed, "Nothing's ever simple," Once she did the same as him, getting up on the bed, turning around and laying to his left, he then proceeded to continue on his words, "I know I should forgive him but... All of that all at once; The Destroyer, the dark forces, the apes, the dragons, all of that... and the darkness inside of the Destroyer... it was all coordinated... yet, I'm still so conflicted. Why would he start a fight and kill off more then half of his troops? Why would he make a next to nuclear move with me... unless he knew the Destroyer would take it? Uuuuuuuggggghhhhh," Rolling onto his back and looking up to the ceiling, Cynder stood up, moved her body and laid her stomach over his, making him chuckle as he looked to his left and saw her, "I know, I know, I should just let it go. If I could just figure out who it was, it would prove Malefor's innocent... Or would it only make me more frustrated?"

"Maybe this is a time where the unknown is a good thing," Cynder tried to comfort him on something, even though she already knew, but getting off subject, she wished to know what all happened, "Speaking of the unknown, what all happened when you had frozen time, Spyro? Was there something that you found out, something that you didn't understand maybe?"

"It was... scary... it was like I was just freezing time, delaying my inevitable death... The only thing I really did was cry over your body, unable to handle what I had done to you. What I was saying, I didn't wish to be true, I didn't wish to leave you or the others. I was conflicted then too, wondering why everyone else seemed so scared. The only one whom I really understood the sadness for was Ignitus... Maybe it was just that, so much was happening, my mind couldn't comprehend and process so much at once: The entirety of that war, my friendship with Malefor, the last time everyone tried to forget me... There was too much emotion for me to handle, that's for sure."

"You know one thing that would've gotten rid of all that?"

"A kiss from you?"

"Hehe, Yeah, well, that too. But, also, you having been Malefor's friend."

"How so?"

"Well, all of this war has to do with the darkness and Malefor. If you trusted Malefor, you never would've had to stress at all... But... here's where Ignitus would come in and say something about that not being a good idea..."

"What would he say?"

"With all the stress you had undergone, me faking an injury while using my dark powers as if I wasn't breathing, it made you break beyond your limits and put the Destroyer down for good... If you hadn't gotten this new form, if you didn't undergo the stress that you had been put under... would we have been able to win...?" Unfortunately for him, she was correct in her saying, but even for her, she wished none of this would've ever happened, "Though I hope that, next time something like this happens, which it shouldn't, you and Malefor will be strong enough to protect everyone."

"Protecting... everyone..."

"You... okay..."

"I wish I was his friend, Cynder... I wish I didn't make such a mistake, but every time I think about him, my chest burns, and all I wish to do is cry for my mistakes."

"You'll make it through... we'll all make it through this," Turning her body to laid down fully over his body, she eased a claw up his neck, knowing for the time being, there was something else that could calm him down, "But for now, let's just end this day off on a good note. When this day is over, we will just come back to the Chambers and live the life's that we've always wished to live. Hehe, then again, the amount of poison I'm going make you drink might put you down for a while."

"Bet you by the end of the night, you'll be on your back."

"Well then, let's see about that," Cynder smirked, taking her claw away and pushing her lips against his, sending shivers down their spines, both moaning in pleasure to finally kiss in ease.


	25. Chapter 25: History Repeats Itself

Chapter 25: History Repeats Itself

"Unbelievable... Absolutely, UNBELIEVABLE!" Flint yelled in frustration, making his way through the forest with limping dragons all around him, along with a couple of dark creatures and apes, "How did we fail, how could we have! We had everything we needed, and even Spyro, at least Spyro, should've died, but even after all of you worthless shits, we lost!" Making their way back to the hideout, a slight crack was heard from behind him, making Flint stop, while the others continued to make their way back, "Great... Another problem," Giving a sigh as he had turned, a red dragon stood behind him which only frustrated Flint even more, "Ignitus, what a surprise. You come to rub it in that we lost?" Snapping his fingers, dark creatures approached from all sides of Ignitus, trapping him in a circle of enemies, "I suggest you go home before I at least take your life."

"I haven't come here to fight, Flint, I just wanted to talk with you," Ignitus spoke, making Flint sit to the ground, crossing his arms and waiting for what he had to say, "Listen... I don't wish for this to happen again. Another Dark Master, the use of the Destroyer, the hate of Spyro and the rest of the world. This has all happened before, even what's happened to you, has happened before," This made him growl, but in order to prevent him from stopping him, Ignitus continued, "Which I will back off of! I just wish to ask, beg, and plead that we don't have to continue this cycle of death and war. We've all seen enough of it, and frankly, while you might not care, this war has taken a toll on my son."

"And how is this a bad thing for me?"

"I know you still have a semblance of light inside of your body. I came to try and stop the darkness from spreading any further from inside your body. We can still end this," Hoping he was getting to Flint, he walked up to him and continued to speak, "I can help you. Maybe I can make a deal with the Ancestors or something to help fix your past, to help fix you," Sitting down in front of him, while Flint still showed frustration on his face, he didn't speak, so, Ignitus continued to, "What do you say we just end this all now? You get back and love whom you wish to and we all just become friends?"

Shaking his head, Flint brought up his paw and snapped his fingers. Ignitus gave a sigh, knowing what this meant. The dark creatures around him attack, stabbing right through his body, neck, tail and wings. It didn't seem to have any effect on him, almost as if he didn't feel any pain at all. Once having dripped a tear, Ignitus disappeared, almost as if he wasn't there in the first place. _Of course your scared ass would only bring a clone._ Just as he had turned, another crack had been heard, as though someone else had approached him. Feeling as though it was another clone, Flint waved a paw across to slash at him, yelling even, "Back off!" The paw made contact with something, but giving wide eyes, it wasn't red and brown as he was use to seeing, but rather a red and blue looking color, "What the..." His paw had been blocked by the dragon's arm, and for him, he was rather impressed this dragon reacted so quickly, "And who are you?" Upon further inspection as he backed up, it was a red female, and seeing she wasn't responding to him, he just gave a chuckle, "You come all the way out here just to die?"

"I want to join your little group here," The red female spoke.

"Oh, well, that's rather unexpected. And what would you do?"

"I heard from another dragon in Warfang that you once had a failed assassin. I wish to fight that rule and do what she had failed to do."

"And who gave you this information."

"None of your business. Can I have the job or not."

"And what makes you qualified?"

"Give me anything to fight, and I will show you why I'm qualified."

"Alright then," Snapping his fingers once again as he brought a paw up, it took a little while, but after waiting some time, a couple of dark creatures carried a dragon's body over and to Flint's right side, "You see this dragon here. He is one of many whom have failed me. While I wished to take him back and heal him, it seems that his insubordination has made me a little pissed. So, if you're an assassin, I will give you the choice. Will you kill him, and help me get rid of the weight, or, let him come back along with you doing the same so we may talk."

"Please... Flint... sir, I'm sorry, I didn't..." The Dragon cried on the ground.

"Shut up! You failed! And I will blame everything on you if I need to! Tell you what, female, you take him out now, I'll let you get started tomorrow."

"What?! No... no, don't!"

The female, in rather an instant, walked up to his body, raised her tail blade, swung it down, and stabbed him right through the neck. The sudden attack made even Flint jump back with wide eyes at how quick she killed this dragon. Kicking his legs for a second, the dragon started to choke on his own blood for a good minute before finally seizing all together, both in movement and breath. Even for himself, Flint feared himself, watching as she twisted her tail blade out his neck in an instant, without shedding a tear whatsoever over what she had done. Now with the job down, she looked back over to him and growled, "I'm starting tomorrow. My first target is going to be Spyro as I've heard that's who your most upset for. And as for Malefor," Moving her tail blade up to her mouth, she licked the blood from off the blade before continuing, "Gonna make sure I save him for last. I'll destroy his life as he did mine."

Flint was at a lost for words, but he wanted to know why she wished to join up with him, watching his words carefully around her as he saw she was still ready to use her tail blade as it rested beside her, "If you could do this so easily, why not just take them out yourself."

"Because I'm gonna need back up in case. If I kill someone, I'm gonna have some dark forces near by the body so I can continue slaughtering them one by one. Even taking out one of the males or females who are close to one another will be a win in my book. So, are you gonna help me take them down, or is their someone else who's in the need of meeting their end?" Shaking his head, she smirked at this and opened her wings, but before flying away, she spoke, "I already know where your hideout is. Just in case of an information leak, I killed him too, so you must not worry. I will talk to you again, Flint."

"What's your names so I can greet you later on as a rather valuable ally?"

"The name's Flair."

* * *

Sitting over the top of a hillside, a female, white in color, along with a black shadow dragon, sat next to one another, looking over the entirety of the land and all of it's wonders. One main thing they could focus on was the left side of Warfang, along with everything that had happened during the battle. The white female dragoness gave herself a giggle. She herself, along with the black shadow dragon were both adults, so for her, she wished that this was a rather good sign for her. Wondering out loud, she spoke to herself, "I wonder if that dragon would be a perfect mate for me. Good thing I sent some dragons in to scope out that battle in order to learn of my next mate's name," A shiver went down her spine as goosebumps did the same, excited to meet her new mate, "Spyro, was it? With that speed, that, strength. Seems to me he would be perfect to, wrestle, in bed. Make sure to keep more tabs on him. I want to know all about that body of his. And apparently, his dark form will increases his size, and he isn't even an adult yet. Oooohhhhh... I can't wait to have him over me."

"We have a couple of dragons who are waiting in Warfang at this very moment to gain information. We mainly sent shadow dragons to move throughout easier. While we know where he lives, it's best if they wait outside, blend in with the crowd and take notes from there on out. Once they have written enough information in their books, they will return back to us with this information. But also remember, how will you deal with the female known as Cynder?"

"Oh, her? That's simple. I'm the most beautiful female in the world. Once he sees me, he'll be begging to take me. And if he doesn't, I'll let him know that I can give him anything he's ever wanted. And I do mean, anything."

"Are you sure he'd be a right mate for you?"

"Oh skies above, yes. He isn't her mate yet, so, to keep it that way, I'll just take him off her paws and have a Hatchling or two, finally. OH! Just thinking about his body now, what he'd do to me, and what he'll look like in the future gets me all excited inside!"

* * *

"Of course he didn't listen to reason," Ignitus growled, laying in his bed in the Sleeping Chambers with everyone else on their beds and Claire by his side, but in front of him was another clone of himself, "Then all I would say that we could do for now is just warn Malefor of what is to happen. Spyro's mind is still scarred after what had happened, and as of right now, if we leave things as they are, it could only get worse. And for right now, the only thing keeping him sane is Cynder after all that's happened. He needs all of us to be there for him

"I will go and inform him of what we've decided." The clone spoke before disappearing.

Once the clone slowly disappeared, Ignitus gave a sigh on what to do, but he knew he could at least do one thing, _Now with him gone, I can deactivate my sound mute._ Doing as he said, he deactivated his powers, now finally able to hear everyone around him, including Claire as she rested her head over his paws. This gave him a smile, glad that she was smiling as well, and even after what he's learned, he knew things would be okay, _We will all be okay... We will help our son, I mean! Mine... and then... we can return back to a normal life... at least... that's the hope... I believe we can do it._ Hearing what sounded like shifting, Ignitus looked to his left and over to Terrador's bed, seeing he was tossing and turning. Once Terrador had rolled over to his left side facing towards the door, he locked eyes with Ignitus, making him wonder why he was still awake, "Oh... Ignitus... You're still awake?"

"You're surprised? I should be the one whose surprised you're awake. What's got you turning in bed?"

"Oh! Nothing! Just, uh... Just been thinking."

"Do I need to ask my clone to find out and help..."

"I don't need help," Hearing Claire give a small grumble as she was almost awoken from his slight yell, Terrador backed his head up and went to a whisper, "I'm just, hopefully for tomorrow, okay. We all get to go back to our lives and... I am... meeting someone, okay. And we aren't, lovers, nor will we do anything like cuddling. It's just nice to meet someone so nice, and so... I'm... wanting to meet her, okay..."

"Okay, okay, I will back off, I promise."

"Sorry... I as everyone else is still, shaken up from this day."

"Hey, we made it through. When we all get back into the Chambers and get some sleep, we will all be back to our old selves, I promise."

"I... really would like that."

* * *

 _Yeah Spyro trust me and all but, why of all days, why just as he was about to say it, he were interrupted,_ Malefor grumbled as he laid in his bed, paw to his right cheek as he rested it there, thinking of why it had to happen the way it did. _Hehe, that bastard even stabbed me in the stomach._ Hearing a slight grumble, he looked to his side to see his lover adjusting herself, now laying down on her right side next to his left. Putting his wing over her side, she felt cold, so he warmed her up from underneath his wing. _There you go, my love._ Focusing his attention back forward, Malefor gasped to see Ignitus standing right in front of him. Taking his paw from his cheek and placing it on his chest, he grumbled at him, "What the hell, man. Don't scare me like that... Then again, I'm guessing with you being in here, I'm assuming Spyro's going to kill me and you're warning me because of it."

"Not... exactly," The clone spoke.

"Is that supposed to make me feel better?"

"I'll be honest. Nothing I'm going to say is going to be good."

"Then leave. I've already been through enough today."

"We all have... but just, hear me out, okay."

"I really don't have a choice, so, hurry up and then leave."

"Grumpy one today aren't you."

"I'm a little pissed at Flint for what he's done, so, what do you expect."

"Yeah, speaking of him... I tried my best to calm him down, try and prevent another war, to protect him from being completely consumed in his darkness, but unfortunately, history comes full circle. Another Dark Master, another war that we'll have to deal with and even more problems to come."

Giving a sigh, Malefor hated to hear this, "Great... The bad news just keeps flowing, doesn't it."

"I need you to get up and talk some more with Spyro. The closer you get to him as before, the less and less of a problem this will become."

"He's already not exactly happy. Waking him up sounds like a horrible idea."

"So does the death of each and everyone of us. Choose your poison."

"I might take Cynder's and get it over with."

"Malefor..."

"I'm joking, alright."

"Then you'll talk to him?"

"I... guess."

"Thank you, Malefor."

"It will deal with another problem if I do so. I just hope he doesn't kick my ass if I say something wrong."

"I trust my son."

"Yeah... I just wish your son would trust me... Or at least, as a friend."

"He'll come back around, I know it."

Now down with their conversation, Malefor looked to his left and at his lover before apologising in his thoughts, _Sorry to leave you so soon._ Moving his wing off of her, he looked back around to his front, seeing that the clone had disappeared. _Never get any privacy around here._ Crawling off the bed without having to stand, he made it to the floor with ease before making his way to the door. Looking to his right, seeing all his memories on the shelf, one thing he focused on was the chains from Cynder. _I can't believe she still trust me... Then again, she knows who the real threat is. If she didn't, and the others didn't, would they have trusted me?_ It was a thought that stuck in his mind, it was something that he couldn't just simply shake away even as he tried. Grabbing the door knob, twisting it before finally opening the door, he made it to the hallway, taking a left as he did so. Dragging his tail to the floor, he made it to the other two's door, and doing the same as his door, he opened it once he took the necessary steps. The first thing he noticed as he opened the door was Spyro's face of what looked like rage, and he even saw Cynder's frown as her head laid underneath her lover's. The two were still curled up to one another's side with his wing over her back, but this got Malefor wondering. _They didn't, fight... did they?_ Making his way over to the bed, he made sure to stay quiet with his steps, not wanting to wake both of them. Standing to the front of the bed, he wished to try something even though he knew it would probably cause more trouble, but he didn't really care. _It's not like I'm his friend, so..._ Reaching his tail blade around, he had enough room to touch underneath Spyro's head as Cynder's head was far enough forward. This made Spyro shiver to feel the blade underneath him and to his neck, but already having an idea of who it was, he gave a sigh, "Malefor... What are you doing?" Opening one eye, he focused to the frown on Malefor's face, once again making him sigh, "I've already said everything I wish to say. If it's something important, please just save it for tomorrow, okay."

"Spyro... I need to talk to you now," Malefor was honest with him as he took his tail blade back, and since he wasn't going to leave, Spyro opened his other eye, "Look... We've butted heads for a long time now, and every time I think back to where I was from then and now, things really have improved for me... But... I feel like you've forgotten most of the things that I've said to you while I was here."

"Like what?"

"Well, for one example; When I was first training with my dark power and you... attacked me for what I did, what I failed to do. I was, scared that you were going to kill me, and then, you didn't, you even cared about me after that. And for another example is, when I woke up in the middle of the night when you were training Volteer. I thanked you, and you were very... kind to me. You've even trusted me so much when it came to staying with everyone. You've trusted me countless times. So why... Why are you still on the fence about being my friend?"

"You know why. I spilled my guts saying why. Which means you didn't listen to what I've said either."

"Then... If you said we were friends in the Chambers, would you have taken your words back, or would you really have kept your words when you said it?" Seeing as it was taking time for him to answer, he knew what he was to say before he even said it, "Yeah... even I have to admit, that was a stupid question for me to ask..." Shifting her head, Cynder laid her head back to her paws, stretching even, making Spyro look to her while now having to support his own head without her, "Well, I don't wish to wake her, so... I guess I'll just leave."

"Then what was the point of you even coming in here if you knew what my answer was going to be."

"Because I believed the past would've changed after everything that we've been through."

"I'm trying, Malefor."

"You know, I could've let you and Cynder die in that Volcano, but I would've never betrayed your trust in me."

"Which is why I still trust you."

"You've always trusted me after you learned who I was. But since you know who I am, doesn't that mean we'll never become friends."

"We will become friends one day, I can promise that."

"I'm assuming you don't have a date on that... And what I've learned, even if you put a date on it, you'd lie about it, wouldn't you."

"How many times do I have to tell you that I'm trying. Why do you keep asking?"

"Because I'm scared, Spyro."

"Scared of what. Scared I'd kill you? I already said I wouldn't do that even after all that's happened."

"If i died tomorrow, how would you remember me?"

"What are you talking about."

"Spyro... even for me, I have many fears. My biggest fear is losing Carith, losing you all... Hehe... even drowning, but... my second biggest fear... is being forgotten about," It seemed rather personally for him to bring up, and rather then interrupt him, Spyro wished to hear him out on his words, "Think about it, Spyro. If I died tomorrow, who would care when I'm gone? Everyone remembers me as some, evil being. So, once I'm gone... I'll just be forgotten in time... And everyone will move on as if I never existed..." Giving wide eyes to what he was saying, it was something he feared for himself as well, and watching as Malefor struggled with what he was saying, shedding a tear even, it made it that more depressing, "Hehe... it would suck to know I would die and no one would show up to comfort me... And when I die... No one will be there for me... and what if... not even Carith showed up for my death."

Unable to handle hearing about him talk bad about himself any longer, Spyro got up from his bed, walked off it and to the floor. Walking in front of Malefor, he hugged him, draping his wings over his back, and with him be comforted, Malefor cried over his back, rather thankful of the hug. Spyro's anger wasn't focused to him, but now to his words of what he believed would happen, "Shut up... and don't you ever think about such a thing ever again... even after today, we'd cry for as long as we live, knowing we lost such a dear friend to all of us... We'd all be there for you... holding your paw and letting you have a happy farewell... But you shouldn't ever think about such a thing as it will only hurt us more."

Now having a rather comfortable talk with him, Malefor gave a smile, shedding a couple more tears to hear his support, and he knew, believed, and trusted to know everyone really would be there for him. Patting his back before finally backing up from the hug, Spyro finally smiled back to him, wanting him to understand that his words really were true, "Listen. No matter what happens, well, aside from losing someone, which, we will be there to protect everyone from, but, when I give another date, I will mean it. If the darkness attacks again, we will just use our OP ass moves, go home, and laugh it off. Do you understand me."

"Hehe... I would definitely love to use my golden gun again."

"We will all be there to back you up too, even if you probably don't need it."

"Thank you... Spyro."

"Anytime," Making his way back up to his bed, Malefor turned to walk away, making his way back to his room, but once Spyro stood to his bed and turned straight, he called out to him, "Malefor, wait," Hearing his name called, he stopped, turned around, and wondered what he had to say, "I really feel terrible for what happened, so... To make up for it, I still wish to go higher then just trusting you... So, what do you say, for now, I can call you my frenemy... And not much my enemy, but as my rival."

"Frenemy? But, wait! Frenemy has the word friend in it, so, doesn't that mean we're technically friends?! Or... Am I just getting my hopes up."

"Malefor... Frenemy does have the word friend in it."

Gasping with a huge smile, Malefor chuckled with his smile and had a new challenge for himself, "Now all I have to do is get rid of that rivalry, and then, we'll become full on friends!"

"Hehe, calm down, Malefor."

"Thank you, so much, Spyro."

"My pleasure. But, hey, don't ever think about being forgotten about ever again or else I really will kick your ass, and I'm sure Carith would be really disappointed to hear as well."

"Hehe, oh no."

"Now, let me get back to sleep, okay."

"Okay... goodnight once again, Spyro."

Now with him turning back around and walking out the door, Malefor made sure to close it behind him once he left. Now with the door being shut, Spyro gave out a sigh, thinking to himself about what he had just done, _I... made the right choice right then and there, and I know it for sure._ Hearing what sounded like someone talking, he looked to his left and watched in a blink of an eye, his lips were suddenly locked with Cynder's as she had jumped up from the bed. It was rather surprising to him which made him give out a groan, rather pleased once again with how things were turning out for him. Backing from the kiss, Cynder gave a smile, thanking him for what he did, "Thank you, Spyro. I really would've been disappointed if you had betrayed what he had said, and for this right decision... I'm very proud of you... And this is the Spyro I know and fell in love with."

"So... you heard everything?"

"When I started to stretch, I woke up once I heard Malefor's voice. I even saw you hugging him as he cried over your back. I really appreciate what you did for him."

"I... didn't what to turn my back on him, and I wanted him to know it didn't take your words for me to care about him."

"I'm going to have to talk with Carith about what he said. While your words helped him a lot, she needs to comfort him just as much too."

"I'm sure she would appreciate that."

"Now I have no fear of waking up tomorrow, that's for sure."

"I'm... glad I made you proud."

"You really did."

Now adjusting himself back down to the bed as he laid back down with his lover, she laid her head over his paws while he laid his head back over head, now both smiling compared to how they had been before. Now that he was happy with what he had done, Spyro believed that he could turn things around for the better, _I don't wish to make the same mistakes I did in the past, and having turned things around as I just had... I do feel rather... comfortable. Now I look forward to tomorrow more then ever before, and hopefully as I said, we will be able to laugh about what's happened._ Enjoying his time, he didn't wish for anything to change about this night, so, the two closed their eyes, falling asleep and looking forward to tomorrow.


	26. Chapter 26: Flair's Deadly Appearance

Chapter 26: Flair's Deadly Appearance

 _"Dad, please! I just want things to go back to the way they are! I miss you, I miss the life we had, and..."_

 _"And I miss your mother, but we don't get all that we want now do we?"_

 _"I tried to save her, I... I tried... Dad, please..."_

 _"Stop calling me, 'dad'. You're no daughter of mine."_

 _"Da... Dad... Please... I'm sorry..."_

Startling awake from a nightmare, the red female showed her teeth as she clenched her paws onto the bed that she laid on, hiding away in a house she was familiar with. Having been woken up from the dream, she opened her eyes slowly, trying to give herself time to recover from the dream she had, _Even after a year, I still have those stupid ass dreams._ Now lifting her head, Flair let out a yawn, continuing in her thoughts. _I might as well get there early so no one will be awake before daybreak._ _Maybe I can take someone out early and send them into a panic. That should spice things up and make them worry, maybe even split so I can kill them off one by one._ Getting up off her bed, she made her way over to the door, later opening it as she made it to it. With the door opened, she made her way into the living room and over to the main door. Taking a left, she walked for a little while before making it over. Doing the same as she had done before, she made it to the door and opened it. Now outside into the open, she raised a paw up in front of her face to see the sun had come up. _Damnit! I slept in for too long. I have to hurry then._ Opening her wings, she made her way up to the skies, flying as quickly as possible to the Guardians Building. Once making it to the ledge outside of the entrance, she turned right, walked to the door, and pushed it open, making it into the hallway. Making her way through the hallway, it took a second for her to remember exactly where she needed to go. _I'm guessing I just follow the hallway up to where ever those Guardians or someone else sleeps. The question is, will they be sleeping in one spot, or in different rooms._ Now at the spiral staircase, Flair walked around and up it, making it to another hallway. Looking to her left, then her right, she wondered where she needed to go. _Do I go up the stairs to the right, or continue down the hallway to the left?_ Making up her mind, she turned to her left and continued down the hallway, walking past door after door, wondering if one of the Guardians would be in one of these rooms. _I could open a door one by one, but that would take too long. If I play innocent while taking my time, I could get information as to where everyone lives and strike tomorrow. But I should stick to my plan._ Seeing an entrance way to her right with a rather big open arch, she made her way over to it. _Maybe this is where they live._ Turned into the Chambers, one of the Guardians was already awake, standing outside of the Chambers and looking at her. Terrador's face lit up with a huge smile, but seeing as it was a red female, he gave a frown to see it wasn't who he expected it to be, "Oh... Sorry. I didn't expect someone to be up here so soon. I was, looking for someone else. May I ask why you are up here?"

"Came up to see the Guardians. I know you as Terrador, but where may the others be?" Flint was forward with him, not wanting to waste anytime.

"Why do you need to know that? Do you need to speak with one of them?"

"I do actually. After what happened yesterday, Spyro, I believe, said he could help me."

"Spyro? When did he have time for that."

"If needed, I would like to talk with the Guardians first though."

"Well, for right now, after what happened, they are all resting in the Sleeping Chambers behind me. So, unfortunately, you can't talk with them now, but I will be sure to inform them once they wake."

This was rather unfortunate news for her as she knew she had to get close to them someone. _Damn... What should I do now that he's out here... Then again, since he's all alone, I could always cover his mouth and slit his throat without anyone noticing._ While she was thinking that, Terrador inspected her as she was acting rather strange. Her eyes shined a blue color, with her body made of red. To her top, she had two horns, one left, and one right, curved slightly down before curving up. Down her body and to her head, the red and blue fins were evenly spaced out, making their way down to her back, then to her tail. Just barely able to see her tail, she sported two wing flaps that had sharp edges on the back of them. For the side tops of her wings, each side was smoothed out, making her seem both easy, and deadly at the same time. Her chest down to her tail from underneath her also had a blue to it, but a little more darkened, along with the flaps in her wings. Watching as he had checked her out, she questioned why he was doing such a thing, "Is there something you like, or are you being a perv to my body?"

"Just making sure your aren't a threat or something. Last time we had a female up here from out of nowhere, she turned out to be an assassin."

"Yes, I already know of her."

"How?"

"I've studied you all from both my knowledge, and from others talking about her."

"No one knows she is an assassin. We never told anyone about that," Terrador now became more suspicious of her, and seeing his suspicion, it was time for her to change her words.

"Look, I've been watching you all for a while, and it seems after what's happened, you need some help. So, I wish to offer my assist in gathering information on the outside world, so you never have to go in blind ever again," Her words worked some, but not as much as she was anticipating, so instead of dragging out the conversation, she knew she needed to just move on with her plan, " _I don't have time for this..._ Hey, Terrador, may I at least get to know you some more. I know it's a rather strange request but, I've been wanting to study the Guardians as, ever since I was born, I wished to look up and be like you all."

"What would you like to know?"

Moving up on him as she closed in, she ready her tail blade by sharpening it up, even making her back fins harden to make them more deadly, which he didn't see, "Well, what strengh do you have that others don't? What do you do on a daily basis to help keep yourself ready and awake?"

"Oh, well, that's rather an easy question. I have a lot of friends who've helped me through a lot of my life."

Now right in front of him, her tail blade made it to her side, but just as she readied for the kill, the door behind him opened, making her take her tail blade back. From out the back room came a blue dragon, which she knew to be the dragon known as Cyril. He rubbed his eyes as he walked up next to his friend, and now with him coming out from the back room, this gave her the information she needed. _So I was correct. That must be where they sleep._ Once his vision had cleared up, Cyril took his paw down from his eye and looked to the new female, still blinking a couple of times. Immediately, his face lit up with a blush, seeing her body in all its glory. She gave him an angry look, but to him, seeing her mouth move, it seemed as though she was smiling, so he made his moves on her, "H-H-Hi... My name is, Cyril. Which you may already know by now as everyone knows. I'm also the Ice Guardian which you... also know already..." Feeling as he was messing up, he gave a sigh as he knew he was already failing, so, seeing her raised brow, he apologized, "Sorry... I, didn't even catch your name."

"It's Flair," She answered him.

"That's a rather, beautiful name."

"Cyril, what are you even doing up so early?" Terrador asked him as he looked to him.

"Oh, I saw you weren't in bed and I wondered if everything was okay. Especially with yesterday, I wanted to make sure you weren't struggling."

"I'm fine. But, thanks for looking out for me."

Now with those two out of the room, they heard steps behind them once again, and seeing to whom it was, now Ignitus and Claire walked out from the back room. This made Flair growl as she now lost her best chance to do any damage whatsoever. _Great, now with them out here, I can't kill anyone. I should've just gone in for the kill. But, I did say I needed to gain more information, and now that I know where they live, tomorrow, or tonight, I can take them out one by one._ Once again seeing this new female, Claire was rather excited to see her as she wished to know who she was, "Hey, someone new," Now with the Guardians in their usual line, once they had all sat, she continued, "My name is Claire. Is it okay if I know your name?"

"As I've told the others, the name is Flair," She once again had to respond to the same question once again, "For the sake of not having to say my name over and over again, I wish to wait for everyone to be down here before I say anything else. Which, I do have to ask, where is everyone else? I wished to meet Spyro, and maybe even his lover to get to know the others."

"They may not be down for a while. Spyro's been through a lot, and I'm sure he might just sleep all day. Unless Malefor wakes him up, which could be a possibility," Ignitus spoke to her, but once he relieved that Malefor really was alive, he saw she gave off a huge growl with anger, so he had to quickly assure her, "Don't worry, he's no longer a bad guy. Long story short, he was betrayed, his loved supposedly died, but once he got her back, he turned back to normal."

"That still doesn't excuse what he's down over the years; Who he's killed, the lives he destroyed."

"Which he does feel terrible about. If you need to blow off some steam and yell at him for it, he would understand."

"That won't change what he took from all those around us."

The Guardians stayed quiet as they knew talking about him was only going to make things worse, so, wanting to change the mood, Claire spoke this time from one girl to another, "Don't worry. I've lost dragons close to me as well, and while I can't have them back, I love the life I have now, and, it took me a bit to forgive him. He promised to never destroy this second life, and I trust him on his promise," Giving a scuff to her words, Claire still hoped she would be able to change her mind sooner or later, "Don't worry. When he comes down here, he will be sure to apologise. While that won't change what ever happened to you, I hope that, you can at least have some closure."

* * *

"Spyro... Spyro, wake up my love," Calling out to his name, Spyro grumbled as he woke, hearing as Cynder had called his name, and once he opened his eyes, he looked to his left, "Sorry, my love. I just, want to go down to the Chambers and talk with everyone. With what happened yesterday, I want to... feel better knowing and hearing that everyone made it out okay," Watching him give out a huge yawn while he stretch, she continued to speak as she felt a little bad, "Sorry to wake you once again. If you need to go back to sleep, I understand."

"No no no, it's fine..." Spyro assured her, now awake since she had woken him, "I do wish to see everyone again. While laying in bed is nice, I can recover better hearing everyone talking around us," Giving off a smile to his words, she stood up and made her way off the bed, and once he did the same, he continued his words, "Plus... After what happened last night, I really do wish to talk with Malefor some more. I kept saying how I had nothing more to say to him, but now, I wish to say everything to him."

"And I'm sure he'd really appreciate that."

Walking up and over to the door, Cynder opened it, and was the first to leave. Rubbing his eye for a second, he put his paw back to the ground while shutting the door behind himself with his tail. Making it over to the other two's door, they made it half way through the hallway before seeing that the other door had opened. Once it did, they heard as Malefor was speaking, looking to Carith as he was the first to walk out before her, "I'm surprised you woke up with me. I mean, I know what you said but... Thank you again," Looking to his left and seeing the other two had been standing in the middle of the hallway, he greeted them, "Oh, Hey you two. I'm surprised you two are awake, but for the sake of the morning now, I would like to say, good morning."

"Good morning to you too, Malefor," Surprisingly enough, it was Spyro who greeted him, which made the three smile to see that he really was being nice to him, "I'm pretty sure, same as you, you're wanting to go down and meet the others. So what do you say, instead of wasting time, we start heading down?" Getting a nod from him, Malefor walked up to the door, making it open outwards, and while it did that, Spyro walked over to him and stood by his side, "I... Wanted to thank you again for stopping by my room last night. It was... nice to hear that you truly do have a heart."

"Yeah yeah, no need for you to get mushy about it," Malefor chuckled as the two walked down the stairs with the girls walking behind, standing next to each other, "If I'm being honest, it was actually Ignitus who pushed me to talk with you last night. I didn't know if waking you was a good idea but, it turns out, it was. And even though I did make a mistake of putting my tail blade to your neck, I didn't make a mistake talking to you."

"Yes you did. Acting like we'd forget about you was a terrible thought."

"Hehe, yeah. But, at least now, from your words, I feel a whole lot better knowing I don't have to worry about such a thing."

Making it over to the Chamber entrance, the four made their way inside. Once they did, they made it over to where they normally sat with Spyro and Cynder to the left wall while Malefor and Carith sat to the right wall. Once the four had entered, they all focused their attention to the red female near the Guardians, and once she turned, Spyro was surprised that someone had approached the Guardians, "Well now, this is rather surprising. Didn't expect there to be someone in the Chambers."

"Flair here said that you were the one who wanted to speak with her," Terrador spoke, making it rather confusing for Spyro.

"I needed to lie so I didn't get kicked out for being in this building," Flair lied, but it was believable lie.

"That makes sense. But don't worry. Everyone around here is friendly, and we welcome those who are the same with open arms," Spyro assured her.

"Everyone here is friendly?" Immediately, she took his words in to question as she looked over to Malefor, "If everyone around here is so friendly, why is there a murderous monster in this building?" This got him to frown as he knew he was to be called out, but surprising everyone else was how she looked to Cynder and called her out on what she's done as well, "Then you have the terror of the skies in here who's also killed thousands," Spyro already wasn't too fond of this new female, showing his teeth as Cynder gave a frown, "So, I'm sorry if I'm being sceptical, but how is everyone here friendly?"

"I get that you're new here, so I'll make sure to get things straight before you say anything else," Flair glared to see and hear Spyro's anger, but to her surprise and everyone else's, he fronted on her as he made it over to her, "If someone was taken from you, that's on the darkness, not my love, or Malefor. If you're looking for some revenge, go deal with it out there, not in here. You have no reason to."

Having him be so close to her face, she showed her teeth as she now had an idea of who her first target really was. _You think your tough shit, don't you, dragon. Can't wait to slit that face of yours in half,_ Trying to calm herself down for now, she tried to play innocent, but still had a growl show in her voice, "My, apologies... Terrador was telling me how Malefor was going to apologise for those that he took from me. But so we are on the same page, I expect an apology from Cynder as well."

"How about you get neither and get the hell out of here?"

"I'm sorry, when I meant Malefor and Cynder, I should've also added you to the shit list."

"And I'm gonna add you to my neck snapping list if you don't get your act together."

"It must be easy for you to have these two as your friends since nothing happened to you, isn't it?"

"I, my lover, and Malefor, we all lost our parents to the darkness, aside from Malefor who lost his to the apes. The darkness forced my lover to kill her parents, and mine, so quit acting like you're the only one who's lost someone," Unfortunately for her, she had nothing to say after that, so, for now, all she could do was show her teeth as Spyro continued to talk, "I've already had a really, really, shitty week. If you're going to cause problems, then I will personally deal with you. But if you've come here for help, we will try our best. So what is it that you've come up here so early for?"

"Just heard that you all were rather difficult to get to, so, I thought I would try my luck, and luckily, you all are far beyond what I thought you all would be. You know, someone could've easily come into these Chambers and killed Terrador while you all were sleeping. Seems to me this isn't even a very safe place to be in the first place."

"Terrador can handle himself."

"Or so you say, yet, out during that battle, I saw he needed assistance, as did everyone else whom fought."

"It's called watching each other's backs. Do you not understand what having more then one other around you is like?"

"I actually had forgotten, but now being around, one other, I'm reminded why I don't appreciate it."

Things between the two were starting to get heated with each word they gave out. Not wanting to have any kind of conflict, Malefor wanted to step in and try his best to help him out, "Hey, Spyro, it's okay... I'll take this one," Giving one last growl, Spyro scuffed before turning back around to sit with his lover, and now having him out of the way, Malefor took some steps forward, getting Flair to turn and look to him, "Terrador's right; I do wish to apologise for what ever had happened to you. Claire was the same against me when she first came back, and... I don't wish for this to just, blow over for what's happened, but I have hopes that it will... help," This nice act that it seemed he was putting on was only making her more flustered, "So I'm... ready to face what I've done. And if you need to... hit me... I get it. Just... Hehe... please don't kill me."

 _Why does he laugh at something like this?! When he knows how serious such a situation is, when he knows that someone's been taken from me?!_ Her anger started to show to the point that she raised her tail blade, but being able to still control herself, she saw the reactions of even the Guardians at the corner of her eye, so she eased her anger for the time being. _Why should I care who I lost anyway. It was my fault, was it not._ Now having come down from her anger, Flair shrugged off his apology for the time being, "I'll hurt you later, that's for sure. But for right now, I'm just scoping the area around here. I do have to ask, there are still others with you, are there not?"

"They should be out any minute now," Carith spoke, hoping that she would be able to make things better if she were to talk, "But, Hey, Flair, I was hoping that maybe by me saying something, I could hopefully help with some, confusion, or, anger, or, whatever else you're feeling," Luckily for her, this got Flair's attention, and so, she used this to her advantage, "When those two come out from their room, we all as girls should sit down and have a talk with you to see if there's something that's bothering you that we all can help with."

"Help with? And how could you do that if what I want is gone."

"Well... If there's... something else that would help, you can always let us know."

"Uh-huh? It'll make me feel better if you got me a gem from the other side of the planet."

"Would that really help turn things around?"

"Suuuuuuuuuuure."

"Then, Spyro, can you help out?"

"Wait, what?"

"You want me to go to the other side of the planet?" Spyro asked in a chuckle, and while Carith was serious in her nod and smile, Flair looked to each of them with wide eyes, "It's gonna take a bit after what happened yesterday, maybe ten minutes or so, and... Flair... while I barely know you, I know others well enough to know something is bothering you, and I wish to help. So, if you can give me an idea of the gem I'm looking for, I would gladly get it for you," She was still in rather shock that he was already so quick to help her after what she did, but still thinking this was just a joke, she didn't accept what he was saying, "Looks like it's your lucky day, Malefor. First day as frenemies and I already have a request for you."

"Dude, I'm all for using my golden gun again if anyone tries something. I got you covered," Sitting down straight up, Malefor raised a paw up, shaped it like a gun, lit it on fire for a second, and smirked.

"Wait! STOP!" Flair finally yelled out, walking forward some so she stood in the middle of the entrance way, and once turned around, she looked to the two, "You barely know me! I just insulted your lovers! I fought with you, Spyro, and now you want to help me?!" Seeing a smile go across his face, she couldn't tell if what he was doing was as a joke, or for real, "I never wanted some stupid ass gem! And even if I did, I'd do it myself. I'm not here to make friends, I'm not here for help, I'm just here to inspect and watch you all, that's it!"

"Why do you need to do that?" Spyro asked.

"None of your business, Spyro. But as of right now, if you do wish to help me, may I know of where you live? That sure would put a smile on my face."

"Alright, look, I wanted to help to get you to leave, cause I'm still pretty pissed about what you said to Cynder, but now, you want to know where I live? Yeah, sorry, but that smile will not make it to your face."

"Okay then, how about I just go up those other stairs on my way up here and find out there?"

"Good luck getting past the door."

"Then I'll blow it open."

"You destroy any part of my home, this, building, which is all my home, then we really will have a problem."

"Zero to a hundred in seconds. Good to see you'll turn your back on me as everyone else once did."

"Then apologize for what you said."

"How about Malefor kills himself first, then I will."

"Get Out!"

"Whoa whoa whoa, what's with all the noise," Now having made it out of their room, Ersa, with Volteer, stood over near the entrance way and to Flair's right side, and now with their attention, Ersa continued to speak, "Let's all just, calm down real quick and let me and Volteer get to know what is happening," Making it past Flair, the two made it over to where they normally sat, but to make sure it wasn't too quiet, she kept her words going, "Now, it's rather surprising to see another dragon up here after what's happened, so I'm assuming you wish to know something as..." Now sitting down between Cyril and Terrador, she focused straight to this new female, "Ignitus reported no fatalities. So, first, to get the greetings out of the way, my name is Ersa, and my mate here, is Volteer."

Giving a weak smile, Volteer had his head ducked for some reason, frowning even as though he had done something wrong, and he didn't even say anything to this new female, which wasn't like him. Everyone took note to this, aside from Flair as she was taking notes on other things, _So, Volteer and Ersa are mates? Taking one of them out should make a rather difficult life for the rest of the others. Might even make the other mate suicide if I'm lucky._ Seeing as everyone else was waiting for her response, she first gave a sigh before giving out her own name, "My name's Flair, as which Spyro never even asked about even if Terrador did already give out my name."

"Didn't know I needed the name of the shit that I step in every day," Spyro fired back at her, making the two growl at one another with threatening intent.

"Guys, please, calm down," Ersa tried her best to keep the two from killing each other, "Look, I don't know what happened between you two while I was away, but let's just, start over, okay?" The two didn't say anything, but instead, they looked away from one another, not wishing to have to do anything with one another, "Okay... Now, Flair, with everything starting over, may I ask what you came up here for?"

"She came up here to recon us, possibly kill us later even."

"Is that true, Flair?"

"If I said yes, I'd be telling the truth and get killed for it. If I said no and lied, I'd get chewed for it and killed," Flair snarled.

"Then here, let's start with this. Worse case, you are trying to kill us. Why is that?"

"If it's a secret, why would I say anything?"

"So, you're an assassin? Like how I was?" Claire immediately called her out for her.

 _Being obvious might prove better then not, so, let's try it out._ Having her mind made up, Flair made sure to stay truthful, while still withholding some of the truth, "I wouldn't say I'm an assassin, but I'm not saying I'm a killer. I'm just wanting to see what life is like up here, and that's it. See me as a threat, then do something about it, but as of right now, I shall stay passive until I see it fit to actually go through with what I'm planning."

"So then you will become a problem, won't you?!" Spyro growled, letting his darkness show some as now he already had all he needed to get her to leave, "Just call it how it is! You're here to kill us, aren't you?!" Not giving him an answer, she knew this would only make him more frustrated, and it worked as she hoped it would, "All I wanted to do was to wake up, enjoy my day, and not have to worry about having to deal with some other monster! You're a headache, and instead of waiting for it to go away, I'm dealing with you right now."

"Wait, Spyro, think!" Cyril stopped him, making everyone rather surprised as it wasn't even Ersa who was able to speak, "She said she'd stay passive until she goes through with what she's planning, right?" His use of her words got even Flair interested as she wondered how he would use them to his advantage, "If she is an assassin, that just means that something else is wrong that we need to help her through. If we're lucky enough, we can stop her before she kills any of us," While he gave a wide smile, everyone else looked to one another on this idea, and while some others agreed, it still took some more convincing for the others, "We can't just leave her... So, please, let's just do as Ersa said; Reset. And let's show her who we really are."

His words were enough to make everyone do as he said they should, but for Spyro, he still wasn't so sure. So, to help and turn things around, Cynder eased his anger by whispering his name, "Spyro..." Her voice was enough to get him to back down some, so now with him being calmed, she wished to do the same with Flair as she got her attention, "Hey, Flair... I do agree with Cyril's words, and I wish to start off our introductions differently. Like with Claire, it took us a bit to help her, but we will do all we can to help you the same."

"I don't want help. If I want to kill everyone, that's not changing."

"I thought the same when I was corrupted. But then when I got help; my mind cleared, I fell in love, and made plenty of friends."

"And same for me, Flair," Claire also joined in to help, "When I got pass my assassin work, I fell in love and made plenty of friends. Even if some were still trying to die for interfering with who I loved."

"Flair, we've all had traumatic losses in our lives, so, please, let us be the ones to comfort you if you have no one to turn to," Flair could only snarl as everyone kept pushing for her to change, so for now, she just wished to play along, which was great for Ersa as she continued to push the help, "Tell you what. To help you out, me, you, and all the other girls can head back to my room and we can all just chill out and talk like girls. That way, you don't have to worry about saying something to get some one flustered or something."

"Uh-huh... What if I say I wish to kill your mate?" Flair snarled, but it didn't have an effect on her.

"Everyone has a heart, Flair, and we wish to help you as Cyril said. We just have to stop you from killing one of us, if that is your goal."

"And if you fail?"

"When it comes to having each other's backs, we will never fail."

 _We'll see about that, Ersa,_ Flair once again snarled underneath her breath. Now that it seemed as though everyone was already going to go off and do their own thing, Malefor had an idea for the guys in order to pass the time, "Since the girls are going to go off and talk, what do the rest of the guys say we head up to the Training Room and work out some? Now after yesterday, we do need to work on our moves and what not, and, yeah, I know we all said we should rest, but we should at least get up there to be there, right?" Everyone was rather unsure of his words, wanting to actually stay down and rest some after what's happened, but he had hopes someone would join, "Oh come on. Ersa, I know you can convince Volteer for me at least," Focusing to her, he chuckled once he said, "Hehe, I mean, you need a-ARE THOSE HOLES IN YOUR NECK?!"

His immediate and sudden cry made Flair jump, even raising her tail as she was ready to go through with one of her kills. No one even looked to her, only to Ersa now. To her displeasure, Flair bit her lip as she couldn't help but stop and wonder as well. _Holes...? No, no, it's just from the fight. It has to be._ Since she was already looking to Ersa with everyone else, she noticed that Volteer ducked his head more, as though he was ashamed of something that he had done. This got her to blush, knowing already exactly what it was from. _Wait a minute... those two are mates... she has holes in her neck... Volteer, the male, is ashamed... Oh for the love of!_ Just the same as her, everyone saw the shame on Volteer's face, but Ersa knew she could cover it up somehow, "I was attacked yesterday, alright! Volteer's felt bad about it ever since."

"That's a lie, especially since I was kicking everyone's ass with my golden gun."

"Not only that, it's not deep holes. It looks like an aggressive bite... You two didn't fight, did you?!" Claire came to her own conclusion right away.

"What?! No, of course not," Ersa quickly rejected the idea.

"Then why is your neck wet?" Cynder smirked, making Ersa shoot stiff as this was something she couldn't cover up, "Almost as if it's been licked for a while... Did Volteer do that to you?"

"And it's not just on your right side too, it's on your left, almost as if his mouth was completely over your neck," Carith pointed out, and while she was doing this, Flair took some steps forward and decided to inspect more for herself just in hopes of making things worse.

"And from the looks of the teeth, he bit down from above you, behind your neck. What was he doing behind your neck?" Flair smirked, hoping this would spark some kind of fight, but it didn't do anything aside from getting her more red in the face.

"Alright! I get it, you all see what's happened to my neck," The guys were still somewhat confused as they hadn't caught on to what happened yet, and since Ersa could see only the girls had caught on, she knew now was a better time then ever, "Look, let's continue this conversation in my room, please. I would like to keep this private, but, I knew someone would've said something sooner," Since it had been brought up, she looked down to Volteer's frown, feeling awful that he knew this was to have been brought up even as much as he wished it wouldn't have, so she made sure to comfort him in a whisper, "Remember what I told you, my love."

"I know... I know... I... I just..." Volteer didn't have much to say to her as he still believed she was upset at him.

"Volteer, you licked my neck all night last night, even when we woke up. I told you, I didn't feel anything of that. It was in the heat of the moment."

"It should've never happened."

"Well, even though your sad about it, having my neck pinned down with her mouth was rather enjoyable. You know what happens during when two mate," Having hoped her words would've helped a little, she picked her head back up, sighing once she looked to everyone and saw they were all trying to listen to what they were whispering about, "You all are horrible. The guys don't get to know, but ladies," Standing up from her lover's side, she walked to the entrance way the same way she did when she entered, only in reverse, "Follow me please. Especially you, Flair, we need to talk with you."

Once Ersa had walked past Flair's right side, she turned to follow, then soon after was Carith, and Claire. Cynder stood up herself to follow, but before she could make it a couple of steps, her tail had been grabbed, stopping her whole body. Looking behind herself to see who grabbed her tail, it was Spyro's tail that had wrapped around hers. Now with her stopped, Spyro walked up to her side and warned her about what she was walking into, "Nothing about her sits right with me. I don't really want you, or any of the others to be anywhere near her. But... I do hope you all can maybe help her. But if she tries anything to hurt you, any, of you all, she's gone."

"Don't worry, Spyro. I will use my darkness if she tries anything. I'll hold her off and call for help. But... hopefully, we... you... Will not have to worry about hearing or dealing with something so stressful," Since she was on board with it, he let her tail go, "We will be fine, I promise. Please just try and rest," Getting a slight smile, he trusted in her, and so, once she turned back to face the entrance, she followed with the others while Spyro went back and sat down to where he was on the wall, "Everything will be... fine... I hope," Turned to her left, she saw the door had already been open from down the right side of the hallway, and making her way over to the room, she spoke before she even reached the door, "Haven't had a girls day in a while," Now entered into the room, Cynder shut the door behind herself and smiled as she looked to Ersa, "Alright, so, spill it, what happened."

Once the door had closed, Cynder walked away from the door some and to the middle of the room where everyone else had sat. To the right of the middle sat Claire, and Flair. For the left side sat Cynder and Carith. Then in front nearest to the bed was Ersa as she was the center of attention in all of this. Now with everyone in the room, Ersa gave a deep sigh, blushing to have to give up such information, "Here we go... Okay... Well, we all know yesterday was difficult on us, especially with the Destroyer. With the Destroyer and everything that was happening, I... Almost passed out making these potions to help you all, and since Volteer knew how difficult this all was for me to see, with what's happened in my past... I needed help."

"What happened in your past?" Flair asked, once again getting trying to get the information she needed.

"Hehe, I can try and prevent a death, Flair, but doing some kind of physiology trauma against me... That I... definitely couldn't handle."

"I said I'd kill Volteer. How much more traumatic could it get?"

"I... guess that's fair enough..." Now having to give another sigh, she had to relive all of this from her past, all of which she had been choosing to forget or change, "To spare you most the detail. I fell in love with Volteer about, fourteen years ago, only I... didn't get to say it as the Dragon Temple had been raided. Those fourteen years without him... the war that I witnessed... having to hear cries of death and destruction around every corner... when I closed my eyes, seeing that darkness... all I heard were the screams of those that died around me..." Flair was a little surprised, not really knowing it had been that bad, but still, she tried not to care all that much, "I... was almost one of those dragons... I once met a dragon who helped saved me from some apes. After he did though, he wanted me to reward him for what he did, and after I didn't, he tried to force me by attacking me, slashing at my right eye and... making me go blind for years..."

"Did you kill that piece of shit?"

"I didn't, but some dark creatures did."

"So they were good for something."

"Well... Here's the funny thing. Even without Volteer, he still protected me."

"How so."

Pointing a claw over to her left, everyone looked over, and on the top of the bookshelf rested a ring. Once everyone looked back to her, Ersa continued, "He made that ring to help save Malefor, but because of his work, I was able to use it to keep myself safe from the darkness all those years... All... those years..."

"And how did you reunite with him?"

"I had been working on something to impress him as... I thought he had left me for someone else... I even thought he had a Hatchling with this female... so... I tried my best to hope he would... leave her... because I wanted him back that badly... So... Once I left Warfang to test my new work, he found me... after fourteen years... and he never even moved on from me too... But, to wrap it up, long story short, he healed my body, we became lover's, then mates, and all in less then a week."

"That sounds like one hell of a life."

"It... was... but, for what I have now... I'm thankful for everyone here, and I wish I could tell my past self that, all of that work, added up to so much more in the future."

"How did you keep going after those years? Especially since you basically had no one, I'm assuming."

"I... didn't have anyone... just me and my books... But, the thing is, believe it or not, was once again Volteer. Thoughts of him, his words, his being, our hopeful future, it's what pushed me. And as of right now, my future with him just gets brighter and brighter every single day I'm with him. Now all that's left is for us to have a Hatchling. Which, I'm not, trying to rush, but... That man is definitely what I was dreaming of and so much more."

"I'm surprised he didn't betray you. Fourteen years is a long time."

"Well, then again, he had been captured for quite a while. At one point, I thought he was even dead, but it turned out, it wasn't even his blood, but Spyro's. I had been trying to save him for a while, and that blood I had seen I... I... I'm just, glad that no one was actually dead. Every step of the way there was always an issue though. But as I said, all worth it in the end. I missed out on fourteen years of my life not being with him, but now I get to spend the rest of my life with him."

"And what if you die now before you even got to have that Hatchling? What if Volteer did before or even after yourself had a Hatchling? What would you do then?"

Flair's questions were rather difficult for Ersa, something of which she couldn't answer, especially not after what she had been through. Trying to hide her smile, she knew this was something she could use to her advantage if needed later. _Knew it. Taking out Volteer might actually be my best bet. Now I'm actually glad I didn't kill that green one, Terrador. But now for the others. Maybe one of them would have more of an impact on this whole group._ While the other girls were focused on being quiet to show their support and understanding for their friend, Flair wasn't so as she was already looking for her next victim. Having focused to Claire, she remembered something that she had seen. _She said she fell in love, and since she was sat down next to Ignitus, that red dragon Flint was fighting with, he seemed to have a lot of power with what ever he had been doing._ Moving on from Ersa, she now asked her new target, "Claire, is it?"

Having her attention, Claire gave a frown as she answered, still wanting to have helped Ersa out, "That's... correct."

"Tell me, out of your lover and all the other males, who has the most amount of power?"

"Oh, well, Ignitus is rather a being beyond. I know you don't know everything about us, and it will make sense later if you are still with us. But after what happened yesterday, I'm pretty sure that Spyro is the one who's the strongest of all of us."

"He is...? So then, I should be focusing on you, Cynder."

Now with Flair looked to her, Cynder didn't understand why she would need to focus her, "Focus? Why do you need to focus me?"

"No reason. Just wish to know your back story is all."

"I mean...Technically, you should already know my back story."

"Yes, but apparently, there is more to it. So why don't you enlighten me?"

"I... guess I could..."

"Make sure to not leave out anything important, of course."

"Just for the simple stuff of what's happened, I was stolen as an egg, corrupted, but then saved by Spyro when I was ten. But after this, I ran as I believe I didn't deserve the generosity that the Guardians, and especially, Spyro, had shown me. He helped save me again, we were frozen in a time crystal for three years which turned out to be six, then we were broken free, stopped the Dark Master, and continued on with our lives."

"Oh come on, there's way more to the story then that. What happened afterwards? And if you stopped the Dark Master, why is he in the living room."

"Alright... Alright... I will... explain the rest... I saved Spyro from the Volcano, we made it back to Warfang, and skipping past some other stuff, we now find ourselves on another day of war. Carith had returned after being supposedly dead, and even though me and Spyro almost killed Malefor, the Guardians stopped us, but this made the Dark Master nearly kill both my lover and Volteer... And... even with how bad Spyro was... How much blood he was spilling from his wounds... he healed Volteer over himself... and he... fell to the ground... dying... as it seemed."

"How did you save him?"

"I... technically didn't... it was Malefor. Once he returned back to his normal self, all he wished to do was help, and to make up for taking so much from all of us. He will always hate what he's done, the deaths in this world that he was forced to cause... And I know exactly that kind of pain as, I was also... Forced to kill thousands... And if it wasn't for Spyro... I would've claimed my own life with my tail blade as well."

"Did he stop you with his strength, or, now that your away from him, you wish to end it?"

"He... stopped my death by being alive."

"So you'd kill yourself if you lost him?" Since Cynder hadn't responded, this was perfect for Flair, especially since she was making it even more difficult for her as she kept asking more of what if, "If you were to die, what do you think Spyro would do? And since you still have that evil side to you, if Spyro was to die, would you turn and kill all those around you? Because from the sounds of all this, it seems as of right now, if you or Spyro is taken out, that could pose a rather big problem for all of you. And I must say, the right side is winning right now by knowing how to take you all out."

"The right side?" Carith growled.

"I'm not evil, just right in what I'm doing."

"What if you were the one to die as well?"

"You act like I'd come up here, knowing I could die, while holding something dear to me. Girl, I've already lost everything that keeps me alive. If I die, who would really care?"

"We would," Claire whispered, getting a rather surprised look from Flair.

"Hehe, you barely even know me."

"We barely knew Malefor, but once we found the truth, we all came to care for him," Ersa backed up what Claire had to say.

"Please. If only you knew how wrong you were, when it came to him, and me."

"Instead of you constantly judging him, how about I tell you the truth about what's happened between me and him so you know he isn't a monster," Carith snarled at her as she once again bashed her lover, and this got Flair's attention, "Maybe you'll learn a thing or two from what I'm saying, or, maybe you'll act exactly like the Dark Master use to; Cold, Heartless, and lifeless," Finally getting Flair to snarl back out her, Carith smiled, "Exactly... Now, shut up and pay attention while I explain. Then, Claire, if it's okay, it'll be your turn to sum up your past. Then, once this is all done, it'll be your turn, Flair."

* * *

"Yes, fine, I bit her neck, alright!" Volteer finally gave in with a massive growl as no one had been backing off of what had happened, "And since none of you want to back off of what happened, I'll just straight up say that, she was so good last night that my instincts kicked in and I bit down on her neck," Now having come out and say what had happened, this made some hold in vomit while other looked in complete disgust, "Next time, shut the hell up, Malefor! If you didn't want to hear that, none of you should've pushed this shit, especially since you know how upset I was about it!"

"I literally didn't say anything," Terrador grumbled, ducking his head with a blush.

"That was Malefor's dumb ass," Cyril growled, blushing the same as everyone else.

"After all these years, even as much as you talked when the Dark Master, you'd think you'd know when to shut that mouth of yours," Ignitus growled, shaking his head that he had to keep bringing it up.

"Hehe, alright, alright, damn. I don't need to take shots from each of you," Malefor laughed, backing off from what he had said now with all four of the Guardians upset with what he had been pushing, "Okay, one more; Volteer, you should be proud about this though, cause that means you were finally on top for once."

"MALEFOR!" The four Guardians yelled at him.

"Wait, doesn't that mean, if Ersa was on the bottom of Volteer, doesn't that mean your calling her a bitch?" Spyro pointed out, getting wide eyes from everyone as they knew exactly what he meant, "I mean, you say Volteer's a bitch because he's on bottom when they mate, but if Ersa was the one on bottom, you basically just called her the same," This now made lightning shock from around Volteer's body as his lips wiggled from the air he let out from his massive show of teeth and from the power of his growl, "Hehe, oops... guess I shouldn't have said anything."

"Wait wait wait! Spyro said that, not me...! Damnit, Spyro! I thought we were friends!" Malefor cried, backing up some more as he watched Volteer ready to attack him.

"Still have to put my enemy in a losing situation."

"Hehe, damn, that's cold," Hearing as Volteer slapped his paw to the ground, Malefor could feel the lightning starting to surround him, so he knew he needed to say something fast, "Wait wait wait! Volteer, I didn't say that! I would never suggest such a thing! When your on bottom, Hehe, yeah, it still stays true, you's a bitch," Feeling the lightning now closing in and touching his paws from underneath the concrete, he cried, "But not Ersa! She is as you'd say: A beauty above all! Only you name her as she's yours! I swear I would never say such a thing to any female, especially not to one who's such a dear mate to my friend!"

Seeing as this was working, Volteer growled some more before he started to back off his lightning, but Spyro called out, "Volteer! Wait!" Not understanding why he would've stopped him, him, and everyone else looked to Spyro, "I have a better idea," Focused to Malefor, an evil grin went across his face as Spyro had other plans for him, "Hey, Malefor. Remember when I was floating in the air from one of Ersa's test potions, and you told Ignitus to open the roof above me and let me float off into space?" Malefor swallowed hard as he knew what he was talking about, and once again, this was fuel to a fire, "Volteer... Be nice and don't shock Malefor... with your yellow lightning that is... make sure it's blue."

"WHAT?!" Malefor cried, and looking to his right and seeing Volteer smiling now, he quickly put a stop to this, "But I didn't! But I didn't! I would've never actually let such a thing happen to you!" Volteer did stop for a second to make sure with Spyro, and since he wasn't saying anything either, this gave Malefor more of a chance to stop what ever was to happen, "Spyro... please... I trust you man, I trust you! And I apologize for any wrong doing... Please let me heal after our battle... please..."

"Uuuuuuggggggghhhhhhhh... Fine..! Volteer... ease up."

"You're lucky," Volteer growled, taking back his lightning and easing his body as he sat back down, "Bitch."

"Dude, when I have a mate, I'm gonna have some sexy ass mate stories," Malefor spoke from out of nowhere about such a thing.

"Why do we need to know that?"

"Are you kidding me? Dude, Ignitus, think about it. You're the Chronicler, which means you know everything. Which also you means you know all kinds of... positions...?"

"Malefor, Kill yourself," Ignitus growled at him for bringing something like that up.

"Oh man, Claire's going to be one lucky lady!"

"Acid? No, The Sun? Oh, sorry, continue Malefor. Just thinking of where I want to throw your body."

"You're just trying to hide that blush cause you know I'm right."

"I'm also going to hide your body when I murder you."

"Oh, now that you talk about it, a little Hatchling Ignitus would be freaking adorable! Think about it! A cute little hatchling Ignitus sporting the colors of red and blue!"

"Die! In! A fire!"

"Ignitus, I... have to agree with Malefor on this one," Spyro finally spoke about what was happening, "You're an amazing father, and you having your own Hatchling with whom ever may be your mate in the future really makes me smile to know the kind of smile you'll have on your face, both when you became mates, and when you actually have a Hatchling," His words were enough to now get Ignitus to ease up, sighing even as he gave a smile, thankful to his son's words, "I'm proud to be your son... And I do have to be honest since none of the girls are out here... Are you hoping Claire will be that someone in the future?" Seeing him once again give a smile as he rubbed his shoulder, the others gave chuckles as he couldn't have made it anymore obvious, "Well that was fast."

"We still have so much to look forward to, young one. I have fears that I will go through a couple more lovers before I find the right mate... or, who knows... I... could even die alone."

"Whoa, Ignitus, that's one thing that I will definitely take seriously," Malefor stepped in, surprising everyone with his words, "She's out there, and right now, I trust that Claire will be the right one. While I do agree it will take time, she's never turned her back on you, and as long as you never do the same to her either, I see no reason you two won't be perfect for one another."

"Hehe... I... really enjoy her flirting with me when it comes to her being an assassin... Now... I, really wish I could kiss her right now..."

"I think we all wish we could do the same with our lover's right about now... But for now... Let's just enjoy the guy time just a little bit longer."

While the guys were getting back to talking amongst once another, Terrador was in his thoughts, looking to the entrance way in anticipation. _Why... why hasn't she shown up yet? She didn't get discouraged, did she._ Coming down from his hopes, it seemed like things weren't looking too well for him the more he thought about it. _If she did... how would I be able to find her? And if I did try and chase after her, would that make me look like a creep?_ Growling softly to hide this from everyone else, he went back to his normal, aggressive looking resting face as he knew he needed to just stay himself. _If she shows up, she does, and if she doesn't, then... I... I didn't get attached for a reason._ With Terrador having a tough time, Spyro was having one as well as he couldn't shake this new female's words. _She doesn't have any darkness in her, and I trust that Cynder will be able to call me for help but... We just got out of such a stressful war... we don't need to have to deal with something else, at least, not this soon... I don't think I'd make the right decision if she did try something cause I'm still not... at a hundred percent myself._ Him talking about how he felt made him wonder now about what he would've done now, compared to the past, _If Claire was an assassin, I would've yelled at her to leave with how I am now... But that's not me... Cynder especially would know that... So for now, I should use this time to calm myself... And I have a great idea of how to do that._ Focusing his darkness around his mind, Spyro eased himself for a couple of seconds before speaking to himself, _Hey... are you two there?_

* * *

"And then me and Ignitus fell in love after all of that," Claire finshed her explanation of her own past life story, now having gone full circle around the group, "You really remind me of myself, Flair, and just knowing this makes me wonder what's happened to you, that way, we can help you," Flair didn't seem all for having to talk about her past, but instead, she was still bringing in all the information she had gotten from everyone's past, "I thought I was alone when I came here too, but... It turned out I was very wrong. So, if that's what you're feeling, we could easily help with that."

"My past is just like everyone else's during the war; I lost everything, end of story," Flair was quick about her past, not showing any emotions about what had happened whatsoever, "Now that we are done here, I'm assuming Ersa wanted to talk some about what ever had happened, even though we all know it has to do with the two mating anyway, so it's not much of a shocker. And if that's the truth, why do you all even want to hear about what happened when that's something so private?"

"For one, we don't even know what had happened," Carith defended in them asking.

"For all we know, what if they fought while doing such thing," Claire joined in in defense.

"And for me, I... don't really understand anything when it comes to such things, so, it's a good way of me learning of what to look out for and what not in the future, in case this was something that happens," Cynder then lastly defended her in asking as well.

"You don't know how mating works?" Flair asked.

"Of course not. I didn't have the talk, I didn't have someone to ask about such things, and really, I only feel comfortable about talking of such things with the girls cause they understand, and they have my back when it comes to stuff like this."

"How do you know how love works then?"

"It was mainly Spyro who walked me through it, helped me understand it more. The only reason I knew, and why I knew of the word was because... I put two and two together after everyone... I had killed... When they said they loved one another, they would kiss or cuddle before... passing... So I used knowledge of that to understand what such a word even meant," Hearing this was rather tough, not only for Cynder to say, but for everyone else as, hearing about it was way worse then thinking about what could've happened, "I know about some Hatchling and mate stuff, and I've seen now more then ever from Ersa and Volteer how happy that could make someone, so I... wonder what that would be like for me."

"You already have a lover. I'm sure you've done the together forever bull shit talk, so why not just make him your mate when you're ready?"

"It... sounds simple... but... once you actually have that someone, it becomes rather difficult, even if you did promise to be together forever. And from the sounds of it, did you yourself have someone you loved?"

"I'm not answering that."

"So then, it's a yes?"

"Not! Answering!"

"Whoa, calm down, Flair," Ersa stopped her as having someone yell to Cynder when she was asking wasn't something she wished to see, "Look, I will talk about my story real quick, and while I'm doing that, I think I've found just the thing to help you, Flair," They watched as she stood up from the group, turned to her right, and made it over to her work table, talking about what had happened as she did, "So, where was I... Oh yeah; I needed help. Now this is where things do get a little... embarrassing, and I will try to keep it to a minimal," While she worked at her tables, going back and forth as she worked on something, Ersa continued, "I was stressed to the point that a kiss wouldn't help, so, he... ahem... gave me what I needed."

"I thought you said you'd keep this to a minimal?" Flair growled in disgust.

"For me, this is something I can easily talk about as it's science, it's just having to tell others that makes this difficult."

"Please just move on."

"Okay okay, sorry. Anyway, last night was rather special for both of us, one thing led to another, and he... Was on top of me," Her pausing made things even worse, but she was done with what ever she was making and turned to the rest of the group with a glass bottle of pink liquid in paw, "This was the first time this happened to him, but it of course will happen," Walking back over to the group, she sat back down in front of everyone in the front and finished up what she was saying, "He was having such a good time that he... bit down hard against the back of my neck and pinned it to the bed. Ever since he did what he did, he's felt destroyed, and even licked my neck for almost all of last night."

"Did it... hurt you?" Cynder asked as she was most curious.

"Please, in the heat of the moment, it only adds on to the pleasure. Which I know he understands, but that still makes him feel horrible for it," Reaching her paw over to her left to give Flair the glass bottle, she raised a brow as she didn't understand what she was giving her or what to do with it, so Ersa explained, "This is to help you. I think I've figured out what you're going through and it's a rather difficult yet simple fix. Difficult to go through in what I'm saying."

"I don't need your help. You already know I'm here to kill one of you, and for all I know, this is to knock me out," Flair growled at her, backing up some even as she didn't trust what she had.

"Wait, so then... If... Me and Spyro were to mate, and he bit my neck, wouldn't he crush my neck since he has so much strengh?" Cynder shivered rather tearfully just thinking about such a thing.

"No, of course not, that's not really how such a thing works. When ever this side of the male triggers, it's rather, nice in a way. It uses memory of the female body they are with to ease their strengh. So, if Spyro were to bite you, his body would automatically adjust to your scales and give you the perfect sensitization of a bite. And it's not like a normal bite either: It perfectly lights up all kinds of points in your body to make mating all the more satisfying."

"So... it's even better then a normal bite?"

"Even for someone like me, it's undesirable. Just take everything you already know about love and multiply it by infinity."

"Is that really... how it feels to... mate with someone you love...? And the male adjust to the female's scales...? That's the most romantic thing I've ever heard."

"Hehe, oh, yeah. That's why I'm so confused as to why Volteer seems so upset, especially since he knows that was a good thing. I would definitely love to have another night like that, but unfortunately, and... to my fears, he said that he didn't wish to do such a thing ever again, and until he figured out how to stop himself, he wouldn't like to do it anymore from here on out."

"You're gonna force him using pressure points, aren't you?" Claire giggled, getting a smirk and a blush from Ersa already as she knew this was to happen, "Hehe, yeah, saw that one coming."

"Yeah but, I do need him to feel comfortable of course. Forcing him would be fun, but only if he was in on the fun," Her arm was starting to get tired from holding the bottle up for so long, and since Flair still hadn't taken it, Ersa needed to assure her, "Flair, I get it, you just met us, and giving you a strange liquid does sound pretty sketchy as hell, but this really will help you. I even added my personal favorite flavor known as bubble gum."

"And what does it do?" Flair growled, and since with all that Ersa had said, it only made her back up from it more.

"It's a type of mood enhancer. Basically, from what I'm getting, you went through something so traumatic that your emotions have shut themselves off, cutting off specific signals that go from your brain and heart to help you react. This such disconnection can effect your every day living, making it seem pointless to live. Like a form of Depression, or even worse."

"And how do you know all this?"

"I've been studying medicine since I was eight. And trying to survive for those fourteen years, it taught me a thing or two to help myself as well. This will only take a minute or so as I added a special speed type gem that will help it activate sooner so you can see for yourself what your missing," Seeing the wrinkles that started to form of Flair's face as she was starting to get frustrated in her constantly pushing it, Ersa stopped her before she could say anything, "I just want to help...! That's all I... All we... want to do..." She could see Flair was hesitant about it, but seeing that she was at least leaning towards it, she wished to do all she could to get her to drink the bottle, "I'll make a promise to you. If this doesn't work, you can kill me for lying to you, okay?"

"You'd really put your life in your work?"

"I'd put my life on the line to help anyone I can. I know this will help you."

"I turned my emotions off for a reason. Why in the hell would I want them back after I know what they could do to me."

"The world out there is cruel, and your emotions only know of such a thing from there. So, why not see how you react to a more peaceful, helpful, and understanding environment?" Now Flair had come back to where she was sitting, and with her so close to what looked as though she would grab it, Ersa wiggled the pink liquid from the bottle in front of her, teasing her even, "I know you don't want to pass up the chance of killing me, now do you?"

Snatching the bottle from her paw, Flair inspected the bottle first before she had done anything else. Looking away from the bottle and to everyone else, she growled, showing her teeth even as she knew someone was to do something, "And what if this does knock me out and you all just get rid of me?!"

"Flair... Have you, ever had anyone in your life to trust?" Cynder murmured, seeing the same as everyone else saw that Flair had trust issues.

"I did, but just like love, trust is a weapon that others know they can use against you. With those before me, you all are the same; Acting like you care, trying to look out for me, but when something turns up to be my fault, you all will just turn your backs on me no matter what we went through together," Flair was revealing more of her past then she thought she was, and since no one was saying anything, only looking to her with wide eyes, she knew what she said and yelled, "Never mind! I'll drink this stupid ass liquid!"

Placing the bottle to her lips, she closed her eyes, titled her head back, and drank the liquid from within the bottle. As she was drinking the liquid, thoughts came to her mind that didn't change anything of which Ersa said. _If I wake up in the middle of nowhere, I'm slitting her, and everyone else's throat as soon as I come back!_ Now with the liquid all gone, she took the bottle down from her mouth, smacking her lips a couple of times before looking straight as she once did before. Inspecting the bottle once again, Flair showed her teeth to it before giving back over the bottle to Ersa, "Fine, I'll give you the fact that it had a good taste, but other then that, it hasn't done shit for me!"

"Don't worry, Flair, it'll take just a minute," Taking the bottle from her paw, Ersa once again stood up and walked back over to her table, putting things back before she came back to the group.

"Going back though, Cynder... When she was talking about that neck biting, your scales stood up on end, especially when she talked about Spyro," Carith smirked at her, knowing how easy this was going to be to tease her.

"WH?!" Cynder was at a lost for words already, and she knew she needed to cover it up quickly, "And how would you feel if she was talking about Malefor biting your neck during such an act?"

"Ahem-well-I-I-I..."

"You're already sweating?" Claire giggled, but now this made Carith look to her, trying to speak even as red as her face was.

"Don't you start too! If Ignitus was to do the same thing to you, what would you do?!"

"Hehe, oh, he can have me, that's for sure."

"See, I...! Wait... Wait what?!"

"Damn, Claire, that was rather quick," Ersa giggled.

"I actually slipped up at one point about such a thing too. He flexed out into this muscular form, and when he did that... I... told him to take me... But then he caught on and I had to correct myself by saying, 'Take me to the white isles'. Such a shame too... But I know what I have, and I know what I'm going to have. I've never known someone like Ignitus even existed, and now that I know what he's like, who he is... He's mine."

"And what if he wasn't the Chronicler?"

"You think that'd change my mind?"

"So I'm guessing that means everyone in this room is guilty of looking forward to such a future with who they love?" No one said anything to Ersa's words, making her, and the others, giggle, "Well I guess that's pretty obvious at this point. But now here is where the fun part begins, and not so much for us as we are adults, but for Cynder," A sense of fear went down Cynder's spine as she backed her head up away from everyone, seeing as they looked to her with smirks of what they were all to say to her, "You're not yet an adult, Cynder, so you still have some time to think about your life. But then again, after Spyro supposedly did it with someone else, you freaked out rather bad. Does this mean you already have... thoughts... of you and him?"

"I'm not going to say anything on such a subject," Cynder rejected her words sooner rather then having someone else ask later about her, "And in any case, I think since we are talking about the adults first, why not start off with Carith. If you think about it, she should've been Malefor's mate way before you even became mates with Volteer, Ersa. So, tell you what, you tell the truth about that, Carith, and I will let slip the truth about what I'm thinking about."

"I see what you did there," Carith grumbled, but she knew she now had to say something.

"But I do have to admit one thing; all this talk about our loves really makes me think more of what we would go through with them," Putting a paw to her chest, her thoughts made her, out of instinct, use the darkness around her without even really knowing it, "It really makes me think about what else me and Spyro would do together as lovers. We already have the poison, the darkness control, and so much more to have fun with... And I love it all," Now taking her paw down, her eyes went wide as she gasped, hearing a heart beat from within her mind, which made her cry out, "No body move! Flair, especially you. Do, not, move!"

Everyone else was rather confused as to why she seemed so scared. While the room had gone quiet, they heard what sounded like a gust of wind which ended the silence for a second. Feeling someone breathing behind her back, along with a rather menacing growl, Flair looked behind herself to see a darkened dragon with yellow eyes. His sudden appearance and face of rage made her jump forward. Once she turned to face him, so did everyone else, but he still took steps forward towards her, now growling in his low, deep growl, "What did you do to them."

"No no no, Spyro! It's okay!" Running up to help Flair out, Cynder put a wing in front of her to defend her, "I was thinking about you and activated my darkness without even realizing it. She didn't do anything, I swear," Seeing his intimidating form, this dark mode of his always got her shivering in joy, especially now with his puffed out chest and his adult features, "But... hey... can I... ask a favor..." Moving in front of Flair and standing now right in front of her lover, she picked up both her paws and twirled a claw around her other claw as she somewhat begged, "Do you think... later on that you could... stand above me with this form and... bite my neck?"

It was a rather odd request, which made him ask as he wondered, "I don't know the strengh of this form. I could hurt you."

"Well, apparently, you know what my scales can handle. So, if we are in the moment of loving one another, your body will adjust itself to my scales, giving me pleasure without any pain."

"And where did you learn this?"

"Ersa was, talking to us about what happened with her and Volteer."

Looking past her lover and seeing Flair duck her head, he blew blue fire through his nose, trying to calm himself down as nothing appeared to be happening of which he needed his power for. _Make a move, I dare you._ Once having come down from his form, Spyro returned back to his normal purple scales, which, now seeing as nothing was wrong, he turned to face the door, but still looked to his lover, "Since you appear to be fine, I shall leave, but if she does try something, just let me know."

"Which... Spyro... I wanted to apologize about what I had said to you and Cynder... I wasn't feeling too good," Flair spoke in a rather depressed tone, and seeing this change in her behavior, Ersa knew that her work had taken effect on the body, "What I said was, uncalled for, and I hope you can accept my apology to both you, and Cynder."

It was a surprise to him, but Spyro appreciated her in saying, "I accept your apology, Flair."

"I do wish to apologise to everyone else for what I said, and to thank Cyril for what he said to me; by coming to my defense."

"Would you like to come back to the Chambers so we can all group up once again?"

"I'd... like to see everyone again."

"Then I guess you can all follow me back."

"Terrador, Volteer, Cyril, and lastly, Ignitus. You challenged me to an unbeatable fight with your stupidity, so I shall take you all on as I have once before!" Standing up on his back two paws, Malefor erupted into his new pitch black form, intimidating them as he shined his right paw golden and black, showing off his fancy attack, "You shall know your place against a being above! Now, which one of you punk ass little dragons wish to test my might?!"

"We haven't said anything about challenging you," Cyril grumbled.

"All your wanting to do is show off your new power," Volteer knew as everyone else did.

"Which, I have to admit, makes you look like a sad dragon whose never been hugged in their life before," Terrador chuckled at his words.

"This is a joke as we know you wouldn't have a Hatchling with anyone but, your Hatchling is going to have a rather foul mouth with your words," Ignitus was the last to speak about what he was doing.

"What are you talking about? My Hatchling would be the most well behaved little one of all."

"The amount of times you yelled, 'Golden Gun, Bitches'! Yeah, totally going to be well behaved."

"Dude, dude dude dude, you jealous my Hatchling is gonna be a bad ass?"

"I'm jealous that you are the only dragon in this world with half the normal brain cells as an average idiot."

"DAMN!" The three other Guardians all laughed at him for what Ignitus said, now making Malefor more upset for what he had said.

"It literally took the power of the Ancestors for your dumb ass to be smart, so I don't want to hear you talking," Malefor growled back at him, but all Ignitus did was smirk at what he had said, "You really are Spyro's dad; you have to be, cause your as cocky as he is. But let us see how you handle a true being of which your mind cannot comprehend! I shall ascend upon those who shall be beneath me and my might!" Now taking his golden gun down, he raised his paws to the skies, flexed out his muscles and wings before crying up at the ceiling, "I... AM... TRUTH...!"

To his sudden surprise, wind started to hit his back as he was falling back down to the ground, even though he knew he was able to support his body from where he was. Another thing that confused him with the fact that it felt like someone had tackled him, but he knew it couldn't have been one of the Guardians as they wouldn't have done something. Just as his back was to hit the floor, he closed his eyes and braced for impact, but his head was stopped, along with his body as he was eased to the ground. With his wings being sprawled out to the ground, he felt paws step over each of his wings, immobilizing his wing movement. Wondering what could've happened, his eyes were able to open only slightly before they had shot open from a sudden shock of pleasure. Getting only a glimpse of a blue body of which he knew well, Carith stood above him, making out with him to the point where both gave out pleased moans. With this pleasure, his eyes had to shut, enjoying himself even, enough so that his darkness disappeared from his body. Now with the others entering the room, Spyro made his way over to the left wall with his lover, and while they did this, Claire headed to Ignitus's side, while Ersa headed to Volteer's side. For Flair, she stood in the middle, a little away from the two who were making out beside her. Hearing as their lips were smacking with one another's, she wished to talk as to mute out the sounds that she was hearing, "So... hey, everyone... I wanted to apologise for what I had said early on during the day. I wanted to apologise to you too, Malefor, if you could even hear me," Listening in, she heard him give a noise of which sounded like him agreeing, and now with him having agreed to her, she looked to Cyril, walking up to him some as she wished to thank him as well, "And, thank you as well, Cyril, for what you said. It really helped me, and talking with the other girls was rather nice if I'm being honest."

This was a surprise to everyone to hear she had changed up her mood so quickly, so massively. Knowing they had all wondered what was going on, aside from those who knew, Ersa wished to explain what was happening to her, "I gave her a potion that helped her brain reconnect with heart and emotions all together. There's many names of what she could be going through, and so, I thought, what better way to help then to treat all forms of numbness all together."

"How long would this last?" Cyril asked.

"Why? Cause she's vulnerable or something, you thinking dirty?"

"What?! No! I'm asking cause she seems happier this way, so I was wondering when this effect would go away."

"I would say, before she goes to bed, or unless she fights against it and a strong emotion shuts down the effects all together."

"So then, if it does shut down, then we will know what it is that could've made her upset in the first place?"

"You know I'm standing right here," Flair growled, already trying to fight the effects of the potion, "You don't have to talk as though I'm a monster. I have my own opinions too, alright," Growling once again as she closed her eyes shut rather tightly, she let out a sigh before opening her eyes back up and apologising once again in a different tone, "Sorry... I didn't mean to be so rude once again. Please... instead of talking behind my back, if you have a question, then just ask me."

"Okay then... could you tell us about what's upset you so badly? Maybe tell us about what happened in your past?" Cyril was the one to ask as to try and help her, but it seemed to only make things worse on her.

Opening her mouth to say something, she once again growled to herself, shutting her mouth and instead, showing her teeth as she backed away from everyone. Hearing her struggling, Carith and Malefor finally stopped what they were doing. Wondering if she was to try anything against the others, Carith backed off of her lover. Now able to roll back to his four paws and stand back up, Malefor kept his eyes on her, putting a wing in front of her as he didn't know what she was to do. Spyro didn't seem intimidated at all of what was happening, but rather, he just watched of what was about to happen. The fins all around Flair's body became sharp as they stuck outwards. Even her two fins on her tail flexed outwards like spears, now turning her back tail fins into a real tail blade. Burning fire through her mouth as she opened it, her body eased back to what it used to be now as she had control over what her body did. Looking up to Ersa, she was rather upset with the results, "I can't believe that shit even worked. And here I was hoping I could get an easy kill on you for what you would've lied to me about. And as for you, Cyril..." Taking steps towards him, now standing a little more closer to where she was before, she threatened him, "You ever ask about my past again, if you try and help me, I'll slit your throat, or I'll stab you between your hind legs."

While Cyril swallowed hard, even putting his tail blade in front of his legs, Spyro wasn't too happy with what she turned back into, "You're not going to do anything to him," Now back off to where they had started, Flair looked to him with killer intent, "Since you won't talk to us, we can't help you. If it was something the Dark Master did, take your anger out on the darkness, not Malefor. While he might've gone by the same name, does Malefor now look, sound, or act like the Dark Master?" She took a peak over to him as she turned, and unfortunately to her, what he was saying was rather true, "Now, please. Before things turn sour as they have since this day started, talk to us about something, anything that you can that will help you."

"As I've said, I'm not here for help. I'm only here to kill someone, and then leave."

"You're not killing anyone."

"I'll just hang around for a while, and sooner or later, I will. Even if you get rid of me, I'll always come back."

"Dude, that's two references we've made so far!" Malefor happily cried, making Flair growl to see anyone could be so happy, "First, I am truth, and now, I'll always come back! I wonder what other references we can make that would be understandable... Oh wait! Can I tell my mate abuse story that I've wanted to for a while?"

"That sounds horrible," Ignitus declined, but he knew he was going to tell it anyway.

"No no no, trust me, it's actually really freaking funny."

"You won't shut up about it, will you?"

"Hehe, of course not. That's just not who I am."

"Can I hurt you afterwards?"

"What? No. But since you're being a bitch about it, I have a saying that I would wish for everyone to know, especially to you, Flair. Just know, when your life isn't going right, just go left," Snickering at his own joke, no one had anything to say, only looking to him with raised brows as they knew he could do better then that, "What...? Nothing...? Alright, I have another joke that goes to you, Flair. Just know that, even when your life hits rock bottom, the only other way for your life to go, is up!"

"And what if you stay at rock bottom?" Flair growled at him.

"Hehe... hehehe... well then, damn, I guess. Don't really know what to say to that."

"At least on the bright side, I understood what the reference was to," Volteer backed him up, making Malefor feel a little better about what he had said.

"Oh thank goodness."

While everyone went back to talking about other things, Terrador was still waiting, looking past Flair as she stood in the middle, and he constantly wondered whether or not she was going to show, and so far, it didn't seem as though she was at all as the day had gone by more and more without any sign of her. This got him to worry, somewhat bumming him out in a way as he thought to himself, _She didn't forget about what she had said... did she?_ Now all the joy in his body started to disappear, and with this, he gave a sigh, knowing he should've never gotten excited about such a thing as he had done once before. _She isn't coming by... is she...? Which, maybe means that she got back together with her boyfriend, I'm guessing._ This seemed to stay true, even after he had picked his head up, but he still gave his best as he held on to hopes that something would happen, that she would've shown up. _Maybe she would show up later on during the night and wish to sleep some... Maybe she... Maybe... I... I... should just let it go._ Ignitus looked away from the group for a second as something felt wrong to him. He was glad he did as he saw his friend, Terrador, looking rather downed because of something. Remembering back to the night, he had to ask him as he had an idea of what it could be, "Is this about her not showing up?"

It was sudden for him to hear, but Terrador was rather thankful that he was able to see that he wasn't in the best of moods, "I was sure she would've shown up by now. I've been sitting in the Chambers for quite a while now and... nothing... I don't know if I should maybe go after her and see if I could find her, but... I don't know... Maybe I'm just pushing it. Feels like my body is just getting hopeful or something when I really shouldn't be."

"Terrador, if you feel like being with her, not so much in a loving sense, you should talk with her some more. Maybe going after her would make you feel better."

"Yeah... I... I don't know... Might just go to sleep here soon and let this day go by... But one thing I'm very happy about is the fact that we were all able to come to the Chambers and have that family time that we all wished to have."

"Hehe, yeah... It's definitely... comforting to see everyone so happy."

Watching as everyone was having such a good, Flair couldn't understand as to why this was, especially with what has happened even yesterday, _That battle was rather intense even for someone like me just to witness it, and after what happened last time, with the Destroyer going into the Volcano, the world should've exploded... but it didn't, which I don't understand. How couldn't it have?_ Even though others were talking to one another, she looked around the room, wondering who could've possibly stopped the Destroyer. Using what she's already seen and known, Flair looked to Spyro, wondering if he was the one who had done such a thing, "Spyro, I have a question for you," Hearing his name had been called, he stopped his conversation with Malefor and looked to her, "Was it you who stopped the Destroyer? Cause last I recall, when it fell into the Volcano the last time, the world split into all kinds of pieces. So then, what happened?"

"Hehe, oh yeah, I was supposed to tell Ignitus about what had happened, so I guess with you asking, this now gives me the time to explain what had happened. This might be a rather long explanation, so, I hope you're comfortable to where you're sitting," Spyro's words did get to her for some reason as this made her get up and move to get out from the middle of the Chambers, "Where are you going to sit?" To everyone's surprise, she made her way to the group of Guardians and sat down next to Cyril's side, which he had to ask out of awe, "You... want to join the line up of the Guardians?"

"Is that problem? It helps me get closer to kill someone would it not?"

"Hehe, wait... If you want to kill someone, sit next to Malefor," Cyril chuckled, now learning of what her intentions were.

"Of course. As soon as you learn of what I really am, you'd turn your back on me."

"What? No, Flair, that's not it at all," Cyril now felt horrible as he understood what she meant by this, which, running it back in his head, he wished to correct himself in what he had to say, "Actually, having you next to me makes me feel much more comfortable," She didn't respond, only growling to him, but he caught on to this and hoped he could help in some way or another, "I know what you said, about killing me... But does this have to do with, something from your past that I can help with?"

"Can you just start the story, Spyro!"

"Oh, yeah, of course," Seeing the frustration in her eyes, Cyril wanted to try and comfort her the best way he knew how, and with Spyro's story, he wished to do it with stealth, "Okay. This starts after I kissed Cynder, making her pass out so she wouldn't have to worry about... knowing who I was," Seeing as this was already getting difficult for him to say, Cynder nuzzled her body against his, and with this comfort, it did make him feel much more comfortable with what he had to say, "Hehe, yeah... I guess I shouldn't be too sad as we are all here now, so that's what counts... But, after I kissed her, I froze time for going so fast. The two clones, one to my left, and the other to my right, I begged them for help. So they flew off to try and find something that would keep me alive. I yelled to myself as I... I couldn't keep lying to myself, I couldn't stay strong as it seemed as though I tried to be."

"Which, I feel like that's my fault in a way," Malefor stepped in, "If I had only known about such a thing when it came to the Destroyer, I would've been able to tell you sooner."

"But then if you did, it would've only added to the stress I felt that day. And, if you did, we wouldn't have had the bad ass ultimate move."

"Hehe, Well, when you put it like that... It... does make me feel better."

"Once they had returned, everything seemed hopeless. I learned the names of my clones now though, or, at least, what they wish to be called. The one to my left is named Xvar, while the one to my right wishes to be called Kettu."

"Xvar... and... Kettu?"

"Trust me when I say, their actual names are far beyond what language we have. Their real names are from the Convexity dimension so... yeah."

"Dude, dude dude dude. Tell Xvar and Kettu, they bitches."

"You know they can already hear you, and I might not be able to control them if they try and kill you."

"Hehe... Hey, can you continue the story, like, right now."

"But, yeah, going back, one of my clones spoke about how, no matter what we were to do, it had already been planned for us. His exact words were, 'If you think you were smart in doing by taking a step left, rather then right, it wasn't because you made it, it's because it was already planned to happen. So for our deaths, supposedly, this... Has all already been planned for'.

"Wow... That's some... deep shit my guy."

"But he was right in a way, but, i knew this couldn't be true for one reason. The light can't see what the darkness does, same how the darkness can't plan for the light. So I knew by being in my dark form, everything we did then, they couldn't have planned for, so we had about thirty minutes to think of something. Then an idea came to mind; I can't use my time power and darkness at the same time, but what if I used my time power, and got the darkness to split me from the Destroyer after I encapsulated it?"

"What? Didn't you use your time power when you were fighting the Dark Master behind Warfang?"

"I had to control my darkness away from my paw to use that power. I know how the time power works, so I knew what I needed to do and or move to activate it. Unfortunately, a problem we ran into was, I can't use my darkness to encapsulate it, and stay in that form once I had done it or else the link between me and it would've been destroyed far too soon, or I wouldn't have been able to have full control over my time power to use it at full strength while not killing myself. The Destroyer needed to be halfway through the Volcano before the time power took over and stopped the darkness all together."

"How come the darkness couldn't just break through the time power?"

"Same reason why the dark versions of Spyro couldn't touch the time gem; cause it would've killed it," Cynder put two and two together.

"Oh yeah."

"I had to let my darkness roam free in order for this to work. One would cut my link with the Destroyer once I encapsulated it, while the other would make a platform that I would land on. And I couldn't ask you all to do it as there would've been too much for you all to learn in such a short amount of time, along with; Where would I land, locking onto where I needed to be severed from the Destroyer, the smoke you could've lost me in, and just, so much more. So, since my dark clones knew what to do, we just stuck with our plan."

"Then why did you... say goodbye to all of us?" Malefor asked.

"In case something didn't work, I needed you to all know that I cared about you all. But since it did... I'm just... really glad and thankful to them that it worked. Now afterwards while I was in the time crystal, I don't know what happened, so, if you are able to tell me that, then I guess that makes this story come full circle."

"I can be the one to answer that," Cynder stepped in as she was the one who wished to explain the rest of the story, "Once I heard the dark dragons talking about how they were you, and they knew where you were... It took me a bit to stand. Even as I tried to cry out, my voice still hadn't come back. Once I did get up and yell out, I fell. One of them ran over to help me up, which in turn made Malefor fire his golden gun. Hehe, it went through the one who wanted to help me and was caught by the other one."

"He got lucky."

"You got lucky because he didn't kill you afterwards."

"He could've tried."

"It took some convincing for me to trust them, and it took him using his darkness to move my paw for me to know for a sure fire way that it really was a clone of you. They only wished to help me, and if anyone got in the way, they would've killed someone. Which, because I was the one they wished not to hurt or disappoint, I growled at them to not do such a thing, and so, they didn't. I did want them to kill Malefor but, it was in the heat of the moment so I couldn't say anything."

"I helped you save Spyro!"

"I know, I know."

"So then, this is where you two saved me from the Volcano," Spyro finished up the story which now made it come full circle of all that had happened.

"That's one hell of a story, Spyro," Flair had to admit, but once again surprising everyone, she growled, revealing something even though she didn't wish to, "I wish I had friends who wouldn't have betrayed me... You're lucky you had those to watch your back, and to put trust in them to save your life is... not something you see everyday."

Feeling something over her back, her body moved on its own as she snuggled up to something, but once feeling this cool feeling, her eyes went wide as she looked to her left. Not only were her eyes wide, but so was everyone else's as they saw the blush on Cyril's face as she stayed snuggled to him. Looking over to her back, she was able to see that his wing had been draped over her back without her even noticing. Seeing everyone's reaction, she blushed on her own, but threatened him to the point of him fearing for his life, "If you don't get your wing off my back, I will sharpen my fins, they will pierce right through your wings, and I'll make sure they scar by keeping you away from those red gems!," Taking his wing back from off her body, she moved away from him and back to where she was sitting, "Anyway. Do you all know where I can rest for the night? While I do wish to go back to my home, feels like it would be better to just sleep here for the night."

"You just want to be close to us so you can kill one of us," Spyro called her out for her lie.

"Not yet. Just for the night, I shall sleep."

"I'm sure I can help you to your room if you need it," Cyril suggested as he wished to help her out, "We all did sleep in for quite some time as of what's happened yesterday, and I'm sure the sun may be coming down soon so, if you do wish to get some early sleep, I can walk you to your room."

"Sure."

Getting up along with her, the two made their way to the Chamber entrance. Once to the entrance way, they walked to their right, making it two doors down before turning to their left and looking at the door with one another. Opening up the door for her, he backed out of her way for her to walk in. She was rather surprised at the space in the room, much larger then that of the room that she had stayed in. _I guess I shouldn't be so surprised at how open these rooms are,_ Flair thought to herself, looking all around the room and feeling the soft carpet from underneath her paws. Making it up over towards the bed without even knowing Cyril was following behind, she jumped up on to it. Once turned around, she was able to see the smile on Cyril's face as he stood near the front of the bed. She couldn't understand why he was smiling, so, once she laid down, she growled at him, "The hell are you smiling for."

"Oh, I am?" Cyril asked himself as he didn't realize he was, but he did have to be honest with her, "Sorry, I just... I have hopes that I will be able to help you with what ever you're going through. I know you don't wish to talk about it, but, seeing someone struggling, I just know that there has to be someway to help," All she could do was growl at him as she laid, curling some to her left as she closed her eyes, wishing to go to sleep, "I guess for tonight, I should leave you alone. But, hey, if you need anything, just come and wake me up. We sleep behind the door from the Chambers."

"I shall take it into consideration."

"Thank you, Flair."

Now with him turning to walk away, she heard his steps even through the softness of the carpet at his paws. Once hearing the door close, she opened her eyes, picked up her head, and showed her anger to what all had happened. _I should've just killed him! He was in my room, all alone, and I could've just slit his throat!_ Standing up on her bed now, Flair went back and forth on her bed as she couldn't sleep, wondering what her next move should be. _I know where everyone lives now, which means, now I just need to figure out who I should kill._ Now focusing straight, she climbed down from off her bed, trying to stay quiet with all that she was doing to not attract any attention to herself. _I need to hide my growl no matter how much I wish to just... Ugh! I wish I could just choke him till blood spills down his mouth!_ Making it to the door, she put the side of her head against it, listening in case someone was outside the door. Not hearing anything for the time being, she was careful to open the door. Once she had, she opened it slowly, looking from the left and right, making sure no one was walking down the hallway. To her luck, no one was anywhere from what she could see. _If they were trying to get me to sleep so badly, maybe that means everyone else has gone to sleep as well._ Walking up to the left wall of the hallway, she hugged the side of it as she made her way over to the entrance of the Chambers. Hearing what sounded like talking, this meant that some were still in the Chambers, but she couldn't figure out who it was. Just as she had gotten to the edge, she gasped, ducking her head and body down as two dragons walked out of the Chambers and to their left. Seeing who it was, she thought to herself, _So the two mates are going to bed. With how they are, maybe killing those two would make this so much easier. The problem is just trying to kill the two quick._ Now with the two having entered into their room, she picked her head and body back up, trying to once again listen in on who was in the Chambers.

"Hehe, yeah, I'm not really surprised in the slightest. But, what are you all thinking about that Flair women?" Malefor asked as they were discussing her.

"I think she needs to leave as soon as possible," Spyro was honest.

"But what if she's gone through something even worse then we all have?" Cynder asked.

"She won't tell us what is going on. Compared to Claire, Ignitus was there for her, but Flair doesn't want anyone even near her."

"We have to keep trying. After what's already happened, we can't lose someone."

"We won't be losing anyone. If needed to stay close to you all, I think it'd be best if we sleep down here for the night, rest in the rooms close to you all in case she tries anything."

"That does sound like a plan. It's gonna feel weird being back in these old rooms though... It's definitely not going to feel great," Malefor admitted to everyone else.

"This isn't the past, Malefor, you'll be fine, I promise," Spyro assured him.

 _Of course, as soon as I leave, they all turn their backs on me as everyone else has. If they were to learn of my past... there's no point either way to what I say. I either don't say anything and they hate me, or I say something, and they'll hate me_ , Flair gave a frustrated sigh as she knew this was to happen before she even came up here.

"Guys, she isn't who you think she is," Cyril spoke, defending her which surprised her to the point that she picked up her head more and listened to what he had to say, "We all have agreed that she needs help, and we will not stop until we, as we have for each and everyone one of us, save her. And I get it, she doesn't wish to talk about it, but, look at you, Cynder. You believed Spyro would leave you once it was revealed that you were forced to kill his parents, but because he didn't, you've felt much happier to know that he has your back."

"If Spyro had her back, why is his back still purple?" Malefor smirked, "What if your said, 'Spyro grabbed her backside'?"

"Hehe, I've never grabbed her back side before," Spyro chuckled.

"Unfortunately," Cynder sighed.

"Don't pull a Volteer and be like, 'I'm gonna grab my girl by the back end'," Malefor chuckled, making the others do the same as they remembered this.

"Hehe, oh yeah, I remember that," Spyro laughed.

"So is that a yes or a no?" Cynder asked now rather then letting it sit.

"We already have so much to do. At what point would me doing such a thing make you feel good?"

"I don't know... How about when we go to this other room?"

"Hell no!" Malefor cried, interrupting the two from their love conversation which only insured them to both growl to him, "Look, knowing me, I'm getting the room to the left while you get the room closest to Flair. That means I'm gonna have you different lovers flirting from each side, and who knows... what if I and Carith hear those other two... Ahem... you know... I couldn't handle hearing anything from both you and them."

"Hehe, oh man, you aren't going to get any sleep tonight," Spyro chuckled as he knew it wasn't his problem.

"I would yell for them to stop, but last time I tried to mess with them, Volteer electrocuted the Damn door handle."

"You tried to interrupt them while they were having fun? Do you have a death wish?" Claire snickered.

"I thought it would be funny."

"Hehe, I mean, it kinda was. You getting shocked I would've loved to see," Spyro sighed, wishing he could've seen such a thing.

While the others were talking amongst themselves, Terrador gave a depressed sigh, now coming to the conclusion that no one was going to show for the rest of the night. _She really didn't show..._ Now not feeling like doing much, he got up, turned, and made his way to the Sleeping Chambers. Noticing this at the corner of his eye, Ignitus gave a frown as he looked over his right shoulder, knowing what could be going through his mind at this moment. _I'm... so sorry, Terrador._ Knowing he should help out with his friend, he turned back to face everyone else, speaking about what was going on, "Hey, I think we should all head to bed then. I'm sure Terrador doesn't wish for me to say anything but... He's going through a tough time after what happened yesterday with someone he met."

"Is this about that green female he was talking with?" Cyril gave a frown as he knew what he was talking about.

"Ooooohhhhhh? Flirting?" Malefor immediately stepped in, and they knew this was to happen.

"Malefor... Terrador was really hoping she would've shown tonight," Ignitus spoke, hoping that Malefor would understand, and the more he talked about it, the more it made sense to him, "He didn't want to say anything as he knew you'd make fun of him about it, but I'm sure he's also struggling cause... he... might really want to find love. But now, after her not showing... he might have just given up all together on such hopes."

"Oh... Yeah... I, guess I forgot about such a thing... Terrador's strong though... He'll make it through this."

"That's the hope."

"We will be there for him," Spyro assured the others, and even though Terrador wasn't there, he knew he would show his support when ever he could, "I guess it is a good thing we are sleeping down here for tonight then. If you all need us, we will be down here sooner rather then later, which is a rather nice feeling to be near you all."

"Does that mean you want us to move your room somewhere else so you can be close to all of us?" Ignitus asked with a small hint of hope in his voice.

"Hehe, where would we even put that room? It's not exactly as small of a house as you'd think."

"You know I could think of something. Hell, we could make a door way in the left and right wall of the Chambers to where you all normally sit."

"We have time to plan for it. But for now, I'm gonna have to keep my house where it's at."

"We have some good memories in that house," Malefor smiled, "I was attacked, harassed, stabbed, punched, kicked, yelled out, and this is just in the hallway. Oh man... good times."

"That's your own Damn fault."

"Hehe, yeah, no it wasn't."

"Oh, but, Spyro, before you do go to bed, I was thinking about doing something since you are so close to Flair," Cyril spoke, making Spyro wonder as to what he was to do, "I... want to keep trying, to see if I can do anything to help Flair, so, I might wake up later on in the night and try to help her if that's all right with you... Then again, if you were to say no, I'd just do it anyway."

"I was going to say that, but you beat me to it," Spyro chuckled, "Just, try and not get yourself killed."

"She's not a monster, Spyro."

"And I know that. But with her trying to kill one of us, I don't wish for her to succeed."

"If something happens, I'll yell for you, okay."

"I really, really hope I don't have to wake up to your blood curdling cry."

 _This... this is perfect!_ Flair cried happily in her thoughts, knowing now more then ever that she could score the kill that she needed. _All I have to do is put my paw over his mouth and slit his throat! With him down, and the others already down here, I can take out either Spyro or Cynder, or maybe I could just make my way right over to where Malefor and Carith are sleeping! This is perfect! It looks like my life is taking a turn for the best, that's for sure._ Seeing as a shadow was making its way over to the entrance, Flair held her breath before turning and running back to her room without them noticing her. With Spyro near the entrance with his lover, he turned to see that Malefor and Carith followed up to his right side. Waving a paw to the others, he wished them a goodnight, "Well then, goodnight to you all. I really... enjoyed coming back to who we were, and while this day was short since we slept for so long, I enjoyed every second of it."

"It's all thanks to you that we can enjoy such time, my son," Ignitus smiled as a gave a nod, and afterwards, he, Cyril, and Claire wished them a goodnight, "Goodnight, you three."

"Can I just sleep in the same room as you, Spyro?" Malefor rather begged in a whimper.

"Where would you sleep? Cause you sure as hell ain't gonna be sleeping on that bed with us two."

"You'd make Carith sleep on the floor?"

"No, she could sleep next to Cynder. You'd be sleeping on the floor."

"What if I stayed on one side of the bed, and you stayed on the other? Carith stays close to Cynder while me and you stay further away, like, close to the edges of the bed."

"You are really pushing this, aren't you."

"You don't understand... I can't listen to those two if they do something!"

"Ugggghhhhhh..."

"But wait, doesn't this mean we'd be able to talk our way to sleep?" Carith asked as she saw this as a good thing.

"And since we are the ones sitting next to each other, we as girls can talk!" Cynder smiled as this sounded like a perfect idea.

"Me and Malefor... sleeping in the same room as one another? I'd rather die," Spyro sighed.

"Hehe, I could've made that happen," Malefor chuckled.

"It's only for tonight, my love," Cynder spoke in a low tone, hoping to get to him.

"How are we supposed to play with poison if the other two are in the room?" Spyro asked.

"We can hold off for the time being. And plus, you need to save your power in case something happens."

"But, aren't you the one using all the power?"

"Aren't you the one using the power to hold me down while you take my..."

"Cynder! No ma'am!" Malefor laughed as they had been here before.

"MY LIPS! Why are you even still alive?! Spyro, why is he still alive?!

"I ask myself the same question since the day he came back."

"So... is it a yes?" Malefor asked in a nervous tone, which made Spyro give a huge sigh as he didn't wish to say yes, but seeing the hopeful eyes of both Carith and Cynder, he had to agree.

"Alright... Fine..."

"Yes!" The girls happily cried together.

Now with the two walking away from the Chambers and heading to the door to the right of the entrance to the Chambers, the others in the Chambers looked to one another, shaking their heads at what they had just witnessed. With the other four now gone, the other three turned to the back of the Chambers and made their way to the back room, which had already been open as the door hadn't been shut from behind Terrador. Once having entered the room, the three immediately noticed Terrador laying to his side, looking to the left wall of the Sleeping Chambers and away from everyone. Each made it to their beds, while at the same time, wondering how they'd be able to help their friend out. Having an idea as she made it to her bed with Ignitus, Claire was the one who wished to speak on behalf of what was happening, "Terrador... maybe things aren't so bad after all," Now with her, Ignitus, and Cyril on their beds, she snuggled up to Ignitus's left side, wanting to be closer to Terrador so she could speak with him, "We don't know if something could've happened or not. I mean, maybe she needed to calm down after what had happened and forgot about what had happened. For me, when Ignitus helped me some, I heard the door close behind him, and I thought he left me. But it turned out, he closed the door so he could join me in bed and comfort me. Not everything is as it seems, and my hopes is that, maybe she had just forgotten."

"Then I guess I should face facts and know that, if she forgot about me now... what if she got back together with her boyfriend and doesn't even wish to show anymore?" Terrador murmured, and even for Claire, this sounded rather unfortunate for her as she didn't know how to respond to that, "She said she wanted a change in atmosphere... She seemed so excited to come up and speak with all of us but... I should've never gotten my hopes up. I didn't want to have a relationship at all... She just seemed so nice... And I wish I could've talked with her some more."

"I hold onto hopes that she'll show up sooner or later, and you should as well."

"I might just sleep in some more tomorrow... I'll get over myself sooner or later."

"You've always been a bad ass, Terrador," Ignitus chuckled, hoping that would comfort him some.

"Yeah... I'm one of those who's a lone hero though."

"You still really wish to find love, don't you."

"I don't even really know anymore."

* * *

"So now, how are we going to sleep?" Cynder asked.

Now in the room, Spyro and Cynder laid to the left of the bed while Malefor and Carith laid to the right of it. As they had spoken about, Cynder laid to Spyro's right while Carith laid to Malefor's left so the two girls could be closer to one another. Now that the question had come up, Carith even wondered herself as she was still rather wide awake, "That's a... good question. I'm not really all that tired. But now having some privacy, somewhat, we could talk about what ever we want."

"But... couldn't we have done that before?"

"Yeah but, we can talk more about Flair, or even the other girls. Or, what about that female that Terrador apparently met up with."

"If we had more to go off of, I would love to have talked to her. But then again, talking with Flair some more would've been nice. Cyril's right when it comes to the fact that something isn't right, even though we knew that from the beginning," While the girls were talking, Malefor and Spyro had already laid their heads down, even closing their eyes as they were ready to sleep, and seeing this as she looked to her lover, then Malefor, Cynder asked them, "Are you guys really going to bed so soon? We still have plenty of energy."

"I'm still pretty tired after what I had to do yesterday," Spyro admitted.

"And I'm just lazy. Being in this room with you two makes me a lot more comfortable," Malefor admitted himself.

"Why, cause you know that, when we go to sleep, we're easy kills?"

"Hehe, no, ass. With us in the same room, who could rival even an Ancestor."

"Yeah... That does make me feel a little better as well."

"So then... I guess we should just enjoy this time with our lover's?" Cynder suggested, making Carith nod as she had to agree.

"Once we wake up, we can hopefully get to Flair and get her to feel more comfortable around us," Carith had hopes for tomorrow.

Now with their minds made up, the two snuggled up with their respective lovers, laying their heads down next to them on the bed. Now with them cuddled to one another, Spyro had draped a wing over Cynder's back while Malefor did the same to his lover; draping a wing over Carith's back. Since the two were going to bed before them, Spyro opened one eye, and since Cynder hadn't closed her eyes yet, she saw this. Giving a whisper, he tried to stay quiet as he spoke to her, "Don't think I've kissed you all that much today. What do you say?"

"And how will we do that without smacking our lips together?" Cynder wondered, but hearing as lips were already smacking together, Cynder looked to her right to see the other two were already kissing as well.

"Well, now with them making noise, pretty sure we'd be good."

"Thank Ancestors."

"You're begging for my love, aren't you."

"Hell yeah I am."

* * *

Waiting for everyone to go to sleep, Cyril laid in his bed, paw to his cheek to support his head while with his other paw, he used his claws on it to tap in row as he waited. _Now to wait... I guess... How long has it even been?_ Looking out to the massive sized windows in the back, he gave a slight raised brow as he wondered, _How did that get repaired... Oh yeah, Ignitus's powers._ Now hearing a soft snore from Terrador, he knew now was the time to get up from out of his bed. _It's weird. Ever since Ignitus and Volteer found lovers, they haven't snored._ Taking his paw down from his cheek, he climbed off his bed to his left, and since the snoring masked his steps, he didn't feel that he needed to hide his steps by tip toeing. _I hope Flair is asleep. Then again, having her awake would be better so I don't piss her off._ Making it up to the door, they still hadn't closed it, only cracked it so some light came in from the Chambers. So, all Cyril had to do was push it open, making it out into the open space of the Chambers. Now with him being out, he made his way to the entrance way, thinking to himself once again as to pass the time. _I'm not use to doing something like this._ Now to the entrance, he turned right and made sure to go two doors down as to not wake up the other four. _I feel like a special ops agent, coming out at night all on my own to complete my mission._ Now up to the door, he knew he should knock first, but the first thing he knew he really needed to do was sigh. _Hopefully my mission will be a success._ Knocking on the door rather lightly, he didn't hear a response, so instead, he spoke his name, "Hey... Flair. It's me, Cyril. May I come in?"

It was quiet for a good couple of seconds, making him discouraged, believing she had gone to sleep, but with luck, she had answered him, "You may."

Hearing her voice from the other side of the door, he opened it. Now pushing it open, Cyril smiled to see Flair sitting down on her bed, but what was rather surprising to him was the fact that she was climbing down off of it and heading over to him. Letting out a chuckle, he was rather surprised to see her approaching him, which he told her about, "I'll be honest, I didn't expect you to approach me. I was hoping I could be the one to approach you. But since you are, I wanted..."

"You done?" Flair growled to him, making him stop his words, "You were just hoping to mate with my body while I was asleep, weren't you."

"What?! No, of course not. I came by to check on you, in hope that I could also help you."

"As I've said countless times, I don't need help, nor will I accept any help from any of you. Once you know of my past, you'll all turn your backs on me, just as everyone once did before you all."

"I can make you a promise, one that I wish for you to know that I'll keep till I die, or, even after death, I shall keep to you. No matter what has happened, I will never leave your side, and I shall always trust you no matter what happens, no matter what you say has happened in your past," Trying to ease his words, hoping they would get to her, it seemed like they were, and so, he took a step to her, almost nose to nose with her, "Trust me... please... I will not do wrong by you, and this will just be between you and me. No matter what you say or do, I promise not to tell anyone as to keep you happy and safe so you know you can trust me."

Hearing his words, she saw his smile, and for her, she had to smile as well, "So, you promise to not say anything, no matter what I say, or do?"

Nodding his head, he still kept his smile, "I have hopes that... You can trust me, and I will never take that trust and throw it-UGH!"

Unable to finish his sentence, he felt a blade go through his stomach. Before he could react to anything else, he was grabbed by the neck and sent back out to the hallway. His body rolled some before hitting against the wall, and as he was, his body laid against the wall, half on and off of it. Making it out to the hallway herself, Flair grabbed him by the neck, raised him up the wall, and clenched on his neck hard enough to make him cough up some over her shoulder. Using her tail blade once again, she stabbed right back into the same hole she already made in his stomach, now making him let out a painful gasp as blood dripped from the side of his mouth. Easing off of his neck some, his painful breaths brought a smile to her face, but it didn't stay like this. While her smile turned demonic, Cyril inspected more as to what had happened, looking down to see her blade had dug itself into his stomach. Both stood on their back two paws, but for him, he wasn't able to do much as she now had him in a situation where he couldn't do anything. Covering his mouth with her other paw, she didn't wish for him to speak, and since he cried some, she didn't wish for this to be heard, "You really are an idiot," Ripping her tail blade from his stomach, she stabbed him once again through his body, only more above his stomach, making him let out another muffled cry, "Go ahead, struggle, beg. No one will hear you as I slowly take your life," Doing as she did before, ripping her tail blade from his upper stomach, she now made it to his chest, stabbing him right in the middle and next to his heart, "You're just another shit pile of friends and family that'll turn your backs on one another if something happens to each other! You think I'd trust any of you? You really aren't Guardians. You're just peasants that need to be taught how this world works," Hearing as he tried to make a muffled cry, her paw around his neck clenched more before she once again yanked out her tail blade from his chest, "Shame too. Wish I could've saved you for last. But, at least with you gone, that makes for an easy number one," Moving closer to his face, she smirked to him as she gave out her plan, "I wish you could see me go door to door and slaughter all your friends tonight, but unfortunately for you, that's not going to happen."

"Flair... Please... Don't," Cyril was barely able to let out his voice from behind her paw.

"I'm surprised you can even talk with my paw over your mouth and neck. Why don't you cry for help? Then again," Inspecting the damage she had already done, blood spilled down the three holes she made in his body, and she wished to make a fourth, "You're dead anyway with these wounds. Now, what do you say, we make a fourth hole in your body. But don't worry. Since you were so nice to me, I'll stab you through your heart real quick, making your death somewhat instant."

Once again struggling to say anything, he had to let out what he needed to say, "I... Trust... You..."

"Shut up!"

Now having been fed up with his words, his words made her loosen her grip around his neck as she went to pull her tail blade back with full force. Now with the ease off his neck, he was able to move as her other paw didn't hold him up at all. Just as her tail blade swung to hit him, he ducked to his left, trying to avoid the blade, but it still slashed right next to his right cheek. Now down to the ground and on all fours as his side was against the wall, Cyril quickly made his way back to the Chambers, blood spilling all down his body. Growling to see that he had escaped from her, she cursed in her thoughts, _Damn it! Come back here!_ Running to follow him, she was lucky as he had slipped from his wounds, falling to his side for a second before getting back up and running into the Chambers. This time he failed in, she succeeded in as her tail blade connected to the back of his tail, making him fall to face, hitting the ground and on his chin. Jumping to the top of his body, she tore through his back tail before pulling her blade back out. Swinging her tail blade down to his face, he had enough space under her to roll to his side, watching as the blade hit the ground right next to his head. Using his wings, he wrapped them around her, rolling her to the ground while he rolled himself on top of her. She was surprised by this sudden comfort in a way, and with this surprise, she lost him as he was able to jump over her and run to the back of the Chambers. _Shit!_ Rolling back on all fours, Flair growled to see Cyril had shut the door behind himself, successfully making it to the back room and away from her. Standing up to her paws, she slammed a paw down to the ground, knowing she had just failed, "Damn it!"

Knowing as to what he was to do next, she ran up to the door and stood beside it, hoping someone would exit the room for her to kill. Listening in, she could hear someone talking, and making out who those voices were, it was both Cyril and Ignitus. The first to speak with Cyril before Ignitus had spoken, _"Hey, Ignitus... do you... think you could, UGH...! Heal... me?" "Cyril...? Why... ugh... Why do you need me to heal-what the hell happened to you?! You're bleeding all down your body!" "Yeah, about that..."_

 _Say something, I dare you. I'll slit your throat for sure if you come back out here_ , Flair made a promise to herself, but making sure not to stay in her thoughts too long, she listened in. _"I went to the Training Room for the time being and decided to do some training of course. There's blood out in the hallway now so, if you could clean that up, that would be nice." "Why didn't you heal when you were up there?" "Because I wanted to fight through this pain. And also, getting these blood stains off would take too long, so, I thought it'd be best to just have you use your powers." "_ _Cyril... Did Flair do this to you?" Ignitus asked in worry. "What? No. Absolutely not." Cyril responded to his words rather quickly._ _"Then why is your heart pounding so hard even after you came all the way back down here?" "From blood loss man. Look, can you help me or not?" "I... I can. But I'm watching you, understand." "Understood."_ Now with the conversation over, Flair backed away from the door, and to her surprise, she had shed a single tear as she couldn't understand what she had just heard. _Why didn't he single me out...? Why didn't he say I was the one who hurt him?! Why did he lie?!_ This news only frustrated her more as she couldn't understand why he would do such a thing, but then a thought came back to her mind as to what he had said to her just before the attack.

* * *

 _"Trust me... please... I will not do wrong by you, and this will just be between you and me. Not matter what you say or do, I promise not to tell anyone as to keep you happy and safe so you know you can trust me," Cyril promised her._

* * *

 _He's lying to you! Watch! Someone will be in your room the next morning and he'll have called me out for what I have done!_ Making her way back to her room, it took her a bit to make it to the entrance as she was so deep in her thoughts about what had happened, _Why didn't he attack me back?! Why did he ease me to my back rather then using an ice shard or, something, anything to hurt me?!_ Now to the entrance, she turned to her right to head to her room. Having been so deep to her thoughts, she had forgotten to go after the others as she had passed right by their door. _Why didn't he scream for help? Why did he beg for me to stop from killing him? Why is this bothering me so badly?!_ Looking to where she had attacked him from the wall, she growled as she thought about what had happened. Taking a turn to her left, she made it into her room. Once she had, she slammed the door behind herself as the frustration she felt was unlike anything she's ever felt before. _That... Dragon! He's just lying to you. As I've said, just wait till the morning! I'll have everyone in my room by the morning, ready to kick me out, even kill me, and he'll have betrayed me as everyone else has in my life._ Getting up to her bed, she turned around and faced the door, keeping her head up as she waited for someone to come in, but for the time being, no one did. Shedding another tear, she growled to herself, speaking out loud as she couldn't handle what had just happened, "Why... Why am I feeling this way... Why...? I can't... keep my mind under control... I need to just get up and kill the others but... why do I feel so... emotionally exhausted now...? Like I... don't care to do anything..."

She couldn't find an answer to any of her questions, nothing out of the thousands of questions she had. _It all happened so fast yet... I failed... why did I fail?_ Knowing the reason to this question, she knew what she failed to do, as well as what had come up that made her the way she is right now. _These Damn emotions is why I locked them away! And because of him, I got attached to something when I shouldn't have. I've been alone for almost a full year! I don't need anyone else, I shouldn't need anyone else._ Laying her head down over her paws, she wanted to stay awake, but her body wouldn't let her, so she came to the conclusion of what she needed to do. _I'll wake up early morning this time for sure, and I'll kill him as I should've done before! I can't let someone like him leave, I shouldn't have let him live!_ With this thought in her mind, she made herself a promise as to what she was to do tomorrow, and she knew this would work out in her favor. _Since he didn't call me out, that means, by killing Cyril, no one will know it was me who killed him. This is perfect... I can... I can do this easily! Just wake up, and kill him, simple._ Closing her eyes, she had hopes for tomorrow that she'd be able to take him out unlike how she failed to do for the night. _You're dead, Cyril!_


	27. Chapter 27: An Innocent Thanks

Chapter 27: An Innocent Thanks

 _"I can make you a promise, one that I wish for you to know that I'll keep till I die, or, even after death, I shall keep to you. No matter what has happened, I will never leave your side, and I shall always trust you no matter what happens, no matter what you say has happened in your past," Trying to ease his words, hoping they would get to her, it seemed like they were, and so, Cyril took a step to her, almost nose to nose with her, "Trust me... please... I will not do wrong by you, and this will just be between you and me. No matter what you say or do, I promise not to tell anyone as to keep you happy and safe so you know you can trust me."_

* * *

 _Hearing his words, Flair saw his smile, and for her, she had to smile as well, "So, you promise to not say anything, no matter what I say, or do?"_

* * *

 _Nodding his head, he still kept his smile, "I have hopes that... You can trust me, and I will never take that trust and throw it-UGH!"_

* * *

With her thoughts being rather too strong for her to handle, Flair was unable to sleep any longer. Her body came back in a shock, shaking even the bed from her sudden awareness to her surroundings. Opening her eyes, even as exhausted she still was, the only thing that had woken her was the very faint orange and yellow that started to shine into her room from the window above the bed, signifying it was morning. Knowing with what this meant for her, this she had to take full advantage of, remembering back to what she promised herself, _Get up, and kill that bastard Cyril!_ Now having this anger back to her body, she closed her eyes once again before stretching her body out wide and letting out a huge yawn that opened her mouth all the way up. Her mouth came back down, her body eased, and now back to herself, she opened her eyes, ready for the slaughter to happen. _Once I kill him, I'll kill Ignitus for being a witness of what happened last night. Even though he didn't see, I'm now on his watch list. And if he tells anyone else, I'm surely gone._ For the time being now, she made her way off the bed, to the floor, and started making her way over to the door.

* * *

 _"Cyril... Did Flair do this to you?" Ignitus asked in worry. "What? No. Absolutely not." Cyril responded to his words rather quickly._

* * *

Her thoughts that lingered infected her mind, unable to back out of anything that she was thinking about. _Back off!_ Her words did little to calm her thoughts as, the more she pushed them away, the more she thought about them. Having reached the door, she grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and opened it, seeing to the hallway as the door opened. Before she exited her room, she was easy about it, looking to her left and right, raising her tail blade and sharpening it, wondering if anyone would've shown that she didn't see or hear. Giving somewhat of wide eyes, no one was seen in the hallway. Focusing to the ground, she followed with her eyes to the Chamber to see the blood really had been taken care of, but this posed a problem. _With this blood trail that was left last night, Ignitus will know where this all started; Right in front of my door._ With this now being know, she couldn't let this continue any longer. _So I really do have to kill him then._ Turned to her right, she closed her door, and same with what she did with her eyes, she walked to the Chambers. Still sharpened with her tail blade, she made sure her fins were the same in case someone tried to attack her. Now taking a left into the Chambers, Flair's eyes went wide, gasping to see someone was already in the Chambers, waiting for her it would seem. Unknowing to her, the fins on her body and tail all eased, like they didn't wish to harm. The Dragon in the back of the Chambers, a little further away from the door than normal from where the Guardians sat, Cyril looked up to her, smiling, and even raising a paw up to greet her, "Good rather early morning, Flair."

Her teeth immediately showed, and having felt her body eased, she flexed it out, sharpening her fins on her back and tail as she once had done before. Walking up to him, even with how threatening she looked, he didn't seem all too worried, only sitting there close to the right wall, facing forward, as this was where he normally sat. Now nearly a couple paw steps away from him, her anger was enough to make a vein show from the top of her head, and rather then seeing his smile, even after putting his paw down, Flair yelled at him while still trying to keep quiet and not wake anyone else, "What the hell do you think you're doing up so early?! Why are you acting so nonchalant after what happened last night, after what I did to you?! Stop acting like everything is alright when it's not!"

"Whoa, Flair, it's okay. I was waking up early cause..."

"You knew I'd come by and slit your throat?! Because you knew of my plan after what I said to you?!" Flair interrupted Cyril, trying to fill in the blanks for herself.

"Because... I wished to talk with you some more."

"Then why wait in the Chambers?!"

"Because I knew you'd come by, wanting to kill your witnesses."

"WH... How! How did you know that?!"

"Volteer has taught me a thing or two, and while I didn't listen to him much back then, I've learned to change, like how I've also learned to change those around me," Closing the gap that separated the two, he continued to speak even being so close to her, knowing what she could do, but he didn't seem effected by this at all, "Last night, it only proved my points that, you've been betrayed as you even said; 'How we'd all turn our backs on you'. Even before knowing that, I didn't wish for that to happen. Now knowing my theory is a fact... I don't wish for you to be hurt any longer."

"Is that why you didn't hurt me when I was trying to kill you?!"

"Hurting you like what's happened in the past won't change anything, and it sure won't help you. Also, if I'm here to help you, why would I hurt you? Why would you trust me if all I do is hurt you?" The more he talked, the more her teeth grinded, the more her tail curled as she wished to swing it, to use it in an instant to slit his throat, "Last night has also taught me that, you, as everyone else, has a heart. Yours has been damage though, so... I hope that I can be the one to repair the void left from what ever happened in your past."

"Cyril... Remember what you said last night, about not telling anyone about what I say or do?"

Already having an idea of what she was to do, he gave a slight frown, sighing even, "Flair... Please don't."

She didn't wish to hear his words, but instead, wished to hear his death. Using her fist first, she punched him in the chest, making him lift with a growl. Up to the air only slightly, she grabbed his neck with her paw, and using her tail blade, she reached around his back two paws, yanked her tail forward, and made him slip forward. His body hovered in the air for a second before crashing down to the ground on his back with the help of Flair's paw on his neck. Now to his back once again, she jumped over him, stabbing him through the chest as she once had before, only, unlike before, she did it with enough force to almost send it out his back. Letting out a cry of pain, blood was sent up to the air before coming back down to his face. Taking her paw off his neck and placing it over his mouth, what happened last night, she didn't wish to repeat, "I'm going to change what I failed to do last night! To hell with your words, your help, your... Lies!" Trying to take her blade out, this only proved more painful for him as she wiggled the blade from within his body, which she rather appreciated, "Well this is rather nice, isn't it," Struggling to breath through his nose as the pain was too much for him, she enjoyed hearing his deep inhale and exhale as this was only causing him more pain, "This is much better when my paw isn't around your neck. Makes for the suffering a whole lot more fun to hear."

Now with her tail blade moving from within his body, she yanked it out as hard as she could, making Cyril duck his head back and let out a painful cry. The blood that was pulled from within his chest splashed upwards, getting blood on her body, tail, and neck. For Cyril, blood spilled once again from his chest as last night, only worse as she had done more damage to one area then she had done last time. His cry was rather loud, so to shut him up, she did as she had before, putting her paw over his mouth and yanking his head forward to force him to look her in the eyes, "Shut up! Shut that mouth of yours! If you want to help me, you'll die without alerting anyone of what I'm doing, understand!"

While she wished for him to retaliate, he only pissed her off more without even knowing it. Trying to control his breathing, he closed his eyes, shedding a tear which dripped down off the side of his face. Seeing as he was accepting his death, her fins once again shot upwards in anger, causing her own voice to show the same, "What are you doing?! Get up! Wake your ass up! Hit me! Attack me! Your life is on the line you dumb ass!" He didn't say anything to her, not like he could as her paw was over his mouth, which she changed by taking her paw off his mouth, yanking it away from him hard enough to make his head look to the side for a second, "I said..." Lashing out with her tail blade now, she pushed it to his neck, but she eased it so it couldn't be used as a weapon, "Fight back!" Still, he didn't do anything, only looking to her with fear and worry, and in order to insight this fear, she groped his neck by moving her tail blade from the left and right side of his neck, pushing them close to a near instant death, "You feel that? All I would need to do is sharpen my fins, and, pop... You'd choke on your own blood for a while, to the point where your death would be as slow, and as painful as it needs. As it deserves, to be."

"Flair... please... listen to me."

"I won't!"

"Flair... last night, after what had happened, I asked Ignitus to heal my wounds, and when he asked what happened, I covered for you, and not because you didn't kill me, but because, as I said... I'd never betray you," Once again, his words stuck to her mind, making her growl even more, wishing she could only flex out her tail blade now more then ever and end what needed to happen, "Hehe, and, I mean, if you did kill me last night, will then, I guess I wouldn't have had to. But same as before, even after this, death or not, I don't want anything to happen to you. So, now by living, I will still continue to help you the best I can."

"You'll fail!"

"The only things you fail at are the things you don't try... Even if I do try and fail, I'd rather know that I tried rather then becoming a full on failure. This failure would follow me to my death, knowing I could've done something, knowing that, what if by failing, it actually helped my life, or someone else's, and that, in a way, isn't a failure. So, if by you killing me means I failed to live, but helped you in living a happy life afterwards... Then... I never really failed, did I?"

"Shut... up... please..."

"This is how parents feel. They'd do anything to protect their family, and while their death means they failed to live, keeping their Hatchlings or other family members safe from what ever the threat was isn't a failure. Because of those actions, it's... nice... to know that their actions others can smile on, knowing what they did, knowing they saved lives. My death, I hope, will save a life. And so... I will die knowing I'm not a failure."

"And what about your friends!"

"My family...? Well, you're trying to kill them, and me, so, by you killing me and saving your life, you wouldn't hurt anyone afterwards. And so, just as I said; Saving the lives of those around you in exchange for your life is just something that a parent, or hopefully, anyone else would do."

His words made everything all the more worse for her, unable to handle anything that he was saying. Having brought such a topic up, this made a stab to her heart as it revealed some of her past that she never knew she would've ever brought up, but the pain was too much for her to hold onto, "Bull Shit! If that's true, then I'm a failure of my own! Because of my actions, I couldn't protect my mother! And because of this, I lost everything! My life, my love, my family... even my father... So that means, I'm nothing but a damn failure... And I'm not living with your lies!"

Seeing her raise her tail blade backwards, Cyril could only give a sigh, saddened by what he was seeing, even what he was hearing. Since she was already swinging her blade to his neck, there wasn't anything he could do aside from accept what was to happen to him. As the fins went across his neck, he clenched his eyes shut, gave a hard swallow, tensed his neck muscles, and readied for the blood to splash from his neck. But when the fin came across, nothing. Instead, a painful and rather loud growl was let out from him. But it wasn't pain he felt from his neck, but rather, his chest. Opening his eyes as he eased himself, his eyes went wide to see the pain was from Flair who had fallen to his chest, crying over his body as her neck rested sideways to his neck. This made him give a frown to see her in such a condition, and even her soft cries she gave off as her fins dropped down to her body from her sadness, he wished to help her out. Taking up his paw, he began to pet the back of her neck, going from the top from where her horns were to down by her shoulder. Her fins felt smooth to the touch compared to what he felt before, which made him think, _She feels so nice and smooth... Compared to the feeling of her tail blade, and her fins, not being sharpened feels rather... comforting in a way._ Trying her best to threaten him with all she could, her voice wasn't much, but she hoped it would be enough, "Get your... paw off me before I... sharpen my fins, and they cut straight through you..."

Doing as he was told, backing his paw off her, Cyril gave a nice smile, even chuckling as he thanked her, "Thank you for the warning, Flair. I... don't want to upset you by continuing either."

Once again, his words frustrated her to no end, but she didn't even wish to stand, so instead, she let out a small, short cry, "Shut... Up..."

* * *

 _It's really hard to get some sleep after what all had happened,_ Spyro spoke to himself in his thoughts, head picked up from the top of his lover's and looking to the front of the door. _We... I... can't handle anymore stress around here... Having Malefor as my frenemy is rather... comforting. He is no longer a worry which is a huge sigh of relief for me, but... even still... Now we have someone else who wants us dead, and apparently, there might be another Dark Master out there somewhere._ Hearing what sounded like a cry of pain, Spyro's head stood straight up, fearing for what that could've been. While short, he made out who the voice could've been. _Cyril?!_ Bursting into his dark purple form, the wind he kicked up was enough to wake up the others around him. Malefor was the first to notice the sense of darkness and shot up on the bed, kicking into gear with his own pitch black form, "What's happening...?!" Unfortunately to him, the way he jumped up, his paw slid forward and off the bed, making him slip to the ground and hit his face straight down on the ground, "Ouuuuccccch..."

Bringing out his clones, they both stood from in front of Spyro and awaited for what they needed to do. First looking to his left, before his right, he called their names, "Xvar! Kettu! Keep these three safe."

"Spyro...?! What's happening...?" Cynder was barely able to even speak before watching as his body disappeared in a skid of smoke, but knowing she could get some information, she asked the two, "Xvar... and... Kettu... was it...? What's going on?"

"Spyro heard a cry of pain from what sounded like Cyril, and so, he's inspecting what it could be," Kettu answered.

"What?!" Carith cried, having the same reaction as Cynder, "You don't think it's... Flair, do you?!"

"I have no idea, but," Malefor paused for a second before getting back to his paws, and once he did, he looked to his left at the two dark dragons and growled at them, "Sup, Bitches!" Standing up to his back two paws and lighting his right paw on fire with a black and red aura, he was ready to attack, "Time for round two!" Seeing as the dragons weren't even fazed by his threat, Malefor growled at them as he called them out for something false, "Hehe, Damn. I know I'm great and all, but come on, you can tell me. Y'all are shivering in fear from my display of power."

"Shivering?" Kettu chuckled.

"More like laughing," Xvar chuckled along with his friend.

"And also, if Spyro didn't say to protect you three, we would've killed you by now."

"And after what you called us yesterday, we are half tempted to snap your neck right now."

"Don't!" Both Cynder and Carith cried in unison, and since Cynder knew her voice would be heard more, she knew how to get them to back down, "You wish to protect me, so please, don't kill him."

"Your wish is our command, Cynder," Kettu and Xvar agreed in unison.

"I wish for you to suicide," Malefor spoke in a Cynder like voice.

* * *

Making his way to the hallway, Spyro's body was like a ghost, appearing in one place before appearing in another, with the only thing being shown was a black cloud of smoke. Making it over to the front of the Chambers by simply looking over to the entrance, he turned to his left and saw that two bodies had laid in the Chambers, one above the other. Letting out a gasp in fear, what he had seen made his heart slam to his chest. Above him was a crying Flair, laid down on Cyril's body and over his neck. Underneath her was what looked like the lifeless body of Cyril with blood spilled down to the floor, both around his body and next to his head. The darkness and anger he felt erupted outwards, cracking the entirety of the Chambers and the hallway around him. This destruction shook the entire building like an earthquake, making Flair pick up her head now as she, and even Cyril, didn't know what had happened, and he asked her, "Dumb question but... what the hell was that?"

"FLAIR!"

Spyro's voice boomed enough to once again shake the entirety of the Building, and since his voice was next to demonic, both Cyril and Flair's body stood up on end. _Oh no..._ Cyril thought to himself. Getting from off the top of Cyril's body, Flair had turned around to see Spyro, along with what he had done with the surrounding area. His voice was enough to grab the attention of everyone else as well. Looking from behind her near the Sleeping Chambers, Ignitus, Claire, and even Terrador ran into the back of the Chambers. To Spyro's right came running both Volteer and Ersa. And now to his left was Malefor, Carith, and Cynder, along with Kettu and Xvar staying close behind her. The sight was enough to make everyone turn against her; Cyril on his back, hole in his chest with blood spilled to the floor. On her chest shined his blood, and to her tail blade, a drop of blood went off of it and to the floor. Now with everyone surrounding her, Flair's breathing kicked up as she heard gasps before seeing the guys raise their tail blades. Backing up some as Spyro started to walk towards her, she stood next to Cyril in pure fear. Even after seeing his display of power, she raised her blade and cried at him, "Back off!"

Seeing the tears starting to go down her face as Spyro slowly approached her with his shined yellow eyes and intimidating look, Cyril knew he had to step in to stop all that was happening, "WAIT!" This cry got everyone's attention, even making Spyro stop himself, "This... wasn't her fault!" Rolling to his side, she didn't do enough damage for him to feel that much pain, so it was rather easy for him to stand to his paws, "She was coming back to the Chambers after a nightmare she had... When she turned to look behind herself as she was half way to the Chambers, feeling as though someone was following her, I exited the Sleeping Chambers. As she turned, I accidentally startled her. Her blade sharpened out and she stabbed me in my chest... And it was my fault. This wasn't hers," Even still, Spyro took a step forward, still seeming rather frustrated for what he had seen, but with this step, Cyril raised his left wing in front of Flair, blocking him from doing anything and defending her once again, "I said... It, was, my, fault."

"Cyril, why are you protecting her?" Ignitus asked, somewhat in a growl, getting everyone's attention, "Last night, you had stab wounds all down your chest to your stomach. Now you're saying Flair had a nightmare when, my clone just informed me, she hadn't, nor was this how this went down," Now being put in a rather difficult situation, his words only made it worse for him, and especially her, "She's tried to kill you two times now, and last thing we need is for the third time to be the charm... Unlike Claire, she didn't hurt anyone."

"SHE HURT YOU!" Cyril yelled at him, turning his back and facing him, "Flair's suffering the same as anyone else! Who gives a shit about what's happened?! It happened to me which means I get to have the say in what happens," It was a rather breath holding moment for Flair as she still wasn't so sure as to what was to happen, and while she did see the guys bring their tail blades up, the girls on the other paw just seemed worried, confused in a way, "She's staying if she wants to! You got pissy with us when we rejected Claire being with you, which means, you can't be a hypocrite about your words!"

"I don't care what you are saying, Cyril," Spyro growled, sending shivers down everyone's spines as they still hadn't got use to his new dark voice, and his voice got Cyril to turn back around to look at him, "One, you're not pulling a Volteer and turning your back on us because of something that happened. Second, what I say and what I decide is final, no matter what you have to say. And finally, what I have seen and now what I'm learning about, she really was truthful about what she said about killing us. I can't keep dealing with this stress, and so, she needs to go."

Knowing there wasn't anything she could say, she was already ready to get up and leave, but to her surprise, Cyril still defend her, "Spyro, I've always trusted you. I trust your decision, I trusted your words. Please, I'm asking now after so long that you trust me on this," Unfortunately, Spyro couldn't say anything to this as he was right about such a thing, "I know things seem bad, but I swear, there is good inside of everyone. You know this from Malefor, and you especially know this from Cynder, your lover... And you know this from Claire."

Waiting for his decision, no-one knew what would be said from Spyro himself, and same as Flair, everyone waited for him to give his answer. It took him some time to think on it, even giving a sigh after some time which made Cyril rather worried to what his response would be, but now having the time he needed, Spyro spoke, "I can't believe I'm saying this, but... Flair... if you wish to stay... you can..." Some gave gasps while the girls themselves gave sighs as they were rather relieved to hear such a decision was made, but this most importantly surprised Flair, "I don't know what you said to Cyril, Flair, but I'm going to give you a chance for you to show that your heart beats the same as everyone else's. But, Cyril, if anything happens to anyone because you kept her here, don't you ever come back to ask for anything else ever again."

"I won't let you down! I swear!" Cyril happily cried, thankful he gave him this chance.

"It's not you that I'm worried about," Spyro snarled as he looked to Flair, but something came to mind of which he wished to try to end this all together, "Actually, tell you what, Flair. I'll give you two options," From this sudden change, Cyril, same as the others, were rather worried as they watched Spyro pick up two claws, "Option one; You stay with Cyril and get this second chance to correct your mistakes, or... You try and kill me."

"WHAT?!" Everyone cried in unison, but for Flair, this seemed like a rather interesting option.

"You kill me, then you're free to go. You'll get your kill, and you'll leave everyone alone. But if you fail, you'll leave immediately without any chance of returning to here, or even Warfang. You try such thing, and I shall have Ignitus erase your memory all together. Sound like a deal?"

"No... No no no no!" Cynder growled to her lover, "You just went through hell, and you're already trying to kill yourself?! The only one touching you is going to be me, so there is no second option."

"Cynder, trust what Spyro is to do," Kettu spoke in a soft voice.

"He's already learned his lesson when it comes to failing his promises to you," Xvar spoke, and same as his other, in a low tone.

Cynder didn't trust this whatsoever, not understanding what it could be that he was really planning. For Flair, this made her smirk now as this was a rather amazing option, one of which she couldn't turn down. But to make sure nothing would happen to her, she had some more questions for him, "The second option sounds rather... Intriguing... Just making sure though, if I kill you, no one will come after me? And I'm also wondering; Will you attack back, or can I just have this chance all to myself."

"No one will come for you, and for me, no, I shall not attack you."

"Spyro! Dude! What the hell are you doing?!" Malefor cried out now.

"No one will interfere if I attacked you right now?" Flair licked her lips as her fins started to sharpen.

"My clones shall make sure no one interferes."

"To hell they will!" Malefor and Cynder both had similar words to what he was saying.

With her readying on the attack, Cyril didn't what this to happen after what he had seen from her, after what he's already know about her, "Flair... please don't do this," To her right, he put on paw on her left shoulder, hoping that his words would get to her, "I can help you, I really can... I know... You didn't mean to tell me of what has happened, but... This gives me something to work off of, something to help you," Her fins eased down as she looked to her right, listening along with everyone else for what he had to say, "You're not a failure... I know this, and you should know this... So... please... just let me talk to you some more... Let me be there for you..."

It went quiet for a bit as they all had wondered if his words had gotten to her, but this didn't prove to be the case. Shrugging her arm upwards, Cyril sighed as his paw slid off the back of her shoulder, now knowing what she was about to do. Her fins sharper out to their max, standing perfectly straight up and sharpening themselves, now making her look rather deadly. _If I kill him, Cynder will surely kill everyone else for me, and as that dragon told me, Flint was doing this for Cynder, so... He gets what he wants, I get what I want._ She wasn't that far from Spyro, which she rather liked. Having been so close, her attacks she made sure were quick and effective. Jumping forward to him, her first instinct was to use her tail blade. Doing as she did with Cyril, she grabbed Spyro's neck, used her tail to kick from underneath his back two paws and send him to his back. This worked as his body fell backwards before hitting the floor. Stabbing him four times, one to his tail, another in his stomach, then to his chest before finally making it to his neck. The force was enough to make his body kick upwards some, only fueling the fear in everyone as they saw this blood spill upwards, especially from his neck. Yanking her tail blade out to cause as most damage as possible, this made the back of Spyro's neck rise from the ground. For Cynder, this was in rather slow motion. Watching as the blood erupted from his neck was a sight she never wished to have seen. Taking a step forward, she yelled in her show of aggression, "Flair! Spyro! Stop!"

Flair didn't listen to these words both rather continued her attacks with increasing ferocity. Grabbing his neck from where she made the hole, she picked him up from the ground, standing up to her back two paws and letting his blood spill all down his body. Looking to her right, she took his body back some before throwing him to the wall. Spyro's body hit like a rag doll, almost as if he was already dead to begin with, and he didn't show any signs of life, aside from having his yellow eyes. His body started to slid down the back of the wall, which Flair wouldn't allow. Rushing up to him as she got down on all fours, she made it over in no time. Grabbing him by the neck again, she stood up to her back two paws, dragging him up once again. _Now, to finish this._ With her left paw over his neck, she backed up her right paw in an attack. Swinging it forward, her claws went through the left side of Spyro's chest with ease, ripping through his scales and out of his back. Everyone's body went numb as they saw what was in her paw; Spyro's heart. Having ripped it from his body and out his other side, his body slide down her arm some, giving everyone clear view to his dead body, and to his still beating heart.

"SPYRO!" Malefor yelled, erupting into his dark form and kicking off the ground to help.

Even as he tried though, Kettu appeared in front of him, easily stopping him from a simple attack. His paw raised, and in a gust of wind, Malefor's body went backwards, making him do back flips before hitting the back wall in the hallway. Growling from this sudden pain, Malefor saw that Kettu had now disappeared, going back to Cynder as he had sat behind her. _Shit!_ Malefor cursed. While he was able to get himself up, he still needed to try again. Running back up to where he was before, he got further then he did before, but stopped dead in his tracks as everyone watched in horror of what was to happen. In Flair's right paw, she squished Spyro's heart right inside of her paw with a loud squishing sound before blood splashed all around the back wall in all different directions. Now with the job down, she pulled her paw back from out of Spyro's chest, smiling as she spoke out loud of what she had done, "Hehe... Guess I should say, fatality?"

Turning and throwing his body to the middle of the Chambers for all to see, they all watched as his body hit the ground a couple of times before finally stopping dead on the ground. While Flair was enjoying herself, smiling down on his now dead, and lifeless body, everyone could only let out loud, painful, and constant breaths to what they had seen. Now with everything being over as it would seem, Cynder took one step forward, then another, before finally running over to him. Soon, those around followed, surrounding him in a circle. Cynder reached a paw around her lover's body, rolled him up, and now made him lay to his back, revealing all the damage Flair had done.

"No... Spyro... Spyro!" Even as pointless as it was, she used her dark power to get him to get up, or even to hear his heartbeat, but sadly, nothing, "SPYRO!"

"Let me heal him!" Ignitus cried, tapping a claw on his side, but an hour glass didn't appear, only making him gasp, shedding a tear as one had already starting forming as he had watched all that happened, "I... I... can't... heal him..."

Everyone's heart's nearly stopped to hear this, all looking dead down on his body. Even now after the battle, his eyes had closed shut, now even making this take away from the fact that he could be alive. Flair brought up a paw and started to lick the blood from off her paw, knowing that her job here was done, "So, he was all bark, no bite. Well, oh well. I guess now that he's dead, I will see you bitches all..."

" **YOU'RE NOT GOING ANYWHERE!** "

Now not from Spyro, Cynder's darkness exploded outwards, sending the area into a near pitch black lighting. Her body was different then that of the others, and even different then that of her standard dark transformation. Her tears dripped from her eyes as she kneeled down on her lover's body, her teeth grinded, and her wings extended up and outwards, showing off the anger and darkness that now she had taken over of. Almost to her adult form from before, her color was similar to that of her terror form, only more contained and similar to the color of Spyro's darkened form scale color. While everyone else cried around in a circle around their friend, Flair tried to ease her escape. But once again, everyone's hearts stopped as they heard a voice talk, and even for Flair, she took in a huge gasp as she looked in the group in the middle of the Chambers, "You really are, a monster."

This voice she knew of, similar to a voice that she had heard before, but she couldn't understand how she was hearing it, _No... No..._ Taking his head from off of the ground, Spyro opened his eyes, now showing that he was truly alive, having been so since the very beginning. This sent shivers and gasps through everyone, but most importantly to him, he saw smiles. For Cynder, her eyes grew wide, shedding more tears to see he was really still alive. Reaching up a paw to her cheek, he rubbed her cheek with a claw, trying to sooth her as he did so. As this was happening, his body started to heal itself, building itself new scales, and even a new heart. Resting her head against her lover's paw, Cynder felt as his paw started to let off a cool aura, making her close her eyes to let these tears in her eyes just fall. This comfort was enough to make her come down from her dark form and reveal her blackish and grey scales once again, along with her red and white colors. Now with her being calmed, his body having been healed, absent of blood and wounds, he took his paw down from Cynder's cheek, making her open her eyes and support her own head. Watching as he rolled back to his stomach, they backed up and watched as he came from out his darkened form. Now showing back to his purple, orange, and gold colors, everyone watched with smiles to see him flex out his body, extending out his wings and showing his body in all its health and alive, glory. Now with everyone having backed up some from him, they all looked to see Flair's reaction of what was to have happened. Her, as everyone else was before as he was getting killed, has now turned to pure fear of what she had just seen. Sitting down, Spyro wasn't happy with what he had seen, and was rather disgusted by her actions, "So you really went for the kill? Even Claire wouldn't have done such a thing back in the day which mean, you're nothing. There's nothing we can do to help you, and nor do you deserve it. You're a heartless monster; killing those around you without emotion. In case you did go for the kill, I made a second heart to the right of my chest, which I didn't know I would've had to use. But it's a good thing because, now that you lost, get your bitch ass out of my home."

Flair had nothing to say to him as this was all too much of a surprise, and his words were similar to that of what she's heard of even in the past. Even for Cyril, he didn't know if he could defend her after what she had done, so for now, he could only duck his head. Now shedding her own tears, Flair's breath kicked up as Spyro's words went through her mind, sticking once again to what she's heard before. _'You really are a monster'. 'We can't help you, nor do you deserve it'. 'You're a heartless... Monster'._ These thoughts made her change in a way, which, unlike the others, Cyril had seen once he took a peak over to her. While she was about to have a panic attack, Spyro looked away from her and to Cynder, which, she never let her eyes off him. Giving a frown, he apologised for what he had done, "I'm... in a lot of trouble for what I did... Which I'm... sorry that I let you see that."

"Hehe, oh yeah, you're definitely going to do exactly as I say for the reminder of the day," Cynder cried in a soft giggle as she tried to forget what she had seen.

"I... didn't know how else to get her to show this other side of her."

"Well, you sure made me show my other side, and now that I'm pretty pissed off..." Positioning herself right in front of her lover, she put her tail blade up to his neck, threatening him as she wished to do, "You're going to do exactly as I say. You make one wrong move, and I shall not hesitate to poison you," Giving a smile, he pushed his neck more against her tail blade, seeing this as a challenge, "You really want to try me? Hehe, well, that's okay, because after I'm done with you, you won't even know which way up is."

"Hehe, yes I will. Unlike you, I won't be on my back and already looking to the sky anyway. I'll be looking down on you, as I always do when i make out with you.

Giving a sigh, blushing even as she didn't expect him to say something so romantic, she had to give off a soft cry, backing off from her fake aggression, "Please don't ever leave me."

"For one, you'd surely kill me. And for the second one... What do you say we get a room and I make sure I pay back what I had done?"

"And how will you do that?"

"I, 'Attack you', with this new darkened form, and you'll be hopeless as I force you to make out with you."

"Really!"

"Hehe... You excited?"

"Having you over me always gets me excited."

"Can I say something about what you just said?" Malefor heard in on the conversation.

"Sounds like something I say to Volteer," Ersa giggled.

"Uuuggghhhh... Well, at least I know we all are back to normal," Ignitus chuckled as everyone was acting as their normal selves.

Now that things appeared to have calmed down, and with what seemed like Spyro having things under control, Terrador turned away from the group and went back to the Sleeping Chambers, thinking to himself as he did, _Heh... I remember when I wanted to say such things to those that I wanted to love... Ugh, just, get over yourself._ Now with Terrador gone, Malefor looked over to see that Kettu and Xvar had also disappeared as well, making him look back to Spyro and growl to what they had done, "I really didn't appreciate feeling powerless to help and stop what we believed to be your death. Don't know which one knocked my ass back, but I'm gonna knock his teeth in if he tries something like that again."

"Hehe, that was Kettu. I didn't wish for any of you to get caught in the cross fire. And, I watched to show you, Cyril, that she's just a monster. Unlike Malefor; she doesn't have a heart."

"It's not a heart she doesn't have, but rather, friends," Cyril growled as he remembered she had said.

"What do you mean?"

"I'll... talk about it later."

With everyone going back to where they normally sat, Spyro and Cynder had to wait as Flair was right to where they were to sit. She looked to the two still with fear, sadness, not understanding what she had just seen, what she had heard. Waiting for her to move, she was talking longer then he would've liked as she wasn't moving at all, so, Spyro had to say something, "A deal is a deal. Now, I have no problem taking you out myself, but I'm giving you another choice; You walk out yourself, or I make you, breaking some bones in the process," Flair looked to Cynder, wondering if she had anything to say to her, but she looked away from her after what she had done to her lover, "So I'm guessing this means bone breaking."

Taking one step towards her, Flair didn't even bother to move as once again, it only took one day for her to lose it all. _So then... they... did... lie to me... But after what I did... do I blame them...? Am I... really what my dad said I was... Am I just, a monster?_ With Spyro taking another step towards her, Cyril couldn't let this happen after what he heard, after knowing this wasn't who she wanted to be, "Spyro! Wait!" Running up to Flair, he turned himself around, pulled up his right wing, and defended her, "Look, I know what you said but, this isn't right. We don't know what has happened to her; countless times we've said this. Maybe now after what she's done, she won't ever hurt anyone ever again. Maybe she got all her anger out and now we should..."

"Cyril, a deal, was a deal. She took her option, then she tried to take my life."

"Cause you gave her the choice."

"Which showed who she was."

"Which showed who she wasn't."

"Cyril, stop pulling a Volteer and back off of her."

"She's not my lover, so I'm not acting like Volteer!"

"Man, they are slamming you, Volteer. They calling you a bitch for acting out with your feelings," Malefor chuckled.

"Yeah. So glad I was struggling during that time," Volteer sighed.

"Cyril, stop acting like you know her, like you know what she wants when you barely know her. Unlike how Ignitus was with Claire, he laid with her, cared for her, and had a reason to understand what she was going through. But for you, all Flair has done is hurt you. Twice now she stabbed you, and as Ignitus said, what if the third time is the charm and I have to end up killing her for what she did to you?"

"Then that's on me!"

"It's on my because I said I would protect everyone. So by you doing, I would fail, and I've already done that enough."

"Either way, I'd definitely pull a Volteer and chase after her, even without knowing where she is!" Cyril wasn't backing down from what he was saying, nor was he on what he believed, only make this more difficult for Spyro on what to do, "You gave me the chance to help her, and I will. You gave her the choice of her own, and she chose her own. But even after what has happened, you said that you'd give her a chance to show her heart beats, and I still have that chance! I said I wouldn't let you down, and I won't, but you interfering and making things worse will not help her," Seeing as Spyro was giving in by him giving a sigh, he just needed that one last push for him to understand, "Unless Flair says that I can, I can't tell you what she says or does, as I promised her, as she trusted in me, to keep."

"Alright, alright, fine," Spyro once again gave another sigh as he couldn't believe he was going along with this, "But I'm going to give her one more choice, and what she chooses, will be final, understand?" Cyril swallowed hard as he didn't know what it was going to be, but he trusted that he would give her that chance, "Flair, one, last, time. You have two choices, again. So, you can either leave, or, you can take me up on my first option I ever gave you, and stay with Cyril. You don't have to be cuddled with him or anything, nor do you have to sleep in the same room as him, but you will become his responsibility."

For the first couple seconds, Flair didn't know what to say, even ducking her head down from everyone's view and giving off a sigh to comfort herself. Something helped her out of which she wished to growl of, but, feeling as a wing draped over her back and cool her, she knew who it was, as well as why he was doing it. Trying once again to process everything that had happened, she thought to herself about all that had happened, _Why... why when I... laid down on Cyril's chest, I felt so... calm... for the first time in my life... Why is my past coming back to haunt me?_ Showing her teeth for only a second, she controlled herself. _Just kill Cyril, and leave, just kill him, and leave. Which means..._ Picking her head up some, she was finally able to speak on what she wanted, "I would, like to choose right this time and... stay here... with Cyril."

Now with this having been chosen, Spyro had to agree with this, "Alright then. Please, Cyril, take her over to the group so she may sit," Doing as he was told, Cyril helped her, putting his other wing around her chest and helping her over to the left end of the group from where he faced, making it to the right side of Volteer, "Now then," Making it to the wall of which the two had been, Spyro was now able to sit back down with his lover to where they normally sat, "Now that things have calmed down, can we just... Breath... Once I know things are good here, I'd like to spend some time with my lover, if that's okay with everyone else," Hearing what sounded like a knock at the left side of the Chambers, everyone picked their heads up and looked at one another, wondering who could've been knocking, "Uh... you may enter?"

With someone having walked into the Chambers, it was a dragon, but no one seemed to know who it was. The only thing they could make it for the time being with that she was a green female. Cyril himself though found something rather familiar when it came to this green female of which he had seen before. First focusing her top, she had two horns as most normal dragons; One to the top left of her head and another to the top right, both curved down slightly to the back tips. Her eyes gave off a slightly darkened red shine to them, and underneath each sides of her back cheeks were a couple of small fins. Looking down her body, her fins all connected together from the top of her head down to the tip of her tail. Her chest, underbelly, and wing flaps were the same as her eyes, giving off a red color, while the wings themselves were green. Looking down to her tail, the fins to the back right and left curved inwards, looking almost like a half circle, but they didn't connect. Just as similar to all the females as well, her body was a nice, perfectly slim form that gave off this sense of comfort and ease to her. Giving wide eyes and a smile, Cyril knew exactly who this was, "Wait a minute, I know you! You were the female flirting with Terrador during the attack on Warfang."

"Flirting?!" Malefor smiled wide, already knowing exactly what he was to say.

"Malefor," Ignitus called to him, getting his attention as he waved a paw across his neck in a way of saying no, "Just... Remember what I said yesterday about this, okay."

"So, what brings you by?" Cyril asked her.

"I... missed coming by yesterday as I promised him I would but... I... couldn't for, reasons. Hehe, he said you all were a rather happy family, but..." Looking all around at the blood from all around the Chambers and the body of Flair while also having seen how cracked and nearly destroyed the Chambers, she giggled, "Never would I have ever expected to see something like this, hehe, that's for sure."

"Oh yeah, let me get rid of all this," Ignitus spoke, bringing up and snapping his fingers.

Once he had, a white light went from out of his fingers and went throughout the Chambers, repairing it, the outside, and taking all the blood off of anything that it had stained. Already, she was with questions that she wanted answered, but the first thing she wished to know is of the whereabouts of whom she was to speak to, "I... Already have so many questions. But, for the first and main question I would, like to ask if I, could, would be... Do you all know where the green Guardian, Terrador, is?"

"Uh... He's in the... back room. He's not doing too good."

"What happened to him?!"

"Oh, well, he uh... He was rather, looking forward to talking to you yesterday, and when you didn't show... He... got a little bummed."

"So... Already... My first impression has broken one of the Guardians hearts."

"I'm sure he'd still want to talk to you."

"Would he?"

"Would you like me to get him for you?"

"That would be... very helpful."

"I'll be right back."

With Ignitus turning his back and making his way to the Sleeping Chambers, she sat down near the entrance of the Chambers, sweating all down her body as she couldn't handle all the stress she was under already. _The legendary purple dragons, The Guardians, The other girls that Terrador had spoken of, this is... All too much if I'm being honest. I don't know if I could handle all this stress!_ Looking to Claire as she was already facing that direction, Claire raised a paw up and smiled to her in a way of greeting herself, "Hehe, well, if you are interested in this family, there's a lot of names to keep track of."

* * *

Ignitus was right in knowing Terrador had gone back to bed, but he had high hopes this would change his spirit. Up to the front of his bed, he looked as Terrador laid on his bed in a ball, but lucky enough, his back was to the windows, while his front was facing him. Making sure to keep a smile the entire time, he hoped this would help, "Hey, Terrador, I was wondering if you could wake up for me real quick," Giving a grumble, he did as he was told, opening his eyes and looking to his friend, "Sorry to wake you. I wanted to think of a way to cheer you up but, since we can't do anything, I was hoping a dragoness can?"

"I'm not looking for fun, Ignitus," Terrador grumbled, already wishing to go back to bed.

"Well, she's looking for you. Something about wanting to apologize for not showing up yesterday."

"What are you... Wait..." Now picking up his head, his eyes grew wide as he looked to Ignitus, wondering if he meant what he was saying, "She's out there?! Like, right now right now?!" Giving his smile once again, Terrador jumped up from his bed, smiling wide on his own, "Then what are we doing back here, Ignitus?! You should've woken me up sooner! Why did I even come back here?!"

This got Ignitus to chuckle, glad to see such a change in mood, such a big smile, "You better hurry. She might leave soon or something."

* * *

"So, let's see if I can get everyone's name down. I of course know of all the Guardians, the purple dragons; Malefor and Spyro. Then Cynder, and as I've just learned, your name being Claire; the lover of Ignitus. So now, I just need to know, or... Sorry... I'm not being, nice about this at all, or... that's what it seems when I say what I do," The green female felt rather terrible as no matter how she wished to use her words, it would seem that she'd come off as rude, "May I please... know the names of the others, or... Ugh... I should've just asked you all rather then from just one."

"Hehe, it's okay. I was stressed out this bad when I first met Malefor too," Carith giggled, remembering her time of the past, "First the Guardians, then having the legendary purple dragon talking to me, it was a lot, so don't feel bad if you mess something up, which, I promise you right now, you haven't, so don't be so hard on yourself," Her words were already helpful enough for her to ease off of her fears, making this already so calming for her, "My name is Carith, lover of that of the purple dragon Malefor."

"Malefor had a lover? I thought he was only pure evil."

"That's... going to take some explaining," Malefor murmured, knowing that he was probably the cause of something else that's happened in someone else's life.

In almost a blink of an eye, she looked straight to see Terrador standing in the row of Guardians, smiling over towards her while breathing with some sped up paces. She blushed to see him once again, and before she could even say something to apologize, he did to her surprise, "I'm so sorry for not being out here to greet you as I should've," Taking a couple steps up to her, he tried to control his breathing as he wished to talk with her in a more soothing tone, "I'm not mad at all in the slightest but, how come you showed up today and not yesterday? Which! Like I said, not mad, rather, really, really happy to see that you came by."

"Oh... yeah... I had a dispute with my... boyfriend yesterday," She murmured, bringing up what had happened.

"What... happened?"

"Well... After what happened two days ago, I wanted to break up with him, which... he didn't take too well... He, threatened that if I did, I'd regret it," This already turned the mood around rather quickly as the joy from the surrounding area had been turned to misery, "Like I said... I... I just, can't live that life anymore. I was having so much fun after such a short amount of time here then all the time combined out there... But even as I come up here... I'm... scared... because I know he'll look for me, and... after talking about wanting to meet you, he... He... I... shouldn't be here."

"What?! Why not?"

"Because he knows where I would want to go. I told him of how happy I was when I met you, and this upset him. If I'm up here, he'll think I'm trying to leave him which will then cause more problems and I... I don't know what he'd do...! I tried my best to calm him down last night but, he just wouldn't listen. He yelled at me all day... and night... He even growled in his sleep towards me from time to time... I was so scared he would wake up and do something that I... didn't... sleep much..."

"Why were you ever with him?"

"He wasn't like this... Well... Not this bad. Once this happened and I said I was looking for fun elsewhere, he just... snapped."

"You think he'd hurt you?"

"He's shown aggressive episodes before..."

"What do you mean?"

Looking to her right wing, everyone else did the same. Taking it from her side and showing the scales of the bottom of the wing, they all gasped to see what had happened. The bottom, closest to her back of which her wing connected to had a massive slash across it, almost making its way to the top of her wing. This gash was deep enough to have left a rather painful looking scare that made everyone shiver, "He... Got upset that I was having fun being away from him, and so... I... brought up my wing to help him, and he... Got his blade... dug it into the top part of my wing and... went straight down with it," Even for Flair, she herself had to growl at such a sight, to hear such a thing, and everyone had the same reaction, "Similar incidents have happened before, but luckily, I was able to get to some red gems to heal myself."

"Did he ever apologize?!"

"When he wanted to, yes. But you couldn't bring this up or else he'd... he'd make another mark of where the first one was to show that he didn't care."

"Why were you with him?!"

"Because I had hopes he could change... He was sweet, he had a side to him I loved, but... Something wasn't right with him, which I wish I could've fixed, but... Every time I tried... I'd get attacked for it..." Now that this had all been revealed, Terrador felt like he was held responsible for what had happened as he could've stopped her yesterday, to find her, but he didn't, "All I've wanted for a while was just... to be with someone I loved... to have friends to talk to, to not have to... wake up and wonder... What will happen to me...? Will I even smile...? Will I make it through the day without pain...?"

"How long has this been going in for?" Cynder stepped in to help get more information.

"About a... mouth... and in that time frame, I lost... everything..."

"Even your parents?" Malefor murmured.

"No, they're fine. And before anyone says something, I kept all this a secret from them so... they never knew... which proved to be a mistake."

"What happened to your friends?" Carith asked.

"They... all left... Once they found men they loved... they just, stopped talking with one another and went their separate ways... I didn't wish to do the same, but... They didn't seem to care at all... They just... left..."

"Do you want him dead!" Flair growled, starting to sharpen out her fins which made Cyril fear for his wing.

"Surprisingly enough, I have to agree with Flair," Spyro agreed with her which had actually surprised her, "If he needs to be dealt with, we will gladly help."

"I... I don't know... I don't want to be apart of such things anymore. All I want to do is smile, all I want to do is laugh... I... haven't done such a thing in so long that... I don't know what it feels like..." Seeing Terrador struggle with her words as his body had tensed in rage, she wanted to ease him by giving a smile to change up the mood, "But then I met you, Terrador... And that... changed," Her words were enough to make him ease his body, now trading with wide eyes, even a blush as she blushed just the same, "Hehe, this family already seems like a lot of fun, and I was hoping that... you'd forgive me for what I did... yesterday for missing our... time..."

"If I was him, would he yell at you for such a thing? Is that why you're so scared?" Terrador murmured, knowing why she'd feel so afraid.

"He doesn't like apologies... He is one of those, if you apologize for it, then you know what you did, and you shouldn't have done it."

"That's not what an apology us!" Terrador growled with rather intense anger, making her shiver, which he noticed and eased off, "I'm... I'm so sorry for scaring you."

"No no no, it's rather nice to hear that... You understand it the same."

The two smiled to one another, blushing even as they only looked to one another in their eyes, but what also made the others hold their breaths was the smiles that stood out across their faces. No one dared say a word, and even surprisingly, Malefor didn't either, especially after what he had heard. Not even knowing how quiet it was, he was easy with his voice, a voice of which they never heard from such a booming voice that Terrador normally had, "I wish to greet you properly as I haven't even gotten your name. May I please?"

"Hehe, since you asked so nicely, my name is Trish."

"It's a pleasure to have the company of an Ancestor, Trish."

"Hehe, Oh, is that so?"

"Have you not see your beauty?"

"Is that all you notice about me?" Trish raised a brow, wondering what he would say.

"Hehe, well, while other may look to your body as a classic male, for me... It's your eyes... and your beautiful smile that I notice the most."

"Oh, stop it," Trish giggled, making even Terrador chuckle.

Now that the two had gone quiet once again, they blushed to have been looking at one another for some time, so to help out with the silence, he moved to the side some and asked, "If you would like to, I'd like to show you how we normally act around her. So, if you'd like, would you, sit next to me with the other Guardians?" Seeing as her eyes went wide, even swallowing hard as this seemed like such an honor, he gave her this sort voice once again, "We are just normal dragons. We welcome you, and we wish to make you feel comfortable around here."

Shivering, Trish needed to ready herself before doing such a thing, but once she was done, she watched as Terrador had walked away from her and over to the line up. As he made it to the line up, he turned to face straight, and since they new she was to come over, the other four moved down the line some as to give space. Now with space between both Volteer, and Terrador, she watched as he tapped a paw to the open space next to him which gave her another blush. Taking one step, she took another, but trying to feel comfortable, she walked normally over to the line up. Once having reached them, she turned, and doing as Terrador did, she faced straight, and just as she had sat, so did he. Now with her in the line up, she gave off a sigh as things did seem rather soothing as of right now. Knowing this might be too much to ask for, Trish looked to her left, asking him in a rather lone tone, "Terrador... this is... inappropriate for me to ask but..." Malefor opened his mouth wide, but making sure he didn't say anything, Carith grabbed him by the tongue, "May I... Have your..." This now made Malefor whimper as he wished to say something, anything at all, "Wing over my back?"

This was a rather simple for him, but Terrador understood why she could be feeling such a way. Taking up his right wing, she got a little closer to him, almost touching scales. Now with his wing draped over her back, Trish gave a pleased sigh, and hearing this, seeing she was already having such a peaceful time, he wished to help her out more, "You know, there's about three dragons in here that can help get rid of that scar all together so you can hopefully forget about such a traumatic event."

"What?!" Trish changed from calm to surprise in a matter of seconds.

"Hehe, well, this family is definitely a bunch, that's for sure. We have an Ancestor in a way here, two very talented and extremely smart scientist, along with a next level being that could heal his heart after having been ripped out from him and squished."

"Wh... I... Is this like, an every day thing or something?"

"Hehehe, it's going to take some time to explain the craziness that goes on around here, but at least, we as a family, smile and laugh with one another."

Now with those two having been done with what they were saying, Carith let go of Malefor's tongue, letting him close his mouth finally and wet the tip of his tongue. Gasping out loud, she didn't realize how loud she was with it, getting everyone's attention, "Wait, Malefor, let me see your tongue. I think something was on it."

"Um... okay..."

Doing as he was told, he opened his mouth and let his tongue hang out the front just a little. Getting close, she used her own tongue and licked across his, making him give wide eyes as he shut his mouth and looked to her. Watching as she closed her mouth, shivering in pleasure for what she had done, he blushed to see this side of her, which he rather enjoyed. Seeing this blush, she got close to him once again and teased, "Well, what ever it was, I got it now... But, tell you want; you want more of that, just go into that dark form and watch me take your power, and your mouth, with my tongue," Not hearing anything, it was rather weird to her, but once seeing how red he got, she turned away from him, seeing as everyone else was looking to her, blushing just as hard as Malefor was, "I thought you all were talking with Trish!"

"Hehe, and I thought you wouldn't be talking at all after the promise you just made to Malefor," Ersa giggled.

"Oh no, Carith, you are about to get attacked by all the girls," Claire giggled as she knew the others would say something.

"Hehe, while we might attack her with our words, it's gonna be Malefor attacking Carith with his own, 'attacks'," Cynder giggled, making the two blush together, and now the only other two girls left were those that she didn't expect to say something, "Well, Trish, Flair, you got any words to make a jab at the two to mess with them? While having three bullets fire is nice, having two more to make five would be rather satisfying."

"Please, Carith's after pleasure, not disappointment," Flair growled, trying to sound pissed off, but everyone was surprised by this as it was perfect.

"Damn! Malefor! She roasted your ass!" Cyril laughed, and even for the others, they had to laugh some as well as this was rather a surprise to the others.

"Now, what about you, Trish?" Cynder asked her.

"Me...? I... I don't know, I just... met everyone," Trish was against it as this was the first time she's ever been here.

"You got this!" Ersa supported her as well

"Just one more," Claire spoke with joy, hoping their words would help.

"I... guess..." Taking a second to figure out how she should word this, the perfect idea came to mind, "Um... I... I bet the five bullets we are to fire will be more satisfying then anything Carith could do to Malefor," Everyone went quiet for a second, and while she tried to smile, seeing everyone look to her with wide eyes made her duck her head, apologising even, "Sorry... I... didn't mean..."

To her surprise, the silence was interrupted by everyone laughing at what she had said, even Malefor and Carith as she was able to get off a jab rather quickly with so little that she had to work off of. Seeing everyone laughing and smiling, Trish picked her head back up and laughed along with the others, making her feel at ease as this is what she wished to have felt since she got in here. Giving a slight growl to all that had teased him and his lover, Malefor growled to each of them, "Alright, here's the problem..."

"Haha! Trish is right about Carith, and you're upset about it now?" Cyril laughed.

"Wait, I... I didn't wish to start a fight," Trish murmured, but no one heard her.

"Do you want to die, Cyril?" Malefor growled.

"Cyril is my prey to kill!" Flair growled back at him.

"Then kill him, right here and now."

"While everyone is watching?"

"I will make sure nothing happens to you."

"Well, unlike with Spyro, I have to ask; Does anyone around here care if I killed Cyril right here and now."

No one said anything to her words, all staying completely quiet, making Cyril yell out in frustration, "Wooooooow... WOW! What the hell?!"

"Well, I mean... we didn't help on the Training Room floor when you were dying for a reason," Ignitus chuckled, making it even more tough for him as he was the main one of the group that had such an impact on the say.

"Flair... I'll take that blade to the chest if you'd please."

"Don't, tempt me," Flair growled, but to his surprise, she didn't do anything, so he gave a smile and a sigh.

"I guess it doesn't really matter who else I talk about, because, well, we've been here plenty of times before, but being honest, let's see who all would kill me. We got Spyro, Cynder, Claire, and now Flair. That's a lot of enemies, and yeah, I know, it's my fault and all, but I mean, come on... Technically speaking, it was the first Ancestor who made more dragons. He, or she, is at fault, not me," Malefor spoke his mind on things.

"You're blaming the beginning of time for all of the worlds problems?" Spyro chuckled.

"He's... Actually not wrong," Volteer backed him up on that.

"Malefor isn't wrong about something? That's a first."

"Uuuggghhh... I always get so excited every time you almost die, Spyro, and then I get a big F you instead," Malefor sighed.

"Hehe, Damn, another thing you aren't wrong about," Spyro chuckled.

Since nothing really happened, and with everyone going back, talking amongst one another while smiling and laughing, this was a surprise for Trish as nothing seemed to have changed at all from what's happened. She couldn't say much, but instead, watched, looked around at everyone else as they had a good old time with one another. Having her shoulder slightly bumped, she looked to her left to see it had been Terrador, and now with her attention, he spoke to her, "I did say that everyone here is just as normal as anyone else, didn't I?"

"Yeah, but... I... What I said, I thought... Someone would've been upset or something but... Why... why weren't they?" Trish asked in awe, rather surprised, but also happy in a way.

"We all have fun around here. Some things we do avoid, such as what's happened with deaths in the past and what not, but, hehe, as you saw right then, joking about something as simple as love doesn't hurt nobody. Well, unless you're Malefor, you will get hit left right and then some, but he can take it. He's a very odd dragon, but we all love him the same."

"Speaking of Malefor, apparently he had some kind of story to his past I didn't know about."

"You should ask the girls when you can. Carith will give the run down as she has before. Malefor will always live with what the darkness did to him, but he tries to stay strong, and to help when ever or wherever he could... Even though he doesn't really leave this building but... He did help against the attack on Warfang for the tenth time."

"So then... It's rather... safe up here, isn't it."

"You should've seen Spyro's display of power before you even came up here. Having him is already comforting as it can get. But, you know, even as powerful as he is, I'm sure just having me around should be enough to show you, I got the muscle."

"Hehe, yeah you do."

Not noticing it as it was rather instinctive for her, having such ease made her rest her head down over his shoulder, closing her eyes even as to enjoy this time. Having this comfort, hearing everyone talk, the calming atmosphere around her was unlike anything she ever felt before, and to get as much of a feel for it as she could, she listened to everyone as they spoke about things here and there. _I... Would... love to get use to this. Feeling safe, hearing happy voices, those who laugh... It's... very relaxing._ Unfortunately for her, this sense of ease and comfort wasn't to last long. Those who had been talking looked to the entrance of the Chambers to see a red dragon standing in the middle, looking straight to the back and yelling over to one of them, "Hey!" The sudden yell made Trish shoot her head back up, opening her eyes and looking straight, gasping even as she saw who it was, "The hell do you think you're doing?!" Without words to say, she could only stand there, looking at him with fear, increasing her breaths as her anxiety started to get the best of her, "I'm so sorry, Guardian Terrador. I tried to tell her not to come up here and bother any of you, but once again, she doesn't listen," Taking some steps into the Chambers, he snapped a claw over to him, commanding for her to follow, "Get over here right now. We are leaving."

Immediately, everyone knew who this was which made them all growl to him, remembering what Trish had said about this dragon. Shaking off her fear, she tried to calm him down, taking a couple steps towards him as her voice wasn't as high as she had hoped it to be, "Ivan... Please... I... I said I couldn't live that life anymore. I don't want to be with you, or, anywhere that reminds me of that home. With how I was living, what I was going through, and trying to get help from you when I needed it... You didn't care at all... And... a home is a word that's supposed to cause comfort... not panic."

While her words frustrated him, being around those he knew he couldn't take on, Ivan took things easy for the time being, "Alright... Look... I've talked with some around me, friends who have helped me look past such things, and I'd... Love to start over. I know a new house we can move in which I've asked the moles to make for us. This I had done a month ago as I had hopes of starting over as well. So, please, if you come back with me, I will make things right."

"If that was true, and you went through all that, how would me dying when you left me make your words true?"

"You should know, at the end of the day, my life is more important then yours," Ivan growled to her, and now with these words, everyone was ready to turn against him, "I've already told you this. When it comes down to a male and a female, a male can do more for a population then a female. So even if you were to die, I can still live on and help populate this world," At this point, Trish knew he wasn't to change, so, she didn't move, but he still pushed it, "Now, get over here! We are leaving before you put these dragon through the same pain that you've put me through."

"The same pain...? The same pain!" Now snapping on him, this was something she's never down before, but now having enough, she shot back at him, "The amount of shit you put me through! The amount of times you slashed me, making me bleed so I had to fly out of Warfang, risk my life, and to heal myself, all while you didn't even help me!" Walking up to him now, she stood in front of him, yelling in front of his face, "It happened so often, I was able to get a layout of all of the front and sides of Warfang. The blood I spilled on those streets and you never batted an eye any time you hurt me!"

"I didn't kill you, did I?"

"You left me to get crushed under a building! You made a scar so bad in my wing that I couldn't even heal it! What if you did something else that I'm not quick enough to do about? I can't trust you, I can't live with you, and I don't even love you anymore!" Swinging her paw around, she slapped him across the face, making him skid back a couple of steps as he wasn't expecting it, "I've always wished for your death, and if I had the chance, you know what, I would've left your ass too! And now that I have this chance, I will, and I am."

"Hehe... Hehehe..." Bringing his head back around, he knew why she was doing this, and he even called her out on it, "You're only doing this because you think you've found a new family to take care of you, even though you just met them... You probably gave a sad sob story so they would all feel pitty for you so they'd accept you. You're trying to fit in so everyone would enjoy having you around. Am I right?" No one said anything, and to Flair, she did see this, and was willing to say something, but decided against it, "Sad... But... It'd be funny if they abandoned you after leaving me so you can die alone. And in case that doesn't happen... Let's make sure something does happen that you'll always remember me by."

Just as she did the same to him, it was rather instant, but unlike a slap, he did much worse. Slashing across her eye, three claw marks dug deep into her eye, going clean from one side to the next, making blood splash out of her eye and across her face. Letting out a painful cry, her eye closed shut, now unable to be used from the damage he had done to her. Falling down onto her back, she held a paw over her eye, crying in pain on the ground in front of everyone. Malefor, as well as Spyro, erupted to their strongest dark forms, ready to take action, but they weren't able to do anything as Terrador rushed in. About to stand over her body, Ivan brought his blade around, but didn't get his chance. Spinning himself around, Terrador made sure his spikes on his tail faced Ivan. This was successful as the spike slammed to his chest, forcing Ivan backwards and to his own back side as he hit the ground to the entrance of the Chambers. Now on his back, Terrador kept up his attack. Running past Trish, he jumped over Ivan's body, brought his tail blade around again, and swung it around to the side of Ivan's head. The spike wasn't there, instead, the full force of the boulder from his tail. His tail blade slammed to the side of Ivan's head, knocking him out was a rather loud smack, and even what sounded like a bone cracking from his head. Now with him knocked out, almost dead looking, Terrador turned to Trish, running over to her and crying, "Trish!"

While she still cried on the ground from her pain, she was able to see Terrador at the corner of her other eye, "Damnit! I knew his was a crazy bastard but... Ugh... I didn't know he'd do this..." Seeing what had happened even after the pain she had endured, she thanked him, "Thanks for the help, Terrador... I wish I was able to do the same to him."

"We around here protect our family, remember?"

"Hehe... Yeah... You're... You're right... Can you, help me to a gem patch... please."

"Not needed," Spyro spoke to her, walking up to her and later sitting down to her right side, "I'm going to deal with your wounds, and that scar of yours," Already being to her right side, he was near the scar on her wing and asked, "May I please have your wing," Nodding to him, he grabbed her wing, and while doing that, he used his dark aura as he had done before, turning the surrounding area around him black for a couple of seconds before dying down, "Your wound and blood should be gone now. You can take you paw down from your eye,"

Doing as she was told, she took her paw down from her eye, opened it, and let out a gasp, not knowing how he did such a thing, "How... How did you do such a thing?!"

"Just something I picked up on my travels," Running a couple of fingers across her wound, it healed as his paws past her scar, "This is a lot more of a difficult wound, so I need my darkness to go down on a much more molecular level," As he got to the end of the scar, it had been completely healed, and she looked to her wing, once again raising a brow at this sight, "There you go, your wing is completely healed."

Smiling to see this, she stood up to her paws with the help of the two. Backing up from her, the two, along with the others, watched as she stretched out her wing completely. Smiling wide now, she spun around with her wings, feeling better than she has ever felt before, "I... I feel amazing! My wing and body has never felt better!" Tucking her wings back down, she looked to Spyro first, "Thank you so much, Spyro," Now looking back to Terrador, she thanked him once again, "And thank you once again, Terrador. Hehe, seeing his head get slammed into was rather satisfying."

"Hehe, you're very much welcome," Terrador smiled, glad she was able to see what he had done.

Now that things seem to be fine, Malefor came out his dark form along with Spyro. With Terrador at her side, the two went back to their spots. Before Spyro went back to his spot, he looked to his father and asked for a favor, "Can you erase his memory of this all together. Maybe even erase his memory of Trish all together so we never have to worry about him ever again."

"I can alter his memory, but i can't erase it," Ignitus gave his way of doing things, "I can't do such a thing to him as the Ancestors do have plans for him."

"If it has to do with harming any of us, I'm going to kill him," Flair growled after seeing what this dragon had done, "How about I just finish the job right now, get his unless ass life over with now rather than later."

"Thank you, Flair for the protection, but, he deserves to have a second chance, even after what he did," Spyro defended him for the time being, "But if he tries something again, you can... Maybe, kill him away from all of us."

"Something we can finally agree on."

"Wait! WTF, Spyro!" While Malefor was yelling to him, Ignitus got rid of the body by shinning a white light on him, making him disappear and putting him back to his own home, "He gets off with a slap on the wrist, but for me, when the Dark Master did something like that, it's taken this long for you to even be my frenemy! You even wanted to kill me, but for him, it's like a, 'Oh, we will deal with him later'."

"I said Flair would kill him if he tried something again," Walking back to where he normally sat, Spyro cleared things up for him, "And same with you, you try something again, I will be the one to kill you."

"But...! Oh... I guess that makes sense."

"But instead of us deciding his fate, that should be up to you, Trish."

"Choose his fate?" Trish questioned.

"You can either choose for him to still live out in this world. Or, Flair can gut him like a fish. While I don't like the idea of someone dying, after seeing what he just did to you, and what he could to others, maybe no one would miss him either way."

"Make the right decision here, Trish," Flair growled, already hopeful of a death.

Having such power got her to think, especially after all that he had done to her. It didn't take too long for her to come to a decision as she didn't wish for anything else to happen to anyone, "While I... Do wish for him to die... I don't want to start anything else with anyone. I just want to move on from that life, but not kill it. For this, I'll just, take it as a learning experience and move on," Flair growled to hear she couldn't kill anyone, but she didn't say anything about it, "Hehe, and, after seeing what Terrador had done to him, that was... definitely satisfying after so long of dealing with him."

"Hehe, yeah, Damn Terrador. You swung that boulder if yours around, and then, I heard a smack, then a crack, and I was like, Damn Son!" Malefor laughed as that was something that happened so quickly but was very enjoyable to see, "But, hey, now that things have been brought back down, again, can I please discuss something that's been bothering me?" The others were silent, raising brows as they didn't know what could've possibly bother someone such as himself, "Flair..."

"What?!" Already getting defensive, Flair growled to him.

"Fatality... Really? That was the most cringy thing I've ever heard in my life. I could already hear the deep voice announcer being like, 'Fatality... Flair, Wins'. Do you see why that was... Hehehe... It was pretty embarrassing, don't you think?"

"How about for my next fatality, I slit your jaw off and cut both of your arms off from your shoulders?!"

"Uhhhhhhh... Well, that depends; can you put in the correct button combination? Cause that's pretty difficult."

"Why has no one killed your annoying ass yet."

"You just hate facts."

"I hate Idiots!"

"Why would you hate yourself? That's not nice."

"You're dead!"

"Alright, alright, calm down you two," Cyril stepped in to stop the two before they did anything, "Malefor, Flair, as you've seen, really will kill you if you don't watch your tongue. And as for you, Flair," Just as he had looked to her, she showed her teeth to him, wanting for him to say something so she could kill him, "Hehe, just the same as with Ivan; If you wish to kill him, just do it where none of us will find the body."

"Whoa! Cyril! The hell man?!" Malefor cried to him, not understanding this logic.

Changing her attitude up a bit, she was rather surprised by his words, but knew they weren't true, "Yeah right. I kill him and die for it. You just want to give me an excuse to do your dirty work and die for it rather then you yourself!" Looking away from him, already having this idea of what he was to do, even as wrong as it was, she stood by it, "And I'm not after his life, for now. It's yours that pisses me off every time you take a breath."

"Flair... I was only joking," Cyril murmured as he didn't want to make things worse.

"Did it sound like I was?"

Now with her upset at Cyril for what he had said, the two stayed quiet as each of the two didn't want to say anything further. To cheer everyone up, Malefor had an idea come to mind as he was now ready to tell his story that he's wanted to for so long, "Wait! I have a perfect idea to change the mood! I can finally tell my mate abuse story."

"Uh... What?!" Trish asked, feeling uncomfortable by him saying.

"No no no, trust me, nothing bad really happens."

"He's just going to say it either way, so... It's best for him to shut up now sooner than later," Terrador sighed.

"Hehehe... Hahaha! Alright, alright alright alright. So, there were these two dragons whom had met that wanted to get things on, right? Well, as they get to the house, they get to the bed and things start kicking off. As they were making out, sitting next to one another, she pulls away from the kiss and says hit me, in a loving way, so he slaps her. He slapped her too hard, so she slapped him back, then he slapped her. After that... HAHAHA! The two... the two got up... Hehehe... They got up... and left... HAHAHA!" Malefor's laugh was loud, but it was also contagious as those around him started to give off chuckles and giggles as well to his story, "I mean, could you imagine?! That's the funniest shit I've ever heard in my life!"

"Hehe... But, why, would he want her to slap him?" Cynder asked.

"Some kind of fetish."

"That sounds horrible."

"Hehehe, I could... Haha! I could see you doing the same with Spyro. That would be hilarious!"

"You are the definition of horrible," Spyro sighed at this.

"So, what I'm hearing is, because it's so funny, you'd slap Carith just to have that funny moment?" Ersa asked.

"Hell no. I'm big brain, not small brain. How do words good in that way any way."

"The hell did you just say?" Volteer asked as he was beyond confused.

"Only an intellect of two hundred IQ would understand."

"My IQ is beyond anything you can count to."

"Haha! I'm pretty sure I know how to count to five, Volteer."

"Five, times about a thousand or so."

"How about, negative five times negative a thousand or so."

"You, do know a negative times a negative is a positive, right?"

"You, do know that, nothing you learn in math will ever save your life. Numbers are useless."

"Malefor, do you think you could survive in space?"

"Hehe, hell yeah I could."

"Oh, so you could survive negative two hundred and seventy degrees Celsius, or, about four hundred fifty four Fahrenheit, rounded up to four hundred fifty five cause of the point eight?"

"Dude... Neeeeeerrrrrrdddddd! How, you being the biggest nerd in the entire world ever got you laid. I thought you'd be the last dragon to ever get a girlfriend."

"You should know, nerds are delicious," Ersa licked her lips.

"What the hell?! Oh, Wait... Hehe, I see what you did there. The nerd candy."

"What is candy?" Cynder asked.

"It's what Volteer is, that's for sure," Ersa purred.

"It is a sweet treat!" Malefor interrupted the two mates, and while they chuckled to one another, he explained, "In books, there is talks about sweet treats, such as chocolate, cake, and ice cream, but no one has ever made anything such before. And even if they did, we don't even need to eat since there's no need, aside from a good taste. So, what would even happen if we did?"

"Well, we could eat, and our stomach would digest it, giving us enegry. But eating too much to what our body can't transfer, would be thrown up," Volteer explained, making some shiver at just the thought, but he had some good news to divert the thoughts, "But, speaking of sweet treats, me and Ersa thought about making such things in the past to help make everyone feel better after losing you, Malefor. So, now that we have the time, and if needed, would any one around here like to try such a sweet treat?"

"No way you could actually make anything of the sort."

"But if I could, which, me and Ersa totally can, would you like to try it?"

"Hum... Can I, make an order then?"

"Hehe, I, guess so."

"Awesome! If you need such ingredients, I shall fetch them if you don't have it as I wish to get this for Carith. But I was reading one book that spoke of a brownie with a ice cream center in the middle of it. So every bite you take, you get a chocolate and vanilla tasting to it. Apparently this is also rather delicious since, with the brownie being nice and warm, having that perfect blend between the two would be amazing!"

"Have you been thinking about this for a while or something?"

"I mean, kinda. You bringing it up reminds me of it. But, I haven't thought much about it as the taste from Carith's lips holds me over till my life is over."

"Hehe, don't you mean tongue," Claire snickered, just to mess with him.

"Jealous?" Carith smirked as she looked to her.

"Of who?"

"Never done such a thing with Ignitus, and you wish you could."

"WH...! I do what ever I wish with Ignitus, and doing such a thing is beneath me."

"What would you rather be beneath you; Doing such a thing with Ignitus, or, Ignitus himself," Cynder smirked, getting Claire to blush hard from her words.

"Hehe, remember when this was happening to Carith? Seems like she's getting her revenge on you, Claire," Ersa giggled.

"Well, neither of those are correct as, Claire will always be beneath me," Ignitus smirked, getting the girls, and especially Claire to gaps at his words, "For an assassin, she's not very strong. All it takes are my words, and next thing I know, she's on her back, begging for me."

"How dare you!" Claire growled to him, seeing this as a challenge, "How about we see who'd really win right here an now?!"

"Hehe, please, Claire, you'll just embarrass yourself."

"Ignitus... You are pushing your luck!"

"Instead of pushing my luck, can I push my lips, against yours?"

"No... I think we are done."

"What!"

"Tell them the truth, tell them who really controls this relationship, or else."

"Or... Or else what?" Ignitus let off a nervous voice.

"If I tell you, I'd will happen."

Swallowing hard, they saw he had been put in his place, and to make sure he didn't make things worse, Ignitus corrected himself, "What I... Meant was... Claire is far beyond more powerful then me, and what ever she says I shall do."

"If she says anything, you'll do?" Malefor chuckled.

"If you're truly an assassin, you'll tell him to kill himself, Claire. You have him where you want him," Flair looked over to the two, growling, and hoping this would do some good, but of course, it didn't.

"True. I am an assassin, but I choose my target. And since my target was a good boy, it's not his life I'll take, but something much more," Claire smiled, looking to Ignitus was lustful eyes.

"Hey, Volteer, you remember about that, real men never lose conversation? You think that's what is about to happen to Ignitus?" Malefor laughed, and unfortunately, Volteer knew exactly what he was talking about.

"If you say anything about that to him, Claire might really kill you. Last time you said that shit to me, that volleyball made a sure nice red mark on your face," Volteer growled to him, trying to get him to shut his mouth.

Luckily for the two, no one said anything to embarrass the two, so they were able to enjoy their moment. Wrapping her arms around the back of Ignitus's neck, the two closed their eyes and embraced into a passionate kiss. Seeing as those two were now kissing, Spyro heard what sounded like whimpering. Having looked away from the two and to Cynder, he saw as her lips started quivering. Giving a chuckle, he knew exactly what this meant, "Oh yeah, I still have to have some fun with you, don't I?" Nodding her head slowly and sadly, he looked away from her, to the others, and then back to her as no one was looking to them, "Do you want to head up to our room and have some fun, or just get one of these rooms down here?"

"That... is a good question. I'm sure we still have plenty of day light left to do something or another," Cynder's attitude now changed as she did wonder what they were to do for the time being, "I can handle going all night with you for sure but... Having Trish around now, I do, wish to talk with her some more, get to know her and what not. Now having a full squad of girls around here, it's rather nice to see this family only growing more and more."

"Do you really want to call Flair family?" Flair was able to hear what Spyro had said, making her show her teeth to him, but he didn't see.

"I... need to talk with Flair about this. After what she did to you, I... I didn't want to say anything as I didn't want to hurt her."

"So you're still going to try and help her?"

"You never gave up on me even though I was evil. I don't want to do the same to her either."

"If you do talk with her somewhere else though..."

"I will have my darkness ready."

"But... after what she did to me... What if she did the same to you. I... don't wish to kill, but my darkness will take control and kill her. Kettu and Xvar will take over, and I might as well let them."

"That won't happen. As scary as it is to think about, I trust her. When I find out what's wrong, me, and all the other girls, will do everything in our power to help her."

"Alright..." Giving her a kiss to her lips, she was able to kiss back, and now feeling comfortable, he backed from the kiss, "Stay safe."

"Will you stay handsome?"

"Hehe, I shall."

"Then I shall to your words as well," Looking to the other girls in the room, Cynder wanted them all to follow her as she stood up, "Hey, girls, since Trish is now here, what do you say we all head back to your room, Ersa, and talk some as we had done before to do another reintroduction of sorts?"

"Oh yeah, I'm down for that. Trish, would you like to come and talk with us girls?" Ersa asked, looking over to the green female.

"Oh... Of course," Trish was already onboard.

Since all the other girls knew they'd be ready as well, the first to make their way out of the Chambers was Cynder, then Carith, Ersa, Claire, and Trish. While the girls made their way to Ersa's room, Flair took a little bit more time as she was still sitting down beside Cyril to which he saw. Showing her teeth to him, she now looked to him, threatening even to what she had accidentally let be known, "You tell anyone what I said to you," Sharpening her fins on her back to poke at his wings, he shivered, swallowed hard, and then nodded as he understood, "I'm... Trusting you... To not say anything, understand?"

"Hehe, well, I know I won't let you down so, I have nothing to be afraid of, do I?" Cyril smiled to her, and he couldn't tell if it was his words or not, but she eased her fins down, softening them out.

 _Trusting you? Heh, yeah right. Soon as he says some shit about what I said, I'll for sure kill him,_ Flair promised herself, finally making it out from under his wing and making her way over to the entrance. _This is going to be a funny talk._ At the entrance, she turned to her left before making her way over to Ersa's room, and with the door already having stayed opened from the other girls entering, Flair turned to her right once in front of it. Similar as before, the girls sat in two lines with Ersa being at the back middle nearest to the bed. To the left was Cynder, and Carith. To the right was Claire and Trish. Shutting the door herself as she walked in, she listened as Trish had spoken first to the surprise of the others, "I've... never seen a family like this before. Hehe, and, I've seen quite a lot in my days, but nothing like this."

"Is that a good thing, or a bad thing?" Carith asked with a raised brow.

"Oh, a very good thing I assure you. Hehe, even first coming by, it was rather... Ahem... Surprising, to see a nearly destroyed Chambers with blood all over the place. Which, if you all don't mind me asking, what was that all about?"

"I tried to kill Spyro before you got here," Flair was open and honest about it as she sat in the front of the line nearest to the door, "He gave me a choice, so I ripped his heart out and destroyed it. He didn't die, as you saw, but as I've learned, don't get attached to anyone you ever meet. They'll turn their backs on you no matter what you say. They only care about what you do, or should I say, what you fail, to do."

"What... do you mean?"

"The girls here supposedly wanted to help me, but as soon as I did something they didn't like, they turned their backs on me real quick, even ignoring me. So, just as everyone else in this world, try not to make a mistake or else you'll be hated for it for the rest of your life."

"Flair, we don't hate you," Ersa stepped in first.

"For me, I couldn't say anything cause... I almost lost Spyro just a couple days ago, and to see what had happened... I needed to... I didn't want to say something wrong and hurt you," Cynder defended herself for what she had done.

"And if I did kill Spyro?" Flair asked, sitting down and crossing her arms.

"Then clearly I couldn't forgive you. If I killed someone you loved, you'd never forgive me either."

"I'm not like you."

"Then enlighten us, Flair," Carith spoke, getting a little aggressive towards her, "What happened to your parents? Or even a sibling, maybe friends?"

"None of your business!"

"The terror of the skies killed them, didn't she?"

"Shut up!" Getting back up to all fours, Flair sharpened her fins all throughout her body, "What's happened in my past is none of your damn businesses!"

"Don't get defensive about something you don't care to do something about. We are trying to help you. If you aren't going to help yourself, and you won't let others help you, then this clearly isn't a problem."

"Tell me, Carith! How's your parents?!"

"My parents are dead," Carith growled back to her, now getting Flair to back down as she gave wide eyes, not expecting to hear this, "They were killed by the Dark Master to prevent Malefor from having emotions and breaking free of his control. Even after hearing that, you think I hold what happened against him? No, I don't, and I've made it every clear that I didn't. So as we've said before, if someone was taken from you, it wasn't him, nor was it Cynder, but the darkness. So if it's revenge you're after, go find it elsewhere. No one here has done anything to you."

"So even after Malefor took everything from you, you'd still love him?!"

"If he took everything from me, then what is this family that I have now...? And to clarify, it was the Dark Master, not, my love, Malefor."

"And if it was, Malefor?"

"HA! Malefor knows not to piss me off."

"You'd betray him."

"Does this have to do with your past, Flair? Is there something you aren't telling us that's eating at you?"

"Yeah, it's this bull shit act you all put on even though you'd turn your backs on one another in a heart beat."

"Have we turned our backs on you?"

"After I almost killed Spyro!"

"Then why are you still here?"

"Because I choose to be!"

"And if we told you to leave?" Flair didn't respond to what Carith had to say this time as this only made her struggle more to keep calm, but seeing as she was going too far, this was a perfect time for her to say what she needed to, "That was a trick question, Flair. We wouldn't tell you to leave because you're family to us, understand. We've all had our ups and downs, and after what happened to Spyro, we want you to know we weren't upset with you about it, just scared."

"Others have said the same thing, about being family... But they all ended up leaving me anyway, so why should your words matter at all to me?" Flair murmured, ducking down off her anger.

"Flair..." Trish stepped in as she had experience such a thing from her past, "Ivan, said the same thing to me, about being my family, and how he wouldn't leave me... While I'm new around here, I have to admit to something... And that's... Unfortunately, for me, while I barley know anyone here, when they give a promise to me, I hold onto it because... I want, to be apart of something... Don't get me wrong, I'm scared of being betrayed again, or even lied to, but... I have hopes this is the second chance at life that I can have. And so, rather then making little of it, I wish to start strong, and make the most of it."

"And then when you do, it'll only hurt that much more to know you were lied to..."

"But if that doesn't happen, it'll only feel that much better to know I was cared for... It's... A leap of faith on what could happen... But I'd rather take a leap then a step to grow more from my experience."

"And what happens when that leap ends up making you trip, and you fall flat on your face from failure and betrayal?"

"Then I get back up and look back at what I have."

"And what do you have now?"

"She has us," Ersa smiled, getting Flair's attention to her words, "If something happened the same to you, Flair... We will be there the same as well," Now staying quiet, Flair didn't say anything to her words, and lucky enough even, she seemed to have been calming down from her and Trish's words, so, she knew all that was left was to close things off, "From what we've gathered, you've lost, everything. You were betrayed and either you, or someone else, failed to do something or another. We don't wish to push this issue any longer as we know it frustrates you. But remember, we, will always be here to support you."

"Hehe, and if we aren't, seems like you've been getting a lot closer to Cyril," Cynder teased Flair, making her blush red and shiver from the sudden brought up of his name.

"What?!" Flair cried, picking her head up and sitting straight up.

"Hehe, oh yeah... Flair, if you wanted Cyril's heart so bad, just ask him for it, don't take it," Carith was the next to tease her.

"I don't feel anything for that dragon!"

"I don't know. You seemed rather comfortable under that wing of his," Ersa smirked.

"I will walk right out here and kill him right now if I so please!"

"But why would you kill him if he wishes to help you?" Trish asked which only made Flair growl more as this brought up what he's done for her.

"As I said, he's my prey. I will kill him one day, and not he, nor any of you, will stop me from that. And the shit that he says to me just, frustrates me to no end! When he protected me after almost killing him yesterday, when he protected me after I tried to kill him today, and even after what I did to Spyro, he keeps trying to protect me!" The girls looked at one another as she was revealing more and more of what has happened without them even asking, so, they kept quiet in hopes she would reveal something, "Why does that dragon keep protecting me?! Even after I stabbed him, told him to fight back, he never did! He wouldn't fight back! I was attacking him, I could've killed him!"

"Flair... I did the same to Spyro," Cynder murmured, now speaking up as this was something she had experienced, "When I was in my dark form, the Dark Master forced me to attack Spyro. Out of frustration, I asked, 'Why won't you fight back'... His response... Because you've left me nothing to fight for..."

"Awwwwwwwww," The girls all teased her in unison, aside from Flair.

"Hehe, yeah yeah, I know... But, Flair, maybe that's the same as how Cyril feels to you."

"He... Said to me... 'Why would you trust me if all I did was hurt you'..." While Flair was focused on her frustration, she didn't see the wide eyes the girls had given her to what Cyril had said to her, "I want him to hurt me, I want him to show me he's nothing but a liar, and I will make sure of it! But how can I?! I've nearly killed him twice now, but he keeps saying I have a heart, that he understands, and he wishes to help... And the shit he said to me afterwards makes me what to snap his neck!"

"What... did he say to you?" Ersa asked in suspicion.

"He talked about being a failure... About how, he wouldn't blink an eye if, by giving his life, he would save another... And that's how parents are to their Hatchlings; They jump in front of danger without thinking twice to save those they care for, and even if their life ends, they can die without regret knowing they saved a life..." Even with the frustration and sadness showing in her eyes, a tear went down the side of her cheek, which she had felt, only making her anger show more, "He thinks that, if he lets me kill him, he'd save my life, and all yours as I'd leave you all alone..."

"Would... killing him help you?" Carith was hesitant to ask.

"Yes...! Maybe... I... I don't know! Even waking up, I was so sure of what I wanted to do, but I failed! Again! I ended up laying on his chest, crying over him as I... Why did he comfort me after what I did! Why did he pet my fins to soothe me?! Why was he so easy with his voice, Why didn't he yell at me, Why..." Now having enough with all these thoughts, she made up her mind now as she couldn't handle them, "No! I'm done being here! I'm going out there, slitting his throat, and leaving!"

"Would you want him to fight back?" Trish asked, already knowing of what she would've said.

"He will! Once I slit his throat, Spyro will just heal him, which Cyril will then turn on me as he knows I really will kill him!"

"But if you've already tried twice now, what would make you think he'd change his mind on you?" Cynder asked, feeling a little terrible as she's felt this way before, "I've tried to kill Spyro plenty of times before, and even if they were because of my dark form, his opinion of me never changed. Hell, we even play with that idea now, and mainly because, we know it'd never happen."

"Well I'm not messing around."

"Oh man... Flair, there's still so much we have to discuss that you and Trish don't even know yet. Like: Spyro's healing powers, The Chronicler, our pasts once again, the darkness, and anything else that needs to be known," Ersa brought up as she hoped this would get her mind off of things so they could focus on so much more, "Please... Let's just all sit down and talk for the time being, and once we are done... Just... think some more about whether you want to kill Cyril or not. He's just trying to help, as are we."

"And he pisses me off because he knows he will fail, but he keeps trying," Flair snarled.

"Do you think that would stop him from helping you?"

"His death will."

* * *

"Alrighty men! And Volteer," Malefor chuckled, already making Volteer growl to him, and to better position himself, he walked to the middle of the room before continuing, "We are all going to practice on something that I feel like needs to be done, and that is, singing."

"Signing?" Spyro asked.

"Yes! The best kind too."

"Never been a fan of musicals," Terrador grumbled.

"Hehe, cause your voice is definitely not what someone wants to hear when they want to be soothed."

"Already starting shit with me I see."

"Now now, that doesn't mean you doing ASMR would be a failure. Hell, I'd listen to it."

"You'd like Terrador to get real close and whisper to you, softly, comforting, and..."

"Never mind!" Malefor rejected Volteer's words rather quickly, "Not the point. Point is, we can all get together and show off our vocal cords. As for you, Cyril, you shouldn't need to as I'm sure Flair would just rip them out herself so, you don't have to sing."

"Who even said I wanted to sing?" Cyril grumbled.

"Look, you guys gotta have my back in this, alright. Trust me."

"And what is it that we're singing?" Ignitus asked.

"Hehe... I want it that way, aka, Ain't nothing but a heartache."

"No," The Guardians all rejected.

"Oh come on! It's what the boys do at three in the morning on a Saturday night."

"I could join in on this then," Spyro finally spoke up, surprising the others.

"Yes! Spyro, my man!"

"Though I... don't know what to say."

"It's alright, you'll get the easiest part. As for the Guardians..."

"We aren't singing," Terrador growled at him.

"And what if the girls hear?" Cyril blushed, not wanting anyone to hear his voice at such a different level.

"So what? You scared Flair's gonna get pissed or something and kill you?" Malefor smirked.

"No, I'm scared of pushing others away from my voice."

"Haha! That would suck, but don't worry, we will get this down, I swear. Plus, if the girls have their own way of doing things, us guys deserve our own way of doing things."

"Will you shut up if we do sing?" Terrador sighed.

"He does have to explain what we are doing," Volteer spoke for Malefor.

"Look, since you guys don't want to do that much work, I will be the main focus on the signing. You guys will focus on one line, then me and Spyro will rotate between each of the other lines afterwards," Giving a demonstration, he first pointed to the Guardians, "So first, I will be the one to sing, then you four come in with the heartbreak. After that, I'll sing, back to you all, then Spyro, then you all, then back to me," It was a little confusing for some while others already understood such a Volteer, and seeing this confusion, he knew he'd be able to help them, "I'm one, you all are two, and Spyro's three. So it goes one, two, three, then two, then one, then two."

"We could be doing something productive with our lives, and you want us to sing?" Terrador growled, still against the idea.

"Look, I'm trying to help by spicing up those vocal cords of yours. Which would you rather have Trish hear: 'Hey! Hot stuff!' Or, 'Hey, hot stuff'."

"You acting romantic always makes me want to throw up."

"You acting anger always makes me want to smile, knowing your life sucks."

"Malefor!"

"Just sing you big bastard!"

"Muscular, bastard," Volteer corrected

"Weak, bastard," Malefor chuckled as he looked to Volteer.

"Annoying, bastard," Volteer growled back to him.

"Look, as much as I hate to admit it, doing something rather then nothing is usually a much better option. So... Unfortunately, I do have to agree with Malefor," Ignitus sighed, wanting to do something that didn't involve just sitting there, "Now without Claire, I'm not comfortable. Signing is only going to make things worse, but... Ugh... What the hell. When ever you're ready, Malefor, so am I. And to make things easier, I'll just give the lines to the others so we don't have to learn the whole damn song."

"Haha! This is going to be great," Malefor happily smiled.

"We pulled the short straw, didn't we?" Terrador sighed to the other Guardians.

"Not like we could've gotten ridden of him. We were unlucky, and Malefor came to us for help," Volteer chuckled, understanding what his friend was sighing for.

"What the hell guys? I'm trying to have fun, and because of that, you're trying to disown me..." Malefor whimpered, hearing what they had been talking about.

"Yeah, that's pretty harsh, even for you two," Spyro chuckled, joining in just to get them into more trouble.

Giving off another sigh, Terrador apologized in his own way, "Look, we are going to sing, aren't we? That means we care about you, alright."

"Sweet," Malefor smiled.

* * *

"So that's why, long story made short, Malefor was never evil, just forced to be," Carith got done with her explanation of her own part of the story she needed to tell, making Trish give wide eyes to something so unknown, "The stories were put in place so no one would feel bad for him once they knew the truth of what happened, and the best way to do that; Make him look like the bad guy."

"I'm... so sorry you ever had to go through such a thing... All of you," Trish gave a frown, now having heard what's happened to almost all of them.

"So now that just leaves Spyro, The Chronicler, and you, Flair."

"I'm not going," Flair growled in rejection.

"Then I would gladly talk about my sexy ass dragon then," Claire stepped in.

"I was going to say that for Spyro," Cynder grumbled.

"Don't worry, we will get to him later, promise."

"So you're admitting he's sexy?" Ersa smirked.

"No, Cynder is. I'm admitting Ignitus is sexy."

"Hehe, and plus, if you become mates with Ignitus, that would make Spyro your adopted son," Carith giggled.

"Oh... Yeah... It would," Claire was rather surprised by this realisation, and now with these thoughts, she started to talk out loud about them, "Yeah but I mean, Spyro wouldn't let me be his mother, especially since I'm not even trained in being a parent whatsoever and so I'd fail."

"You act like Ignitus hasn't done the same thing as well. He's a new parent as well."

"Wait, so, Spyro is Ignitus's son?" Trish asked.

"Adopted," The girls all corrected at the same time, aside from Flair.

"Look, Flair, it's alright to be scared. Hell, if anything, this would be an amazing opportunity if it happened," Ersa spoke up, helping her friend look to the bright side of things in hopes of helping, "Compared to me and Volteer, we know almost everything there is to know about such a thing when it comes to Hatchlings, but even still, learning something without paws on experience is difficult. Reading how to fly may sound easy, but executing such things is rather difficult. So, by having this experience now, it will be easier in the future."

"So... By practicing with Spyro being my son, it would help me be a better parent to a future Hatchling of mine?" Claire finshed up what Ersa was explaining.

"Exactly."

"That... makes sense actually... But, what do I do if I'm scared to fail now and even then?"

"No one is perfect, Claire. What matters is that you pay attention, learn, and while you grow, so does your Hatchling. While there is so much more to it, it's just something you have to go through, but, not alone. I'm sure Ignitus would be right there for you, helping, and teaching you from what he's learned," Seeing Claire give a rather pleased sigh, even putting a paw to her chest as she blushed, this was easy fire for Ersa to burn as she knew exactly what she was thinking about, "What are you thinking about over there, Claire? Snuggling up to Ignitus with a Hatchling at your paws."

"Oh, shut it, you. I know you have the same hopes with Volteer," Claire smiled as she growled to her friend, making the other girls giggle to her.

"Are we going to learn about the Chronicler or not?" Flair was straight to the point, breaking up the fun the others were having.

"Oh... Yeah, sorry... Ahem," Putting her paw back down to the ground, she now went back to what she wanted to talk about before, "Short Answer; He's an Ancestor. But long answer; He has powers beyond that of any normal dragon. He can teleport, clone himself, pull others into lucid dreams, force dreams onto others, destroy mountains with a wave of a paw, move at lightning speed, heal, fix, and repair anything that ever happens to someone or something during a battle and just... So much more... So, much more."

"Wait wait wait... So, you all live, with the Guardians, an all powerful mini Ancestor, and two purple dragons?" Trish now had to correct herself as to all she saw.

"Buff, and sexy, Ancestor," Claire corrected.

"To answer, yes, that is who we all live with," Ersa answered for her.

"So then... This is like... The safeties place on earth, isn't it," Trish smiled a little as it seemed that way.

"Was," Flair growled, "I'm making sure it doesn't stay that way."

"What? But why? What did these dragons ever do to you?"

"I have my own life goals, alright. If you're lucky, I'll just take Cyril, then I'll leave."

"Take him out on a date?" Carith smirked.

"Take him by the tail?" Ersa smirked, joining in on the fun.

"Hehe, or will you just, take him?" Claire was the last to say something.

"It's all fun in games until I leave his heart on the floor next to his body," Flair growled to the other girls.

"Is this where you'd say, 'He doesn't need his heart cause he has mine'?" Trish hoped that this was something romantic she would say.

"Trish, don't ever put your trust into anyone, understand. Put your trust in Terrador, you mess up and get someone killed, it'll be on you. You have a fight with that someone, they know your weaknesses. You gave them a sob story of your fears, your past, what you've done, they will use that. With that scar that was on your wing, if you messed something up, he'd hold you to the ground and threaten to put it back if you do something wrong, do you understand?"

"He... He wouldn't do that."

"You barely know him, so how would you know?"

"Because I trust him."

"Someone you met just today?"

"I met him during the battle, not in the Chambers."

"But is that really him, or an act that he's putting on to fool you, to get you close."

"Flair, stand down," Ersa warned her, seeing where this was already leading.

"I'm just here to live a happy life, that's it. I don't want to fight, and I'm sure everyone else here what's the same thing, so what is your problem with such a thing?" Trish asked, getting a little more defensive about what she was saying.

"You lean on comfort, and then you lose it, what do you have? You put your heart and soul with someone you love, once you lose that, what do you have?" Flair growled, making Trish back down some as she could see what she was getting at, "Trust. Love. Mates. You think this brings comfort to anyone? You girls all act like you have a happy life with such a man, yet, when you mess up, what do you think would happen? They will make sure, if their life is going down, they will take you with them... Just watch. Their anger to protect you may seem comforting, but just wait until they turn that against you."

"You know what, Flair... You're right... Volteer does use my past against me to get to my emotions," Ersa sighed as she looked to her side, showing sadness at first to make Flair believe she was telling the truth, but once she picked her head back up, blushing and smiling, Flair now growled to what she had to say, "I mean, hell, I told him about how I had that scar on my right eye. Because he used what happened against me, he twisted my emotions. So now, I'm forced to remember that, he protected me against that dragon, healed me, and then, mated with me."

"That's not my point!" Flair yelled out at her.

"But you said they'd use our past against us?"

"Their anger!"

"Hehe, I mean, that bite mark on Ersa's neck yesterday looked like anger, did it not?" Carith giggled, making Ersa blush.

"I can't believe he would do such a thing to me, even though he knew how much I loved it," Ersa gave a fake cry.

"After I kill Cyril, I'm coming after your mate next, Ersa!" Flair threatened, sharpening her fins all down her back and blade.

"Flair... I killed, Spyro's parents," Cynder murmured, breaking the anger that she was feeling for the time and brining things down just a bit, "After something like that, do you have a reason as to why he didn't leave me?" Giving off a growl, Flair looked away from her, but Cynder smiled to see she was easing her fins back down, "If there's anyone you want to talk to about trust and love, it's mainly me and Spyro. He still loves me after his parents deaths, he put his darkness around my heart while taking mine which was unstable and could've killed him. He slept peacefully next to me even after he had seen what I could do, how easily I could kill him. Hehe, I mean, hell, you've seen my tail blade. He trust me enough to poison him, paralyze him, and even bring my blade close to his body, even though I'm threatening him."

"Because you're just messing around..."

"And how would he know such a thing? For all he knows, I could take that trust, slit his throat and fly away. He wouldn't even expect it. And if I wanted to, I could kill one of the Guardians and blame it on you, but I don't."

"Why not. Getting the pain out of the way now is better then not."

"Because, while losing someone is painful, the memories you create, and the feelings you get from them are just that much more powerful."

"But then those memories haunt you... as powerful as they are to remember, they are that much more when you think back on what you've lost."

"Flair, think of your future right now... When you die, where will you be? Who will you be with."

"I'll be on my bed, dying by myself as I should've years ago."

"How do you see yourself when that happens? Are you smiling? Are you happy? Did you deal with any regret you may have?"

"I don't need anyone else!"

"Just... Listen... please... Don't take this the wrong way but, imagine being with Cyril..."

"I'M...!"

"FLAIR!" Cynder growled, yelling above her voice to get her attention, and since it was a surprise to everyone, the girls all looked to her with wide eyes, not saying anything, "Just... Close your eyes, and imagine it..." Even though she didn't wish to, she still did as she was told, shutting her eyes, but sharpening her fins in case they were to try something else, "Instead of being alone, you're here, in this very building. Everyone's heading off to bed in the Chambers and you walk back to a room all by yourself. You laid down, and fall asleep, all by yourself. No noise, no emotions, nothing to help you feel alive. How do you feel right now."

"Pissed off since Cyril still isn't dead even after this day. Emotionless, as I've always been. Yet, some way, happy, knowing I'll get another chance to kill him tomorrow."

"Now instead, imagine walking into your room and shutting the door, but hearing it stop, you look behind yourself and see Cyril, smiling at you..."

"So I slam the door on his face."

"Aww," Ersa cried in a sad, low tone.

"Hehe, yeah, even for me, I'd have to rub Cyril's back after that," Carith giggled, feeling bad if that did happen.

"Fine! I'll let him in," Flair growled through her teeth.

"Now that you two are on the bed, he snuggles up to you, and you do the same to him. You put your head to his chest, and he lays his head over yours. As he drapes a wing over your back, you feel his cool, blue body, you listen to his heart beat while hearing him give off small, controlled breaths..." Pausing for a second, Cynder could see Flair taking in the sight as her fins started to ease, but only very slightly which surprised the other girls, "He whispers to you, comforting you on everything, giving you the sense that everything's to be alright. He trusts you; closing his eyes, and even putting his tail over yours. Feeling his body, his comfort, his cold yet warm body, what do you do... Do you wait till he's asleep and kill him... Or do you enjoy this night, and let him be there to comfort you?"

"I... I, get up and just kill him now," Flair was hesitant with her response, but she still knew what she wanted.

"Then... Once you take your head back from his, you push him over to his back, jump on top of him and bring your blade to his neck. Now above him, he looks to you, with a frown, but it changes to a smile."

"Why would he be smiling?!"

"Because... He brings a paw up to your cheek, and once rested to the side of your face, he whispers to you, warmly, even for an ice dragon such as himself, 'I trust you not to'," The girls gave off small gaps to see a single tear had dripped down from Flair's eye, and even the fins down her body had eased down, softening as they normally did, "Now that he trusts you, even as he always has... What will you do? Do you die alone for your last day alive, or... Do you snuggle back up to him, and live your last day with him?"

Flair didn't say anything for a good little bit of time, and while she was still thinking about what to say, Ersa gave Cynder props for what she had said, "Wow, Cynder. Did expect you to be such a well done psychologist."

"Hehe, well, after all the easy whispering Spyro does to me to comfort me, I picked up a thing or two."

"Neither..." Flair growled, now giving her a response, but this confused the others as they didn't understand what this meant, "I'm going out there and killing him right in front of everyone just to prove my point!"

"What?!" The girls all cried in unison, and with her turning around to the door, they all knew she was serious, "Flair! Don't!"

Running up to the door now so she wouldn't be stopped, she grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and shoved it outwards. Making it to the hallway, she turned to her left and ran to the Chambers. Following close behind was the other girls and they were near steps behind. Once she had made it to the Chambers entrance, she stopped, stood there, and looked into the Chambers with wide eyes. The girls were confused as to why she did this, but making their way to her right, they all stood at the Chamber entrance and looked in to see what was happening. Now with all looking into the Chambers, the girls all gave wide eyes, looking to one another for a second before looking back into the open area.

"Ain't nothin' but a heartache!" Malefor sang in the middle of the room as he stood up on his back two paws.

"Tell me why!" The four Guardians in the back sung with big smiles.

"Ain't nothin' but a mistake!" Spyro sung as he got up on his back back paws, making his way to the middle.

"Tell me why!"

"I never want to hear you say!" Both Malefor and Spyro sung together as they stood back to back in the middle of the Chambers.

"I want it that way!" The Guardians all happily sung.

Now with Spyro dancing his way back to the Chambers, he laughed out loud before looking to the entrance of the Chambers. His soul sunk as he saw all the girls looking at them. Now seeing this, he eased himself back to his four paws, got back to his wall, and wrapped his wings around his face to hide his embarrassment. Malefor continued as he danced his way back over to his wall, and not having seen the girls, he wasn't done, but instead was ready to continue. Now having clear view of the back, the girls all saw all the Guardians had one arm around each others back neck, smiling as they sung into the air and enjoying their time, "Tell me why!"

"Ain't nothin' but a heartache!" Malefor continued to sing.

"Ain't nothin' but a mistake!"

Now with the four looking down, they all gasped at the same time once they had seen the girls all looking at them. Quickly taking their paws off of one others back necks, they all closed their wings around their faces to hide their embarrassments, same as how Spyro had done. Now with just Malefor left, he didn't know he was all alone until a little after he continued singing, "Tell me why...!" Waiting for the others to say something, he didn't hear anything, "Guys... Guardians, you're next!" Looking over to them now, he got back on his fours and looked to see they had put their wings around their heads for some reason, "Guys! What happened!" Shrugging his shoulders as he didn't get a response from them, he continued to sing, even as he moved his head and looked to the entrance of the Chambers, "I never want to hear you-CARITH!" Now seeing who it was, Malefor cried out loud, blushing hard to see all the girls were now looking at him, "Hehehe... Hehehe... Damn... This is awkward as hell..."

Now with him being the last one, he got back to where he normally sat and did so. Now at his wall, he put his wings around his head, shivering some even as he was the last to be both embarrassed, and scared. Now with complete silence, the girls all looked to the guys one by one, seeing them each shiver rather intensely. Now seeing this all as a game to themselves, the girls looked to one another, wondering what they should say or do just to make them fear ever more for what they had done. While the other girls were trying to have fun with what they had seen, Flair focused solely on Cyril, still wishing to do what she said she would do. Carith giggled as she now had a fun idea of how to get to the others, "Should we go down the line one by one and see who's going to be sleeping alone tonight?"

"I mean, we could, but then again, who ever started this should be the one to go down for it," Cynder suggested which immediately made Malefor's scales stand up on end as he knew he was the one, "So, Guys, if you all could tell us who that was, you all might, be able to get off free."

"It was Malefor!" The Guardians and Spyro all cried as they ducked their wings back down and pointed over to Malefor.

"Snitching Bitches!" Malefor growled as he took his wings down and looked to all the other guys, "Role the dices you tree eaters, I'll make sure one of you is next,"

"I don't know, Carith, Malefor has been very rude to you as well," Ersa giggled, making Malefor turn his anger to fear.

"Yeah, did he say, 'I never want to hear you Carith'," Claire smirked, only making things worse for him.

"And he said this was awkward as hell, almost as if, you looking to him makes him feel awkward," Trish was the last to make a jab at him.

"So then that means, Malefor's going to be sleeping by himself tonig..."

"Wait!" Malefor cried, now no longer able to hear the girls say anything else as he knew it would spell certain doom for him, "That's part of the song! Not, you, Carith, you just surprised me. But this is how the song goes as he says, 'I never want to hear you say, I want it that way'..." She still didn't seem convinced, nor were the other girls, so he tried his best to make something up to change the subject, "Ahem, so, uh, by the way, while you all were talking, a bunch of dark creatures came in here and I wrecked house. The Guardians and Spyro were totally cowering in fear from my power."

"And what would Xvar and Kettu have to say to this?" Cynder questioned.

"They would praise my greatness."

"Well then, Spyro, would you be so kind as to bring them out and..."

"Don't! Knowing them, they be the dark problem and start one as well."

"Uh-huh. Well, I don't know about you girls but, I would say that Spyro is safe for now," Cynder agreed with herself as she made it over to her lover.

"Seems as though the Guardians don't wish for us to be with them since we have no space to sit next to them," Ersa pointed out, seeing as the guys had all sat right next to one another without any way of either Ersa or Trish to sit next to who they wished to.

"Cyril! Move over!" Volteer growled over to him, making Cyril quickly shift to the side, enough so that the girls would all be able to sit where they wanted.

"Wow, Ersa, your lover seems pretty aggressive," Claire giggled, catching the attention of her, Flair, and especially Volteer, "Remember what Flair talked about? About how the guys will turn that anger against us? Looks like that is already happening."

"What?! No no no, I wasn't being aggressive, I just...!"

"Was being forceful?" Ersa giggled, "Trust me. That bite you put on my neck, I've seen this side of you before."

"Hehehe, Ewwwww dude, That's gross," Malefor chuckled, trying to keep a smile.

"You think I'm a dude? Hehe, Volteer can surely back me up on that being false."

"We don't need to know that!"

"But I really could," Volteer chuckled.

"Volteer! Not a need for an input!"

Now with space for all the girls to move to where they wanted to be, Flair still waited near the front of the Chamber entrance, same as Carith. Before anything else was said, the other four girls sat down where they normally did; Cynder sat next to Spyro's left, Ersa sat next to Volteer's left, Trish sat to Terrador's right, and Claire sat next to Ignitus's left. Since Carith still hadn't moved, Malefor focused to her, picking up his left wing and waiting for her to come by, but she only smirked, raising a brow even. Thinking of what he could say, an idea quickly popped into his mind which he knew she wouldn't be able to resist, "Carith... Will I be able to make it up to you if I... Transform into my dark form so you may save me?"

"You'll pretend to be evil?" Carith was already on board, taking some steps forward.

"Hehe. I'll make sure you'll have no choice but to kiss me if you wish to live."

This was enough for her to bolt over to Malefor, snuggling up to his side real quick. Moving her scales all throughout his side, she made her way up to his head before nuzzling her head underneath his, making him look up some and purr. Now all that was left was Flair, still sitting from the entrance and looking to the others as they all smiled to their females. The last one without a female sat Cyril, which he looked to her, picking up his own right wing and giving a slight smile as he hoped he would join her. After seeing the joy everyone was experiencing, Flair finally took a stand against all this in hopes that something would come from what she was to say, "Alright, ENOUGH!" Her yell got everyone's attention, and immediately, with this yell, Spyro put a wing in front of Cynder and turned serious, "You're all fakes! Liars! None of this will last, and I will take the stand since none of you have the guts to do so!" Her first target of who she wished to focus to was Spyro as she knew he would be the easiest target, "Spyro, why are you even with Cynder?! Do you not understand what is out there, what you can have? Every time I walk out of my house, it was always Spyro this or, Spyro that. Yeah, you have this family, but you could have so much more out there then you ever could being in here! You could have anyone as a mate, any one! But you chose Cynder?!"

"Cynder's not my mate," Spyro corrected her, and even though he was trying to correct her, he said it rather quickly, making Cynder give off a slight frown.

"Exactly! You still have a chance to back out, have a better life, and have someone else who could love you better then she ever could!"

"You really think so?"

"Spyro!" Some of the other cried.

"Yes! Of course! Plus, why go through love when you can just get the good stuff and move on to the next? And I'm sure the girls you'll get with would be more then happy to just be there to satisfy you, so it's a win win for both parties. Love doesn't matter, feelings for someone never saved anyone, so why not..."

"My feelings for Spyro saved me from killing myself!" Cynder yelled out against Flair.

"My feelings for Ignitus saved me from killing him or anyone else," Claire also stepped in.

"Volteer's love for me kept me from dying throughout my journey," Ersa was the last to step in.

"That's from your own will! Not from something that doesn't exist!" Flair yelled at the girls who fought against her.

"So, I can be a mate with anyone out there, and they wouldn't even care?" Spyro thought to himself out loud, making everyone gasp while making Flair gave off an evil smile, "I could just go from one to the next and it wouldn't matter at all, would it...?" Rather then fearing for what he was to say, Cynder made sure to let it know she was there, bringing her tail blade up slowly but surely as she inched it to his neck, "Hehe... Hahaha...!" His sudden laughter confused those around him as they couldn't tell which side he was on, but just to make sure, Cynder was able to get her blade to Spyro's neck, making him let off a small shiver, "Hehe, don't worry, my love... Hehe... Flair, you know, I'm sure I've heard this somewhere before. Actually, fun fact, this was Cynder's fear."

"Why do you think this is funny?! She is threatening you! Stand up for yourself, you have the power!"

"Hehe, yeah, no no no, that's not how this works. You see, even if I wished to be with someone else, which I don't, Cynder would kill this other female and tie me down for the rest of my life with her poison. Not to mention, Xvar and Kettu would probably kill me, I'd disappoint my father, including all my friends and that's just, that's not something I'm going to be doing... ever, no matter what I get out of it."

"What if you were able to get your parents back?" Flair smirked as she viewed this as a weapon she could use, and she even saw as Cynder shivered from her brining this up, "You can have your parents back, but you have to give up Cynder, would you do it? You can keep your friends and what not, but you could never love Cynder ever again. And to make it better, Cynder will also get her parents back," Surprisingly to the others, Spyro didn't respond to this as though he was on the fence about it, "Tempting, is it not?"

"That's like saying, would you trade one life to save thousands," Malefor growled to her, "Spyro's already shown he would trade his life to save the world, and after what he's been through, he would deserve a better option."

"Tell me, Malefor. If you could save either Spyro, or Carith, who would you save?"

"I'd save both!"

"So who would you go for first when you save both then?"

Malefor could only growl to her as he didn't wish to say who he would choose, and this silence was only helping Flair more and more as she was getting to the others, and she knew it. Moving on from the others, she focused to Ersa as she was her next target, "Ersa, after all you've been through, do you really think Volteer would be the best choice for you? I mean, maybe getting with that red dragon would've been better. After all, if Volteer did love you, he would've searched for you, but he didn't."

"He did," Ersa growled to her as she still hadn't revealed this part of the story yet, "After the war, he searched for me, but believed I was died. And you should've been in Warfang when you heard everyone asking around for someone named Ersa after Volteer was trying to find me," Flair growled as she had forgotten about this, and now that Ersa had control over this argument, she made sure to end it off her way, "It was because of me that we didn't end up together sooner. I thought he mated with someone else and moved on, but he didn't. We are mates, we are already prepared and ready for our future of having a Hatchling and everything, so nothing you say will change that."

"Do you, approve of this, Volteer?"

"Hehe, oh yeah I do," Volteer gave a pleased sigh.

"What ever," Flair snarled, and now with that being a failure, her next target was Ignitus, "So, Ignitus, Claire told me your mighty powerful; An Ancestor, basically. So tell me, why someone as powerful as you and all knowing, why bother with someone like her when you know someone else out there who deserves you?"

"Hehe," Ignitus chuckling to begin what he had to say reminded her of what Spyro was doing, "Flair. Nothing you say will change my mind. You're at a lost when it comes to me and her. But if you want one of millions of reasons; she would kill me if I ever did such a thing. I would go through the run down of how and why I love her, but it seems to me that you don't understand the definition of what love means."

"Can't wait for her to die then so you can understand what you never had," Flair's words to Ignitus made Claire growl against her, but paying no attention to her, her last target was Malefor as she asked him, "You once had the world in the palm of your paws. Why do you bother with Carith when you yourself could have anything in the world that you've ever wanted."

"You want the truth?" Malefor chuckled, making the others wonder as to what he would have to say about his lover, "Hehe, because I'm one of the laziest dragon on the planet. Going after world domination again would be way, too much," Seeing as his lover gave a sigh as she took her head from underneath his head, he knew why she was sad, and had a perfect idea on how to cheer her up, "And plus," Nuzzling closer to her side, Carith looked to see his smile, and his whisper sent shivers down her spine, "I already have what means the world to mean under my wing," His words were enough to make Carith's heart skip a beat as she had to blush from his words, and making sure she didn't think different about what he had said, he stepped in to say one last thing, "And no, that doesn't mean I'm calling you fat... Your slick and slim body always gets to me."

"Hehe, hey Malefor, you gonna, dominate, that world of yours? That way you can still have world domination?" Cyril laughed, making everyone blush as they knew what he was talking about.

"Holy shit, Cyril, I actually think I'm going to kill you dude. Like, no joke," Malefor growled over to him.

"Hey, Volteer, aren't I your world?" Ersa whispered to him, but it wasn't as quiet as she hoped.

"Hehe, since you are, that would mean I've already dominated my world," Volteer chuckled which got Ersa to giggle as she was glad he went along with it.

"Ersa," Trish whispered in a blush, getting the attention of her, "I'm right here."

"Oh yeah, hehe, sorry, Trish," Ersa apologized in a smile.

"Do you want to swap spots?" Terrador suggested.

"Hehe, no, it's fine. Much rather hear something like that then... What my previous lover use to talk about," Trish sighed as she had to remember back to what's happened to her.

"What... happened?"

"He... would usually talk about me behind my back. Or it would be about how they were going to go beat up someone for what they had done... It just... It was never anything to laugh or smile about."

"I... I'm sorry."

"Then... could you do something for me?"

"Of course."

Nuzzling up to his side some more, the two blushed equally, and Trish even apologised for what she was asking, "Sorry... I just... Could you keep me protected."

Giving her a warm smile, Terrador whispered to her, "Your wish is my command."

"You thinking about leaving me?" Claire asked Ignitus with a raised brow, brining up her tail blade some just to intimidate him, which wasn't needed.

"When we get back to our bed, you want to play around with the idea?" Ignitus asked with a raised brow of his own, and while he saw she gave off a small smile, he knew this wasn't what she wanted to hear, so he assured her in a different way, "I love you, Claire, and I'd never leave you. Your support, your love, your comfort during all that I've been going through has meant the world to me, and I feel like, I haven't done enough to show my appreciation. As so..." Bringing up his right wing to the block the two, she smiled more, even blushing as she knew what he was doing, "Your lips are looking a little dry. Let me help you with that."

Flair's frustration grew as it seemed all her work was all for nothing, and it felt now more then ever that she was just wasting breath to what she was saying. Looking down the line backwards now, she watched as Malefor kissed his lover, then looking to Ignitus, he was kissing his lover, and then looking over to Volteer, he was doing the same as the other two and kissing his own lover. _I had to have gotten to one of them at least!_ Looking over to her left, she saw as there seemed to be at least one dragon she had gotten to. Cynder was frowning, head slightly ducked down as she tried to look to Spyro who still hadn't responded to Flair's question. _There we go._ Moving her blade away from Spyro's neck, it woke him up to where he lifted his head and looked to Cynder, completely changing attitudes for some reason, "Why did you do that? Hehe, your blade was helping me think."

"I... Thought you'd want privacy to think about what Flair had asked you," Cynder murmured, but surprising her and Flair, that wasn't the case at all.

"Oh, that? Cynder, if I gave you up, and I could never fell your scales, or, talk to you, love you, or even snuggle with you, it'd make my parents worry, and they'd feel like it was their fault for coming back. And, I'm, sure, or at least, I hope, you'd feel the same way about not being able to do the same with me."

"Is that really a question, or even a worry? You've seen what happens when I almost lose you."

"Yeah... That's my bad."

"My love, don't worry about it, okay. But what were you thinking about?"

"Oh, hehe, well, I was just thinking about what fun we could have tonight, and unfortunately, I guess I looked a little frustrated since I was using my dark power around my mind to talk with the other two."

"Talking to them about what?"

"Just wondering what else this form can do for me. And good news; you're going to have your paws full dealing with a dark threat unlike you've ever seen before."

"Oh?" Cynder shivered with a smile, "Then shall we head to our room?"

"Not, just yet," Now having eased his lover, everything Flair had done was for nothing, which, once Spyro looked to see her in awe, he could only chuckle at her, "Was that supposed to be some way of breaking us up? You know, you aren't the first dragon who's tried to break me and Cynder up: Flint, The Dark Master, Blitz, Celia, and I'm sure more are to come. If this is all you are here to do, I would appreciate it if you left already."

"Spyro," Cyril murmured as he ran over to Flair to help her out, and once he stood in front of her, he wished to help out, "Let me handle this," Easing his paw up and over Flair's, she gave off a shiver to feel the cold yet warm sudden feeling of his paw, "Flair... As of many times before, if you need to talk to me, I can and will help you in any way I can... And, hey, maybe, to make you feel better, I can talk about some of my past first to help ease you, and to make you feel more comfortable around me," She still hadn't said anything, only looking into his eyes with slightly kicked up breathes, so, he continued to speak, "And, just remember what I've said to you... It will be okay... I promise... I swear, to you."

Now having heard his last bit of words, she finally snapped. Taking her paw out from underneath his, her fins all sharpened in an instant. As soon as they all sharpened, Flair spun her body around, going in to slash at his neck. But she hadn't planned for her vision to be distorted by a couple of tear the grew in her eyes. Instead of hitting the middle of his neck, she slashed at his right neck, making Cyril let out a growl as the blood splashed outwards. After regaining control, she jumped back, now outside of the entrance and still battle ready. While Spyro stood up to do something, Cyril extended a wing, stopping him from doing anything. Covering the cut on his neck, Cyril gave a sad gasp, seeing the state that she was in. While her body was ready for battle, she was ducked down some, shaking, shedding tears down her eyes, almost as if she was experiencing too many emotions, or even too strong of ones.

"Flair..." Cyril gave off a soft, almost weak sounding voice.

"If you ever die before I kill you, I will kill myself, find you in the afterlife, and kill you there then!" Flair cried, trying to hide her sadness by giving off a little more of a growl.

Giving off a slight smile, Cyril tried to make things a little better, or at least, he hoped it would've, "It's... comforting to hear that, I'll still be able to see you even in the afterlife."

Giving wide eyes and a soft gasp, she clenched her teeth shut before opening her mouth wide and yelling, "SHUT UP!"

Watching as she turned to her left, kicked off of one paw and ran down the hallway, Cyril took his paw off his neck, ran a couple steps forward, and tried to call out to her, "Flair! Wait!" Seeing at the side of his eye a purple figure coming up to him, he looked only slightly to see it was Spyro, putting a paw on the side of his shoulder, "Please... Please tell me you saw it then? How she felt, and she acted, how she... suffered... And it was from my words... My actions... But why? What could've happened to her back then to make her feel this way, why... Spyro, she's hurting."

"Cyril, I have nothing to go off of, so unfortunately, there isn't much I can say in this," Lighting Cyril's body in darkness for a second, the blood on his paw and neck were now gone, along with his wound, "This is the third time she has hurt you. We've tried, or, you've tried, again, and again, and still, she hasn't given us any way to help her, even though she's made it very clear she doesn't wish to be helped. I really wish there was something I can do, but if I see one more wound on your body from her, she's gone. I don't care what you say, understand?" Cyril didn't respond to him, only giving a sad frown, looking somewhat to the ground even as he wished he could think of something to do, "I'm sorry if what I'm doing will hurt you... But... I can't sit around and possibly have her do the same to you that she did to me," Now that he had taken his paw back down to the ground, Spyro looked back to the other Guardians and wished them a goodnight, "If she tries anything to any of you, report it. But for now, I shall be off to bed."

Getting nods from most and smiles from others, Spyro smiled back to them. Turning his head around and giving a jester towards the doorway with his head to his lover, Cynder understood and ran up to his side, following along his right side as they made their way from out of the Chambers. As normal, Malefor and Carith were to follow soon later once the two had stood up. Now with the two making their way past Cyril's left and out to the hallway, they turned to their left and sped up some to catch up to the other two. Listening in as talking was heard from behind him, Cyril turned his head around to see that the other Guardians were slowly making their way to the back, into the Sleeping Chambers. As for Ersa and Volteer, they had just passed his right once he had turned to see the others as they made their way back to their room. Not sure of what he wanted to do, he turned his head to the left to face the right side of the hallway, wondering if he should go after her or not. _I'm not giving up on you, Flair. As long as I live and breath._ Making himself a promise, he now turned his body around, walking to the back room along with the others. Having walked past Terrador and Trish, he heard some of the conversation before making it out of hearing range.

"This was a rather, eventful day, but, I promise, things will only get better," Terrador promised her, "I'm, hoping you'll stay around?"

"Hehe, well I mean, obviously. I... also don't have a home anymore so, this... is kinda the only place I can live now," Trish gave off a slight giggle, even though he could hear the still sadness being present, "Then again, this is your building, so if you, wish me to leave..."

"No no no!" He quickly rejected, making her give wide eyes, "I mean... Ahem... I would never do such a thing to anyone. I'm rather excited to talk with you some more tomorrow, but so you can get some sleep, may I show you to a room so you may sleep?"

"Oh, yeah, uh... about... that..."

"Are, you okay?"

"Well, it's just, I... Ugh..."

"Trish, it's okay, you can talk to me about what ever it is."

"It's... just... well, after today, I'm rather... scared."

"I'm... sorry to hear."

"No no no, it's nothing you did. It's just... With my ex, Flair, and what ever else might come, I'm rather... scared to... sleep alone."

"If it would make you feel better, I'd be more then happy to keep you company tonight."

"You... Really would?"

"That's... up to you though... I don't want..."

"I would love to!" Trish quickly agreed before he could have any thought against her staying with him tonight.

"Hehe, well then, shall I, show you the way?"

"Yes... please."

* * *

"Goodnight, Malefor, Carith," Cynder waved a paw to the two from the entrance way of her and Spyro's room, and seeing as the other two waved at her before shutting their door, she now did the same, giving off a slight sigh as she did, "What a day..." Feeling her body shiver from a sudden feeling lightning up her body in a pleasuring way, she raised her head before licking her lips, knowing of what was to come, "So soon I see," Turning around to face the bed in the back of the room, Spyro sat down in the middle of it, turned into his darkened purple form and wings sprawled out with his chest puffed out, "You think your form, intimidates me?"

"Intimidate? No. But does it satisfy you? Yes," Giving off his low growl in an already different, deep, and evil voice made Cynder shiver in delight for what was to come.

"And how do you know that?" Cynder questioned as she tested him, making it over to the bed on his left side.

"Because I don't even need to use my dark powers to force you over to me."

"Oh?" Now making it up and onto the bed, Cynder now wished to see what challenges she had to face, "Well it doesn't matter what such things my body does, you'll never make me turn against my friends. They've entrusted me to stop your madness before it's too late."

"Hehe, is that the story you wish to take?"

"You gonna go along with it?" She smiled.

"Hum... Well, the only way for you to stop the destruction of this world, is if you become my lover. If not..." His words made Cynder remember back to what Flint had threatened, which he had no idea of, but he immediately stopped his words as she gasped, backing away from him and looking in his eyes with fear, "Whoa, Cynder, are you okay?" Even though she could feel herself calming her own self down, he made it much easier for her, taking a couple of steps to her before putting his wings around her back and soothing her, "What's wrong, my love... Do I need to come out from my dark form?"

"No... No that's... It's just... Your words reminded me of a threat in that dream that I had, that's all..."

"What, threat was it?"

"Remember what I told you, before the attack?"

"You told me a lot."

"Hehe, yeah, sorry, that... wasn't very helpful... It was about how a dragon got a hold of the darkness. If I would've given myself up to him, he would've never attacked. I guess, hearing you say the same thing is just... brining back some bad memories."

"Oh... Sorry, my love... I didn't wish to do that."

"With the amount that you've had to deal with over this week, it's okay. Plus, I was the one who brought it up."

"So then, shall we go back to the original plan?"

Giving off a smile, Cynder got back into character for their little story, "I'll never love you!"

"You think your words would stop me?" Since his wings were already on her back, he moved his wing down, pushed at her back side, and willingly, Cynder eased herself down onto her back, allowing for Spyro to now move up and stand over her, "I've seen it in your eyes; your lust for me. I could give you this love if you just stop fighting this fact," Taking his wings from her back, she only showed her teeth as she growled up to him, not admitting anything to him, "That's fine," Moving his head down to her lips, he gave an evil smirk to her before warming up his breath some to make her lips quiver, "You'll understand soon just how much you need me."

To help with the mood some, he moved his mouth down to the top of her neck. With his tongue, this let slip a shiver of pleasure as he licked across the top side of her neck from underneath her head. Biting her lip while already submitting to him, Spyro made sure to keep up what he was doing. Now making it up to her left cheek, doing as he did with her neck, he gave her a small lick compared to before, but enough to make her body shiver in delight. Having backed his head off while he licked his lips, smiling to see she was trying to fight against it, Spyro knew she couldn't resist any longer, "Tasty one you are."

"Do. Your. Worst," Cynder growled, but even for herself, she couldn't help but smile up to him.

"You'll be tasting my lips for the rest of your life then."

"Yes! I mean! You evil dragon you."

"Hehe, excited I see?"

"Having you over me always gets me excited, remember?"

"Let me make sure to keep the excitement."

Doing as he's wanted to since the day started, he was finally able to move his lips down to her. Once pressed together with hers, the two shared the small kiss, closing eyes and enjoying themselves. But after only a couple of seconds, the small peck turned into more as they opened their mouths before closing them on one another's lips to get more of what they wished to have. With each slide off of one another's lips let slip another pleased moan or groan from one or the other. This satisfying feeling Spyro wished to treasure, same as her, but for a second, he had to stop, which she didn't understand why, but he made sure to keep his talk short, "You've been waiting for this just as long as I have, haven't you."

"Ever since we didn't have privacy in the room last night, I've begged for this..."

"Am I... disappointing so far..."

"Keep those lips on mine, do as you were, and I just think, you'll make me understand just how much I need you... Even as much as I already know that."

"I... Love you, so much, Cynder."

"I love you too, Spyro."


	28. Chapter 28: A Change In Heart

Chapter 28: A Change In Heart

 _"Flair..." Cyril gave off a soft, almost weak sounding voice. "If you ever die before I kill you, I will kill myself, find you in the afterlife, and kill you there then!" Flair cried, trying to hide her sadness by giving off a little more of a growl. Giving off a slight smile, Cyril tried to make things a little better, or at least, he hoped it would've, "It's... comforting to hear that, I'll still be able to see you even in the afterlife." Giving wide eyes and a soft gasp, she clenched her teeth shut before opening her mouth wide and yelling, "SHUT UP!"_

* * *

Laying belly down on his bed faced straight to the door and near wide awake, Cyril couldn't stop thinking about what he had seen from Flair, what he knew was or wasn't the real side to her. While his head had rested on his two paws that laid out in front of him, he couldn't take it any longer and brought up his head now, only insuring that he wouldn't be going to bed anytime soon. _Why does no one else see it? Maybe the girls do, or maybe someone else does but... they don't wish to speak up... And after what happened to Spyro, I could understand but, even still... This... This isn't right, something isn't right. I have to talk to her, one on one as I did the first night._ Sitting up from his bed, while he was all for with his plan, there were still a few bumps that he didn't know how he would be able to face. _But if she hurts me, how would I heal myself? I would have to go outside of Warfang to heal myself... or I could use the Training Room... But what if they wake up and see my wound? Or, what if she really does kill me this time?_ Scared of all that was to go wrong, he growled at himself with all the negative he was thinking about, rather then the positive. _When she fell on my chest... She was calmed... Something about her was different. Surely she would've, could've, killed me, but why... why did it seem like she had given up? Why didn't she kill me?_ Cyril now had his mind made up on this situation as he could no longer ignore this gut feeling that he had. Moving his head to look to his left, he watched as the other two Guardians and the females all slept rather quietly; not even a single snore, just simple, easy breathing. _Now that Trish is cuddled to Terrador, he's finally stopped snoring... Now it's rather quiet in here._ Raising his wing slightly from his side, he looked to it, wondering, as he had hopes to make a change. _Having her under my wing, even after all she has done brings me nothing but comfort... I... I need to help her, I have to._ Tucking his wing back to his side, he turned to his left, stood up, and climbed down from his bed. Making it to the floor with a slight clicking from his claws as they touched the ground, he stayed low to the ground as he made his way over to the door. It was rather simple for him as he was very nimble. Making it up to the door, he did as normal, grabbing it, twisting it, and opening it.

Making it out of the Chambers, Cyril turned as he closed it, making sure no one noticed him once he had left. Not seeing anyone's head having been moved since he got up, it was a good sign that he was in the clear. Pushing the door shut, it clicked, making him let out a sigh as he now knew he was in the clear. But immediately, he let off a hard shiver as he stood up straight, scales doing the same as his body. _Flair... wouldn't be waiting in the Chambers to kill me... would she?_ Swallowing hard, he was left with no choice but to hope that his begging would let her hear him out, "Flair... please, just... Let me explain," Turning his body slowly but surely, he was ready for an attack, but once he had turned around, the Chambers were completely empty, and for some reason, this made him frown, "Flair...?"

* * *

 _Why do I even bother..._ Flair gave off a sigh, sitting down on the bed in her room, still awake from yesterday, thinking about all that had happened since she had gotten here. _You shouldn't be doing this. You're only delaying the inevitable because of what you've felt in the past... Don't let him get to you._ Having thought about it, her mind started to drift off to all that Cyril had said to her, what he had done for her when she was sure he wouldn't have. _Don't... Let it... get to you._ Since these thoughts started to cloud everything she had been thinking about, it started to bring back her emotions of which she had shut off so long ago. Her breathing suddenly kicked up as she took a sudden inhale before exhaling. To make it worse for her, her chest started to burn, forcing her to bring a paw up and clench it on her chest. _Damn it!_ Adding to her shivers grew a tear that tried to form in her eye, but she didn't allow for this to take form. Clenching her eyes shut, she warmed her body up quickly, letting the tear hiss as it evaporated on her face. Now with the tear gone, she opened her eyes up, but was only met with more watery eyes. Soon after, Flair gave off soft cries to how she was feeling, not wishing to feel this way at all. _See what this brings you? Nothing but pain... So get over yourself and... Kill him._ Shaking her head to her words, another voice in her mind told her otherwise. _But I can't._ Sniffling some as her tears now fell from her face, she didn't care to do anything about it now, feeling as though, even if she did, it would come back stronger then before. Closing her eyes once again, this let her tears drip down from off her eyes and onto the bed below, staining it with her tears. While her cries were loud, she was able to hear what sounded like a knock. Picking up her head and opening her eyes some, she tried to control herself as she listened. _Was... Was that someone?_ Once again hearing a knock, it was coming from her door, which she paid attention to. Clearing her voice, she wiped off some of her tears and went back to her aggressive sounding voice, "Who is it?"

"Flair, it's, me, Cyril. May I come in?" He spoke from the other side of the door.

 _Cyril?!_ Flair said his name in her thoughts, now giving wide eyes for him even being out this late. Shaking off the rest of her tears, she showed her teeth, finding this to be a rather perfect timing for her. Making her way off the bed, she spoke now as to keep her voice at the back of the room, "You may come in."

Making her way over to the door as fast as she could without making a sound, she was able to make it with ease, now back first against the right side of the wall that connected to the door. Hearing the door click, she watched as it had opened, and the very first thing she was able to see was the slight frown on Cyril's face as he had entered. _So you've come to die, have you?_ Now entered to the room, Cyril shut the door behind himself with his tail, and once the door had clicked, he picked his head up some to see the room was empty, which he questioned, "Flair?"

Unknowing of her being behind him, she acted fast. Coming off from the wall and down to all fours, she eased up to his left side as this was what she was nearest to. Using her arm, she swung it up to his neck and slammed it right in the middle. This sudden hit made him cough outwards rather violently. The force she used to push against his neck pushed him upwards, off his front two paws. Using her tail as she normally did, she brought it to his back two paws. Swinging her tail forward, this now got him off his back two paws as his body was now falling backwards. Without any support, there wasn't much for Cyril to do. Once his back hit the ground, he coughed upwards for a second before having his neck slammed back down to the ground by Flair's arm. Twisting herself around, she jumped up to the top of him, now looking down on him. Taking her arm from his neck, she moved it over his mouth now to shut him up as she once had before. Knowing she would've already needed to use it, she brought her tail blade around to her right side, closest to his heart, which she knew she was going to take out later. Hearing him breath out his noise in slight pain, Flair growled for the fact that he was even in her room, "You really are stupid, aren't you. You think this is a game? You think all cause I breath, that makes me good?" Seeing the sadness in his eyes, she also saw that he wasn't trying to struggle or anything of the sort to stop her from what she was doing, "Stop acting like you can help me! And stop acting like the good guy here. All you've been trying to do is get with me cause I'm an easy target. No matter where I go, you won't leave me the hell alone, even after all I've done to you. But now that you've come so far, you finally deserve that reward you've been waiting for," Sharpening her tail blade, she brought it right to top of his chest, and resting it there, she gave him a choice, "Alright, Cyril, I'll tell you what. You either fight me off of you, or, this blade of mine will go right through your chest, and I'll make sure it goes through that heart of yours."

Not saying or fighting against what she had said, all Cyril wanted to do was shake his head, which he only did slightly to show he wouldn't hurt her. This show of innocents only fuelled her rage, as did all the other times he had done something like this before. Clenching her teeth for only a second, she growled at him in a low, soft tone, "Then die."

With a quick thrust, her blade stabbed right into his chest, making him let out a loud, painful growl. Bringing his chest up some from the pain as he couldn't do anything to put pressure over the pain, he fell back to his back, breathing much more intensely through his noise as he tried to control the pain. Finding joy in what she was doing, Flair made sure to twist and turn her blade inside his chest, making things as worse as possible for him. This worked well for her as every time she had, Cyril clenched his eyes shut, let out a growl, and continued to breath through his noise as hard as he could. Now with her blade inside of his body, she eased her blade and started to search for his heart. Once having found it, she let out a small gasp, feeling it beat right against her blade. It was beating rather fast, but this was understandable, and she even called him out on it, "Awwww... Is someone scared of dying?" Caressing her blade against his heart, she was easy as she moved it up and down upon it, hoping to invoke fear in him, "What a lovely heart beat you have. Would be a shame if I silenced it. I mean, just think; All it would take is me sharpening my blade just a little, and, pop... No more pulsing. Kinda like what I said about your neck," Still her words had no effect on him and she watched as all he did now was clench his eyes shut and shed tears as though he wished for death, "Open your eyes!" Doing as he was told, he looked into her eyes to see she herself was started to tear up as well, but he needed to figure out why, "I'm not going to keep playing cat and mouse with you, understand! Now it's either you stop me here and now, or I'll pop your heart wide open!" Once again, he shuck his head, not going along with what she was saying, which once again brought up her frustration, "WHY!" Yanking her paw off his mouth and slapping it down right to his left, she begged for an answer, "Why won't you just attack me?! Aren't you scared of death?!"

"I... Told you, I'd give my life to make yours better... If this is what has to... happen... Then I'm okay with it," Cyril tried to soothe her, but as with all his words, all his actions, it made things worse.

"You barely know me!"

"Flair... we've been here before... I don't need to know you to know that you're hurting."

"I'm not the one with a blade in my chest with near seconds to death!"

"Hehe, you, got me there."

"This isn't supposed to be funny!"

"Flair, please, what will it take to show you that all I wish to do is help?"

"Nothing!"

"Do you wish for help?"

"No!"

"Do you need help?"

"I don't need help of any kind!"

"Then when you're feeling down and life knocks you out, who do you turn to?"

"I only need myself!"

"Does that not... get lonely after awhile?"

"I choose to be alone."

"And when you don't wish to be, who will be there for you?"

"I've never needed help."

"Then who helped you when you were a Hatchling? Who was there for you when you grew?"

"I had no one! I grew up on my own."

"Then what was it said yesterday? About how your actions made you lose everything?" Giving a gasp, she knew exactly what he was talking about, "It sounded like you had it all: A family, friends, a lover, and you lost all that. You said your actions made you lose everything, but why, how, and what made this all happen in the first place?" She didn't answer, but rather, it seemed like what he was saying was making her remember back to what's happened, and so, he tried his best to help, "Please, Flair... Trust me... Talk to me about what's happened."

"Once you learn the truth, you'll turn your back on me too!" Flair finally spoke, not wishing to say anything else afterwards.

"Is that why you've been so scared to talk to me about what's happened, because you don't what to lose someone else?" His words now made her give off shivers, but not from anger, but rather a realisation of sadness, "You enjoy living here, don't you? And by saying something, you think you'd lose another family?"

"Shut... up... please..." Flair begged.

Not wishing to cause her anymore pain, he did as he was told. Now that things had gone quiet, Cyril heard nothing but her cries as he looked up to her, watching as she cried over his chest. Not able to support herself anymore, she eased her body down onto his, which, feeling her body lay down near his wound put pressure near it, making him growl some more, but he didn't wish for her to hear this. Luckily, he was good enough about it that he took most of the pain. Now laid on his chest, Flair moved her head up to his neck before resting it sideways on it. Having this happened for the second time, he was barely able to see her as he looked down to she her laying body. Her fins had all eased out, her body moved only when she breathed, and her blade in his chest now rested on the top of his heart. Doing as he once had before, he brought up a paw, settled it on the back of her neck, and once he laid his head back, he started to pet the back of her neck. Moving his paw down her neck, he picked it up before putting it back up to the top of her neck and doing the same thing again and again. With things seeming to have calmed down, Cyril gave a nice, easy sigh, and feeling comfortable once again with her, this got him thinking about what he was feeling now, _This is the second time I've felt so nice around here even after seeing all that's happened... Hehe... High risk high reward as Malefor would say... But... While her comfort is nice... I have to figure out what's wrong, I need to... But how do I get her to talk about it?_ Feeling her body starting to shift, he came from without his thoughts and took his paw from off the back of her neck. Watching as she stood up above him, he saw what looked like a blush, but rather then asking why, he stayed quiet.

"If you tell anyone what I'm about to tell you, I will kill you, understand," Her voice was much smoother, something he's never heard before, but it sent shivers through his spine, making him smile even.

"I promise, I won't tell anyone. As I've said, anything you say or do, I will not say anything unless you give permission," Cyril swore, hoping this would let her give him the trust he wished for.

She didn't say anything to his words, but what surprised him was the warning she gave him, "I'm... Taking my blade out of your chest so just... be prepared for the pain, okay?"

"Oh... Thank you, for the warning."

"Yeah Yeah, what ever."

Ready for the pain, she was nice, slow, and easy as she pulled her blade out. This surprised him as, with how easy she was, he didn't feel much pain at all. With how smooth she did it, her blade came out clean of his blood as it had rubbed against the sides of his wound. Now with the blade out, he reached a paw around to his chest and froze over the wound to keep the blood from spilling out. Once she had backed off away from his body, he was able to roll himself over back onto his fours. Letting off a sigh, glad he was still able to live and breath, Cyril stood back up, looked behind himself, and thanked her, "Thank you, Flair, for not killing me."

"Stop thanking me for things, alright," She tried to growl, but her voice was much easier then she would've liked.

Making it over to the bed, she climbed back up onto it. Now back in the middle of the bed, she turned around to face him. Bringing up a paw and snapping her fingers, she pointed next to herself, "Either get over here, or get out," He gave a smile to see she was truthful with her words, and as he was making it over to her, she gave the rules, "Listen, Cyril, don't act like you've changed me. I'm just going to tell you what's happened, then I'll be killing my witnesses as I should've yesterday," Once he had reached the bed and climbed up on it, he turned and stood to her left side, "You say anything during what I'm saying, I kill you. You lie to me, I kill you. You make fun of something that happened to me, I, will, kill you."

"So, all I need to do is just, not disappoint you?" Cyril asked.

"What did I just say, about talking when I'm explaining?"

"Oh... sorry..."

"But, to answer your question, I will give you three strikes, alright. You piss me off to the third, and I'll kill you."

"I will not disappoint, I swear... But, before you do start, would you, like some comfort under my wing?"

"I'm not falling in love with you."

"Flair, I'm here to help, not form a relationship... It's up to you."

"I'm... good... for now."

"How... bad will this story get...?"

"Just... Ugh... I shouldn't even be doing this!"

"No no no! Flair, please," Putting a paw over hers and looking into her eyes, he begged, "Please... Trust me... Please... I'll be right here if you need me, I swear."

Giving off a growl, she looked away from him for a second. Taking his paw back from hers, he looked to her in fear that she would change her mind, but once she had sat down, he gave a smile. Doing the same as her, he sat down with her, waiting with patience for her to start her story. Seeing her give off a rather bad shiver, he wanted to say something, but fought back against it as he knew he would've made things worse. _Am I... really about to do this?_ Flair thought to herself. Bringing a paw up and looking down at her chest, she was honest with herself. _I'd be lying if I said... I... wasn't hopeful... And if he does lie to me, then I will know for a fact that I can kill him._ Taking her paw down from her chest, she gave a sigh, looked to him, and started her story, "This... happened more then a year ago... It was my mother's sister's birthday, and the sister was going to get married with her mate. And so... My mother wanted to go out and find something special for her sister. My dad suggested to see a blacksmith as they could make something for her, but my mother rejected it as she wanted something that couldn't be made, something that was special. Once having looked around many places, I... told my lover about what was going on, and his dad knew of a prefect spot. Unfortunately, this spot was, a good ways from Warfang; About a quarter mile... Once I told my mother, she was all for it, and I was, rather glad to have helped. My lover's dad asked if they would've needed help, but my dad said no as we would've been in and out before anything could happen... With us about to head out, I told all the girls in my group that I would grab a gem as well as, having been with Argus for so long, I was... ready to be his mate... Hehe, I mean, hell, we've been together for almost six months... And, if you were wondering how many girls were in my group... it was about five, each with their own lovers as well... Sound familiar?"

Cyril knew what she was talking about and ran it through in his own mind, _If Trish joined Terrador, that's one. Then Claire, Ersa, Carith, and Cynder... That would make five... Which means... she thinks the past would repeat itself, doesn't she._ Wanting to respond, he opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it, which she noticed. Instead of saying something, he gave a frown while nodding. Giving a sigh, Flair continued with her backstory, "I kissed my love before we left, promising him we'd be back. Before we left though, the dad of my lover saw that my mom was... pregnant," Letting out a gasp, Cyril already didn't see this going well and started to connect the pieces, "My mom said she would be fine, and even my dad said that, she was a strong women. And me, being his daughter, he said he didn't raise no weakling. So, the dad backed off and we... started our journey... It took us a bit of time to reach where we needed to, but once we found the spot Argus's dad had spoken of, we flew down and started our search. We started our search quick, trying not to waste anymore time then we needed to. It took some time but, after a while, I had found the gem we were looking for. Just as I turned to tell my mom I had found it... she fell to the floor... crying... bleeding... and in front of her were some dark forces that slowly grew in numbers."

Her shivering started to grew as she couldn't handle remembering back to what she had seen, what had happened, but this is where Cyril knew he needed to step in. Scooting over some, his side touched hers, and once he draped a wing over her back, he looked to her to see if this would've helped. It did seem to help a little as she was able to look at him for only a second, giving him a smile. This smile made his eyes grow wide as he hadn't seen her sincerely smile to him before, but he broke from this feeling of joy as he saw tears starting to form out of her eyes. Facing straight and not looking to him, she continued her story, "My dad responded quickly, rushing over to her and dealing with them. But as he had, more and more started to appear. After a while... it got... bad and... my dad was knocked down... and I... I tried my best... I... really did... But with my dad down, he looked to see my mother who was being attacked. He looked back to me and yelled with all he could... 'Get over there and help her'... I... I froze... I... I couldn't do anything... And I... I watched as they... Killed... my mother... I tried my best to snap out of it, I... I did but I... I couldn't...! My dad pinned me to be this, strong girl, but I've... I never knew such a day was to come... This is when my dad was able to get back up and run over to help my mother... Once he reached her, he killed the rest, and I... watched... as he pulled her to him and cried, yelled, begged for her to wake... But she didn't... We didn't know the area, there wasn't any gems around, he knew there were more enemies, and so... my... dad made the decision that she... she was beyond... saving..."

Hearing this now made Cyril's body tease, but not from anger, but pure frustration as nothing he was hearing made sense to him. This growl made Flair shiver as she believed it was for her, but trying her best, she ignored it for now, continuing with the story, "Once we had made it back to Warfang... This is when my dad... stopped talking to me all together... When we came back... Everyone wondered where my mother was... My dad looked to me, growled, and said, 'Ask my failure of a daughter'... This was when... my life... ended... And it was all because of my failure... because of what I did, because of what I was too scared to do...! I... failed... everyone... I lost... everyone after this day... My dad turned everyone against me and, soon... I was... all alone," Now with some of her story having been concluded, she didn't feel anything else needed to be said, "That's all I'm going to say, alright... I don't want you to have fire power to use against me when we fight again... And I don't want you searching for my dad to get to me... It'll only make things worse... Just... trust me on that," Looking to her left and seeing Cyril flustered with anger as he looked to the bed, teeth showing and what seemed like he was ready to attack, she growled at him, thinking this was to her, "You may speak now."

"Who the hell does he have the right to call a failure?!" Cyril finally blurted out now that he was able, and this sudden rage surprised her, "He's not a father and never should've been! If he had the strength to yell at you, he should've had the strength to get up and save your mother, his mate! He should've died that day, not her, and the fact that he gave up, rather then dying to try and save her shows just how much of a piece of shit he was! And after all that you went through, he calls you a failure?! What's your father's name so I can find where he lives and deal with him myself!"

"I'm done with that life, Cyril. What my father did has already effected me, and there's nothing I can do to change that."

"Why are you letting him off so easily?!"

"Because... Even with how I am... I don't fear death, nor do I fear killing someone... But after what he's said to me, after he... slapped me across the face... I can't... I'll freeze up in emotions as I have before and it will be pointless... I... can't... kill him... It would even bring up memories of what life I use to have, what I... what I lost... I've tried before... so I know what this all feels like."

"Then let me kill him."

"And if he kills you?"

"I'll make sure to over prepare and bring Spyro. He doesn't deserve to live."

"Neither did I... apparently..."

"Flair... don't listen to anything he has ever said to you."

"I control my own life. I don't need you backing me up, alright," Backing away from his wing, she moved over some before laying down on her belly and readying herself for sleep, "I gave you some of my backstory, and you don't need nor deserve to hear the rest. Now leave before I turn back and kill you for even having been in here when you should've died by me long ago," Closing her eyes, she rested her head down on her front two paws, and listening for him to have moved, she didn't hear anything at all, "Cyril..." Opening her left eye to look at him, she could see he was struggling on what to do, but she didn't give him a choice, "Get out of my room or else."

"You don't deserve to be alone!" Cyril rejected against what she told him to do.

"I'm not going to say this again, get, out, of my room."

"Flair, don't you miss that life? You said these emotions come back to the life you use to have, but what happened to your lover? Did he not become your mate?"

"Cyril! Out!" Flair yelled, standing up to her fours once again.

"You said your dad turned everyone against you! Are you afraid he'd do the same to us if you ever got attached and stayed with us?!"

"That's why I don't care for any of you! He'd turn you all against me just as he did everyone else! He didn't care, they didn't care, and if he spoke to you, history would repeat itself, and I'm not going through that again!" Sharpening her fins, Flair knew she had spoken too much, and that her emotions had gotten to her as they had before, so she knew this needed to be fixed, "I never should've told you anything! I should've just killed you! And now with easy access to your heart, I'm just going to end this quick."

"I'd never betray you, Flair!"

"Shut up!"

Jumping over to him, Flair grabbed his neck, forced him upwards, then tossed him down onto his back. Just as his back hit the bed, she was already ready, jumping up on top of him and blade to her right. Not even wasting time to cover his mouth, she simply moved on as she brought her tail blade right near the entrance of his chest, hovering over the ice that covered the hole in his chest. Tapping the blade right at the shard of ice, Flair growled to him, commanding even, "Move this ice! If a shard stabs you in the heart before I do, I'm going to rip that out, stab your neck with it, and then slit your heart in two! So if you want an easy death, MOVE THE ICE!"

"No!" Cyril growled against her, "You truly have no one to go to, no one to trust or understand you, and knowing that now more then ever, I won't leave you."

"You don't have a choice. And you're proving my point that, now that you know of my past, you'll use it against me. Another reason why I knew I shouldn't have trusted you."

"Flair, please just... If you could have it all back, would you?"

"No!"

"Why? After all that you had, why not?"

"Because I don't want to lose it all over again!"

"And if you knew you wouldn't?"

"Then you're just lying!"

"If you had that life with your mate, knowing you'd die sooner or later, why would you have ever even met him? Why would you care about anything if you knew that we'd lose it all in the end? It's because everything in life has meaning, no matter how small. We push out these thoughts because they aren't what matters, it's what we make of life that matters! Think of the life where you never would've met him, what then?! You would've had nothing."

"I prefer nothing!"

"Then the warmth he gave you, the love he showed you, the memories you made with him, you prefer to never have had any of that at all?"

"Yes!"

"Why?"

"Because now all those memories do is haunt me for what I had! The memories of what could've been, the life I could've had!" Flair cried, and now with her thinking about such thoughts again, her fins all eased slowly back down to a resting state, "Even if I stay here and make more memories, you all will die sooner or later and I will once again be all alone, stuck with the memories of what I once had... I've already tried to kill myself before, and if I go through it again... I... I couldn't, do it... I... Don't want to die alone... But I don't want to die knowing I couldn't have been alone..." Her words made Cyril give a frown as he understood where she was coming from, but he didn't know how to help, at least, for the time being, "So if you want to help so badly, let me know that! Let me know that... I will die alone... And that this is the only way... please..."

Once again, she couldn't handle the emotions that were eating at her and fell down onto his chest, unable to support her own self. Crying down over his neck, Cyril gave a frown for this having happened once again, and he knew he needed to break this cycle. _She can't keep doing this to herself... I have to say something, I have to think of what to say to her,_ Thinking of what to say, nothing came to mind for him to say, but rather then thinking about it, Cyril just spoke on how he felt about such a thing, "Flair..." Once again as he had done before, he raised up his paw, put it to the back of her neck, and petted her, "I wished my parents were still alive for me to talk with them... I really do... and when I lost them to the Dark Master... I was... kinda like how you are now... It took a while for me to get better, even with the help of the other Guardians, but one thing that helped the most was the fact of... I'm never alone no matter how much I try to be... Volteer lost his parents as well to the Dark Master... And while losing someone is... tough... pushing those away from you when you could've made memories with them will only hurt more as you'll just make more regret."

"What... do you mean?" She spoke, trying to control her cries.

"Say if you wanted to go to the beach with your parents. If you did, you never have to regret not doing it, cause you did. Doing all that you can in life makes it worth living. Even after I lost my parents, I look at all that we did, rather than not. And because of this, I laugh at all the memories I have being with them, and I enjoyed every second of it. If I was able to have my parents back, even though I knew they'd die sooner or later, I'd make every single second with them, as I always should've."

"But then when they die, it would hurt for them to leave."

"I wouldn't lie... Being alone would... hurt... But that's when I look to my family for help as I had before... Even after what the Dark Master had done, I don't hold Malefor against what he's done cause... that won't bring them back... And because I remember what my friends told me, I'm able to laugh, cry, smile, frown, and so much more... And these memories we create... Well... Volteer once told me... with all these memories you smile on, everything that you do... when you die... you can smile on what you've done, knowing you have no regrets... knowing... Life was amazing."

"And what will you do when you are the last to die, and no one is there to hold your paw?"

"Well... I hope to have a son or daughter in the future do such a thing for me... But if it was just me, dying by myself... I'd... smile... while it may seem I'm alone, all those who were with me, still are. They hold my paw in the afterlife, and once I get there, we can all live our lives all over again as we wish... Those memories of everyone will only make me smile, as they always do, knowing... Hehe... Life truly was amazing... And also, while I may lose many in my life, that just gives me that much more to look forward to once I die, all the friendly faces I'd see... It's all about those memories, the friendships you make... And even barley knowing you, Flair... I hope to make many more memories with you as well... That is... If you'd want to as well."

"But... Why...? All I've done is try to kill you... Why would you wish to make memories with someone who's only hurt you?"

"Malefor existing does nothing but hurt me, but I still make plenty of memories being around him," Cyril chuckled, but since she hadn't said anything after he said this, he knew this wasn't what she wanted to hear, "Ahem... Sorry... What I mean is, I see this whole situation as a dark enemy kind of threat. You have two sides to you; Your true self, and the corrupted side that's been effected by the darkness. You attacking me, I will always just blame it on the darkness. So, no, you've never hurt me. And also, no, I'm not going to turn against you if we ever fight and say it was all your fault. One, I'd deserve death for that, and two... I don't ever see me fighting you, so I'm not worried about such a thing."

"So then... you do agree that, if I give a good reason, I can kill you?" Flair asked, now picking up her head and looking down on him.

"Hehe, oh no. That means I did something and you are saying this so you can kill me. Am I right?"

"For once... No... I'm not, trying to kill you... I just want to see how powerful this trust is that you're laying on."

"As powerful as Spyro, that's what this trust is."

"Mighty powerful then."

"Don't you mean mighty beautiful?"

"Who? Spyro?"

"Hehe, no, not Spyro. You, Flair."

Giving off a sigh, she couldn't help but smile some which she showed her teeth for, "Alright you kiss ass. Your life is already saved, you don't have to keep up this buttering."

"You know you love it."

"Don't tell me what I should or shouldn't love, understand."

"Sorry... Yes ma'am."

"I do have to ask though. Why do you pet my fins knowing what they could do to your paw?"

"Oh, sorry," Taking his paw back from the back of her neck, he explained himself, "I just find it, so soothing. I know you aren't deadly, I know you can be kind and caring, and when you rest on my chest, when I feel how soft you really are... It just shows that you never deserved what happened to you in life, no one ever should experience such things. I also do it cause I, hope it brings you comfort, knowing someone is there for you and what not... If... You don't ever want me to do it again, you can..."

"No," Flair was quick with her response, "Just wanted to make sure you weren't trying to seduce me."

"Hehe. Why do you keep thinking I'm trying to mate with you?"

"I just don't... trust any one any more... And... before I met Argus, I did have another guy who was trying to be quick with me. But since he didn't get with me in the few days we were together... He up and left... And then I met Argus... And now that he's left me, and you're trying to help me... I just... I don't care to get attached emotionally if I'm just going to keep bouncing to one guy after another."

"I'm here to help, nothing else. No love, no kissing, just comfort, I promise."

"Another promise? You know I'm not stupid. I'll remember all these so I can have a reason to kill you sooner."

"You think that scares me? I know I won't disappoint you."

"While I would say something against that... You never even got one strike from me while I was talking. So I'm rather... impressed."

"As Malefor said; It's all about that respect."

"Don't listen to him."

"Hehe, I try not to most of the time."

With their talk having concluded, Flair felt there wasn't much more to be said. Standing back up and off of him on her own, she backed off from his body which allowed him to roll back to his four paws. Once he was able to stand, Cyril watched as Flair laid back down near the middle of the bed, belly flat and paws in front of her, which she rested her head on. She didn't say anything to him, but instead, she just closed her eyes, and it seemed like she was readying herself for bed. Cyril stood there, being quiet for the time being as he didn't know what to do or say as he didn't wish to upset her.

"Either stay here, or get out," Flair finally spoke, making him give wide eyes to what she was saying.

"You'd... let me sleep the night with you?" He asked in awe.

"Cyril... Either stay, or get out, I'm not saying again."

Now with a wide smile, Cyril knew exactly what he wanted to do. Moving over to her, he turned to his right, then his left, and now facing the door, he laid to his stomach right next to her. With his paws out in front of him, he gave off a pleased sigh that everything turned out okay. Looking to his side to see a tear drip from her eye, this made Cyril smile as he had an idea as to why, "Don't worry, Flair... I won't ever betray you... I promise... Another one... that I will protect you."

"I don't need protecting," Flair growled, but once she had said this, she eased her self and said something else, "But it's... good to know I have someone watching out for me."

Finishing her words, Flair scooted her body some, enough so that her entire side touched Cyril's, making him give wide eyes to her movement. Knowing he shouldn't say anything to what was happening, this was the time for him to go with the flow. Bringing his wing from out between his side and hers, he raised it over her body before draping it down over her, covering her side in his cool blue wing. He could feel her body was rather warm, so, taking initiative, he cooled his body down, which in turn, did the same to her. Waiting to see if he would get a response, a shiver from her was a good enough one that he needed to warm himself up some. Easing off his powers, Cyril felt Flair snuggle up to his body some more, and since she hadn't said anything, he looked down to see if she would've had a reaction to what he was doing. Once having seen the slight smile she had given, he too gave a smile to her, knowing that she was as comfortable as she wished to be. Comfortable, eased, and happy, this now gave him hope that he really had helped her, and he thought about this as he laid his head down to his paws, _I really hope I was able to help you, Flair... I really, really do._ With his head laid down close to hers, the two could each hear one another's breaths as they were so close to one another. _Having her so close to me, hearing someone else next to me and knowing who it is, it's rather... nice... and I'd be lying if I said I'm not going to enjoy this night._ Closing his eyes, he breathed a sigh of relief before his body eased up, easing up enough to give him a warm sense of comfort before falling asleep. Opening up her left eye to look at him, Flair was surprised to see he really had laid next to her, that he really was staying the night with her _So he... actually stayed? And he's even smiling, even though he knows what I could do to him in his sleep, just how easily I could kill him?_ Remembering all that he had said to her tonight, this made her let out a short sigh as she knew why. _He really... doesn't view me as a threat... I... knew it... I knew I should've killed him when I had the chance... Cause now that I didn't... I don't want to lose him._ Closing back her eye once again, hearing as his breathing grew soft, hers did too as she fell asleep with a smile on her face.

* * *

 _"I really wish there was something I can do, but if I see one more wound on your body from her, she's gone. I don't care what you say, understand?" Cyril didn't respond to him, only giving a sad frown, looking somewhat to the ground even as he wished he could think of something to do, "I'm sorry if what I'm doing will hurt you... But... I can't sit around and possibly have her do the same to you that she did to me," Now that he had taken his paw back down to the ground, Spyro looked back to the other Guardians and wished them a goodnight, "If she tries anything to any of you, report it. But for now, I shall be off to bed."_

* * *

Having left out an important detail, Cyril's body shivered as it woke itself up, remembering something that Spyro had said to him. Giving off a small growl as he didn't wish to wake, the wound that he knew was very much visible to any one had to be healed, or even at least hidden better. _Damn... I forgot all about what Spyro had said... And I can't think of anything to play off for my injury._ Raising his head up from off his paws, a stabbing pain shot through his chest. Looking down to his wound, it didn't seem to have gotten any better, but much worse as the area inside of it which he could see was turning blue, almost a purple color. _That's... definitely not good._ Bringing his paw up and covering it over the open wound, he knew he needed to get the wound healed, but he didn't know who to go to. _Spyro will surely kick her out, Ignitus is already suspicious, and... I don't know if anyone really would turn her in... I could just go to the Training Room, but..._ Taking his paw off the shard of ice that covered the hole, it seemed beyond help of what a normal gem could do to help him. _I need something more then just a red gem._ Knowing of only one place he could go for help, Cyril took his chances as he stood up on the bed, agreeing with himself, _I have to trust Volteer and Ersa... I know I can trust the others, I know I could... It's mainly just Spyro... And while I understand him, I wish... he'd understand me just as much._ Taking his wing from Flair's side, easing himself down off the bed before finally making it to the ground, this new feeling of loneliness made him shiver. _That's... new..._ Taking a look back behind himself to see Flair, he never felt such a pain before, but only something similar, _I've only ever felt this way when coming close to losing a friend, like with Volteer or Spyro... But why when I leave Flair... I... feel the same way now?_ Giving off a sigh for the time being, he tried his best to ignore what ever was going on with him and continued to make his way to the door once he had turned back to face straight. But another sharp pain stabbed at him, different then that of what he felt before, and this pain made him stop, look back, and think to himself on another topic. _Should I tell her where I'm going?_ It looked as though she was sleeping rather peacefully, smiling even, and rather then disturb her, he once again turned straight, gave a sigh, and breathed, "It's okay... She's okay... Just be quick."

Now trying to ignore the rest of his pain, Cyril headed straight for the door, trying to ignore any other thought that may stop him. _The longer I take, the higher of a chance someone will wake up and notice._ Making it up to the door, he reached his paw up, grabbed the door knob, twisted it, and slowly pulled the door inwards. Ducking his head out the door some, first he focused to his left, then his right, then his left again as he looked down the hallway. With no one in the halls, this gave a rather nice sigh for him, knowing he wouldn't have to worry about bumping into anyone else. Walking out into the hallway while grabbing the door with his paw and turning, he eased it to a close, but stopped just as the door touched the side of the frame. _I need to be quick about this._ Backing his paw down from the door knob, Cyril turned to his left and started to make his way to the mate's room. _No one better be in those Chambers._ Fearful of someone being out here without him knowing, the Chambers were just to his left. Passing right by the edge of the wall and looking into the Chambers, no one was there, making him give a huge sigh of relief. _Thank Ancestors._ Passing by the Chambers and making it over to Volteer and Ersa's room, he stood by the door, raised a paw, and gave a sigh. _Please... Don't be doing anything in there._ Knocking on the door, nothing. Trying once again, he got a response from what sounded like Ersa, "Come in."

 _Didn't expect them to actually be awake... Wait! If they are... No... No no no._ Pushing out the thoughts he had, Cyril proceeded as normal, opening the door now that he had permission. Once he had, he saw Ersa had picked her head up to look at him, still awake even during the middle of the night. Things for now seemed normal to him as he saw how they laid with one another. As normal, Ersa and Volteer both laid side by side with one another on their bellies with Volteer's wing being draped over his mate's back. Now having entered into the room, Cyril made his way to the middle of the room and went to speak, but Ersa spoke first, giggling as she had to mess with him, "I was talking to Volteer, Cyril."

"Talking to him about what?" Cyril questioned, not catching on at first, but once he had, he nearly threw up, "Ugh! Ew! Why did I need to know that?!"

"Stop messing with him, beautiful," Volteer chuckled, picking up his head and nuzzling his mate as he did, "Don't worry, Cyril. Me and Ersa were done hours ago."

"Stop! Talking!"

"Hehe, sorry, just messing with you."

"So what did Flair do to you this time?" Ersa asked, and seeing his wide eyes, she pointed to his chest, "That looks rather painful."

"No no no, it wasn't Flair, it was..."

"Cyril, we aren't going to tell Spyro."

"But... Why not? After what she said to all of you, I thought you all would've turned on her."

"One day we will get to her, I know we will, but constantly showing hostility to hostility will not change anything. But I'm hoping you had luck talking with her?"

"You could... say that... Let's just say, if I ever do wrong by her, I'm very much dead."

"Oh, so you should be fine, right?"

"I'm... Not ever going to disappoint, that's for sure. I've already made many promises to her, and I wish to keep them, all of them."

"Well, we believe in you."

"Thank you for the back up you two."

"Of course. But I'm assuming you came in here for some healing?"

"Hehe, yes, please."

"On the third table, closest to the bed. We should still have an enhanced red gem in one of those bottles."

Moving over to the tables, he made it to where he was told to go. Standing in front of the table, the first one that caught his eye was a red glowing liquid that shined in the bottle. Reaching over, picking up the bottle and inspecting it, he turned to face the two and asked them, "Is this the bottle?"

"That, looks like it," Ersa said, but once realising what that bottle was, she tried to stay calm as she warned him, "Actually... Hehe, you're going to laugh, Cyril. That bottle is a near molecular acid that will melt your insides if swallowed."

"Uhhhhhh... What?"

"Well, it would burn through your throat and neck, so you wouldn't really be able to swallow it. But uh, don't shake it cause, If you do, it may over spill and melt the scales on your paw... And the bone..." Swallowing hard now that he had looked at it, he was very, very careful as he turned to place it back down on the table, and once he had, she looked past his arm to see another red shining potion, "Oh, Cyril, that one next to where you just put down the bottle, that one should be it."

Looking to the right of the bottle, Cyril saw the other one, and picking it up slowly, he looked to her and asked, "This one?"

"Yes."

"Hehe, Ersa, are you trying to kill him?" Volteer chuckled, making both the two look at him, "That bottle is an experimental liquid firecracker. If he drinks that, his stomach would pop into a million pieces."

"Oh, hehe, sorry, Cyril."

"What did I ever do to you, Ersa?!" Cyril cried, feeling as she was out to get him, "And why in the hell do you two have such deadly things just lying on the table?! I mean, what if one of them fell and they all activated at the same time?!"

"That's what the gem underneath the table is for," Looking away from him for a second, Cyril looked underneath the table to see a glowing green and blue colored gem, and once having seen it, he looked back to Volteer and listened as he continued to speak, "That gem detects when something goes wrong. So if you were to drop that liquid firecracker on the floor, it would launch out from its spot and absorb the fallen liquid, almost as though it has a mind of it's own."

"That... Actually sounds really cool. Can I drop this bottle then?"

"No. One, that took a while to come up with so you'd be outside of Warfang grabbing all the stuff it took to make it. And two, that gem can only handle so much, and I'd prefer to not waste the space inside of it for something that was done on purpose... And also that gem is pretty rare to find, so you'd be digging through the earth in search for it."

"Most of these gems, I was the one who grabbed them." Ersa wanted to point out

"You grabbed these gems?"

"You got a problem with me grabbing those gems?"

"Yeah, how come it wasn't me you grabbed?" Volteer flirted with her, moving in close to her lips.

"Get on your back right now and I'll fix that," Ersa purred back to him, getting close enough for their noises to touch.

"Can I please just get healed so I can leave!" Cyril cried out, not wishing to be here any longer.

"Oh, yeah... Ahem. It's the one next to where you picked up the second one," Volteer controlled himself for the time being as he backed his head up from his mate's to make sure Cyril grabbed the right one.

Looking back to the table, Cyril placed down the bottle he had in his paw, and to his right was another red looking liquid which he pointed at and asked, "Are you sure it's this one? Like, super positive?"

"Yes, it's that one. The rem gem liquid has some green floating in it as we added some green gems as well just to give a little more kick," Seeing Cyril now pick up the bottle, Volteer watched as he went to drink the bottle as it was already opened, but he stopped him, "Cyril, wait!" Brining the bottle down some, Cyril gave a sigh as he wondered what it could be this time, "I forgot. You might want to take that ice from your chest. With how much stronger this is, as it heals you, there is a possibility that your new chest cover once it heals back will crush the ice, sending the shards both out, and in... possibly stabbing straight into your heart."

"Why, if you're so smart, is it taking you this long to tell me something like that? Especially you, Ersa. Do you two want me dead or something?"

"No, we are just... come back from what we did."

"Oh sweet Ancestors, why the hell did I ask."

Sitting down to the ground, placing a paw over his chest and readying the bottle by his lips, Cyril thought about this the best he could, _I guess I should cool down my body to slow my blood flow. Than afterwards, I can drink the bottle and hopefully not have to worry about any blood to clean up afterwards._ Doing as he said he would, first, he cooled his body, which didn't prove to be a challenge at all. Now cooled to the point where even he shivered, next was to drink the bottle. _Alright, let's be quick about this._ Brining his head back some, he put the rim of the bottle to his lips. Using the paw that was on his chest, the ice that covered the hole slowly shrunk before falling down into Cyril's paw. Now with the wound exposed, he downed the liquid as quick as he could. Swallowing the remains of the liquid in the bottle, just as his lips backed off from the bottle, his wound healed inwards, stopping the flow of blood that was about to spill from his wound. The small ice cube shard he now had in his paw, he crushed, getting rid of it and letting the small shards fall to the ground. Now done with the bottle, Cyril placed the bottle back to the table before looking down to inspect his chest, which looked good as new. Now satisfied, he wished to thank the two. But as he had turned, immediately, a blush formed quickly on his face as the two had once again been flirting, and it was Volteer whom was speaking to his mate, "You know, we do have some green gems we can take if you're down for round two."

"Round two? Hehe, we'd be on round four just for tonight," Ersa smirked, taking up a claw and rubbing it around in a circle against his chest.

"So, yes?"

"I don't see why not," Looking over towards her table, Ersa jumped in a shiver, blushing just the same as Cyril as she had forgotten he was even there, "Oh! Cyril! I uh... thought you would've left by now."

"That sounds like an amazing idea..." Cyril gave a nervous chuckle, turning away from the two slowly, but once he had, he then faced to the door and bolted over to it.

* * *

 _"Don't worry, Flair... I won't ever betray you... I promise... Another one... that I will protect you."_

* * *

 _That damn dragon..._ Flair sighed in her thoughts as she had been woken up by sometime, but she couldn't tell what it was. _I haven't gotten good sleep in a while... And I thought... maybe being with Cyril would've helped that; being so close to my target and all but... Why am I still waking up?_ Shuffling some in bed to help get into a better sleeping position, she rolled over to her left side before continuing to think to herself. _Maybe it's because... This isn't really what I wanted... Then again, it would feel better if I was still cold. Which, now thinking about it... Why aren't I?_ Now wanting to open her eyes, instead, she woke herself up now as to get a feel of her surroundings. Out from her slumber, her body shivered, fearful, as nothing seemed right. _Why don't I hear him breathing? Why don't I feel him?_ Once again rolling to her belly, she extended her left wing, feeling around the bed for any sign of his presence, but she couldn't seem to find him at all. Now giving out a growl as she was starting to get upset, she called his name, "Cyril, I'm not messing around. Where the hell are you?" Not getting a response, her frustration now grew to where she had to open her eyes, "Cyril!" Having looked to her left, he was gone, making her gasp, "Cyril...?" Standing up on her bed, first she looked to her right, then left, then spun around as she looked all around for him, "Cyril! This isn't funny!" Ducking down on the bed, she looked underneath it to see if maybe he was hiding under the bed, "Cyril!" Facing the door to see it had been opened, her heart skipped a beat as now she knew where he must've gone, "He... left me...?"

Falling back down to her backside as she looked to the bed with cold, dead eyes, Flair first questioned as to why. _Did I... say something wrong? Did I upset him?_ These thoughts she didn't think too long on as the sadness she felt melted away into pure anger, _No! What the hell am I talking about?! I knew this was to happen! I knew he would've left me!_ A sharp pain stabbed to her heart, forcing her to bring up a paw and rest it to her chest. _But if I knew... Why does this still hurt?_ Hissing through her teeth before taking her paw down from her chest, Flair saw this as a good thing. _What ever. Now this just gives me clear indication that I can kill him now more than ever..._ Easing her body down from her frustration, now, all she could do was sigh as she thought about it. _I knew he would've left once he realised what I've done... What ever... I guess... But what could he be doing now?_ She was quick to think about it as she let off another gasp, giving off wide eyes even. _What if he's showing his wound to everyone?! That... That would mean that he's probably talking to Spyro right now about what I've done! If that's the case, how will I ever be able to get back up here and deal with them?!_ Looking up and to the door, for a glimpse of a second, she was able to see something blue standing at the door. Time for her froze as she thought quickly about it. _If that's him, that must mean that Spyro would be right behind him!_ Standing up, sprinting off the bed and making it to the ground, she made it halfway before the door had been pushed open by someone. Just as the door had been pushed open, Cyril looked straight to see Flair running right towards him, fins sharpened and blade to her side, "Flair...?"

Softening the fins on her head, she ran head first into his chest, making him let out a pain cough. It was enough to lift him some, which, as she's done before, gave her easy access to his neck. Grabbing his neck, Flair threw him back, sending his body straight to the back wall. Just as his back had hit, she dashed forward some to catch him before he fell, which was easy for her. Grabbing his neck, pinning him to the wall, and standing up on her back two paws, she forced him to do the same as she raised him up some, all from the force of his neck. Swinging her tail blade around, it made it to the top of his throat, just above to where she had grabbed him. Feeling as the fins were getting too close to his throat, Cyril looked up some, trying not to get stabbed from them. Closing his eyes as he struggled, he went to speak, but Flair was the one who did, "You move, and he dies!" Once she had looked over to her right to see where Spyro should've been, he wasn't, which only confused her, "What the..." Focusing her attention back to Cyril, she looked to his chest to see it had been perfectly cleaned, and even healed, which she knew exactly who could've done such a thing, "Who did you go to! Ignitus?! Spyro?! Who healed you?!"

"It was... Volteer and... Ersa," Cyril struggled to say.

"Bull shit! You're lying!"

"Flair... please... let me explain..."

"You left me during the night! As far as I'm concerned, that's a betrayal of one of your promises. I told you of my past and you left me, which means I get to decide on your life now. And since I don't appreciate what you did, I feel like that deserves the loss of your life," As all the times before as she threatened his life, he didn't move at all as it seemed he was accepting what he had done, "Of course you don't struggle..." Giving off a sigh, she wished she could've gotten him to fight back in some way by her threats, but at this point, she knew it would be a waste of breath, "Fine! I'll let you breath."

Taking her paw back away from his throat, she backed off of him and went back to standing on all four paws. Now able to breath, he fell down to his fours, tripping a bit as he fell to the floor, still trying to catch his breath. A sigh escaped his mouth as he was thankful for what she was doing, "Thank you... Flair..." Once he regained his balance, the first thing he noticed was her frustration, but because he caught on quick, he stopped her, "I need to stop thanking you for things...! I remember, I remember," Since he got something right, she backed down some, shutting her mouth and easing her fins, "I'm so... sorry... I didn't know you'd be awake. I was hoping I would be able to get healed and come back before you woke up but... Hehe, you know those two mates; They are rather... frisky."

"Get to the point."

"Oh, yeah. So, you didn't hear this but, Spyro said that if you ever put another wound on me, he would finally banish you. He even told everyone else that, if they saw anything out of the ordinary, or if they saw the wound, then they should report it back to him."

"So you went to those he told to report me?!"

"I knew I'd die if I went out of Warfang, and I didn't want Ignitus or Spyro to know of this wound. So, my next best option was to go to Volteer and Ersa. While I could've gone to the Training Room and healed up in the gem room, I didn't want to risk them being awake or something, and the wound needed more then just a red gem. Lucky enough for me, Volteer and Ersa very much wish for you to be good, and Ersa especially knows calling you out won't help. She wishes to help you just as much as I'm sure everyone else around here would."

"You think Spyro putting a hit list on me helps?"

"He doesn't know of your past. And now that I do, I can back you up and we can talk to him about what had..."

"No!" Flair yelled out, shaking hard enough for even Cyril to see, "Look... Maybe... Maybe some of your words were true... Maybe I just want a new life... I just want my past to be forgotten about, I just wish to move on, and I hope that my past will die with me and you, no one else... I don't want anyone else to know my brother or sister's death was because of what I failed to do."

"That's not true, nor is that fair to you. And what your father said is not anywhere near appropriate."

"Let's not discuss this in the hallway..." Turning away from him and facing her room, she didn't wish to say this to him, but she knew she couldn't handle waking up like that ever again, "Cyril... please just... go back to the Chambers... I've woken up from some pretty terrible nightmares and all, but having you next to me, even after what I feared of what could... what would, happen, and then you up and leave, I don't... trust having you by my side," She made sure to pause after this just to see if he would respond, which he did, but only with a frown as she continued before he could say anything, "Just be lucky I let you live."

Taking only a couple of steps towards her door, she didn't even make it to the doorway before Cyril spoke out, "I promise!"

Stopping from her steps, she looked behind herself and asked, "Pardon?"

"I promise I won't ever do such a thing ever again!" She was intrigued of what he was to continue saying, and so, she turned to face him, "I haven't seen you smile before, like, a real, joy filled, smile. I knew I needed to have my wound healed, but I didn't want to leave you. But then I saw the smile on your face as you slept and you seemed... genuinely happy... I knew I should've said something but, I didn't want to wake you and ruin that smile. Which is also why I said that I wished to return as quickly as possible but, since the two had some fun, they were... rather slow... So please... Please give me that chance again. I promise I won't do such a thing ever again."

"You think all because you promise me something, that would make me just say yes?" Flair growled at him as she saw what he was doing, "And I know you're lying. I'd never smile in my sleep."

"Flair..."

"I want to be alone for tonight, alright!"

"I know if I didn't mess things up, I'd still be in there while you slept, smiling cause you and I both knew, things were rather nice."

"I wasn't smiling!"

"Do you not trust me?"

"Just leave, Cyril!"

"I know what I saw, and knowing you're there, knowing I can help you, you know I'd rather you kill me then for me to turn my back on you."

"And if I just wish to be left alone?"

"I understand that, but..."

"Then I just wish to be left alone."

Giving off a sigh, Cyril didn't know what to say as he knew she would have something for everything that he did. Having more of an idea of what it could be, he asked her, "Did I... betray you?"

Already remembering his words that he said to her, she growled at him to see what he was doing, "No, you didn't betray me, but you sure as shit pissed me off."

"Then... Wait... No, no, you know what, Flair, you're right!"

"The hell you talking about?"

"I must've been delusional. It wasn't a smile I saw, but a tail blade!"

"A tail blade?"

"Yes. In fact, the reason I woke up was because I felt your tail blade on my neck. If we would've been asleep as we were for any longer, you surely would've killed me. So you know, if you really do want to kill me, I will accept death this time," Flair now gave off a growl to his words as she knew what he was trying to do, but unfortunately for her, she liked the fact of what he was doing; understanding and turning around things to help her out, "Flair... please... remember all that we've said and talked about over these past few days, just even tonight alone... I'm truly, deeply sorry... I won't ever make such a mistake ever again... I, promise."

 _I... can't believe he's actually... changing my mind._ With a sad, defeated sigh, her attitude changed towards what she felt previously as his words had gotten to her, "Listen... I will take this promise, and if you ever make this mistake again... You know what will happen," Since he stayed quiet while she talked, it was another reason she started to feel at ease, but feeling a smile starting to go across her face, she growled out, "Look! Either stay or leave!" Immediately, Cyril smiled wide, running past her and into the room before heading straight to the bed, making her give wide eyes as she looked over to him, already jumped up on the bed, laid down, and wing out as he waited for her, "Damn him," Making it into the room herself, she reached to her side, tucked a paw from behind the door, and pushed it with enough force to shut it behind her, "If you're lying to me, and you don't wake up dead in the morning, then I will make sure it happens, understand."

"Hehe, it's all up to what your tail blade does," He chuckled.

"It's already twitching, wishing it could kill you."

"Anyway I can help it out?"

"Well..."

"Without it killing me?"

"Hehe, well, never mind then," Not noticing it, she had giggled, and even he had chuckled along with her, but once seeing his smile as she neared the bed, her attitude changed up, "You shouldn't even be laughing! Literally by tomorrow, you'll either die in your sleep, or you'll wake up to your death!"

He still kept a smile on his face even after her threat. Climbing up onto the bed, she went to where she was before; making it to his right side before turning around, facing the door, and laying down to her belly. Not wishing to say anything, Flair looked to her left to see Cyril smirking at her as his wing was still raised, waiting for her to scoot over and join him. Blushing some, she made sure to growl to help keep her embarrassment under lock and key. Scooting over to his side, she snuggled up with him, only this time, to make sure he didn't go anywhere, she rested her head over his paws. Now with her snuggled up to his side, Cyril draped his wing down over her back, eased his head down, and laid his head on the back of her neck.

"Head up," She spoke, which surprised him, but he did as he was told.

Shifting her body, she rolled over onto her left side before scooting back up against his body. Laying her head down on his paws, now sideways, she knew he would've wanted answers, and she made sure to deliver, "Sorry. Just needed to make sure of something, and just so you aren't left wondering; I made sure to have all my fins facing right into your body. So, let's say I have a nightmare; All my fins will sharpen, making you bleed all throughout the side of your body. And since the top of my head is against your chest, there's a fifty fifty chance it'll hit your heart," Hearing as he swallowed hard from what she had said, she was glad to have this fear and reality sink in for him, "You could always just get up and we can talk tomorrow, or risk death now rather than later."

 _Ignitus, I swear to everything, you give her a nightmare and I'm going to kick the shit out of you._ Cyril swore in his thoughts, but now that he was done dealing with one dragon, he knew he needed to help another. Wrapping his tail completely around hers, he didn't see her give wide eyes, but he felt as she shivered, surprised by the sudden tail. Giving off a chuckle, he didn't see her threat as anything to worry about, "You really don't think I trust you? Hehe, I guess I should add more to the trust by putting my tail into the mix. What do you have to say to that?"

It went quiet for a bit which made him think that she didn't care about what he had done, but feeling her body starting to shiver, he felt a cold drop of water touch his paw, which he knew quickly as to what it was. Hearing as she gave off a slight sniffle before growling to control herself, he wished this to be the best time to ease her, "Like I said, Flair, I know who you are, and I'm not afraid of that. I trust you, I care about you, and I'll do anything to keep you happy."

"Fine!" Flair yelled out, making him shiver now, but just from fear, "I won't kill you tomorrow, alright! Does that make you happy?!"

"Flair, my life is in your paws. You choose what happens to me."

"Then shut up and go to sleep!"

"As you wish."

Laying his head down over the side of her neck, he made sure not to ruin this, so he didn't say anything, but instead, closed his eyes, eased his breathing, and went to sleep after some time. Flair tried her best to close her eyes as well, but some tears got in her way which made things a little difficult, but once warming up her face, the tears hissed from off her skin. _Damn him! Why! Why didn't I kill him?! Why shouldn't I just do so now!_ Since her face had warmed up, her body shivered as it started to cool down, and once again, this made things for her difficult. _I should've killed him... I should've... But now... After tonight... I shouldn't get attached to this family... I shouldn't...! But... after all he's said... what he's done... how he's protected and covered for me... What... do I do._ Trying to forget about it, this proved to do nothing for her as she couldn't. His words were enough to bring out a side of her she never knew she'd bring back, but her lips just moved, "Thank you... Cyril."

Flair didn't feel regret to what she had said, nor did she feel a force fighting against her on what she needed to feel, so rather then try to push it away, she gave a smile. Making sure this time, she gave off a growl to take away this smile so he wouldn't see it, but she couldn't, so instead, she gave a sigh. _He really was... right... And now I can't get rid of this smile... But... do I really want to?_ With her body being both comfortably warm and cool, she brought air through her nose before exhaling through the same, easing her body to perfectly comfortable. Happy, comfortable and controlled, Flair thought once more before falling to sleep _, Please keep your promise to me._


	29. Chapter 29: Girls Day Out For Six

Chapter 29: Girls Day Out For Six

 _"Spyro... Spyro, is that you?" A voice called out. Letting off a small growl, Spyro woke in the unknown as he spoke, already knowing who this voice could've been, "Ignitus... please... the light, it burns." The voice didn't speak for a second, but who ever it was sounded rather surprised when this name was spoken of, "Ignitus is alive? Haha! I knew that dragon could make it through anything." This kicked Spyro into action as he didn't understand why Ignitus was acting surprised about his own life, but he still shrugged this off as a dream, "Just tell me what it is I'm looking out for rather than giving me a nightmare on it, please. Me and Cynder had an amazing night and I don't wish for this good to be ruined."_

 _"You and Cynder, the terror of the skies, mated?!" Once again, the surprise in this dragon's voice was rather uncomfortable to Spyro as he couldn't understand who was talking, "How much have I missed? Hehe, I mean, I knew my son would get with the ladies, but I didn't know you would like a bad girl, that's for sure." The more the dragon spoke, the more awake Spyro had gotten, but one thing he had gotten onto was what the dragon had said, "Son?" Spyro questioned. Now waking up, Spyro opened his eyes to see he was somewhere he's never been before. Standing up from his belly down position, the first thing he did was check his surroundings. The surrounding area was nothing but grey for what seemed like miles. The sky, ground, surrounding area, everything around him was forced on by the color grey. But once he had focused backwards, Spyro jumped back and growled to see what looked like a dark dragon, but it had red scales that shined on occasion as the darkness passed all throughout the dragon's body. "Oh, Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm not so sure how this even works if I'm being honest. Me and your mother have been trying to get into contact with you for a while, and luckily, Cynder's parents are also helping us out." Now with not only this dragon bringing up that he was Spyro's father, but now he spoke of Cynder's parents, "Wh... What...?"_

 _"It's amazing to see just how much you've grown, my son... I can't wait to get out of here and do all kinds of things me and your mother wanted to do as parents; Finally watch you grow up to be an adult, play games, explore the world... Hehe... We could do so much together now... But I'm getting ahead of myself. For now, I'm lucky to even be in contact with you." Not saying a word as he was in shock for what he was hearing, Spyro had to shed a tear, but he didn't trust what he was hearing and yelled at this as being a dream, "This isn't funny! My father's dead! My mother, Cynder's parents, you all are dead!"_

 _"We thought so too, but it turns out, after Cynder had nearly killed us, we were dragged away by some dark creatures and when they tried to corrupt us, we were sent to this dark dimension, or... realm... Hehe, I'm not completely sure. I keep forgetting if it's the Aether or Convexity, but either way, we ended up here."_

 _"Wh..." To hear him give off a rather convincing story, Spyro didn't know if this was really true or not, "No... NO! That's... That's... Not..." Shivering from what felt like joy, his hopes were slowly getting the better of him as he looked the dragon in the eyes with tears, "Dad...?"_

 _"Yes, my son?" Holding back for now on his hopes, Spyro called out this imposter, still believe it to be Ignitus, "No... No! I don't believe that! What's your name! What are the names of Cynder's parents?! If you aren't Ignitus, you'd tell me!"_

 _"Oh, hehe, well, my name is Ignis," Spyro's heart slammed to his chest, but he tried not to think much about it as he already knew of his name, but as he continued, this only proved it wasn't Ignitus, "As for Cynder's mother, she is named Ellen. For her father, his name is Zhen. Hehe, he's a tough bastard. Even for someone so strong, he's definitely got a heart." Now with Ignis having gone quiet, Spyro looked to the ground in silence as well, unable to know if this was really true of what was happening or not. Shaking his head as he didn't wish to believe it, Spyro called him out for what he was doing, "Then how are you talking to me right now?! Why has it taken this long?! You've been supposedly dead for years, so how?! Wh... Why... Dad... Is that... Is that really... you?"_

 _"Don't worry, Son, we will see each other again soon enough. But to answer your question, we honestly haven't been able to do much around here, but luckily, we were able to contact your darkness with the darkness in this dimension. I'm using a dark dragon's body to talk to you right now. And don't worry, no, he's not going to corrupt me. He has a life too."_

 _"But why wait this long?!"_

 _"From what we've learned, there's been nothing strong enough for us to talk with anyone outside this realm, but since your darkness has gotten much stronger, we are able to communicate from one dimension to you now." This seemed real enough to the point of where Spyro really started to believe this was his father, and nothing pointed this to be fake, and so, to make sure things were as real as they seemed, he asked his father, "So... You wouldn't care at all if I told Cynder about her father and mother's name?" Not getting a response, this made him suspicious, but the way Ignis spoke, it really seemed as though he was having a conversation with another dragon. The dark dragon even looked over to his left side before looking back over to Spyro and responding, "Uh... Zhen said that if you don't, once we get out of here, he will make sure to headlock you till your head pops..." Once he had answered, Ignis looked to his left side once again as he started talking with someone else, "Yeah but, damn. Zhen...That's my son... And I get that but... Zhen... Zhen...! Holy hell, shut the fu... Oh for the love of... thank you, Ellen..." Looking back to Spyro, he cleared his throat before continuing, "Ahem, anyway, yeah, I think it would be best if you let her know." So many thoughts now rushed through Spyro's mind as he had so many questions to ask his father as knowing he was alive was a shock. The first question was one he wanted answered quickly, "Dad, how do I save you, and what about my mom, is she okay, is she alive?!"_

 _"Don't worry my son, Caren is doing just fine. We wanted to make sure this worked without consequence, and so far, I feel fine, but as with all darkness, I can't stay in this body for long as it will corrupt me, even if this dragon doesn't wish it, but for now, I still have some time. I will make sure to contact you in the future so..."_

 _"How far in the future?! What if I can't talk to you for another year?! What if I never hear or see from you ever again?!"_

 _"Spyro, calm down, it's okay. When I mean into the future, I mean tomorrow. You'll be able to talk to your mother soon as well, so don't worry. As for how to save us; we are in this dimension of which you've been before, so I guess... Go back? Hehe, I honestly have no idea. Hell, I keep calling it a realm and a dimension so, hehe, shows how much I know." Now having confirmation on how to save them, Spyro had hope in his mind and body that he would be able to set everything right; he had hope that one day, he would be able to be with his parents once again. Shedding tears from his eyes, he gave off a chuckle as he wanted to lighten up the mood, "You have missed quite a lot since then. Ignitus found a lover, Volteer found his long lost mate, Cynder and I became lovers, and... This may sound crazy... But Malefor and Carith reunited, and so, he's now a good guy, and we are, even close partners. Not friends yet but... we're getting there." Ignis gave a chuckle to this as he couldn't believe how much he had missed, "Seems like there is quite a family you've made."_

 _"We've even met some other friends which joined our group; Blitz, Bolt, Sesal, and a female named Celia. We also have another two who I'm not sure would stay, but there's Trish and Flair. So in total for our massive family, there's sixteen of us... And once you join, along with my mother, Ellen and Zhen, that makes twenty."_

 _"Hehe, holy hell, that's a lot of dragons."_

 _"Hehe, and we will only grow more and more. Soon, I wouldn't be surprised if Volteer and Ersa had Hatchlings, which would be an added one or two."_

 _"This life sounds... Rather amazing."_

 _"It really is." Things went quiet for a second as Spyro wished to savor this moment, but he didn't want to stay this way for too long as he wished to ask so much more to his father, "Dad..."_

 _"Spyro! Stop!" A voice yelled out behind him, causing Spyro to turn to see who it was, but since this dark dragon ran up to his side, he ended up looking to his left and asking, "What? What's wrong?" Seeing as now Kettu and Xvar had joined in on his dream, he now wished to take time to add them to the family as well, "Oh, yeah, dad, I wish for you to meet another two whom I have friended; Xvar and Kettu. They look similar and act like me, but yet they aren't. Still working out how things work around here."_

 _"Spyro, stop giving him any information. You need to wake up and come out from your dark form right now," Xvar was the first to speak as he seemed rather scared. "This doesn't feel right, nor does this dragon. And we know what we heard, of him taking over another dark dragon's body, but this doesn't feel right, and ever since he came here, we've been skeptical," Kettu was next to speak from his left, and to give more of an idea of what they were talking about, Xvar once again spoke from his right, "While we don't know your parents, this, Ignis, isn't your father. He looks more like a manifestation of your father to trick you into doing something you shouldn't, like going into our realm, which is far beyond suicide."_

 _"Which I already know, and why I would never tell him to do such a thing, I only suggested it as he asked how to save me," Ignis defended himself, "What would it take for you to know that I really am telling the truth?"_

 _"We already know the truth about who and what you are," Kettu growled at him. "Spyro, we are taking you out of this right now," Xvar spoke as he took action. "What?! No! You two aren't doing anything of the sort, so leave!" Spyro commanded to the two, but they didn't listen. Placing both their paws to the side of Spyro, Kettu and Xvar closed their eyes, forcing Spyro to do the same before falling to the ground, but getting off a cry before he passed out, "DAD...!"_

* * *

"Spyro... Spyro, my love, are you doing okay?" Cynder spoke as she had a paw to the side of Spyro, trying to get him to wake as she shook him, "Spyro...?"

Spyro's eyes shot open as he growled, frustrated to the point of exploding within his darkness. Waking up to his dark form, he showed his teeth as he jumped off the bed, yelling at what seemed like her, "Why would you do that! You never should've woken me! I was happy, I was smiling, and you butted in when you shouldn't have!"

Letting out a gasp, Cynder didn't understand what was going on as she never heard him lash out to her before, so she tried to talk with him to calm him, "Spyro... I..."

"It's because of you that my parents are even dead in the first place, and you act like you can do what ever you want!" Feeling a stab to the heart now, it was like Spyro had turned his back on her entirely, "I never should've trusted you, I never should've let you even stay in this world! I get I can talk to him again, I get that, but what you've done is uncalled for! Don't ever speak to me every again, do not interfere in my life, and just go back to where you came from!"

Feeling completely dead inside from his words, all Cynder wished to do now was fade away, and since it didn't seem she would be able to talk to him, she simply used her shadow powers. Fazing through the bed before fazing through the floor, she exited the room as she made her way through the ground, making it out of the room and into the hallway. Coming out from Spyro's body now, he turned to see Kettu and Xvar sitting behind him, and they still listening to him as he bashed them, "For now on, I'm never using this dark form to keep you from ever appearing. And the same goes for you too, Kettu! If I ever talk to my parents again, you stay the hell away from me and what I want."

"Spyro, we are trying to protect you. Why don't you understand that?" Xvar growled at him as he didn't like how hostile he was being towards them.

"Listen. Ignis was right about one thing; Your darkness can now connect with our realm, and if a dark dragon wished it, he could easily take over your body and use it as a gate way to enter this world," Kettu explained, which now made some sense to Spyro, making him stay quiet as he wanted to hear more of what he had to say, "We aren't sure, and next time, we will wait out and hear more of what he has to say, but if a dark dragon is stronger then you, it will take over, and since you are right next to Cynder, it will surely kill her, which we will then in turn take back over and kill everyone else you care for."

Looking to the ground and giving off a sigh, Spyro wanted to know what it was that he should do then, "But what if this is all a worry for nothing? I have so much to ask him, so much that I want to catch up on."

"And if you can save him, that would be possible, but at risk of being corrupted from something else is not advisable."

"Like we said, we will study this, and next time, we will handle things differently," Kettu finshed up, easing off from his anger.

Giving off another sigh, Spyro himself calmed down, even apologising as he didn't wish to lash out at them, "Look... Sorry for what I said."

"You were in your dark form, and we understand that, so your anger was much more powerful then your normal emotions."

"And it's not us you should be apologizing to. After your constant use of 'You' instead of 'We' because you only saw my paw, Cynder believed that you were talking about her," Spyro let out a huge gasp, giving off wide eyes and feeling completely destroyed, but Xvar growled as he spoke for what was said, "'You never should've woken me', 'It's because of you my parents are dead', 'I never should've trusted you'. Should I go on for what you said?" Spyro's heart kicked into gear as he started to breath to the point that gave him a headache, "If you lose her... So will the lives of everyone else you know."

Now being done with him, they disappeared and went back into Spyro's body as the darkness reconnected with him. _What have I done?!_ First, he looked to the bed to see she really was gone, but he didn't see her even walk out the door. _She must've used her shadow powers!_ With his darkness fading from his body, Spyro turned, grabbed his door knob, and threw open his door. Immediately from the hallway, he saw Malefor and Carith talking as the main door to his house had opened. They were frowning, so he knew she must've talked to them about what had happened. Running over to them, they stopped to look over to him, and instantly, Malefor showed his teeth to him, "You son of a...!"

"That wasn't to Cynder!" Spyro cried out which made him stop, "I will explain more later, but Malefor, you have to understand, I would never say such a thing to her and you know that," Malefor scuffed, but it did make sense to him, and so, he eased off as he didn't wish to believe it, "Do you know where Cynder went?" Shaking their heads, Spyro looked to the ground in fear as he didn't know what to do, but a thought clicked in his mind, "Wait! I will just use my darkness to detect her."

"Spyro... I, know what you said, but did you really say that to her?" Carith questioned as she was still skeptical, "I mean, Flair did call her out for what she did yesterday so did that... effect you?"

"No, of course not. Like I said, I will explain everything once we are in the Chambers. Just hurry and follow," Having used his darkness, he heard her heart; It was rather slow, slower then usual, which he understood why, but he was able to detect where she was, "Found her. She isn't far."

Making it past the two, he ran down the stairs with the two following close behind. _Cynder, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to say what I did, especially never to you,_ Spyro thought to himself, shedding a tear down and off from his face as he hurried as quickly as he could to the Chambers. Using his powers to speed himself up, he zipped over to the entrance in a second. Turning to his right, the Guardians were there with their females, aside from Cyril and Flair. They all looked to him in anger, aside from Trish as she looked to him with a frown. Feeling as he needed to say something for what's happened, Ignitus was the first to speak his mind, "I'm very disappointed in you. I never would've expected this from my own son."

"What I said wasn't directed to her! I was talking to Xvar and Kettu!" Spyro explained himself as he ran into the Chambers.

"'Because of you, my parents died'?"

"The darkness, I was talking about the darkness!"

"'You never should've woken me, I was happy'?"

"I was in some kind of dream world which you don't know about because it was made by the darkness from within me! I was talking to my father and those two brought me from without the dream!"

"You... Wait, what?"

"Cynder, please, I'm sorry, I can explain everything, I swear."

"Cynder isn't here. She said she was going to head into Warfang and..."

"I know she's behind you. I used my darkness."

Knowing they couldn't hide her any longer, Cynder walked from behind Ignitus and now stood over by his left side. Taking a step towards her, she took a step back from Spyro as she wanted an explanation for what had happened. Now reaching the Chambers, Malefor and Carith walked into the main area before walking over to the right wall and sitting down together, wanting to hear what had happened. Once having shed another tear, Spyro didn't waste any time as he explained as quickly as he could, "I heard a voice in my mind, and it turned out to be Ignis, my father. He told me that they never really died, but rather were dragged away and attempted to be turned into dark dragons by the dark forces, but it failed and they were transported into the Convexity realm. I was able to learn the name of my mother, and I was even able to learn the names of your parents, Cynder."

"You... Did?" Cynder now took some steps forward as she wondered now more then ever.

"Their names are Ellen and Zhen. And my mother is named Caren."

"What?!" Ignitus asked in surprise as he didn't understand how he was able to find out about their names.

"Ignis was the main one to talk to me as he used a dark dragon to talk to me. My new dark form allowed him to talk with me from the other realm. Unfortunately, while things were going good and I was able to talk more and more to my father, Xvar and Kettu stepped in, saying they didn't trust my father and woke me from my dream or, nightmare or, I don't know. Everything I said was directed towards the darkness, not you. I would never say that to you, especially since it isn't true, we all know it isn't."

"But... If I had woken you... Wouldn't you have said the same thing to me?" Cynder asked him.

"No, no no no, of course not. It took me calming down some, but it was because of those two's interference that I was pissed off. If you would've woken me, I would've cried with joy to know that there is a way to save our parents! There truly is a way, and I will do anything to get them back, to do anything for you to see your parents again!" Spyro cried happily as he saw this as the best thing ever, but he didn't notice as Ignitus had growled for some reason towards what he was saying, "Cynder... My love... I'm sorry... I'm so, sorry, that I scared you. But remember way back where I yelled your name and you thought I was agreeing with Sparks for a conversation, but I was just trying to get your attention?"

"I... do remember."

"I'm sorry I scared you, just the same as that day."

"Are you... Just having a nightmare because what Flair had said got to you?"

"No. I know it was real, and what Flair said I know is a lie. The night we had, do you really think I would ever do such a thing to you?" Now things were starting to make sense to her, and since the night she had was rather amazing, she didn't say anything now against him, "Please, if there is anyway to make up for what I had said, how I scared you, just let me know. It could be as big as me staying in my dark form and comforting you, or as small as going back and laying in bed with you."

"Hehe, or of course, even bigger; mating," Malefor butted in, but neither of the two said anything to him, only blushing from what he had said.

"Then tell me one thing... What was with you constantly saying, 'You'?"

"My anger was directed to only one of the two as I only saw one of them put a paw to my side," Spyro explained, and once again, with his quick response, it did seem sincere and truthful, "Once they both showed up and I was coming down from my darkness, I was now focused to both of them as I realized they had both took me from out of the dream."

Having now felt much better about what had happened, Cynder eased up some, but after what he had said, she brought up the other side of her. Showing her teeth and getting frustrated, she commanded him, "You will do exactly as I say, you understand me!" Swallowing hard, he knew what ever it was, he must do it, "Get up against our wall, cuddle with me, kiss me, and for tonight, you will stay on bottom for the entire night!" Letting out a gasp, she raised a brow to him, so he knew he had to give a nod as he understood, "If you do a good enough job making up for what you said, maybe, I will reconsider, but for right now, you're in hot water."

Doing as he was told, Spyro made it over to his left and to the side wall of the Chambers. As he made his way, so did Cynder. Turning to face straight as his backside touched the wall, he raised his left wing and waited for his love. Making it over to him, she nuzzled his side with her head before making it up to his shoulder, then neck, before finally making it under his maw, shedding a tear as she was still shaken up from what had happened. Easing his wing down on her back, he ducked his head down some as to soothe her even more. Comfortable, Spyro made sure to apologise once again for what had happened, "Cynder... I'm... so sorry... I love you... and I would never say such things to you."

"I... Trust you... I do... Just... Hehe... please make sure to use 'You two', next time," Cynder murmured as she closed her eyes.

"I was wrong all the way for what I did, and it never should've happened."

Now with things having calmed down, Malefor wished to cheer things up as he had to make a joke, "You know, I love when ever someone is angry. Because then I can rub my paws together and be like, 'Good, Good! Let the hate flow through you'."

"You are a disappointment to all," Volteer sighed.

"You starting shit already?!"

"Hehe, oh yeah. Best way to get the day started."

* * *

Letting out a small yawn of which didn't last long, Flair snuggled her head more against Cyril's chest. Now with her head being upright, she was able to listen to his heart beat. Having adjusted herself during the night, her body now laid to her belly. With each beat, it was slow, calming, easy for her to listen to and one she rather enjoyed. _I... actually fell asleep with him... And he kept his promise to me... No... No! It's only day one...! But... I... do trust him... I really do... And I can't believe I'm saying that._ Having adjusted herself, this had woken Cyril as he let out a slight groan before picking up his head and letting out a rather big yawn compared to her. To make sure he didn't make her feel uncomfortable, he lifted his head up as he had yawned. Smacking his lips once he had closed his mouth, he went back to resting his head down over hers. Now wanting to say anything to cherish this moment, it bugged her as she wanted to say something to him, and instinctively, she greeted him, "Good morning, Cyril."

"Hehe... Good morning, Flair."

Now with the two talking, Flair opened her eyes some as she spoke with him, "You know... Now that it's morning, I'm going to go through with my previous plan to kill you."

"But don't you wish to enjoy this feeling of comfort? If I'm to die, please just... Let me cuddle with you a little longer."

"You are enjoying yourself all too much."

"Are you not?" She didn't answer him, "Is there anyway I can convince you not to kill me?"

"Just... shut up and go back to bed."

"That's the greatest idea you've ever had."

Shutting her eyes once again, she wondered what there was to do, what she should do, but every time she thought about it, her mind drifted off to something else, _Come on... get up and kill him... But... I shouldn't... I'm so comfortable... But I shouldn't get attached to him... Yet... I miss... having someone to be with..._ Unable to come to a conclusion with her own self, the only thing she knew to do was smile, even as much as she didn't want to. _Damn you... Cyril._ His comfort that he gave to her, the heart beat that she was able to listen to, she was able to fall back asleep rather easily.

* * *

"Hey, Trish, I was wondering if you wished to do something with me and the girls later on today," Cynder spoke to her, getting the other females attention as they knew what she was talking about.

"What would that be?" Trish asked.

"Well, usually when another female joins our group, it's almost a must for us to have a girls day out. We did it for Claire and Ersa, and now we wish to do it for you. We can have a girls day later with Flair just to give us an excuse to have another rather joy filled day I'm sure."

"That sounds rather enjoyable. But where would we go?"

"We mainly just walk around Warfang as to stretch our legs and to get out from the Chambers for a bit."

"I sure hope I don't run into... him..."

"Don't worry. We will be somewhere that he isn't. Do you remember where he lives?"

"Of course. And I guess if we do go somewhere else, it would be rather easy to avoid him. But how will we avoid the dragons who wish to be your lover? Having you walking around will get news to spread, and we could be swarmed by dragons wishing to get with us."

"Don't worry about that as I will cover for you all," Spyro spoke, helping her feel at ease about such things, "Since I have a new dark form, and I do wish to give you girls some privacy, I will stay up in the Chambers. If you all need me, Cynder will call."

"Do you normally follow?" Trish asked.

"We have for the past two times from before, but like I said, not being around you girls will give you more freedom to talk about what ever without letting us hear as to what it could be."

"You know, one thing I'm gonna have to talk about is how I felt during the whole incident today," Cynder said as she took her head back away from his neck, and this made Spyro frown as he had fears about what she would talk about, "Don't worry. Now knowing the full story definitely makes me feel better. And plus, this has happened before. You left out that time you and Sparks were talking about this pink dragoness and how you hated her, but I thought you were talking about me."

"That's a story you haven't told us," Claire was now rather intrigued about this story.

"Hehe, oh boy, what a story that's gonna be to tell."

"Hey, not to cut this moment short, but does anyone know where Cyril and Flair are?" Terrador asked as he was rather suspicious with them not being here.

"What do you mean? I thought he was in the back room with you all," Spyro growled as he was rather afraid of what happened.

"When we woke up, he was gone. I'm assuming he went back after Flair."

"What?!"

"Spyro, clam down. I don't know what happened last night, but I'm sure he's okay," Ersa lied as she knew exactly what had happened to him during that night.

"Hehe, you don't remember how good our night was? Not surprised," Volteer teased her.

"Don't start," Malefor grumbled.

"I still need to make sure. Where does she sleep?" Spyro asked, already ready to jump into action, fearing for the worst.

"Two doors down to the right," Terrador answered him.

Getting into his dark form as he wanted to make sure he was prepared for anything, Kettu and Xvar manifested from out of his body and appeared in front of him. Still feeling bad from what had happened, Spyro wanted to apologize before he proceeded with what he had to say, "Kettu, Xvar, I know after what I said, you two are probably still upset with me, and I am still deeply sorry."

"Look, we aren't into mushy stuff," Kettu said.

"We looked past it. You reunited with Cynder, and since you already apologised, we are on your side once again," Xvar assured him which brought a smile to Spyro's face, "We can watch over everyone while you are gone."

"Thank you," Spyro thanked.

"Kettu! Xvar! You two ready for round two?!" Malefor yelled out to the two, slamming his fist into the palm of his other paw.

"Malefor, play nice. I will be right back."

* * *

"Cyril... can you wake, please," Having spoke so lowly, Flair didn't expect him to wake, but surprisingly enough, he did.

"I can get use to waking up to such a soothing voice," Cyril smiled to the awakening.

"Don't get use to it, cause... I've... made up my mind... Get on your back and accept death."

"Flair... please don't..."

"Do not question me."

Cyril didn't wish for her to go through with what she wished, but he knew questioning her would only upset her more. Stretching out his body first before standing up only slightly on the bed, he rolled onto his back, opened his eyes, and looked up to the ceiling as he waited for his death. Now with him off her, she was able to stand up herself. Opening her eyes, she walked over to his body. Turning as she stood over him to align herself with his body, she brought her tail blade around the side of his body before pointing it straight down at his chest. Letting out a sigh and a frown as he now looked to her, Cyril wished to give off his final words, "Once you do kill me, make sure to carefully make your way out of here. The others might be awake by now, and I don't want them to know what happened to me before you have a chance to escape."

Letting out her own sigh, she showed her teeth, but couldn't show her anger, "Once again, even as I try to kill you, you still try to protect me."

"I promised I would, didn't I?"

"You... did..." No longer able to keep up the act that she was putting on, she was honest with him, "Alright, fine!" The sudden outburst she gave made him look to her with wide eyes, "I was only doing this cause I wanted to lay on your chest so you could pet my fins, alright..." Now hearing this, Cyril gave a smile to her, and seeing this smile, she gave a blush before looking away from him, "Of course you would smile."

"I'm just... happy to hear that you trust me."

"You wouldn't leave me alone so... What do expect..."

Laying the top of his head down on the bed, he closed his eyes, waiting for her to lay her body down on his chest. Just as she went to do so, the door had opened, which she had noticed last second. Hearing a loud gasp, Flair herself let out a gasp to see Spyro had entered into the room, in shock of what he was seeing. Seeing her over him with her tail blade to his chest, he saw this as her threatening to kill him. Backing off from Cyril, she cried out as she tried to defend herself, "Wait! Spyro! It's not what you think!"

"Shut up! I saw what you were trying to do!" Spyro yelled at her, entering into the room and approaching her, "Get out, leave, and never come back or else I'll deal with you right here and now!"

"No... Cyril... Cyril can cover for me, I swear!"

Opening his eyes back up to see what was happening, Cyril noticed Spyro was in his dark form and approaching with rather killer intent. Rolling over to his side, he stood up, brought a wing up to his right side and covered the front of Flair as he defended her. Spyro stopped only a couple of steps from the bed, and since she was now being blocked by Cyril's wing, this made him know he was going to put up a fight. Flair was rather afraid as she knew Cyril could easily turn his back on her, which she thought about, _He... he wouldn't tell Spyro about what I did... would he?!_ Giving off a growl, Spyro didn't wish for him to do this, "Cyril, don't..."

"No!" Cyril immediately yelled to him, defending her, "You said if she hurt me, she'd be gone, but she didn't!" Extending his other wing out wide as he did so with his other wing, he puffed out his chest even as to show all of his body, "Does it look like she injured me?! Do you see any blood, any wound, anything to show that she hurt me?" Unfortunately to him, he didn't see any wound, not even any blood to show that the two had fought, and so, Spyro gave a sigh to see that he was right, "Spyro... Don't do this... You know and see that I'm right, which means you can't banish her. I get what your trying to do, but as you can see, she's no longer a threat."

"You know she can turn on you at any point, as you are to me."

"Just admit for once in your life, you're wrong about her. We've been doing this for the last few days now and it needs to end here."

"Spyro, let me cover for her as well," Cynder spoke as she had walked into the room, and as she made it next to her lover's left, her focus turned to Flair, "Good morning, Flair. I have hopes that you slept well."

Easing herself some to see another hopefully friendly face, Flair responded to her, "I... Did sleep, rather well."

"That's really good to hear," Now that she seemed calmed, Cynder wished to change her lover's mind, "You told him that if there was a wound, you would banish her, but since there isn't, you're going to keep your word, aren't you?" He mainly gave a sigh as he didn't wish to agree, but he also didn't wish to go against her, and with what she said next, he had to change his view, "Make me proud on this, Spyro. Be the Spyro I know and love. Make the right decision here."

Since he had already messed up during the morning, he changed his view, but he wished to make sure of something, "Flair," Looking to her, he asked her outright, "Did you hurt him and you just aren't telling?" She didn't know if she should tell the truth or not, but she knew telling him the truth would get his trust, or at least she hoped, "If you tell me the truth, I will... Not, banish you. But if I find out that you've lied later on, I will never trust you ever again."

Cyril didn't wish for her to tell the truth as he didn't know for sure if he could trust his own friend or not, and since Flair hadn't said anything; not wanting for Spyro to get suspicions, he stepped in to answer for her, "No, she didn't..."

"Cyril..." Hearing his name be called, he stopped to hear it had been Flair who had spoken, and even though he wished to go against her to protect her, it seemed she already had an idea of what she wanted to say, "Fine... You want the truth," While she shivered, Cyril swallowed hard, focusing the same as her to Spyro as they wondered how he'd react, "I... stabbed him in the chest last night... I was going to slice his heart in half but... he stopped me," With Spyro letting out a rather hefty sigh, she was quick to make something clear as to not get him too upset, "But I've changed some, Spyro! I really have..."

"Change in what way?" Spyro growled, wondering if this meant for the worse.

"Cyril... talked to me a lot last night and I've... changed my view. He's made promises to me, he comforted me, and... I will only kill him now if he ever does something that breaks what he's promised me."

"Hehe, ah yes, the classics," Cynder giggled as she herself had done such a thing before, "I remember doing the same to Spyro, though of course, I never actually would've."

"But what about the others? How do I know you really are trustworthy?" Spyro asked, still not believing in what she was saying.

"As I've said, Cyril's my prey, no one else around here. I'm not... a hundred percent, but..." Staying quiet for a bit as she didn't wish to reveal this kind of information, something in her told her to say it, "If Cyril... keeps it up... maybe... I really will change..." Not having seen the other two's shocked reaction, the only thing she focused on was someone rubbing her right side, which had been Cyril's wing, and she growled at him for what he was doing once she looked to him, "Don't you dare push your luck."

Having heard her growl, Spyro took a step forward as he was afraid of her trying something towards Cyril.

"Just wanted to help is all," Cyril defended his actions.

"I already said you helped, now back off some."

"Okay, okay," Doing as he was told, he moved some to his left, making her shiver, of which he saw, "What's with the shiver?"

"I said back off, I didn't say back off from me!"

"Oh... Sorry..."

Moving back over to her side, the other two watched in awe as she actually snuggled up to his side, almost like she was enjoying her time being around him, and it was such a big change of which they never expected to see. Having the comfort once again, Flair snuggled her head underneath Cyril's maw before looking down some to the bed and wishing to close her eyes to get some more rest, but both of what she wanted had to wait as someone had yelled from inside the Chambers, loud enough for even them to hear, "That's it! You're dead!"

"What the hell?" Spyro asked, turning to the door before running over and out the room.

"That sounded like Malefor," Cynder said out loud, following behind her lover as they both made their way to the Chamber.

"Ugh... Of course. Leave it to Malefor to ruin such peace and quiet," Flair growled, still not wishing to move, but after hearing him yell, she knew she had to, "That dumb ass dragon," Taking her head back from underneath his maw, she opened her eyes, gave a sign, and then looked him in the eyes as she spoke, "Having everyone in the Chambers, Spyro seeming to trust me, I wonder; if I killed you right now, could I get away clean and easy?" Seeing as he gave a whimper as to mess with her, she rolled her eyes at him for doing this, but didn't expect a smile from her own self, "I'm not actually going to kill you, Cyril. I'm rather... glad to hear so far that, Ersa isn't upset with me... and, having you, and even Cynder greet me awake, unlike Spyro, was rather... comforting."

"I'm glad you're able to feel at home around here. I'm sure being able to talk with the girls about yesterday will eliminate any doubt you may still have of them being upset with you," Cyril comforted her, both with words and a smile, but once she had seen his smile, she felt hers, and growled as to get out of bed.

"Can we just get out to the Chambers already?!"

* * *

"What the hell is going on in here?" Spyro called out to get everyone's attention, and once having turned to face into the Chambers, he saw Malefor in his pitch black form in the middle of the room off to the right, along with Kettu and Xvar, but they were in front of him, being more off to the left, "Why are you three fighting now?"

"Because Xvar and Kettu here think I'm incapable of being a lover to anyone, let alone a mate!" Malefor growled, wanting to stand up for himself and not be made a fool of.

"Hehe, that's very much true," Kettu laughed as the two messed with him.

"You also left out, incapable of being anything yourself," Xvar laughed with his friend.

"That's it!" Malefor yelled.

Now having enough of their words, Malefor cooked up fire in his mouth quick before releasing a huge blast of wind and fire. With Kettu being on the right side, he was easily able to deflect the blast of fire off to his own right side, sending the mass of fire right to the left side of Spyro. But unfortunately for the three, as they looked to where the fire was traveling, Cynder walked up to Spyro's left, right to where the fire was being sent. Unknowing of what was headed her way, she asked her lover, "Spyro, is everything..."

"Cynder!" Everyone cried.

Now seeing the ball of fire heading towards her, she stopped dead. Going to block herself with her wings, a wing shot up to block her from the massive ball of fire which smashed with the wing that had protected her. Backing up some and putting a paw to her chest, Cynder let out a sigh. Seeing the purple wing that had protected her, she looked to Spyro and thanked him, "Thanks for the save my..."

"Kettu, Xvar, you almost got Cynder burnt," Spyro growled, not having heard her as she tried to thank him.

"Ohhhhhhh, you two are in deep shit now," Malefor chuckled.

"Malefor, back off from them," He growled over to Malefor, and since he seemed serious, he did as he was told, ducking his head and making his way back to Carith and not saying anything.

"We're sorry about that, Spyro," Kettu was the first to apologise.

"Guess we were having a little too much fun messing with Malefor," Xvar explained himself and his friend for their actions.

"Did you hurt Malefor?" Cynder asked as she stepped up some, and since she was trying to talk with the two, Spyro brought down his wing to give her view.

"Unfortunately, no."

"Tell you what; If you do hurt him, that will make up for almost getting me burned."

"Really?" Xvar and Kettu asked in unison, smiling even as they liked this idea.

"What?! Hell no. Spyro, remember, Kettu and Xvar are faster then me, they could've stopped my fire," Malefor defended himself.

"Yet, it was, your, fire, Malefor. Kettu, Xvar, you two are off the hook, just don't do that again," Spyro warned the two.

"WH...?!"

"Don't worry, Spyro, we knew you would've protected Cynder anyway which is why we didn't react," Kettu explained as to their actions this time.

"But we promise it won't happen again," Xvar promised before disappearing in a cloud of smoke along with Kettu and going back into Spyro's body.

"You're a real piece of work, Spyro," Malefor growled at him, watching as the two made it over to the left wall, later sitting down, turning, and facing the middle of the Chambers, "That's like saying, it's not the dragon that kills, but the bullet. It's not who pulls the trigger, but what actually caused the death," Stopping what he was saying to see Flair and Cyril were walking into the Chambers with one another, he wished to get their opinion on the situation on paw, "Cyril, if Flair shot fire at you and you deflected it, possibly hitting someone, who would be at fault for that dragon being hit; You for the deflection, or Flair for the fire?"

Once having sat down with Flair as she sat to his left, Cyril was able to chuckle as he thought about such a thing happening, "Well, first, I'd cry to see Flair was even attacking me."

"Oh grow up you little bitch."

"Don't call him a bitch or else you can trade Cyril for you when I attack you!" Flair growled at Malefor, and in a way, defending Cyril, if which he liked.

"Thought you were only going to kill Cyril?" Spyro asked her.

"Doesn't mean I can't put some scars on others here and there."

"Malefor, you do realize you went against yourself on your own argument, right?" Ersa asked him as she didn't understand why he was making a big deal about something he already lost.

"What are you talking about?" Malefor asked.

"'It's not who pulls the trigger, but what actually caused the death'. You said that's how Spyro views things. Which means you view things as; It's who pulls the trigger, but not what causes the death. Which means, in simplified terms, you are who pulled the trigger, which makes it your fault, so you already agreed with yourself that it was your own fault."

"Uuuhhh... What?"

"YOUR DUMB, DUDE!" Spyro called out the obvious, "She's calling you dumb!"

"Please, you can't even spell dumb."

"M, a, l, e, f, o, r."

"What did you spell? I lost track after 'L', and I think 'E'."

"Ha! I know what he spelled, and Spyro spelled it perfectly," Volteer laughed.

"There's no 'E' or 'L' even in dumb!"

"Malefor, he spelled your name," Ignitus sighed to see he still hadn't caught on yet.

"What? Why? I told Spyro to spell dumb, not my name."

"Okay, now I do have to ask; Do you not, get it?"

"No."

"You told him to spell dumb, so he spelled your name, cause you're dumb... And uh... Hehe, I'm kinda having to agree right now."

"So, because I lost track of him spelling a big word, rather then the word I asked for, that makes me dumb?"

"Malefor's gonna be like, 'Got to make a harassment box, but in my mind'," Volteer laughed as he remembered how upset he got when he brought that up.

"Flair, how would you like to start a new dark army? I get to kill Volteer here and you get Cyril!" Malefor growled.

"What about Carith?" Flair wondered.

"She'll be by my side as we take over this world."

"Thought you were too lazy."

"Yeah, I am, but, I know you can't pass up killing Cyril, and since it's by my order, everyone will understand his death and you'll get off easy. Doesn't that sound like such an amazing deal?"

"I'm not going to kill him."

"What?!" Her words got everyone to cry out loud to hear her say such a thing.

"What!" Flair growled out at everyone to hear their reactions, "Is that a problem?!"

"Now we definitely need to have this girls day," Claire was now a hundred and ten percent on board to have this day.

"Flair... I know he spent the night with you and all but, what could've possibly been said or even done for you to change from who you were yesterday to who you are now?" Carith questioned as she had seemed like a completely different dragon while still having noticeable signs of herself from here and there, "Just yesterday, you were ready to bash out the door and kill him, but now with all the chances you've had, you're not even a little interested."

"Wait! Maybe it's because the two... had a little fun last night," Malefor smirked, and while Cyril blushed, Flair didn't, "Awwwwwww, is Flair not blushing because she didn't like what she saw?"

"I'm gonna choke you till your eyes pop!" Cyril growled at him as he knew what he was talking about.

"Sounds like something Flair would be into."

"Malefor, shut the hell up," Flair growled at him, sharpening her fins some as she was getting fed up with having to listen to what he was saying, "We didn't mate, we didn't kiss; nothing of what you all think happened, happened. I'm still very much myself, and if I need to turn against you all again..."

"No!" All of the others cried to her surprise.

"What we all mean is, is this who you want to be?" Cynder hoped for a yes.

Not giving a straight answer, Flair didn't wish for them to get their hopes up, nor did she wish to do the same with herself, "I'm... calmed... whether that's a good thing or not is to be seen. I'm not saying yes because I still don't trust you all, nor do I believe this family will even last..." With the yes being out of the way, they wondered what her rejection against her other feelings would be to how she felt towards them, "But... I'm also not saying, no, this isn't who I wish to be because... Look, Cyril just helped me, alright. I'm not talking about what we talked about but... I only trust him as of right now, alright."

"If you knew this family wouldn't last, why would you put your trust in Cyril if you could lose him?" Spyro decided it would be best if he straight up asked her, not wanting to put the others in a position to say such a thing, and with her not saying anything to his words, he wanted to drive this home and get closure to his own fears, "After tonight, you really don't want Cyril dead, do you?" Once again, she didn't respond, only looking away from the others by ducking her head behind Cyril as to not show herself, and to back off as to not cause a fight, Spyro went on to other matters, "Ahem... To, back away from sensitive topics, when do you girls wish to leave to have your day?"

"So quick to get rid of me," Cynder murmured just to mess with him.

"Do you mean quick to lock you up to forever be my lover?" Spyro purred to her for last night's story, "Seems my shackles didn't do their job. Should make it out of darkness tonight to hold you down."

"You two still play with chains? So sad," Malefor sighed to hear what they play around with.

"Well, being chained with Spyro was the first time I ever really felt safe so... I don't mind doing the same all over again with him," Cynder purred back to her lover, and while she tried not to sound sad about it, Spyro still heard it, so she didn't wish for him to feel bad about what she had said, "Don't worry, my love... I thought I would lose that feeling of safety, but now, I get to live the rest of my life with it. And after that wing stunt to protect me from that fire, I feel like Xvar and Kettu did that just to make me want to throw you against this wall and make out with you."

"You know if that happens, you're gonna miss out most of this day with the girls. You'll probably be passed out on my chest," Spyro smiled, trying to keep up the mood and not frown for what she had first said.

"Which I wish to do so desperately... Ugh! Now I'm conflicted about what I want to do. Damn you for being the way you are."

"Just staying handsome like you said."

"Hey, Cynder, just, please don't make me have to make some kind of chain again just to make it, authentic for your stories," Malefor chuckled as he felt uncomfortable just thinking about something like that happening.

"Especially since you should be working on a chain for me," Carith giggled, making Malefor blush, but he still smiled to her words.

Since everyone was distracted, talking amongst those close to them, Cyril took this opportunity to be stealthy about what he was to talk about. Feeling a drop of a tear go down his back, he turned to his right and was able to see some of her face. Flair seemed conflicted about what she was feeling, showing her teeth but trying to frown at the same time, with tears joining in just the same even with her eyes being closed. Rubbing his wing against the side of her once again, it got her to shiver, but it also got her attention as she opened her eyes to see he was focusing to her.

"It's okay, Flair. Don't think about such a thing," To help and ease her, he picked up his paw from the ground and placed it over her paw, "I'll be there for you, I promise. Hehe, and yes, that is another promise, but I've promised that before so... I guess it just doubles, making it even more of a sure fire kept promise that I will keep to you, so there's no need to fear," He couldn't tell if what he was doing was working or not, but he was able to get her to stop from showing her teeth, and what also looked as though her tears were starting to subside, "And to look on the bright side, I know you'll have fun being with the other girls as they're having a girls day," Now with it seeming his words were working, she took her head from off his back, so, he turned his head to his left now to see she had been facing straight once again, "Will you join them, or, do you wish to stay here and..."

"Will I see you again tonight?" Flair murmured, shivering even as she had asked it.

"Of course you will. When ever you need me, I'll be there."

"And what if I need you thousands of years from now?"

"Even if you need me millions of years from now," Nuzzling his side against hers, it made her shed another tear down her right eye, of which he was able to see, "I'll be there."

"Argus said he'd be there for me, no matter what happened... And look where he is now... Look where I am now..."

"Do... You not like being here? Do you... not like being with me?"

"We're getting off topic," Flair growled, now not wanting to talk about it was they were, "What is this, girls day?"

"I mean, I'm sure the girls would love to explain it to you. I would but, they get way more excited, especially to hear someone else wants to join them," So she wouldn't have to, Cyril wanted to get the others to smile by asking one of the girls to explain, and since Carith was more in the middle, aside from Cynder, he asked her, "Hey, Carith. Flair wanted some insight as to what a girls day is. I'm pretty sure that means she might be interested in going as well."

"Well I can absolutely help out with that!" Carith said with excitement, "So, Flair, basically, a girls day for us is kinda like just hanging out, expect we walk around Warfang as we talk to get some fresh air and what not. I'm sure since the back of Warfang is rather cleared out, we could always go there," Hearing this made Spyro, and even Malefor open their mouths as they were to say something about this, but she assured them, "But we won't leave Warfang for safety reasons, so we don't need to worry."

"Even though we did get attacked once when we were with Claire," Cynder giggled from the memory, trying to stay positive about what had happened.

"Why?" Flair questioned.

"Because I was... an assassin, and I didn't get my job done, they came after me, or at least, the one who sent me here told the dragons to bring me back," Claire sighed, remembering back to that day and what happened to Cynder, "And it was my fault Cynder even got hurt in the first place."

 _She must be talking about Flint, but why isn't she talking about his name publicly? Why is she hiding it?_ Flair wondered as something didn't seem right in her wording. Waving a paw to Claire, Cynder assured her of that day, "Please, I've been through much more then the hit he dealt. That dragon wasn't anything special, and I've taken more damage to a bony dark force creature before than him."

"So if you all know I'm an assassin as well, why risk going out there?" Flair asked, "Not going to say I was sent by anyone, but in case I was, you'll just be repeating history."

"Hehe, no we won't," Carith giggled to hear her say this, "The first time, it was just me, Cynder, and Claire. The time before, we added Ersa. Now, we're adding you and Trish. Even if we do run into some dumb asses who try to attack us, we aren't exactly push overs. We have like, what, two assassins, a female who knows all kinds of pressure points who also survived the war on her own; and you have me and Cynder, and my evil female friend has much more power than me, and I was trained by Malefor to fight. Don't know about you Trish but, there shouldn't be a need to fight."

"Oh! Dude! That's so cool actually!" Malefor smiled as he had an idea after what Carith had said, "Think about it; Almost more than half of us have been villains at one point or another!" Seeing as some were confused while others already understood, Malefor still wanted to explain to get everyone on board, "Cynder, Flair, Claire, and me were and still are evil. I would also add Spyro since he has quite the dark power, and he killed Gaul so, that's pretty evil."

"You should add Volteer to the villain list since he tried to kill you once he thought Ersa had died," Cyril chuckled.

"Oh yeah, that's true. And his knowledge, he could make a plan to take us all down! OH, DUDE! It's like we're the justice league and he's Batman! And it's from that one book, Justice League: Doom."

"I was struggling with her loss!" Volteer growled at the two of them, "Just thinking about it now, I should make a contingency plan to kill you, and only you, a thousand different possibly ways! And I won't stop there."

"What about Cyril? He was the one that brought it up in the first place."

"Ersa can deal with him. After all, she did almost kill him like twice yesterday."

"I was exhausted," Ersa giggled.

"Why were you exhausted?" Malefor asked in confusion, but once seeing her blush, he immediately stopped her, "NEVER MIND! Don't answer that."

"Being a villain is way more fun than a hero," Flair said, making points as to why, "When you're a villain, you can do what ever you want and not have to worry about consequence. Like how I could kill Cyril right now and it wouldn't cause any harm to me whatsoever," She wished to say this just to see his reaction, which, not surprising her in the least, he whimpered to her with quivering lips, "You haven't disappointed me yet, have you?"

"I... Don't believe I have," Cyril answered, a little scared that he might've.

"Then quit your whining. And plus, I'm assuming even if I did try to kill you, I'd be dead no matter what I did to you," Looking over to Ignitus, she wanted answers as to how Cyril survived the night from two days ago, "Tell me, Ignitus. I'm assuming with you being the Chronicler, you were able to heal his wounds that day? While I was shocked about... other things at the time, Cyril shouldn't have survived that day. I put three holes going up his stomach to his chest. I even stabbed him through the tail..."

"So you really did try to kill him," Spyro growled, now having heard from her exactly what had happened.

"Spyro... I'm... not who I was yesterday..."

"And she's already apologised, so we can just look past it. If anything, I needed to stretch my scales," Cyril defended her of which she noticed, "Hehe, I mean, not the kind of way I thought my scales would be stretched but, training is training so, I'm not upset about it."

"To answer your question, Flair; Yes, I did heal him. And the amount of blood he tracked on the floor wasn't something I was too fond of having to clean up, even if it was my clone. And, yes, I did see the blood tracked back to your door, which you were scared about me knowing, and which you wanted to kill me for," Ignitus started to get a little defensive against her, but she couldn't figure out why even after she said she would change, "The Chronicler knows about everyone's past, everyone's history, and I know what's happened to you, I already know about your past, Flair, even if you are trying to hide it."

"What?" Flair gasped as she ducked her head back from him.

"Before, I use to be able to read anyone and everyone's mind, aside from Claire's as I wished to keep our relationship private if we wanted it. But now I choose to be standard, along with everyone else so I can't read any of your memories, but when you came by, I didn't trust you from the start, just like my son. Rather than let things play out, I wanted to make sure you weren't a threat, but I already know who you are. And I saw you with... him."

Hearing that he knew so much about her, this frustrated Flair as she didn't understand why he would act the way he did to her, but she had an idea, "So because you know my past, this is why you're acting the way you are?!" Walking out from the comfort of Cyril's wing, she turned some as she walked forward, now standing in front of Volteer and Ersa as she sharpened her fins, "So I was right about all of you! Once you knew of my past, you'd all turn your backs on me, and you're just proof of that!"

"Flair... Your past... I don't know anyway to help you after what your father did, how he psychologically dismantled you, how everyone you loved did the same...0

"DON'T TALK ABOUT HIM!"

Now that he really did know, showing proof as he talked about what happened, Flair moved up more towards him to the point that she stood to the front of him. Swinging her blade around, already sharpened, she brought it to his neck, just barely missing his scales. Not appreciating the sight, Spyro let his darkness grow into his dark form, readying himself if she were to try something. Cyril himself readied to help, taking some steps forward as he knew Spyro would make things worse for her. For Claire, she wished to calm her. Reaching up a paw and placing it to her right shoulder, she whispered her name, "Flair, it's okay..."

"Why did you look into my past?! Why didn't you mind your own damn business?!"

Giving a sigh for having started this in the first place, Ignitus knew something like this was to happen, "Because of this right here. My son already had to deal with enough, and if you were a threat, he would've had to deal with even more trauma, which he didn't need to, so I wanted to protect him. I agreed with him to kick you out, to banish you, because I knew, no matter what we would do to help you, nothing would work. You are just... too broken."

"And you thought leaving her out to die would be better?!" Cyril growled to what Ignitus had to say, "I know of her past too, Ignitus! Why do something like this when you know what has already happened to her?!"

"You don't know anything about her, Cyril," Ignitus growled over to Cyril as he stood firm on what he was saying and his decision, "Plus, I saw who you were talking to, Flair. From the moment you came into this building, I knew something was wrong, and luckily, Cyril walked out in time to stop you from killing Terrador. He was your first target, and you failed, and now that you haven't killed anyone, I wonder just how upset he will get at you."

"Who's he?" Spyro questioned, "Wait, Flair, who sent you to assassinate us?"

"You think I won't kill you right now?! What do I have to lose?!" Flair tried to stay strong, but his words brought up thoughts of her father and what he's done started to get to her.

"Even if you tried, there's nothing you'd be able to do to any of us. I could heal my wounds in milliseconds, Spyro has the time power and his own darkness, Volteer and Ersa are masters in their own healing chemicals, so just admit that you've lost. There's nothing here for you, there's no need for you to even be up here any more. You don't wish to face your demons, nor do you wish for someone to help you. This isn't even about Malefor anymore, so why are you even still up here?"

"IGNITUS! BACK OFF!" Cyril yelled in frustrated, now being fed up with what he was saying and running over to help her, "How dare you talk about what's she's been through and acting like nothing could be done!" Standing by her side and getting nose to nose with Ignitus, he stood his ground against him, "The amount of emotional trauma Malefor went through, after being the Dark Master, you still fought to save him! After the emotional trauma we've all been through, there's always a way for us to work together and move past it, and you're giving up on her because of your son?! Who's stronger then you by the way!"

"I'm trying to protect him..."

"Then stay out of his life!" Cyril growled, backing off of Ignitus some as he wished to look him in the eyes and make a point, "You said your love for him would've killed all of us during their fight with the Dark Master, and by not interfering, we all made it through! So how about you take a page from that past and stay the hell out of this situation! Or do you only give a shit about your son, cause so far, that's all you've talked about."

"I'm trying to protect all of us! You know who I mean by, 'He'. She was talking to him."

"So did Claire, dumbass! Stop being a hypocrite!"

"Unlike Claire, Flair stabbed a dragon in his neck and made him choke on his own blood! Because of her, just in a week alone, even during the battle, she's claimed the lives of nine dragons; one of which she ripped the heart out of before licking the blood off her paw since her job was done! She didn't give a shit about them, she doesn't about us, and she doesn't about you. So stop thinking about sex and start thinking about the big picture."

"You think that's what this is?! That I'm trying to bang her because I'm helping her?!"

"You're clearly not thinking straight about this. I'm trying to protect you, all of us, from her. Every day so far, there's always another wound that she's put in you that needs healing, and I can count last night's as being today's because of the time. I don't want you to be her tenth kill. And yes, I get it, you talked to her last night, but her mind is unpredictable. One minute, she's good, but then the next, she turns. I don't want you to be near her when she turns evil, even as she already is."

"Then why is your son next to Cynder, when she could turn at any moment!"

"Don't pull that. She was only evil cause of the Dark Master, and with the darkness Spyro put in her, she isn't a threat anymore."

"So then everyone can be helped. Malefor was helped by Carith, Spyro to Cynder, Volteer to Ersa, and You to Claire. So let me help Flair. It's only been two days since she's come by, and I know there's still so much to talk about with her, so much I can do to help her. I've been wrong about a lot in the past; like with Volteer, and Cynder, but because of those experiences, I know I'm making the right call on this. And even if you say no, Spyro already gave me a clear yes, and so far, she hasn't disappointed."

"Even though she hurt you last night."

"If you know this, why aren't you focusing on the good that she showed; How we laid together, talked together, laughed, and smiled together... After what's happened, I don't see her ever hurting me ever again, and even if she did, do you really think, from last night specifically, that she enjoyed hurting me? Yeah, she did give an evil smile as she rested her blade against my literal heart, threatening to kill me, but after talking to her, she was so easy with her voice, warning me that she was going to take her blade out because she didn't wish to surprise me with the pain."

"Can you talk more about this story?" Claire asked him as she was closet to him, and once she had taken her paw down from Flair's shoulder, Flair in returned brought her blade back down to her back side, "Sounds rather romantic."

"And you remember how she enjoyed putting a paw over your mouth as you struggled to breath, all while she wiggled and dug her blade into you," Ignitus growled from those memories as well.

"Stay out of her life. You said you wanted to be yourself, and look what happened once you butted in as the Chronicler when you shouldn't have," Cyril growled back at him, using what he once said from the past against him.

"Sorry for trying to protect you, friend."

"I didn't need it, friend," Wanting to end this once and for all, Cyril thought it would be best to bring in some help, "Tell me, Claire, what do you think about your lover's actions?"

"Don't bring her into this!"

"Then leave Flair out of this!"

"She's the whole reason this started!"

"This all started cause you didn't leave her alone, because you wanted to abandon her, fueling her fears and nightmares!" Since he couldn't talk about any one else, seeing as how Ignitus would reject them from joining, he decided to take this elsewhere, "This has been going on for too long, and to settle this, how about we fight outside? Since my words won't get through your thick skull, maybe my fist will."

"You'll really fight me?"

"Chronicler or not, let's see just how much of a man you really are."

"Alright, I've seen enough," Now wishing to step in, Spyro walked away from his lover and stood to the middle of the room, getting everyone's attention as spoke against the two, "Cyril, back over to where you sit," Immediately, Cyril turned to say something against him, but Spyro was quick to stop him, "DON'T QUESTION ME!" Taking his head back from the sudden yell, especially since he was in a more demonic form, he did as he was told; slowly making his way back over to where he normally sat, "Flair, please, where ever you wish to sit, please go do so," Surprising most while not to others, she faced head down as she made her way over to Cyril, not saying a single word as she did so, "Now, Ignitus, I have to say this as I'm a little disappointed to hear this."

"Spyro, I was trying to protect all of us," Ignitus was quick to defend his actions.

"Cyril's right: When you're the Chronicler, you aren't the Ignitus that we need. You knew she was beyond help yet, you saw, on day one, that Ersa would easily be able to help her with some kind of potion."

"But she didn't wish to take the drink. She threatened to even kill Volteer if that potion hadn't worked."

"So you don't trust your family?" Spyro asked him, making Ignitus sigh as he stayed quiet for the time being so his son may talk, "Before I continue; Thank you, for trying to protect me. I get what you were trying to do, and I'm thankful for that, but, the way you went about it... If I'm being honest, if it weren't for today, seeing how Flair has reacted to many thing, especially with her waking up with Cyril, I might've agreed with you, but... I have to give props to Flair. I was rather excited for her to have a girls day out as, it seems like Cyril's helping, and having a day with the girls might just help even more."

"Are you the only one who knows this, or..." Looking to Claire, Ignitus was afraid now that he made her upset in some way too, "Did you know this too, my love?"

Claire had seen it this way as she had been taking notes about Flair ever since she had arrived, and for today, she was impressed by her performance, "I mean, I'm surprised she didn't hurt you. From what we've seen, she hasn't been scared to do something like that publicly, so, I have to agree; I'm thankful to Flair that she didn't."

"So then... I did mess up, didn't I."

"You can still make up for what's happened," She smiled, not wishing to make him feel worse if she said yes.

"But before you do, now I have to say something to you, Cyril," Hearing his name be called by Spyro and seeing his dark yellow shining eyes looking right into his own eyes, it was like his soul was being watched, which made Cyril swallow hard, "Thank you, for putting my father in his place."

"Oh ha, ha," Ignitus sighed, but it got him to smile.

"Hehe, well that, wasn't what I wished to do," Looking to his right as Flair had sat next to him once again while also being under his wing, he kept his smile as he saw this being something that could be easily resolved, "Since the very beginning, I kept trying to tell everyone she isn't evil but... it feels like no one believes me..."

"I believe you," Cynder spoke up, making Flair raise her head some.

"So do I," Carith joined in as well, causing Flair to now look over to her.

"Same," Claire, Trish, Volteer, and Ersa spoke in unison, now giving Flair wide eyes to see that she did have support from the others.

"And I hope one day that she really could be an ally to us, so I, agree as well," Terrador joined in.

Flair was at a lost of words for the support, though she didn't wish to believe that they all really had her back, even with the smiles that she saw from all of them. The one most surprising to her was Spyro once he had spoken, which she wished to be fake even as real as it sounded, "We all believe in you, Flair, and I'm... Thankful that you told the truth to me. And, Claire's right; you could've attacked Ignitus, but you didn't, so I, thank you for that as well."

Still trying to be herself, Flair gave a sigh before growling, "You're... welcome... Plus, I'm only here for Cyril now anyway."

"Hehe, you better keep those promises, Cyril."

"I'm not going to disappoint her," Cyril smiled as he spoke, looking to Flair as he did, and since she was looking to him as he did, she blushed, smiling some even herself, though she tried to hide it by showing her teeth, which failed.

Now having gotten both Ignitus and Cyril to smile, Spyro wished to say one more thing, but surprising him and everyone else, Ignitus spoke, "I'm sorry, Cyril..." Walking out to the open some, he turned and stood in front of Terrador as he looked over to Cyril and spoke to him, "I... guess you were right. I shouldn't have done what I did and, using my powers just made a mess of things as they once had before... And most importantly, I'm sorry to you too... Flair... I just... I'm sorry, about what's happened in your past, and no one should've ever gone through something like that."

Growling through her teeth, Flair didn't wish to start anything with him, so instead, she just gave him a warning, "Just... don't you dare tell anyone about my past, or else..."

"I promise I won't... But... Claire might take the words from out my mouth from her lips, and then at that point, what would I do?"

"At that point... I... Just... Don't say anything to anyone else then!"

"I will respect your privacy, Flair," Claire smiled as she hoped her words would help.

"Thank you... Claire."

"I... guess it's my turn now," Getting up and walking from where he was, Cyril made his way over to the front of Ignitus, once again standing face to face with him as he spoke, "I'm sorry to you as well, brother. I understand what you were getting at and I'm thankful for you watching after me; watching after all of us... But I hope that, you'll see now that there's no need, and we can get back to our normal lives."

Giving his friend a nod, Ignitus agreed, "Sounds good to me."

To make it official, the two opened their wings, walked closer, and hugged one another, putting a paw behind each other's backs and patting one another there. The sight got Malefor to tear up as he couldn't hold himself back from saying something, "I love you all too!" Getting growls and sighs from everyone, Malefor watched as the two backed away from the hug and smirked at him, "Can I have a hug too?"

"Shut up, Malefor," Ignitus and Cyril chuckled, rolling their eyes while still smiling as they made it back to where they sat.

"I love you both too," Malefor whimpered, wiping the tear from his eye with his claw, but still seeing as everyone wasn't really at ease, he knew just the way to help, even if it wasn't the smartest, "But, dude, I have to be honest; you two fighting was rather priceless. I'm a little upset Spyro broke up the fight but, I guess there's always next year... Oh, or, maybe, Flair. What would it take for me to put a hit on someone so you can take them out?"

"The hell are you talking about?" Flair growled.

"Look, I'll pay you double for a target then what ever he's paying."

"Stop, talking."

"Alright, fine, you drive a hard bargain. I'll pay you triple."

"What exactly are you paying her though?" Cyril asked.

"Well, if she likes killing, I will triple the dragons she gets to kill."

"Oh...You have my attention," Flair smirked now, interested in what her targets were.

"I mean, if you kill Spyro, you get him, Xvar, and Kettu. Those bitches. So that will count for three."

"I tried before, and, spoiler alert, it didn't go so well."

"Hehe, yeah, for him. I mean, that must've been the best day of your life; Nearly killing Spyro and having nothing happen to you. If it were me, I would've been slapped by Cynder. Which, now that I'm thinking about it, how would you like to switch places for the day?"

"I'd rather die."

"I can make that happen."

"Back, off."

"Well, girls, I'm sure we've been spending quite a lot of time up here. So what do you all say we start heading down to Warfang," Carith wanted to step in before the two attacked one another, and with Flair sharpening her fins, it seemed to be so, "Now we have more interesting topics to talk about, now hearing about what you did to Cyril, Flair. So, are you girls all ready to go?"

"Hold up," Spyro spoke, and with him still being in his dark form, something seemed off, especially as he looked to Flair, wanting answers to his questions, "Flair, I need to ask you something, especially since it was brought up with rather, fearful words," Even for Flair, she swallowed hard, not knowing what it could be that he was going to ask her, "Who sent you to kill us?" Letting out gasps, no one told her not to tell of Flint's involvement; him being the Dark Master, "Ignitus said you were talking to, him, which made you a threat. While you girls are having a day out, I would like to go and deal with whomever this may be."

Giving off a sigh as Flair knew she needed to give up who it was, everyone held their breaths as they needed a distraction of some kind to get him away from the conversation. Just as she had opened her mouth to spill his name, Cynder stepped in to get a distraction off, "Spyro! Wait! I... I have to tell you something!" This got his attention as he looked away from Flair and over to her, fully focused to her, " _Someone say something to her!_ Ahem... well I just... I feel like you are still angry at yourself for what's happened today, and I really wish to assure you that I don't hold what happened against you."

Now with her being distracted, Cyril nuzzled his side against hers, getting her attention as she looked over to him, "Please, what ever you do, don't tell him anything about Flint," Giving wide eyes, even gasping as she didn't expect them to know, he wanted to be quick as he informed her, "We all know aside from Spyro. If he learns there's another Dark Master, he could kill him and maybe even Malefor. We are trying to stall until we can figure out what to say to him."

Letting out a growl as she couldn't believe this, she even had to shake her head, "That dib stick really isn't that good at his job."

"What's going on?" Trish asked as things seemed rather heavy in the atmosphere.

"Talk about this with the girls later, but never with Spyro. It's a guy named Flint. Ask them who he is later," Terrador made sure to stay quiet as he spoke to her.

Now getting nods from the others as she had looked over to them, Cynder gave a sigh to see that things had been handled, so she needed to finish up her conversation with Spyro, "Oh, hey, maybe since you are having those dreams about your parents, and since you learned my parents are there with them, do you think there would be anyway for me to... join you in your dream or whatever and... Talk with them as well?" She was rather surprised as he hesitated before shaking his head to her request, "What? Why not?"

"Because as Kettu and Xvar warned me, my darkness can be used as a gateway now for other dark dragons, and as such, if you're there with me, there's a chance you could be put into danger as well. Even me just being there puts my body in danger, which could in return turn around and hurt you. Me and the other two are staying cautious about this, and until time comes where I know things are safe... I can't let you in to that dream."

"I think the better term would be, Realm Like Lucid Dreaming," Volteer wanted to correct him, "While of course I don't know exactly what is happening with you, it seems as though with your darkness being able to connect with this other realm, your mind can connect with that realm whilst you dream. And since you are aware of what's going on, it's a lot more lucid."

"You used big words to sound smart," Malefor called him out for it.

"Uh... Those words weren't that big."

"But I know one thing that is," Ersa purred, rubbing her shoulder against her mates.

"ERSA!" Everyone cried.

"You all don't even know what I was talking about."

"Hehe, yeah, especially since it doesn't exist," Malefor chuckled.

"You want to bet?!" Volteer growled at him.

"Okay, can we just, back off from this," Spyro begged, clearing his throat as he wished to get back on topic, "Anyway, Flair," Focusing back to her, he continued with what he wanted answered, "So do you know his name or not. It's rather unfortunate as this means this dragon could be Malefor," Already knowing he was to say something, and since he heard the same of his lips as he opened his mouth, Spyro stopped him, "I know it's not you! I'm just saying, it's a fear."

"If I say it was him, doesn't that mean you'll kill him?" Flair questioned even though she knew it was already a yes, "Because if you say yes, then it was Malefor who sent me. One hundred and ten percent."

"I need to change my name to grass; because everyone keeps stepping all over me without any regards to my feelings," Malefor cried, putting his face into his paws as he raised them.

"Quit whining like a bitch... Oh... wait... You are one, so it fits you."

"Damn, Flair! You don't give a damn about me, do you?"

"Hehe, of course not."

"Well that was stupid of me to ask."

"Flair," Spyro spoke up, "Who, sent you."

Remembering to what Cyril had said to her, she knew what she needed to say, but something inside her told her to spill the truth now more then ever. _This is my chance! If I tell Spyro it's Flint and he really does flip out, maybe Carith would try and protect Malefor, getting herself killed in the process! Then the two would fight to the death while the others get caught in the cross fire! This is my chance!_ Claire could feel the shivers that Ignitus let off nearly every second, which made her look to him to see the fear in his eyes; the sweat that dripped down his forehead as he had been listening in to what she was thinking. It was almost like he was ready to jump into battle along with the others as, even they saw the smile on Flair's face as though she was planning something. Once coming out from her thoughts and back to reality, Flair focused forward to see Spyro in his dark form. Something now turned against her as she looked to Cynder, seeing the fear in her eyes just the same. Going around the room, she made out everyone's fears as they showed clearly, either from sweat or shakes. Now focused to her left, she looked into the eyes of Cyril, seeing what looked like hope, even trust as he smiled to her. Feeling her heart skip a beat from this, her thoughts had changed. _But is that... really what I want?_ Feeling his wing starting to rub her side, it was something he's done before to help comfort her, and she knew as to why he was doing it. _I know... I know... You're there for me._ Now having her mind made up, Flair let out a sigh, giving off some of what she knew, "I forgot what his name was, but I can tell you for a certainty he wasn't purple. I couldn't really tell who was the leader as there were quite a bit of dragons around one another whom spoke to me," Her words got Spyro to sigh as he was hoping to learn of this threat now before anyone else could get hurt, "I can't remember where we met up but, it's just, too difficult for me to tell who's controlling this new army."

"It's fine," Spyro tried to assure her, but his growl as he turned away from her showed just how much he didn't like the answer, "Just like the dragons who stormed into Warfang..." Facing back to the other Guardians, he didn't realize he was looking to them as he spoke as he mainly looked down some, "He's either really smart, or lucky. But why does he have dragons with him? What could he offer to them that would make them turn their backs on this world?"

"Revenge," Flair answered, getting everyone suspicious, "They are all after the same thing I am; revenge, for what Malefor did to this world, for the lives he destroyed."

"Of course they are," He growled to hear this as it was something simple that he understood, but he wished wasn't the cause of this world's problems, "That could mean he could have hundreds, maybe even thousands of followers the longer we wait..." Picking up his head, he had a plan of which he wished to do, "Then that's what I'm going to do," Turning away from everyone, he was already prepared to take action before his fears came to fruition, "Malefor, stay here and watch the Guardians. Cynder, call me as you normally do. I'm going to head out and do some investigating."

"Wait! Like, head out of Warfang? By yourself?" Malefor asked, standing up as he was afraid he would have to do something to stop him, "Spyro, if that needs to happen, let me deal with it. You need to rest. And I'm not trying to be rude to Flair here but, with her being around, you haven't exactly been able to relax. This is supposed to just be a nice, normal day, so why not enjoy it."

"Because the longer I wait, the more damage these dragons can do. They've sent Claire with the darkness, and now, they sent Flair. I need to go do some search and rescue or, something to stop these dragons from joining who ever this is."

"Then let me handle it."

"No! I will handle it. You stay here, I will be back."

"Spyro, don't...!"

Unfortunately, even just as Cynder was to say something, Spyro disappeared in a cloud of smoke, heading off to do his own bit of work. Nearly everyone let off sighs, and now with Spyro having left, Trish wanted to know more of what was going on, "So now that Spyro is gone, who exactly is this, Flint, guy?"

"After Spyro and Cynder came back from saving a Hatchling, they were walking through the streets and passed by this dragon," Ignitus knew he should be the one to explain as he had most knowledge as to what had happened during that day, "Flint wanted Cynder, Spyro didn't allow it, and in retaliation, Flint tried to attack. Spyro attacked back by hitting him hard enough to make his body end up in the walls of Warfang. Ever since, Flint swore revenge against him to have Cynder, which is why that battle more then a couple of days ago even happened. We're basically stuck in another war."

"So he's fighting to have Cynder?"

"Pretty much," Cynder sighed.

"So then... Do you think Spyro would give you up to save everyone else?"

"He could've, and I even told him this as more of a hypothetical, but he was very much against it of course," Thinking about it more and more, Cynder wished to talk about this more with a rather sunny environment, "Here, let's continue this conversation on our girls day. Hopefully, and I do mean, hopefully, we don't have to come back up here to have to deal with Malefor's dead body or something if Spyro finds out something."

"Then should you just call him back?" Flair suggested.

"I could, but if I do, it will eat at him for the unknown. It's a fifty fifty spilt, but let's just hope nothing bad happens. I guess though since he's headed out, we girls should just do the same."

* * *

 _First time I've been outside of Warfang by myself in a long time... Then again, I... had Cynder by my side,_ Spyro thought to himself as to keep himself occupied for the time being of his lover's abscess. _I would love for her to be out here with me but... I'm not risking her safety._ Holding a wing above his head as he walked throughout the woods, it was rather bright out for the day, and with the sun, it was only making him sweat more. In order to balance this feeling of heat, Spyro used his ice to cool down his body. After a bit, he let off a rather nice sigh as the feeling of cold on a day like this was rather soothing. _Ugh... Now I really wish Cynder was with me... But maybe... Hey, Xvar, Kettu, mind keeping my company?_ Feeling the darkness starting to separate, one from the left, and then another to the right, he looked to both sides to see they were now walking with and beside him, which was rather nice in a way, "Thanks for coming out and talking with me."

"Even us creatures as you'd say get lonely after a while," Kettu spoke from his left.

"It's nice to get out and stretch our legs too," Xvar spoke last from his right.

"Oh, well, I'll make sure to keep that in mind in order to keep you two happy. But for now, I have some questions that I hope you two can answer for me."

"And what would they be?"

"Well, you two are from the Convexity realm, and I was wondering if that means you know someone else there aside from just one another. Which, is another question I have; How do you two know each other or, do you not? Or is it like, because I know myself, you two know one another?"

"I guess now would be a good time to explain since nothing's happening."

"You remember how we talked about how your body can be used a portal to our realm?" Kettu asked him.

"Of course," Spyro answered.

"Well, because of what was going on with you during that time, we tried to escape through you in order to help destroy the world. But as we did, we got caught from your emotions. While we could've taken over your frustration, we took over much more as your body was feeling too many emotions for us to focus on just the one. So, we basically took over all of your emotions, and even your form, though with us being shadow and smoke, you can't really tell."

"So you both tried to escape at the same time?"

"Precisely," Xvar continued the explanation, "But the time we tried to escape was when you were feeling your worst when it came to Cynder, and so, we have the same protective side for her as you do. And to put it simply; our dark side met your light side, and in a way, made us more then we were, more then just monsters. When we aren't in our realm, we become unstable, and our destructive feelings take over, which is why we have to stay away from this world, or else, you get someone like the Dark Master."

"Do you know the Dark Master from your world? Maybe even his name?"

"If we did, we'd have an idea on how to take him back."

"But if you love it in the Convexity realm, why bother trying to escape in the first place?"

"Curiosity," Kettu took over, "Our world isn't much, and we are rather bored unless we have someone we love. Seeing all this world has is rather, exciting to say the least. And as we told Malefor and Cynder before, our bodies can't stay away from yours for long or else we will most surely run out of your light side basically. Even if we are to die, there's a piece of our darkness always within you. So, if we die by say, touching the time power, we will have a back up, while still containing all memories and what not, so we never truly die."

"So then, I have three different pieces of darkness within me?"

"No, just the one, but we've connected ours with you."

"So why can't you two show up if I use just my standard pitch black form?"

"Power," Xvar said, "It's just not strong enough for us to show, and if we did try, it would cause problems for you as your accessing two different kinds of darkness. While you do only have your darkness, just imagine what would happen if you mixed your chaotic darkness with an even more chaotic one. While your darkness is controlled, very much so, all it would take is a slip up from this new form to take control over you."

"So then what's the difference between the darkness and what you two are?"

"Think of the darkness as Dark Aether, where as you and any other dragon in this realm runs off of Light Aether. When you attempt to use our power, there's a chance it will change you as you've seen countless times before. Your Aether infected us now permanently so we no longer have that sense for pure destruction against this world. When ever you lose control now, we lose control over that light, same as you, and the darkness takes over, turning you in to what we are."

"And not that I'd want to but, how would I get rid of you two? Would I be able to place you back in the other realm?"

"You could if you wanted to. Technically, you could open the same portal to our world that it took for us to get here to send us back."

"Wouldn't you want to go back? I mean, are there not like, female dark dragons for you two?"

"That's... complicated... Basically to make it simple, while we could go back, our bodies do not wish to. Now, while we still have our own thoughts and what not, they're just much more easily able to be controlled, and now our main goal in life is to make sure you and Cynder are safe."

"So then... Would you like to go back to your realm one day?"

"That's up to you, Spyro," Kettu said, but while he seemed calmed about it, Spyro felt a little bad, "If you feel you don't need us anymore, you can just get rid of us."

"And you don't need to feel bad about that, Spyro," Xvar now spoke, and his words only made things worse for him, "The Ancestors never cared about us, so technically, our kind is use to just being thrown out. Which is another reason we feel the need to destroy this world; The thoughts and memories it brings back of what's happened from the old days just, frustrates us."

This sparked a realisation in Spyro as his eyes grew wide, now understanding what's happened to them, "Then that would mean... If I could help... Would the darkness let me, or rather, the dark dragons?"

"You'd help our kind? After what it's done to you, what the darkness did to you?" Kettu spoke, somewhat in shock, and it was crazy for Spyro to hear this voice from him.

"You... Wouldn't throw us out?" Xvar was also in awe even though he didn't wish show it.

"Kettu... Xvar, I..."

"STAY AWAY!" A voice suddenly cried from within the woods, stopping the three dead in their tracks.

"What the hell?" Spyro questioned, wasting no time as he opened his wings with the other two and headed for the cry.

* * *

"So now that we are out here, what's next?" Flair questioned.

With the girls having made it out of the Chambers and to the streets of Warfang, the girls made a line as they took up most of the paths. Walking in such a way that mirrored them sitting in the Chambers; Cynder stood to the far right. To her left was Flair, then Ersa, Trish, Claire, and finally, standing at the far left was Carith. Taking in a breath of fresh air as the surrounding area was perfect with the right amount of sunlight shining through the clouds, Cynder, the same as the other girls, aside from Flair and Trish as this was their first day, were all excited to walk and talk amongst just themselves. To start things off, it was Cynder whom wished to speak as she still hadn't gotten off most of her story that she's wished to tell, "Now, we enjoy this day. Talk about anything you wish to. Get things off your chest, feel free, and relaxed. Anything we say here will stay with just us girls. And since you girls seemed so interested in that pink dragoness story, do you all wish to hear it?"

"Obviously," The girls agreed, but of course, Trish and Flair didn't say anything as they were still trying to get an understanding of how things worked.

"Hehe, well, this was supposed to be my special day. I was asking the Guardians how they would feel if I became lover's with Spyro. Of course, Cyril didn't trust me and was skeptical, but Terrador and Volteer were very much all for it. So, I headed back up to my room. Once I reached the door, I heard him talking about a female, a pink one. Sparks asked, 'So you do love that pink Dragoness?' Which Spyro returned by saying, 'You already know that answer'... Then Sparks got all excited, talking about how he was going to rub it in my face that Spyro didn't love me basically. He said my reaction would be priceless."

"This, Sparks, Character, seems like a real piece of shit," Flair growled to hear what she had said.

"Sparks was always an annoying little bastard of a dragonfly."

"Would you care if I killed him?"

"Well, since he's Spyro's brother, I don't think he'd be happy about that."

"Wait, what? He's a dragon, not a dragonfly. How is Sparks his brother?"

"He's adopted. Spyro believed he was a dragonfly for the longest time before finally realising he was a dragon once he met Ignitus," Claire was the one who had answered, which made Cynder a little suspicious as to how she knew this, but she didn't have to be asked for the others to get their answers, "Hehe, look, I was still scared Spyro was Ignitus's son, so I wanted his back story. And with Ignitus being so easy to manipulate-I MEAN-easy to talk... with... He spilled information about all of you. Well, aside from the girls of course."

"Do you really love him, or..." Carith was now questioning Claire's relationship with Ignitus.

"What?! Of course I love that dragon with every living being in my body. This was back when I was still a little hesitate with him. He would usually stay up with me and talk with me just to keep me company."

"So, wait... Wouldn't that mean Spyro's had a rather hard life?" Trish asked, and looking to Cynder, she saw her frown.

Letting off her sigh as she thought about it, the more Cynder talked about his life, it did seem rather tough for him, "He had to stop me, save the world, hope to see his parents only to find out that I killed them, and he even watched what seemed like Ignitus's death. The amount he's been through; having to put the world back together, trying to protect and save everyone, having to protect everyone from another Dark Master and dealing with the Destroyer a second time... He's never able to have a break from it all... Not to mention the hell he experienced when he fought the Dark Master back without me."

"What, happened to him?" Ersa asked.

"Well... because of me, I almost died to the Dark Master, so he saw my bloodied and nearly dead body. He watched his brother be stabbed through the stomach. And he even had to heal Volteer over himself as he knew Volteer would've died if he didn't heal him... All this while, he kept me, his brother, and all of us protected, using his time power of which became too much for him."

"Wait, but, if he was healing everyone else over himself, who healed him?"

"That's... the thing... no one did."

"What?" Flair questioned as she didn't believe what she was hearing, "What about red gems or something around to help him."

"Apes had gone back there and took everything away from the area. The Dark Master planned this day. He was either going to kill us, or, kill one of us and die, letting either me, or Spyro, take care of the world in the absence of his life... So... even though Spyro knew he only had enough power to heal one more of us... he used it to Volteer, instead of himself... He even tapped his own chest to see if he could heal himself afterwards but... nothing... but he still tried to keep a smile, even knowing death was... right around the corner."

"So he... protected you all over his own life...?"

"That's how he works... And you know, it's... scary to know something like this. Because that means, my hero, can one day become a legend. With his death, while others would see him going out protecting the world from evil, I would see it as... A loss... even if what he did had protected the world. Just like with what happened with the Destroyer; He was going to kill himself because he knew, saving even one life over himself... That will always be worth it."

Having heard the way Cynder phrased her words, it made Flair think back to what Cyril had said to her, about what it means to be a parent, "You know... I guess that would make Spyro an amazing father..." This got Cynder to pick up her head as she wondered what she meant by this, "Cyril said that, a father would jump in front of danger, and die without hesitation to protect his loved ones. Dying to protect someone means you can die happily, knowing you saved a life, even at the exchange of your own..." The conversation had taken a rather emotional turn now more then ever as Flair did as she had before, revealing something that she really felt towards without realizing it, "Even as much as I wish to kill Cyril and run away from this... If it wasn't for his support throughout the time I've been here... I would've made a mistake... another one in my life, that I would've regretted."

"So then... Cyril really has been helping you?" Ersa asked her.

"Unfortunately... He has..."

While Flair ducked her head some from what she was saying, the other girls smiled to hear this, glad she was getting the help that she needed. Since she seemed calmed from what she was saying, Ersa hoped this would be a perfect time to get some information out of her on how she felt about him. Trying to be nonchalant about it, Ersa spoke, "So, does that mean you like having his company?" Even though she tried to get some information covertly, something popped into her mind that she just had to know about, "Oh! Like, what happened last night? Did you two really sleep the night away together?"

"Oh yeah," Cynder smiled now as she remembered going into the room and seeing their reactions, "I asked if you slept well, Flair, and you said, 'I did sleep rather well'," Blushing now as Flair realized what she had said, and since it was being brought up, she could tell the other girls were now wondering the same as to why she said this, "Was this because you slept with him, or, maybe something more? Wait! He didn't kiss you or something, did he?!"

"Hell no!" Flair finally spoke up against what was brought up, "If that dragon ever kissed me, I'd be sure to melt those lips of his off! He wouldn't get out of my room, so I decided to let him stay... And while we... did talk about my past... That doesn't mean anything! I don't care about him, I don't love him, and if he was to die tomorrow, I wouldn't give a shit to even attend his funeral!" Hearing small gasp before looking to the other girls to see their frowns with what she's said about him, Flair felt she had taken things a little too far and corrected some of what she had said, "Look... I'm just... pissed, alright. He's making me get attached to him with what he's done, but I don't wish to. I don't want to make memories with someone that I'll lose. It's happened to me before, so I already know that pain."

"You're scared to smile?" Trish wondered.

"Shouldn't you know this pain too, Trish? I mean, you went from your boyfriend to a new family. Do you just, not have thoughts about such things and walk around like everything's going to be fine?"

"I try to smile everyday to help those around me, and to look on the brighter side of life. But even as I do... sometimes... even I can't control my thoughts... And by that I mean... You remember yesterday how you spoke of Terrador attacking me?"

"What, did he actually hurt you?"

"Well, actually... yes..."

"What?!" The girls all cried together.

"I had a... nightmare... And no, it wasn't your lover that caused it, Claire. Terrador woke up Ignitus during the night and asked him if he was the one who caused it, and apparently, there's three ways to have a dream; Ignitus himself, the Ancestors, or the Brain processing what's happened during the day. And with what Flair had said, I got the Brain processing one."

"So what was the dream?" Flair asked as she wanted this to be answered just the same as the other girls.

"I was in my old house with Ivan. He held me down on my back and was aggressive, unhappy to see my wing had been healed. I begged for help, and to my surprise, Terrador had shown up in my dream. While Ivan moved over to my right, I tried to struggle with my left side, but then... Terrador held me down. I cried, wondering what he was doing... As Ivan dug his blade back into my wing, Terrador held my wing down and used the spikes on his blade to do the same to my left wing... Only... He had to constantly stab me in a row to make it look like a slash mark..."

Hearing how horrible this nightmare was, the girls all let out gaps, and even for Flair, she felt a bit terrible that she had even said anything at all. Seeing the shivers that shot through Trish's body, a tear even started to form in her eye as she had to remember back to what happened. Not wishing for her to think like this, Flair stepped in to say something, "Trish... I'm, so sorry... I didn't want you to go through something like that..."

"It's... okay... If anything, that dream helped me connect more with Terrador. He was extremely helpful and woke me up sooner from the dream as the sweat had woken him... If he hadn't been there for me, I might not even be down here... And in order to help sooth me after what's happened, he nuzzled me so smoothly throughout the night, he stayed up with me for a good half hour, and seeing how protective he was... it was rather... nice."

"I'm glad he was there to help you through the night," Carith smiled, happy to hear things turned out well for her.

"Then why did you say you trusted me in the Chambers?" Flair was confused as she looked to all the girls, wondering why they still had her back, "Why did you all watch my back after what I did to you all?"

"Being honest; Having you around is rather, fun in a way," Cynder giggled.

"I can definitely agree to that," Claire giggled as well, "Having another badass female around who's an assassin is pretty cool."

"You put Cyril in his place so we don't have to worry about him doing something stupid," Ersa joined in.

"Your anger while still wanting to be soothed by someone is rather cute to watch," Trish joined in next.

"And while we may never know of your past, helping you out is something we all enjoy doing," Carith was the last to join in, but she put a little more words into what she meant, "Hehe, and I mean, with you being with Cyril; not that you have to be his lover or anything, it seems like you have him wrapped around your blade. This means you have full control over him, which can be rather fun for you, and something that can be played around with in the future."

"How so," Flair growled.

"Hehe, well I mean, we can have our own way of war inside of the Guardians Building."

"How and why would you ever play around with that aspect?"

"Hehe, I mean, you weren't here for this, but back when we all went to the beach, Malefor built himself a huge, sand castle. And by that, I mean big enough to be a small house," Claire giggled as she explained the story, remembering back to something that had happened from that day, "Malefor wanted to take control and had Carith by his side, but he also had a guard, that being my lover, Ignitus. We knew we had to save the world, so, I took on the guard while Spyro and Cynder went to deal with Master Malefor."

"Oooohhhhh, such an evil dragon he is," Carith purred as her body shivered.

"Hehe, so, I told this, dragon, to take his armor off and fight me like a man. Once he did, we attacked each other, in slow motion of course. Once I had, 'punched him', to the ground, I told him to give up, but he retaliated, biting up at me as he tried to attack. Hehe, so, I knew the only thing to do was to calm him. So, I kissed him, for a while, and once backing off, he came to his senses, apologized and begged for forgiveness. This was where I accidentally revealed again that I wanted to... ahem... mate, with him."

"Oh, please do tell," Cynder giggled as she wasn't there for any of this.

"I said that if he wanted forgiveness, he would let me have his body, and I may do as I please with him. But just as things were getting spicy, this was when Volteer yelled and got everyone's attention. I'm surprised no one saw the sand on his back and not mine. Then again, I'm guessing everyone was in awe that Spyro split a massive tsunami in half with the clap of his paws."

"He... He did what?!" Flair cried out, not knowing if she heard her right.

"Flair, this is why I asked about that neck biting thing. Spyro's no push over, and now, he's even stronger then Ignitus from what we've seen," Cynder was proud to talk about her lover in such a high regard, "You know, Flair, we've all been rather, comfortable talking about our loves and what not, and while Trish isn't Terrador's lover, she still speaks highly of him. So, I do have to bring this up, or rather, him..."

"I'm not talking about Cyril!"

"Flair... please," Cynder stayed calm, trying to be as easy with her voice as she could in hopes to get to her, "With what ever happened last night, do you wish to have that again?" She didn't respond to her, only blushing some as she was starting to remember what all happened last night; all that he had said to her, "We love, having you around. And we were serious about trusting you. You seemed, much better until what Ignitus had said and I just want to know; we, want, to know... Do you like being with Cyril or not? Is it he that's helped you, or did you just have a change in heart all the sudden?"

While she wished to stay quiet about it, Flair's frustration turned more tamed, remembering back to something that she and Cyril had talked about during that night.

 _Hearing as she gave off a slight sniffle before growling to control herself, he wished this to be the best time to ease her, "Like I said, Flair, I know who you are, and I'm not afraid of that. I trust you, I care about you, and I'll do anything to keep you happy."_

 _"Fine!" Flair yelled out, making him shiver now, but just from fear, "I won't kill you tomorrow, alright! Does that make you happy?!"_

 _"Flair, my life is in your paws. You choose what happens to me."_

 _"Then shut up and go to sleep!"_

 _"As you wish."_

"FINE!" Finally yelling out as she couldn't take it anymore, the sudden outburst scared even the girls, as well as others that they had walked past, but Flair couldn't hold in her voice any longer, "Listen to me and listen closely! If you say any of this to Cyril, he's dead! And I'll be walking out with a smile on my face!" The girls made sure to stay quiet; tight lipped in a way as they desperately wanted her to say something, and now was their chance, "Cyril... He... Helped me a lot last night... And I'd be lying if I said I wasn't hopeful... for tonight... Being with him has calmed me... But I'm still scared... I just... I don't want to lose anyone else in my life... not you all... And... especially... not... Cyril..."

Finally hearing Flair open up on her feelings gave all the girls smiles, especially to hear she was now enjoying herself, compared to what they had seen from her in the past. Since she had opened up about how she really felt, the other girls didn't wish to push it any further, and instead, wished to continue on as normal. But with this side of her, Trish did wonder now more then ever about what she had heard Ignitus talking about; about what she had done, "Flair, I know this might be terrible for me to ask but... Why did you lick the blood from your paws when you killed that dragon, as Ignitus had said?"

"Everything I do, I do for a reason. That son of a bitch left out the part of where I protected a Hatchling in doing so."

"What do you mean?"

"Long story short, this dragon was picking on the Hatchling in an alleyway, shoving it to the ground and what not. So I went to confront him. One thing turned to another, he threatened me, then the Hatchling, and so, I killed him. He tried to fight back of course, but not to me, but rather the little one. Kinda hard for him to do anything when you slice the nerves in his body to keep him from moving though," The girls swallowed hard as how she described it made it sound as though this dragon went out with a rather painful death, "So, your damn right I licked my paw. You think I give a shit?"

"Then... Why wouldn't Ignitus have said something about that?" Claire was now just as confused as the other girls.

"You really think that would've helped his argument to get me kicked out?"

"Flair... I'm... Sorry for what he did. So you know you do have friends around here, I shall deal with him."

"How? You gonna kiss him to death? You gonna snuggle with him till his eyes pop?"

"Since he hurt you, what do you think his punishment should be?"

"Dea..."

"And it can't be death."

"Damnit."

"Hehe, Flair was quick on that," Cynder giggled to her reaction.

Giving off a sigh, Flair didn't really seem too fond of having to deal with any kind of fighting as of right now, which once again surprised the girls, "He's not revealing my past, and he apologized for what he did. Rather then continue to make this an issue, I'll just cut it off here... You girls... Had my back, even after what I did... So I thank you for that..."

"And if you, don't mind me asking something as well... What did Ignitus mean; About how your father, psychologically dismantled you?" Even for someone like Carith who was all the way at the far left of the group, everyone saw the immense shiver that Flair let off, making Cynder regret even asking, so she wanted to make things right before continuing with something else she had to say, "Sorry... Flair... But you're safe now. I promise," She didn't respond to her as now she was too busy thinking about what he had done, but didn't wish to share her experiences with the other girls, "We're here for you."

"I'm only discussing this with Cyril," Flair growled, trying to get Cynder away from that conversation.

"He better make you proud, even though I know he will," Cynder smiled, trying to keep a good mood, and even as she transitioned over to something that happened that made her frown, she still kept a smile, "Alright, girls. Now to talk about what happened this morning, and, Flair, you weren't there for this, but Spyro really did turn his aggression towards me," Opening her eyes wide as Flair looked to her, this got Cynder to giggle at her reaction, "Oh yeah. Yelled at me for waking him up; said it was my fault for everything that's happened and he never should've trusted me, or even let stay in this world."

"You... Wh... No, there's no way. You wouldn't even be together after something like that happened."

"Maybe... But, it had turned out that he was actually talking to his two new buds; Kettu and Xvar as they had woken him from this dream where he was talking to his parents."

"And what would've happened if you had woken him."

"I asked the same thing, and he said he would've been excited to tell me, compared to how those other two woke him."

"Bullshit. If Cyril ever said something like that to me, I'd have killed him on the spot. Why didn't you do the same to Spyro? I know you still have that terror running in your blood."

"That's actually something scary I'd have to bring up," Carith spoke, getting the girls attention, "If Spyro ever did become evil and something happened, who could stop him?" This got the girls wondering, especially with his new dark form, he seemed nearly unstoppable, "Malefor had his old version of the dark power, and now with Spyro's new form, he even has two new helpers. So if he ever did turn against you, Cynder; our best bet to ever stop him, as I am to Malefor, what happens then?"

Since it had seemed so bad, Flair wished to take charge on this, "How about I just kill him in his sleep and you all won't have to worry about such a fear?"

"No," Cynder immediately rejected, "Carith, we've seen, even with how bad the darkness corrupted Malefor, you were still able to save him. I can do the same to Spyro if ever need be."

"And just if, or when, that day comes where you can't stop him, what then?" Flair asked, but Cynder wasn't able to answer, only frowning as she ducked her head, trying not to think about it, but something came over Flair as she felt bad for bringing this up and wished to help her out, "Cynder... Look, I believe in you, alright. I just, shouldn't have brought it up. If something like that happens, which it won't, we, will be there for you."

"Flair, what are you doing?" A voice spoke from the front of the group, causing them all to stop and look to see it was a green dragon.

Having inspected the dragon, Flair didn't recognize who this was in the slightest, "The hell are you talking about? And who even are you?"

"Why are you helping her? You're supposed to be taking them out, not giving them comfort."

"What?"

"He knew you probably wouldn't succeed in your mission," As the green dragon was speaking, the girls looked all around themselves to see dragons surrounding them, "So he sent us for backup in order to help you deal with this once and for all," As the girls looked around, there were about twenty dragons that had surrounded them; Five to the top left building, five to the top right building, five behind them, and now five to the front as four more walked from behind the green dragon, "Now you have all the backup you need. And just remember, Cynder isn't a target, but since your so close to her, incapacitate her, and then we will just have the other four to deal with. This should make for easy clean ups."

The five girls got into fighting stances as they were ready for a fight, but for Flair, she stood there, not really making a move whatsoever, almost as if she knew this didn't effect her. The girls saw this, but tried not to make a deal of it as they didn't wish to show their fears against her possibly turning against them. Unfortunately to them, they couldn't hold in their shivers once Flair had giggled, "Well, I was going to play the long game, but I guess this works," Walking away from the group and over to the green dragon, another dragon beside him moved over for her as she turned to sit down in the middle of the two, now facing the girls once again, "If we're going to do this quick, Trish is the easiest to deal with, and of course, Cynder's going to be the most difficult one, but I can handle her."

"Flair?! Why are you doing this?!" Claire cried out, not believing she really did turn against them.

"I said Cyril helped me, didn't say he turned me to the good side."

"What happened to not wanting any of us dead?!" Carith was the next to yell out against her.

"I told Cyril, I'd rather die alone then to know I couldn't have! I'm not going to stay in this group and watch as you all, one by one, leave my life! We're all born, we live, and we die; some live longer then others, and for you all, aside from Cynder, that time is ending now!"

"And what would Cyril have to say to this?" Cynder growled, coming out from her fighting stance as she didn't see a need to be afraid.

"You think I give a shit about him?!"

"You keep lying to yourself! I was just like you too; wishing to have just died sooner rather then later for my mistakes. I didn't want to see Spyro go because I loved him! You act like life doesn't have meaning, and if that's true, why do you keep breathing every day you wake up? Why do you make such a big deal about stuff if nothing matters? It's because you care, it's because you still wish to live, and you're scared to admit that because of what life has done to you."

"It must be nice to have comfort, to be with someone you love and who cares about you. How about you walk a day in my paws and see just how shitty my life is!"

"Because you make it that way, because you decide for that to happen! You were happy with Cyril, you enjoyed his comfort, but you're scared of losing it."

"LIAR!"

"Then what does Cyril mean to you after last night?! Instead of thinking of the end of a story, what about the life you had in the middle?! I know too, and it hurts to think about, that Spyro will die in the future, but do you think that stops me from loving him any less; you think that stops me from smiling every day? I'm living my life to the fullest, and Cyril would want the same from you, wouldn't he?!" She didn't respond to what Cynder had said, only making her point more proven then ever, "WOULDN'T HE!"

"SHUT UP!"

Using a small bit of her darkness as to call her lover, Cynder didn't wish for this to drag on any longer, "This is the time for you to choose, Flair. Who's side are you on? Do you wish to live, or not?"

* * *

"Dude, Cyril, your face when Ignitus was like, your in it for sex, Haha! You were like, how dare you," Malefor laughed in the Chambers while the other Guardians all sighed or grumbled to anything he had to say, "What Cyril meant to say was, 'Damn dude, I almost got me some ass, but you ruined it'. Hahaha!" Seeing the blush and teeth that showed from Cyril as he growled over to him, this made it seem like his point was proven, "Holy shit dude! You're so mad, hehehe, you're so mad, you're so mad."

Since Cyril still hadn't said anything, it was almost like he really was upset at this fact, and Ignitus chuckled as he asked him, "Wait, hehe, Cyril, is that really what your after?"

"NO!" Cyril finally yelled out as he was tired of hearing it, "I'm not after, 'some ass'."

"Hehe, you said, 'some'," Malefor chuckled.

"I hate living here," Cyril growled.

"Man, ever since Flair left, you've been a grumpy dragon."

"Because of you! You make me suicidal every time you talk!"

"Do it puss, jump, you won't."

"I, have, WINGS!"

"You have WINGS?! Like, buffalo wings?! Oh, or barbecue wings?"

"You're so friggen dead, I swear to your MOTHER!"

"No, you... Oh, sorry, I thought you were making a your mamma joke."

"Go to hell!"

"Uno reverse card, bitch. Looks like you're taking my spot."

"I'm gonna take your life if you don't shut up!"

"Now now, there's no need for threats in a work environment. If you need to submit a compliant, don't, because nothing will get done about it."

"Hehe, he's got you there, Cyril," Terrador chuckled.

"UGH!" Cyril let out a huge sigh as he couldn't think of anything else to say, and so, his body slid down from sitting to on his stomach as he admitted, "I miss Flair."

"All she does is torture you though. I mean, in less you're into that stuff... You kinky little dragon you," Malefor chuckled as this is what he came to as a conclusion, "Plus, you've only known her for like, two and a half days."

"Oh don't start with that, Malefor. When you met Carith, you were so bummed when you weren't with her, and you only knew her that one day."

"Ahem, yeah, so what? She didn't kill me on our first date, or the one after that... And the one after that... Look just, what ever you do, don't pull an Ignitus. You remember what happened when he was super bummed cause he thought Claire was trying to kill him? That dude knew her for like, two days and was already ready to make her his."

"She was really sweet to me. And you all don't know what me and her even talked about for her to change."

"That's how I am with Flair... None of you would understand..." Growling as he couldn't handle sitting in the Chambers any longer, he got up from the ground and walked some to the Chamber entrance before stopping, "Ugh! I can't take this. I need to talk with her, I just, have to..." Turning to face the others, he didn't need to convince them as they were already on board, but they wanted him to spill how he felt, "I know I can help her, and I don't know if you all have had this feeling but, have you ever had that time where you have someone under your wing, and then when their gone, you just feel so... lonely."

"Hehe, well, I mean, she just walked away so obviously you're going to be alone," Malefor smirked.

"Malefor..."

"Alright! Clam down, dude!"

"You're the only one yelling," Volteer raised a brow.

"Generally jealousy is the path to the dark side."

"HA! You should be jealous. I mated with the one I love before you did."

"Did you though?"

"Hehe... Hehehe..."

"Okay! Nevermind! Please don't answer that."

"Plus, it was fear, is the path to the dark side."

"Cyril, I'm with you," Terrador spoke up now as he walked from between the two and over to Cyril, "Before Malefor says something that I'll break his neck for, no, I'm not lover's with Trish, but I still have that feeling to protect her, especially after this nightmare she had last night where I had hurt her... I don't want her to think of me that way, and I need to be the man that I can for her. So I'm with you friend."

"Hehe, you remember when Ignitus and Cyril were fighting, and they growled at each other and were like, 'Friend'. Hehe, you two fighting is the best," Malefor stayed laid back about this whole situation.

"Tell you what. You shut your mouth for the next minute, we will give you full privacy to make out with Carith when we meet up with the girls," Ignitus made him a promise, and since he knew it was coming from Ignitus, it really would happen, so rather then say something, he kept his mouth shut and snapped his fingers over to him, "Thank Ancestors... All right then, let's go."

* * *

"Please! Why are you doing this?!" A female voice cried.

Dashing through the forest before finally making it over to the voice, Spyro looked to his surroundings to see what he was dealing with. To his left were three dragons; to the back looked like a mother, a blue female resting a wing in front of a red Hatchling as the two slowly backed away from something. Slightly to the front of the two looked to be the father; a red dragon, slashed and bleeding down his face, wings, and body. Now looking to what they were facing, it was a couple of dragons with dark creatures near the sides of them. Now having an idea of how he'd approach this situation, Kettu dashed in a cloud of smoke into the surrounding area, same as Xvar as they readied themselves for support. Walking more into the middle of what was happening, the mother looked over to see Spyro, and since he was in his dark form, he appeared to be a threat, similar to a dark creature, "No... No no no, please!" Seeing as this dark dragon was now walking over to her husband, she took a step forward as intimidation, "Don't hurt him! Please, don't... don't kill him..."

While the red father tried to stay strong as he adjusted his fighting stance over to Spyro, the father was weak, growling as he kneeled down to the ground in pain. With Spyro approaching the father, the most he could do was swallow as he believed this to be his end, even watching in slow motion as a paw reached over to his shoulder. Clenching his eyes shut and letting out a painful breath, nothing happened, but instead, his breathing started to get easier and easier, his body feeling lighter and more comfortable in ways of control. Opening his eyes, the dark dragon still hadn't done anything to him, but once he started to inspect his own body, it had been completely healed, even cleaned.

"Wh... What...?" The father was in awe as to how this happened, "Bu... But... Who are you?"

"Sorry to scare you three. It's me, Spyro. I'm just in a dark form of mine," Spyro spoke to the father.

"Spyro?!" The father and mother were in awe for him to be out here.

Looking over to the mother, Spyro asked her, "Are you hurt? Or worse; is your Hatchling hurt?"

"No... We're fine... Thank you, Spyro... Thank you so much for showing," The mother cried happily.

"I wasn't the one who had protected you," Spyro smiled as he looked to the father, giving him props for what the father had done, "You protected your family. But I have to ask, why are you outside of Warfang?"

"Oh. Our little one saw something and chanced after it, and we ended up out here. We tried to be as quick as we could but, our little one is rather fast."

"Hehe, little Hatchlings always getting into trouble," To the left side of Spyro, Kettu appeared, scaring the father as he believed this to be a threat, "My friend here will escort you three back to Warfang."

"But what about you? Those dragons are no pushovers."

"Spyro, can we continue," Xvar spoke as he walked up next to Spyro's right side, once again scaring the father, "I didn't see anyone else for a couple of miles so I don't think anyone else is out here."

"But... what about the," Letting out a gasp as the father looked past Xvar, the dragons were all on the floor, and for the dark forces, they had been dealt with as well, "Bu... I... I didn't even hear anything... How did..."

"Hehe, damn Xvar, you could've let me have some fun fighting as well," Looking behind himself to see that everything really had been dealt with, Spyro chuckled as he looked back over to Xvar, "Next time, your own defense, I'm on offense..." Feeling his darkness starting to go off, his eyes went wide as he gasped his lover's name, "Cynder..." Having felt her darkness activate from within him, now knowing something was wrong, he acted fast, already wings opened as they fazed through the two shadow dragons beside him, "Kettu, take them away from where Cynder is and meet me back once you're done. Xvar, you're with me."


	30. Chapter 30: Side Chosen

Chapter 30: Side Chosen

Using a small bit of her darkness as to call her lover, Cynder didn't wish for this to drag on any longer, "This is the time for you to choose, Flair. Who's side are you on? Do you wish to live, or not?"

Hearing her last couple of words made Flair laugh for a couple of seconds, "Haha! That's cute, Cynder. You're really threatening me, with the position that you're in right now?"

"That wasn't a threat," Cynder snarled, but this was rather good for her as she would be able to clear up her words some, "You do this, you'll never experience what it's like to truly live ever again. And since this is the best example I can come up with; How will it feel going to bed tonight without Cyril?"

"Oh, hehe, don't worry about that. I'll sleep like a new born Hatchling now that I don't have to worry about his constant protection over me."

"So... You know what he does for you, but you still don't care?" Cynder sighed, and now with this being the case, there truly didn't seem to be a way to help her, but that still didn't stop her from trying, "Flair... After what you said, about how you don't wish to lose us... I get you're scared, but you don't have to be... Letting those thoughts eat away at you; thoughts about death... What do you think would happen if you thought in the middle of your life? What could happen that would do so much good for you."

While Cynder had hoped this would get her thinking, still trying to stall as to wait for her love to show, Flair didn't take anytime on it, "Nothing you say matters. Nothing changes the fact that we'll all die one day," Letting off a sigh, Cynder knew now was the time to stop talking and to ready herself for a fight, getting into a fighting stance and facing Flair as she did, "So, you're really going to fight me?"

"No," She was quick to respond, "I... We... Are going to save you."

Flair let off a snarl to her words, tensing up some even as she couldn't handle the fact that she was still trying to protect her, and maybe even the other girls as well, but they hadn't said anything. They all waited for the attack, and for the main dragon calling all the shots to Flair's left, he looked to all the other dragons and waved a paw inwards towards all of the girls, signifying his advanced. With all the dragons taking one step towards the girls, the females all let off sighs to prepare themselves, but for Flair, she looked down but still sighed the same. _Am I really about to do this... I shouldn't kill these other dragons but... whatever._ She thought, sitting down and sharpening her fins.

"Alright, play time is over."

Hearing a voice approach from above, everyone looked up to see it had been the Guardians and Malefor landing down in the middle of this whole situation. The one whom had spoken had been Cyril, and he continued to speak as he approached Flair, "These females all already have the males that they need," Same as how he made it to Flair, the other four made it to their females, blocking them from the other males, "Now please move along," Making it up to Flair, she was in awe, not knowing he would even be down here, and he apologized for it, "Sorry... I know this was supposed to be a girls day but I... I, missed you."

Flair's eyes went wide once again to hear this, but what was noticed most from her was this sudden feeling of comfort and ease, compared to how she wanted to feel. She tried to shake it the best she could, thinking of anything aside from Cyril, but his standing figure, his body and puffed out chest with the sun light hitting perfectly off him got to her. Not wanting to keep what was going on a secret, Carith nudged Malefor with her shoulder to his backside as he stood in front of her, and this got his attention. Trying to stay quiet and hope no one saw her saying something, she whispered, "These dragons are trying to kill us. They were sent by Flint to retrieve Flair, just like with Claire," Hearing him let off a slight chuckle, she knew why, but wanted him to wait a little longer, "I know you want to fight, but just wait for a second. Once they engage, so can you."

Shaking her head now as to gain some sense of control, Flair was successful and turned her anger against him, "'You missed me'? When I was leaving the Chambers, you didn't seem to care."

"He's sad cause Ignitus revealed Cyril wanted some ass!" Malefor called out from the back, not in fear whatsoever of these dragons, "So now he's trying to cover his tracks."

"What is he talking about?" She growled.

"You remember how you told me not to listen to him? I will just say to do the same thing."

"Flair, we need to hurry," The Dragon to her right spoke.

"Shut up!" Flair snapped at the dragon who had spoken, "Cyril, take the Guardians and Malefor back up to the Chambers! You don't need to be down here for this."

"'This'? What's going on?"

Since her fins had already been sharpened, she swung her blade around to his neck. Even though she knew he could see her fins were ready for use, a tear went down her eye to see he didn't even flinch, as if he really did trust her. But she made sure to keep the aggression showing; teeth and all, "I keep telling you; you don't know who I am! I, and these dragons, are going to kill the females and then leave," This got Cyril to sigh while getting the other three Guardians to gasp, hearing this threatening news, "You want to be helpful? Then don't get in the way, and tell your friends to move too."

Shaking his head to hear that she was in on it, he moved forward, forcing her to bring her blade back some as just contact enough could be enough to make him bleed, "Flair..." Letting off a smile that she saw for only a second as his nose had touched hers, her blade had now moved down beside her, almost in a resting state as she looked him in the eyes as he spoke, "It's okay... They won't hurt you... I... won't ever, hurt you..." Even with how simple his words were, they were still powerful enough for her, making her fins all ease down as she listened to him, "I know you might still be scared, but remember, we still have a night I promised you from this morning... And I will make sure to do all that I can, to help you."

The dragons around her could see that his words did seem to be doing something to her, making her back down from their side, which they knew they couldn't allow. Taking charge, the dragon to Flair's right made his attack quick. Swinging his paw around, he dug his claws into the side of Cyril's neck, causing him to let out a painful cry. The blood that splashed out from Cyril's neck Flair watched in slow motion as it went upwards. Not only did she watch the blood but also what happened afterwards. Since the dragon used force against Cyril, his body hit the ground onto his side. To make sure he couldn't move, the green dragon used his earth powers. Making an arm length rock spear in his paws, he stabbed it through Cyril's arms one by one; stabbing his left arm into the ground before doing the same to his right one as his arms lined up perfectly to be stabbed and pinned through both.

"What are you doing?!" The dragon from the left of Flair asked, "Just kill him!"

"Oh... right."

Forming another rock spear in his paw once again, he made sure to aim for his heart this time. Flair and the others watched as Cyril was about to be killed, but knowing he needed to prevent this from happening, Malefor ran up a couple of steps, turning into his pitch black form, but was stopped at a sight he never knew he'd see. Having enough with what she was seeing, Flair sharpened her fins in pure rage to see what this dragon had done to Cyril. Using her tail blade now, she spun around quick, slitting the throat of the dragon, forcing him to drop the spear as he tried to cover the slit across the front of his neck. The initial blood splatter sent blood outwards before heading straight down below, landing on Cyril. Making things worse, the dragon's claws were now ripped out of Cyril's neck, forcing even more blood to spill out from him.

"Cyril!" Flair cried, taking a couple of steps forward before kneeling down to help him as quickly as she could.

Trying to act fast and get him mobile once again, she was strong enough to pull the spear from the ground, but didn't wish to rip it from his arms. Being successful in her help, the dragon that had been to her left now saw this as an act of betrayal, swinging his own fist around to his her. At the glimpse of her eye, she raised her paw to stop him, but knew her paw wouldn't be able to block in time. Luckily for her, Cyril had brought up his wing fast enough to help. Using the force from his wing, he pushed down on the dragon's arm, exposing him and sending him forward towards Flair. Using this to her advantage, Flair kept her fins sharpened as she headbutted the dragon, stabbing right into his head and even through some of his skull. The force was enough to send the dragon backwards and onto his back, blood spilling down his forehead and knocking him out for the time being. This show of force scared the remaining three dragons, so they backed off from the two. Focusing back on his body, she tried to stay strong after what had just happened to him, "You never should've come out here...! You know! You... know..." Bringing her head down to him, easing her fins and shedding a tear, goosebumps went all throughout his body as she whispered to him, "You know I don't want to lose you..."

Now since she was distracted, the three dragons from before moved in on her, and since the other dragons now wanted to fight when the going was good, they moved in to fight as well. Hearing as they moved in, she heard as they suddenly turned before flying away as the wind whipped around her from the sudden takeoff. This confused Flair as she didn't know why they we've ran away, but once having picked up her head, she herself let out a huge gasp to see who it was. A darkened dragon with dark yellow, shining eyes stood in front of her, looking dead into her soul, showing some of his teeth even as though he was upset with her. Looking to her right and seeing that two other dark dragons were over by the others, Flair knew who this was, and surprisingly, smiled, "Spyro!"

"You wouldn't hurt him, huh?" Spyro growled, making her scales stand up on end, and while he was speaking, Kettu helped heal Cyril with his darkness, "I can't believe I ever trusted you with Cyril."

"What?!" Flair cried, "No, no no no, Spyro, please, believe me! I didn't hurt him, I wouldn't..."

"I don't care what you have to say. You're gone."

Getting back to his paws now, having been healed by Kettu, the first thing Cyril did as he had before was protect Flair. Raising up a wing to his left as he stood to her right, he starred Spyro in the eyes as intimidation, showing he wasn't going to back down. With Spyro giving a raised brow as to what he was doing, Flair wanted to try her best and hope she could get through to him, "Spyro, please. What I said in the morning, I truly meant. I wouldn't, I..."

"Then what was all that stuff about sleeping better knowing Cyril would be dead? Or, how about how you said you were going to kill all the females in this family? I'm assuming there is more to this story that I'm not filled in on, but it's enough for me to know, you don't belong with us."

"I did it as a test!" She finally spoke up.

"A test?"

"I... wanted to see if you all would even cared if I was to betray you all. I was never going to let the girls get hurt. That's why, when one of them told me to incapacitate Cynder as she was the biggest threat, I didn't," Since she was speaking loud enough, the others were able to hear what she was saying as well, "Please believe me... I've... I'm, learning, of my mistakes... And unfortunately, this was another... I wanted to use this opportunity but in doing do... I got Cyril hurt."

"You know you put stress on the others by making them think they'd have to fight you."

"But I remembered back to what I had talked about with the girls. I saw that Cynder had activated her darkness, so I knew every time she spoke, she was both trying to help me and stall for time until you got here, so I engaged the best way I could to keep these dragons believing I was on their side," It made sense to Spyro, but he didn't wish to admit what she had done was the right thing, "But I have to ask; How did you know I said that stuff from the very beginning of that conversation?"

"I arrived as soon as Cynder said, 'That wasn't a threat'."

"But... I thought you left Warfang."

"I did. I just had to save a family and Hatchling before I could make it over here, and now I have these dragons to deal with."

"Hey, Spyro, I don't really want you to but uh, you might want to help those two dragons that..." While Cyril was speaking, he looked to the two dragons that had been bleeding from what Flair had done, but once seeing them, the two had been healed while still being passed out on the pathway, "What...? Did you already heal them?"

"I already have everything under control," Spyro answered, but not directly, "Group up with the others. Make your way back to the Chambers while I deal with this."

"NO!" Malefor yelled, stopping everyone dead in their tracks, even the other dragons who wished to attack, "You are not going to take this from me! I've been itching to fight something, and you're trying to take them on cause you know their weak!" Letting off a sigh as Spyro couldn't believe he was upset about something like this, he went to say something, but Malefor already continued, "I will deal with these dragons while you take the others to the Chambers."

Taking the opportunity presented, one of the dragons to the right building cried out, "Malefor! What are you doing? You send us to help, and now you're turning your back on us?!"

This got Spyro to raise a brow, but to make sure not much was thought of it, Malefor agreed with them, "Hehe, yeah, I mean, I sent you to take care of everyone, but now I can't have weak subordinates in my army. You failed, and for that, you shall pay," Spyro didn't like the fact that he had agreed to what they had said, but he trusted him, of which Malefor had seen, "Good to have your trust, Spyro. Now this means I can start building my army."

Since this didn't seem to work, another dragon yelled to the dragon on the right building, calling his words false, "That's not why we are here, nor who sent us! It was her," Pointing over to Flair now, the dragon used her as an escape goat, "Last night, we had a dark creature speak to her. She said she could get everyone out here so we could kill the girls. If you want to be mad about at anyone, it should be her!"

Giving off a growl as Spyro was starting to get fed up with these accusations, not knowing of what was true or not, he wasn't able to say something yet as Cyril spoke in her defense, "It's funny you say that since she was with me during the entirety of last night, so when could this have happened?" This got the dragon to duck his head as now what he said couldn't have been true, "Plus, she's after my life, no one else's, so her wanting the girls dead is also untrue."

Letting off a sigh of her own, Flair giggled slightly, making sure not to show her joy in her own words, "Never thought I'd be so happy to only focus on the death of one dragon."

Once again to step in, a red dragon next to the one from the right roof slapped him across the back of his head as he now made an accusation himself, only this time, it was the truth, "You idiot! That's not how it happened!" Focusing to Spyro, he knew how to get to him, which is why he wanted to reveal the truth, "Look, truth is, we were sent by our leader to bring back our failed assassin; Flair," Spyro's eyes went wide, shivering even to hear now that they were being leaded by someone, but who, "We don't want to hurt anyone. So if you care about those close to you, give her up to us and we will leave," Since Spyro hadn't responded, this dragon took this as an act of a disagreement, "I'll give you one more chance."

Letting off a whistle, it took a couple of seconds before more dragons had appeared from all around. To add to their numbers, five more joined each group; Five to the left building, five to the right building, five from behind, and five more joining the front over by where the three dragons had been. Now adding up in numbers, Malefor got a little more serious as he didn't believe he could take them on now without someone being injured. As for Spyro, he was still stuck in his thoughts, paying no attention to the dragons that surrounded him and his friends, _Who is their leader... Who... could it be?! Is it really Malefor?! No... No, it wouldn't be... could it?_ Rather then keep it to himself, Spyro out right asked the dragon, "I have a quick question to ask."

"Does it have anything to do with surrendering?"

"Ha. Nice joke, but no. Actually, it's about this leader. Who is it that is in control over all of this, and also, is this dragon the one that's controlling the darkness? Like with the Destroyer?"

"Hehe, you want an answer so bad, ask Malefor, he knows more about his own operation then we do. But I can tell you who is above Malefor in all of this," Spyro didn't give a response, which this dragon knew showed how desperate Spyro was to want to know what was really going on, so he made him a deal, "Tell you what; You give over Flair to us, we promise you won't ever see or have to deal with her ever again, and I will tell you exactly, name and color, of the dragon that's running this whole operation."

Spyro's eyes grew wide to hear such news, now knowing that all the information he's ever wanted was right in front of him. All he needed to do now was go through with this deal or not. Not wishing for Spyro to think too hard on something that should be an obvious no, Malefor stepped in, "Spyro, don't listen to them. You clearly know I'm not with them, so why trust what he's saying, or what he could say if it's already a lie."

"But... what if it isn't," Spyro questioned as he was really thinking about it, "If I know his name and color, then... then that's it. I can deal with the problem straight from the source and end this war all by myself," Looking behind himself and straight to Flair, she backed up, fearing for what he might do, what he might say, "Flair..." As he always had, Cyril stood in front of Flair, wings extended out fully as to protect her from view and what he might do, "Cyril...?" Since this was seeming to become a problem, Xvar had walked away from the group and over towards Spyro in case he needed help with this, but once reaching his side, he stopped him, "Wait... Xvar..." This wasn't going to be easy for him, nor the others, but he had to say it, "Cyril... You know in an instant, I could take Flair up to him and this would all be done."

"What?!" The girls as well as the three Guardians all cried out.

In case something like that did happen, Cyril wrapped his tail around Flair's left arm of which she looked towards and noticed. Giving a frown to see what he was doing, how he still wished to protect her, Flair gave off a sigh as she knew, maybe it was time to leave, as she knew she would've had to sooner or later, "Cyril," Walking up to his right side, she put a paw over the top of his wing, making him let them down as did her paw once he looked to her, "I... told you... I don't belong here."

"No, Flair, you...!"

"Cyril!" She yelled his name, but didn't look to him as she couldn't say it to his face, "Just let go of me," Her words only made him tighten his grip around her arm even more which made this even more difficult for her, "Cyril... I don't want anyone to get hurt because of me, not anymore. With these dragons around, there's just... no way we can take them all on, even with how powerful everyone is. Spyro and Ignitus may be fine, but not the rest of you."

"I said I'd die to protect you, and that's exactly what I'll do!"

"Clock is ticking, Spyro! I don't have all day! And to make things even more stressful on you," The red dragon from the right building looked behind himself and waved a paw for someone to come by, "We'll be adding a life to this."

A dragon to the left of the one speaking moved over now to let another dragon join the group of overwhelming dragons, but only this time, this dragon had something in his paws. Letting off gaps as they all saw what it was; It was a Hatchling, crying out as the dragon held it's stomach, pinning the little one's back against his chest and blade right to its neck. Not seeing this as necessary, Spyro didn't wish for that Hatchling to have to suffer for anything, "There's no need to bring a Hatchling in this. Put the little one down or else we really will have a problem."

Now this problem proved Flair right, and she didn't wish for that Hatchling to die because of her, "Cyril!" Sharpening her fins, she brought her blade to his tail that wrapped around her arm, threatening him to move it now, "I'm not going to let that Hatchling get killed because of me! Let me go or I will force you!"

"Wait! There... There's another way! You don't have to leave!" Cyril cried, stressing out now as he wished there was more time to think about something, "Spyro, please! She's family to us, and if not then, then at least me!"

"I don't know," Looking at what she was doing now, Spyro didn't see it that way, "She's made no attempt to stay with you, and seems rather ready to up and leave..."

"Because she's scared to get attached to anyone!" He quickly tried to defend her, hoping that he could get him on his side within what ever amount of time they had, "I know you don't want to hear this but, hear me out! If Cynder died, you'd never wish to feel love ever again! If Ignitus died, you'd never wish to have another father figure ever again! You don't wish to experience those emotions ever again cause of how powerful they are, and that's exactly how it is with Flair!"

"If you're bringing this up, then someone in her life, she's lost. But who is it?"

"I can't tell you, but please, help me in proving her wrong. We can be there for her; our family, will protect and care for her."

"Spyro!" Knowing her voice would be the nail that needed to be hit to make everything right, Cynder spoke up, getting his attention, "As I said, we're here to save her, and right now more then ever, we need you to help and do the same... And, you remember what I said in the morning; something or another about a subject that has the word 'bottom' in it? If you make me proud, as you said you would, I'll let that word turn to 'top', for the entire night."

While most didn't understand what was happening, including those in the family, Spyro knew exactly what she was saying, sending shivers down his spine as he stuck up straight. Giving a sigh, he now smiled, wishing now more than ever to make her proud. For one last time, Spyro turned to face Flair, and rather then continue with his own test, he spoke clearly to her, "Well, I wouldn't call what I was doing a successful test but... I need to know something from you, Flair."

"And, what's that?" Flair asked.

"Do you really care to be with any of us? Or even for Cyril for that matter?"

Since her fins were easing down, same for her tail as she took it back, Flair gave off a sigh as she was honest, "Spyro... I'm... Sorry..."

"Flair..." Spyro whispered, but brought up his voice some once he got her attention, "I just want to know if you're with us or not. I appreciate you keeping Cyril in check and having you around is growing on me. So... If you stay, I, and my family, will be there for you. And even with all that we can do, I'm sure that Cyril can do much more for you. But that's if you stay. So... what will it be?" Already knowing of her fears of what was happening, he assured her, but made sure to bring his voice down some so the others around couldn't hear, "Protect Cyril as you did before, and I'll be sure to take care of everything else. I promise."

Wishing to give it more thought of what she wished to do, her thoughts of saying no kept being shut out almost immediately, and after only a matter of seconds, these thoughts were completely diminished. With her mind made up, Flair gave off a sigh at first, still seeming bumped for what she was about to say, what she was about to do, "Cyril... please... take your tail from around my arm," Immediately she heard his lips smack as he opened his mouth wide, but now she was able to face him, stopping him before he said anything, "I didn't say to let go," She saw as he swallowed hard, still skeptical of the situation, but he did as he was told, "Thank you," Even as his tail unwrapped from her arm, his wing flung over her back to make sure he was still able to have someway of keeping her safe, which now, to make it official, she got close to him, blushed, and whispering, "It's okay, Cyril... You didn't leave me... and... I'm not going to leave you either,"

Surprising him, she nuzzled the side of his cheek which made him not only blush, but smile wide to feel the smoothness of her scales rubbing against his own. Even as she pulled back from the nuzzle, he couldn't get the smile from his face which now felt permanent, and with this stuck smile, Flair giggled to see how happy he was. Seeing this now, the red dragon knew what was chosen, and so, he went through with what he said he was going to do, "Fine then! You!" Pointing to the dragon with the Hatchling, he gave the order, "Kill it!"

"What?!" He was rather surprised, "I... I didn't think we'd actually go through with this!"

"Kill it!"

Swallowing hard, the green dragon did as he was told, bringing his tail blade some to the side of the Hatchling's neck before going full force to slice at its neck. Gasping to see he really was going to kill the little one, Flair took a step forward and yelled, "Wait! Don't!"

To her surprise, it seemed as though the dragon really did obey her command. But something seemed off about him as, even with how far she was from the dragon, it was like he was struggling; not fighting against to kill the Hatchling, but against something that was holding him back from doing it. A chuckle emerged from someone from around her. Trying to find out who it was as she looked around, her eyes focused to Spyro as he had a smile on his face, speaking after a couple of seconds of silence, "Never thought you would've stay... But since you did, I would like for you to know how we do things around here," She, just as everyone else, we're confused as to what he meant, but once he elaborated with his words, they wished he hadn't, "You've met my friends Kettu, and of course, Xvar. While everyone was focusing us, I had my friend Kettu back there put a little bit of darkness in each of the dragons in the surrounding area. Which means, you can decide what happens to them."

"I can... what...?"

"Well, with my darkness inside of them, I now have complete control over their bodies."

"Oh, dude! Are you talking about like, bloodbending! Like from that one book?" Malefor asked with a wide smile.

"Hehe, actually, yeah. Only, much, much more lethal," Spyro happily answered him, "So, to demonstrate what I mean, why not focus on the dragon who threatened the Hatchling," Focusing him, the dragon's breath kicked up as he could feel something wrong with him, but he couldn't tell what until Spyro had spoken, "I'll have Xvar help the Hatchling, but for my show, why not crush his lungs till he bleeds blood from his mouth? Hehe, I mean, hell, I could destroy his body from the inside out and heal it with the darkness, allowing me to do the same thing all, over, again. So, would you like a show?"

"WAIT!" The dragon cried out, getting everyone's attention, "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I... I didn't want to do this, but they'd kill me if I didn't!"

"Who's they?"

"I... I can't... say..."

"You don't have to be afraid. You tell me who it is, and I might let you leave with your life."

Trying not to look at the red dragon to his right, the green dragon's eyes still drifted off to the one beside him, getting him to growl, knowing he would snitch him out for it, "You say anything, and I'll make sure you're fed to the dark creatures."

"So then it's you," Spyro spoke as he walked over to the right building some, away from the other two, "The dragon holding the Hatchling; if you come down here and give me the little one, I will take the darkness from you and you'll be free to go," Swallowing hard on this decision, the green dragon wished to take it, but the red dragon to his right swung at him, "Nope," Bringing up a claw, the dragon's body stopped midway through the swing, keeping the other one safe, "Great job digging yourself your own grave, dumbass."

Now with the dragon having the confidence he needed, he opened his wings and flew off the building towards Spyro. Once making it over, he held the Hatchling in his right arm as he landed in front of him. Being careful with his movements as to not provoke Spyro, he eased his arm down to the ground before letting the little blue Hatchling down to the ground. Feeling the ground below it, the little one ran behind Spyro before turning and cowering behind him. Now with the Hatchling safe, Spyro waved a paw for the dragon to leave, "You're now free to go. But if I see this, mistake, ever again, I won't be so kind."

Nodding, the green dragon opened his wings rather quickly before flying up to the air and somewhere into Warfang. With his culprit now out in the open, Spyro now made a proposition to this dragon, "So, you threaten me, bring a Hatchling in all of this, and wished to help and kill the females," Suddenly, the dragon spat out blood to the side before kneeling down, coughing up even more blood as his body felt as though it was folding in on itself, "So now you're in no position to make decisions! You're going to tell me who this dragon is before I crush every bone in your body!" Now falling completely down to the roof of the building, his head hung over the side of the building as blood dripped down his mouth, but this didn't faze Spyro as he wanted answers, "ANSWER ME!"

Taking one step to stop what was happening, Spyro saw this dragon take his step from the left side of the building and was immediately met with the same fate. His body nearly crushed inwards as the blue dragons body fell down on the roof of the building, head hanging on the edges of the building. The sounds of their bloody, gurgling voices made some uncomfortable while making the rest fear for what he was doing. Using the second dragon as an example, Spyro gave them their warning, "Unless you all want the same thing to happen to you, I suggest you leave!"

His voice and display was enough to get all the dragons to evacuate. Opening their wings and flying in all different directions, Spyro eased up on the second dragon he had injured, letting him do the same as the others and quickly getting up before flying away. The other two dragons who had been knocked out were helped by two of the dragons in the back as well, clearing up any mess that was left from the street. Knowing he wasn't going to go easy on this dragon, Spyro called for some help, "Cyril, Flair, come here."

They didn't question his words as they simply did as they were told. Walking up to his right side, the two looked at him before looking down at his side to see he pushed the Hatchling forward some with his tail, "Grab the Hatchling, group up with the others and head back to the Chambers. If you want to find its parents, you can, but don't be here for this."

"What are you... going to do?" Cyril asked, a little fearful of his words.

"Just some integrating is all. Nothing you should be worried about since you won't be on the side of this," Bringing up a claw and snapping his fingers, Kettu and Xvar disappeared in a zip of darkness before reappearing beside the lifeless body of the red dragon on the building, "Just hurry up and get out of here," Just as his paw touched the ground from having brought it back down, the dragon's body now laid in front of Spyro to his stomach with Xvar and Kettu to his side, "And don't worry, Flair. For what he did to you as well, I'll do some justice for you as well."

"Spyro... You don't need to do this," Flair said, almost in a low tone as she didn't want to feel bad for something like this, but she knew what that dark form was capable of now more then ever, "Look... maybe I do know something more that I can help you with, so why not just let me say what I know rather then someone you know you can't trust."

"And what makes you think I can trust what you have to say?" Spyro growled, surprising her and Cyril as it seemed rather sudden.

"Spyro. The darkness," Kettu warned, feeling as it was starting to become unstable.

"I... know... But I need answers from him. Calming myself down will make me feel sympathy for this bastard."

"Spyro," Flair once again stepped in to help, "It's not, Malefor... As much as I'd love to say it is so you'd kill him... It's not, him," Seeing as she was getting to him in some way, she wished to keep helping the best she could, "I know you might not wish for this but... can we all just go home? And before you say anything, yes, I did, call it home."

Growling once again, Spyro finally let off a sigh before waving a paw off to the side, "Get this dragon out of my sight. I don't care where you put him, just make sure it's out of Warfang. And as for the little one," Picking up the Hatchling from the ground with his paw, Kettu extended out his paws and was given the little one by Spyro, "Take him to the moles. They should be able to know where his parents are," The two nodded at him, disappearing in a cloud of dark smoke; taking the body and the Hatchling with them as they did, "I know it's not Malefor, it's just... Who is it then...? And from what I gathered, why would he or she, want Cynder? Unless this dragon knows what she's capable of," Once having returned, Kettu and Xvar appeared behind Spyro before walking up and entering back into his body, returning his full power which seemed to help him control it better, "Why does everything have to be so difficult?"

"Don't worry, Spyro, everything's going to be okay," Cyril wished to assure him, but he chuckled as he didn't know what he was assuring him on, "Then again, I don't really know what's going through your mind and all, but we'll be there for you. But one thing did surprise me," Nudging Flair on the shoulder, she looked at him as he looked her in the eyes, "I'm surprised you're so calm. Hehe, I mean, I thought you would've at least killed one of those dragons. And to spare one is beyond what I thought you'd do."

"Is that a problem?" Flair growled, bringing back up her anger now, "Sorry if I was being threatened. Sorry if I was about to be executed as I watched everything be taken from me once again!"

"They wouldn't have executed you."

"Uh-huh. And what makes you so sure?"

"I clearly would've stopped them."

"Your ass was on the floor before anyone else, and you even nearly died."

"Hehe, Damn, Cyril! You and your weak ass," Malefor laughed.

"I still protected you from that punch, did I not?" Cyril defended himself at least a little.

"Just try not almost dying on me like that again, you understand?" Flair growled.

"You know me; I promise."

"Isn't that like, the second time he's almost died just in Warfang though?" Malefor asked the others.

"We three almost died when trying to defend Warfang before the friends showed up," Terrador brought up that time.

"Oh yeah... Holy hell. Dude, Cyril, how many times have you almost kicked the bucket?"

"Hum," Thinking about it some as Cyril walked up to the group with Flair and Spyro, he was surprised at just how many times he did experience death, or at least came close to it, "That doesn't even call in for the times I trained with the previous Guardians. As well as the three years of war, and even times before war was even a thing... Though, I'm pretty sure I've almost died more times in Warfang then out."

"Hehe, oh yeah! Now, with Flair, you almost died a couple of nights ago too. She tried to kill you in the Chambers yesterday, and apparently, she even rested her blade against your heart?"

"That was such a nice time," Cyril gave a smile which confused everyone as they didn't understand why something like that would've been enjoyable.

"Cynder," Walking up to her lover and standing before her, she looked to see something was wrong, but knew sooner then he could tell, "I can't... Shake this feeling, and I just... I need help coming out from my dark form."

"Hehe. Why are you asking me to kiss you when you could've just done it?" Cynder giggled to see he was being so calm with her, so easy.

"I just... didn't know if you wanted to or not so, I didn't want to force a kiss onto you."

"Well, since you are asking..." Getting up close to him, almost nose to nose, his eyes widened as she purred to him, "I want you to beg for me to kiss you," Her sudden seductive mode send shivers through his spine which he rather enjoyed, "And I don't want a simple please, I wish for you to get on your knees and beg for a kiss from yours truly."

Giving off a sigh, but still smiling, he had to ask, "Are you really going to make me do this?"

"I'm guessing you don't wish for a kiss then?"

"No...! Ahem... I mean, of course I do."

"Then beg."

Letting off another sigh, he did as he was told. Sitting down in front of her, Spyro moved his paws to his chest, held them together, and begged, "Please, Cynder, let me get the sweat love and pleasure from those lips of yours."

"Little louder."

"You're enjoying this aren't you," Spyro chuckled.

"Oh very much so. But I want to see how desperate you are to partake of my lips."

Getting back into character, he continued, "Please. Please... Cynder... May I kiss you?"

"Ugh. You males are all the same; after my beauty. I think I'm going to have to decline."

"Decline huh?" Spyro smirked, giving off a growl as he stood up, extending his wings and showing off his dominance, "At this point, how about I just take the kiss I deserve by force then?"

"Uh, actually, Spyro, this is my time for my lover," Malefor spoke up, breaking the two's moment which only made the darkness in Spyro more flustered, "Ignitus and I made a deal; If I stayed quiet for a full minute, I would be able to have my time with Carith; uninterrupted once I met back up with her."

"You stayed quiet for a full minute?!" The girls and Spyro were surprised.

"You all act like that's some big revelation."

"Well I mean, you never, shut, up," Flair growled.

"Hehe, yes the hell I do. It's called sleeping. I never talk when I'm sleeping, which means I've stayed quiet for hours before."

"Oh what a life that sounds to live; Malefor shutting up for almost a full day," Cyril thought with a smile, and knowing he could get some help, he looked to Flair as he whispered, but was still easily heard by everyone, "Flair. What can I do for you to take Malefor out of the family for at least a day?"

"You know I'd end up kill him," She already knew this outcome, but apparently, so did he.

"Hehe, and that's the part I'm most hopeful about too."

"Oh?" For some reason, to her, Flair rather enjoyed hearing him say what he did, "It's times like these when I'm glad I haven't killed you... well, yet, that is."

"You know, one day, I'm gonna make a come back, and you'll all be sorry," Malefor growled through his teeth.

"I hope that does happen one day. It'll just give me a reason to kill you."

"Aw, but, Flair... I need him," Carith whimpered.

"Doesn't matter either way. You'll lose him along the way anyway," Her words got everyone to come down from a rather joyful tone of which she noticed, and to the surprise of the others, she apologized, "Sorry... I, didn't mean to say that. I'm still... adjusting to what ever the hell life is again."

"Well, like you said; we can head home. Though," Once done speaking with her, Spyro looked back to Cynder as he blushed, "How loud do I need to yell? Because I... really do need your help."

"How about you make out with me right now?" Cynder suggested, almost as if she had another idea in mind, which she revealed to him of what it was, "I can see quite a bit of dragons around us, some being female, and I wish to show them that you belong to me. So you better make sure to wet those lips of yours, cause I want to make them bitches jealous."

"Hehe. That's pretty evil... Maybe I should be nice and start a kissing booth."

"You know almost every female will be running up to kiss you. Which is a real shame as the population of Warfang will be cut in half if that happened."

"Why... would Warfang's population be cut in half?"

Bringing up her tail blade close to his eye, Cynder smirked, which made Spyro swallow hard as he understood why now, "Why so scared, my love? I know you'd only ever kiss me. And trust me; I know the taste of your lips, very, very well, so I'd advice against it."

"I feel like we're going to have to leave some of our group behind if you wish to return home, Flair," Ersa spoke up, seeing as love was in the air for most of those around her, "So, to give those who are staying behind some privacy, would you like to continue back?"

"I'm... surprised your letting me back with you after what happened," Flair was a little surprised, still feeling as though they didn't trust her.

"Flair... honestly, your test, worked out way better than I think you believe it did," Claire said, getting her attention, "It was mainly when Cyril showed up that you really shined for personality. Watching you protect Cyril, crying to see how damaged he was, and even you two working together was rather sweet to watch," This got Cyril to smile, and the same as Flair, it also got the two to blush, "Even not being lovers, you get that sense of what it's like; protecting someone as they do the same for you. it's nice."

"You live with a man who can snap his fingers and destroy a mountain. I'm sure he doesn't need your protecting."

"Oh! Yeah, but I mean, it's still nice."

"Yeah, for you. He has to do all the work."

"Crazy question, but why is it called, 'Snapping your fingers', when your thumb isn't a finger?" Malefor asked, already getting the others to sigh, "That wasn't even a dumb question...! Look, all I'm saying is, it should just be called snapping your digits. Haha! Yes! I'm super smart. But also-why is Spyro biting Cynder's tail blade?" Having pointed it out as, while he was speaking, he noticed it, and as everyone looked over, Cynder and Spyro had been flirting with one another, and just as Malefor pointed out, her tail blade was sideways in Spyro's mouth as he had bit down on it, smirking at her, "Do it, Cynder. Go for the kill!"

"Hey, Carith, you know Malefor's in his dark form right now," Volteer pointed out to help get Malefor away from the other two.

"Oh yeah!" Carith smiled wide as she now looked to his body, realizing it now with things having calmed down compared to the fight, "Malefor, against the wall, now."

"Wha..."

"Don't question me!"

Ducking his head, he swallowed before agreeing, "Yes ma'am."

Seeing how calm those around her were, not only did Flair realize it, but so did Trish as it was rather a surprise for the two to see. Those smiling and laughing after such an event, how quick it was over, and how easy and safe it seemed to be around those that she was. It was something that Trish wished to speak with Terrador about too. It didn't take much to get his attention, only a simple, soft use of his name, "Terrador..." Looking behind himself just a bit to see her, now having his attention, she continued, "Is this usually how things turn out around here? I mean, usually after a fight, similar to Ivan, it would scar us for years. But here, it seemed like dust; just brushed off and not thought that much about."

"Hehe, yeah, that's pretty much how things go on around here," Terrador responded, and his response got her to smile, "After a battle, we laugh it off, Malefor doesn't shut up, Spyro does all the work and then we go home. Though, the fight with the Destroyer the second time was much more of a different story, but we pull through because we protect each other... And, hehe, once again, because of Spyro."

"And what happens when you one day lose that leverage?" Flair asked, breaking up the moment from the two, turning their smiles to slight, uneasy frowns.

"Flair, we will no longer be having any of that negativity," Cyril took charge, smiling as he believed what he was saying would help her, "For now on, you shall smile on the future rather then have such thoughts. No longer will you..."

"Are you telling me what to do?" Flair showed her teeth, but it was her growl that got him to shut his mouth, "Cyril, what did I talk about when it came to telling me what to think and do?" He didn't need to be reminded, but having been, he swallowed hard not only from her bringing up his words, but her blade as well as they curved perfectly around his neck, waiting to be sharpened, "First, I get told your looking for some... ass, by Malefor. And now you're telling me what to do? I don't appreciate this side of you."

"No no no, that's not it at all! I was rather, sad, not being with you. In fact, I was... rather depressed."

"Now you're lying to me?"

"Flair," Hearing a voice speak, she looked to her right to see it had been Ignitus, "I know after what I said, you're probably still upset with me, and I am still sorry. But he's telling the truth. Cyril really did get depressed with you not being around, with you not under his wing," Another thing came to mind that he had remembered which made him turn his attention to Trish as he spoke about Terrador, "And Trish. Terrador's been wishing to talk with you as well. After your nightmare, he said he never wishes for you to see him like that, and he wishes to be the man that he can for you."

Having revealed some personal information that the two had spoken about, both Cyril and Terrador blushed, so much so that it turned their cheeks red enough to show through their scales. While embarrassed, Ignitus's words still seemed to help quite a bit for the others. For Trish, she smiled, only making Terrador's blush show just that much more, but what really kicked his heart into gear was her words, "That's really sweet of you, Terrador."

Her smooth, easy voice as she thanked him made him stand straight up as he couldn't understand what was happening to his body, and it seemed as though there was no way of fighting back against it. Even more to his surprise, she moved her head some, just enough to have the side of her face line up with the side of his. Giving him a nuzzle to his cheek, his body now completely froze as everything focused towards the feeling of her scales, rubbing up against the side of hers. Pulling back from the nuzzle, Trish blushed, but still giggled to see his reaction, having been turned completely stiff. Chuckling some from his reaction, Volteer had to be the one to joke about what was happening with him, "Aw, Terrador... do you like her?

Trying to open his mouth to yell at him, all Terrador could do since his mouth wouldn't move was to just look down as he struggled to even breath, let alone get his blush away from his face. As for Flair, she focused deeply into Cyril's eyes as she looked at him, intensely enough to get him to sweat, but he tried to keep his composure. Her thoughts didn't stay contained as she thought out loud to herself, both speaking to herself, and him, "You got depressed without me being under your wing?" Giving a nod as he didn't know if she was talking to him or not, she once again said something out loud, "What are you after?" Going to open his mouth as he wished to once again tell her, she stopped him as now she spoke to him, "So if I left right now, Cyril, what would you do?"

It was something he didn't wish to think about, but was easy to know once having thought about it for a second, "I'd probably lay in the last place I saw you, or maybe even the most memorable place that we spent most of our time together..." This got her to raise a brow from his answer, and feeling as though it was the wrong answer, he had something else to say, "But more then likely, if it was something that I can do to help save you from, I'd do anything to get you back," He didn't know what he had said, but his words got her to move her blade down from his neck to his chest as, not only did her blade rest there, but so did her eyes as she gave off somewhat of a frown, "You... know... If we do get home sooner, we could head back to your room and... cuddle..."

Since he had said it out loud, she looked around to see the other reactions of the others, and react they most certainly did. It was mainly those that had been talking to them, such as Ignitus, Terrador, Volteer, and the females they were with. Seeing their shocked faces, she showed her teeth, bringing her head back up along with her blade, covering his neck once again, "We will never do such a thing! And if you ever suggest a thing ever again, then that wing of yours will just have to enjoy the rest of its life alone!"

This got fear to not only shut his mouth, but the mouth of the others as they looked away, either to those they were with, or just at the sky. Having them look away, she got a little closer to him, scaring him as he didn't know what she'd do, "If the night goes well... I'd... like it if you'd stay the night with me again... okay...?" This much more soften voice made him smile wide as it seemed as though she really did enjoy her time last night, which made him feel even more ecstatic as he felt like he was doing everything right, "Thank you... for showing up when you did," With the others looking back over to her as things had gone quiet, she pulled her head back and went back to her normal self, growling at him, but with much less of a show of anger, "The only ass you better be watching is your own, you understand?"

"Hehe, as you wish."

"Hey, Cyril, next time you say that, let Flair push you down a hill after she says, 'You can die for all I care'," Volteer chuckled, bringing up a reference that both Cyril and Flair looked at him for, confused to what he meant by, "Then, once you say, 'As you wish', Flair will follow down the hill as well, realising you were even still alive."

"What the hell are you even talking about?" Cyril asked in complete confusion.

"Are you seriously making that reference?" Ersa giggled as she knew what it was from.

"Reference to what?" Flair now asked as she was interested.

"Not surprised you know what I'm talking about, my love," Volteer smiled to his mate, glad she was at least the one to figure it out.

"Hehe, well I mean, literally anything you think of, I can think of the exact same thing so..." Ersa smiled herself as she knew of what he was to say before he even said it.

"That's impossible," Flair called her out on it, knowing something like that couldn't be real.

"Flair," Cyril spoke her name, getting her attention, "These two are rather... bonded through space and time. Ask them anything and some how, they really will answer with the same answer at the exact same time," This got her to raise a brow, and seeing her disbelief, he thought of something for the two mates to answer to show her, "Here, I'll show you. Ersa, Volteer, what's your favorite season?"

"Winter," Both Volteer and Ersa answered in unison.

"Why?"

"Best time to cuddle," Once again, both were spot on with their words.

"Who's your least favorite dragon?"

"Malefor."

"Well that was a stupid easy question... Okay, here's a difficult one; What is a synonym for the word joy?"

"Delight."

"Another one."

"Ebullience."

"And one more. Even more difficult then that one."

"Joie de vivre!" The two mates got each and every word down to the tone, perfectly aligning each other with their words.

Flair was completely shocked how they really had done exactly as Cyril said they would; perfectly lining up with each other as if they were one in the same. This shock got her to ask as she couldn't believe such a thing was even possible, "There's... no... There's no way! There's beyond so many more synonymous you could've used for that one word, but you two brought up the same word?! Are... you two like, related or, actually cosmic beings?"

"Hehe, me and Volteer have always done something like this ever since we met. I mean, I brought up some of my past, but I never even told you and Trish how me and Volteer even met," Ersa giggled at the memory as she remembered it clear as day, even with how long it's been, "It's been about fourteen years since this last happened, but I stopped him from walking into a wall. I laughed and said, 'Well, technically you wouldn't have walked into a wall as you didn't have that much force, but still'. And I later apologized for talking the way I did to him."

"Why?"

"Well, for one, he was a Guardian. And for another reason... A lot of dragons didn't care for me acting so smart about things all the time. Hehe, but it turned out, Volteer rather enjoyed it. After some talking, we brought up the different kinds of concussions when it came to either a closed or open brain injury. Let's just say, after that, things kinda took off."

"Wow... You two are literally the definition of, 'Great minds think alike'. So I guess that means the universe knew no matter what, you two were just destined to be mates."

"That's definitely not what I thought the universe believed with the time I was away from him, but like I said, after the time I've already spent with him, it more then makes up for all of it. I never, ever, wish to lose him ever again of course, and I hope that things will stay... decently peaceful."

"I would... very much like that as well, but unfortunately, I do have to start a fight with someone real quick."

"Oh no... Who is it?"

Focusing her attention to Ignitus, Flair showed her teeth to him, and having an idea of what it could be, Claire stepped in, putting a wing out in front of her lover, "Now now, Flair, we don't need to start a fight."

"What did I do?" Ignitus asked.

"You... Um... Ignitus... When you spoke of her killing a dragon and licking his blood, you didn't tell us why she enjoyed killing him."

"Oh... Yeeeaaaahhhh..." Ducking his head back some, he knew now what this was about and felt bad as he could see the disappointment not only in Claire's voice, but also on her face.

"Why didn't you tell us about that? And be honest."

Giving a sigh, he wished to do as he was told, "Because... it... wouldn't have helped my point of trying to get her kicked out."

"I sure hit the nail on the head with that one," Flair growled as she had called him out for this before he even said something.

Giving her own sigh which made Ignitus frown, Claire gave a shiver as she was afraid to speak on what the girls had spoken of, "Look... I already said Flair can choose your punishment. And don't worry, it's not death..."

"That's... not what I'm afraid of..." Ignitus murmured.

"What? Then what is it?"

Bringing up his own wing, he draped it over his lover's back, which showed now what he was afraid of, making this even more difficult for Claire. Hoping maybe he could do something to stop her from punishing him, Ignitus once again apologized for what he had done, "Flair... I'm..."

"Stop with your mushy shit!" Flair yelled at him, surprising those around her as they didn't expect this kind of reaction, "You already apologized, and you haven't said anything about my past, so, I'll let you off easy. But don't take what I'm doing as sweet. I just feel pitty for dragons like you. But if you ever do something like that again," Bringing her blade up to Cyril's neck, she didn't look at him as he looked to her with wide eyes, confused as why she was threatening him, "I'll gut him faster then you can blink."

Already seeing the evil smile go across Ignitus's face as he had plans to say something, Cyril chuckled in fear, "Hehe, oh no. Ignitus, please... don't do it man."

While he did plan to something, Ignitus eased off as he had better plans, "Eh... I guess I'll let her spare you," Looking to his lover, he smiled as he hadn't done what he wished in quite some time, "You know, we were all pretty depressed not being with you all, and one thing that was brought up was when you froze over my mouth to kill me, and I got super depressed about it," While he smiled from the memory, she didn't; frowning even as she ducked her head, "No, Claire, it's okay," Easing his tail around, he picked her head up by applying some force to the bottom of her chin which she didn't fight against, "I love you, and unlike the others, I haven't show that yet today. So... What do you say we have our own fun?"

"Oh...?" Now supporting her own head, he brought his tail back down as Claire spoke, "And what do you have in mind?"

"Well, since I know I've been rather bad as of late, how about... I let you have top, and you can have your story your way."

"Really?! You'd let me have what ever story I wanted?!"

"Hehe, oh no. Why? What story do you have in mind?"

"The story of how Claire and Ignitus had a Hatchling!" Malefor happily cried out, throwing his arm around the back of Ignitus's shoulder as he stood off to his left, getting him to growl, "Oh man. It's times like this when I'm glad I have my own room. I'd get to do what ever I want, but you two? Damn. How uncomfortable it must be to have others in the back with you. But don't worry, I have a plan. Just need help hiding the bodies."

"You saying you're glad you have your own room so you can bang Carith in peace?" Ignitus growled.

"What?!" Carith blushed, getting back to where she was at the far left of the group.

"Oh ho ho, Ignitus. Using a word such as, bang. It's below you. But unlike your words, I'm sure Claire would love to be below you."

"He's not wrong," Ersa giggled as she whispered to Claire, remembering what she had said to her and the other girls.

"Hush!" Claire hissed through her teeth, trying to control her blush.

"Malefor, can you not take another year off the life of my father," Spyro finally spoke up, getting everyone's attention to see he was finally calmed down and back to his normal bright purple scales, "What Claire and Ignitus does is none of our business, even though... I'm sure it would be brought up sooner or later... kinda like with Volteer and Ersa... But that's besides the point. You're acting like Sparks, and that's a big no-no. And you didn't answer Ignitus; is that why you like having a room or not?"

"Hehe, yeah, I'm not going to answer that. My hopes and dreams stay private," Malefor didn't say yes or no, but the way he made it sound was more of a yes then he thought.

"Hopes and dreams?! You totally do wish to mate with Carith, don't you!" Claire was purposely loud as to get all of their attention, and it most certainly worked as Carith now blushed red enough to look related to a red dragon.

Waving a paw in front of Claire's face, he wished for her to forget everything he said, "These are not the droids you are looking for..."

"Really?" Volteer and Ersa grumbled.

"Hey, can we like, head home now?" Malefor diverted the conversation, which worked out in his favor as he knew this was something they had been wanting to do for a while, "Since we are the males, we shall take the lead in case something happens."

"You think we females can't handle ourselves?" Flair growled at him.

"What I meant is, if we walk in front, you don't have to worry about Cyril looking at your ass."

"Stop with that shit before I hurt you!" Cyril blushed, yelling at him as he didn't like being pinned as a creep.

"Oh ho ho, dude, you're so mad. You're thinking right now, "Damn, I could've looked at her backside all the way back to the Chambers'."

"I'm going to make you eat your own teeth if you don't shut up!"

"How could I if I don't have any teeth to chew?"

"I'm gonna stick them down your throat, like with my fist!"

"Your hate has made you more powerful. Fulfil your destiny and take your father's place at my side."

"Flair, please, please! I will forever be in your dept if you kill him," Cyril begged.

"One day, Cyril, one day, we won't have to worry about him any longer," Flair sighed, understanding his frustration.

"Come on, Malefor, leave him alone," Spyro helped stop Malefor from speaking, which was a nice sigh of relief for most of the others, "Plus, I need to walk and talk with you about what the dragons had to say," With the smack of his lips, Malefor was ready to defend himself, but Spyro made sure he couldn't say anything yet, "I'm not blaming you! I just need to talk with you," Looking back towards the girls, he asked all of them," So, if it's okay with you girls, can we take lead back to the Chambers, or do you wish for us to follow behind."

"Well, here's a dilemma; I want Volteer to look at my backside so..."

"You can walk ahead of us," Flair stepped in, blushing the same as most as she stopped Ersa from saying anything else.

"Aw," Volteer cried with quivering lips.

"Damn, Volteer. Then again, I'm not really surprised. You always thirsty for Ersa, you sad dragon," Malefor chuckled to hear what Volteer said.

"Please don't say, thirsty, ever again," Flair grumbled to his use of words.

"But what if I need water? What do I say then?"

"How about I poke a hole in your throat so you can swallow your own blood for the rest of your life, so you'll never need to worry about thirst ever again?" This got Malefor to finally shut up, even some of the others ducked their heads back as they were afraid of her now more then ever, "Now I suggest you turn your ass around and start walking."

Moving out of the way for the others to walk by and to the front of the group, Malefor was the first to get away from her as he now feared for his own life. Now with the guys in front of where the other girls were as they made it a couple of feet away from them; far enough so they knew they wouldn't hear the girl's conversations, but close enough in case they needed to turn and help. With the girls turning themselves around to face inwards towards the Guardians Building, Cynder was now on the far left of the group while Carith now walked on the far right. With the guys starting to walk back to home, the girls followed along as well, keeping the same pace as the others as to not get left behind. Since things had calmed down; being back to normal and everyone back to where they should be, Cynder didn't wish to bring this up, but she still smiled as she hoped Flair would admit it, "So, Flair. Does this mean we saved you or, are you still thinking about trying to leave?"

"You all didn't save me," Flair growled, and while that confused some of the girls, the blush made them smile as they knew what that meant.

"Hehe, Oh, sorry. What I meant to say was, did Cyril, save you?"

"I'm only coming back because I choose to!" Flair growled out, only able to look down some as she wasn't able to look to her left, or even her right as to not see the blush from the others, "If I so please, I could run away right now if I wanted to! But I'm choosing not to."

"Or is it because Cyril said he wanted to go back home and cuddle with you tonight?" Claire giggled, now getting Flair to show her teeth as her blush was only growing more and more as the girls kept picking on her.

"One more about me and Cyril out of any of your mouths, and I'm gone!"

"Alright, alright, let's get off topic then," Ersa stepped in as she could see she was starting to get a little frustrated with them constantly teasing her, "But now that we can't tease you, Flair, we're going to have to put you in the cross fire, Trish," Speaking her name, Trish already knew exactly what it was going to be about before she even said anything, "That was a real sweet nuzzle you gave to Terrador," Just the same as Flair, Trish blushed immediately, "He seemed to enjoy it too."

"Wait. Cyril spoke about how she wanted to cuddle with Cyril, and Trish; You nuzzled Terrador?! Where was I?" Cynder asked as she didn't remember any of this happening.

"Girl, you were too busy making out with Spyro."

"I have no idea what you're talking about," Trish tried to deny such accusations, but since Flair was there as well, she was able to back her up on it.

"Then, I hate to bring this up Trish as I hate being picked on as well, but I have to wonder now as well if you like him or not,," Since she had spoken up, this got Trish to shiver as she knew there wasn't anything she could say to get out of this situation, "After you said how sweet it was that he wished to protect you, once you nuzzled him, it practically broke him. I mean, hell, when ever Volteer asked if he liked you, he didn't deny it."

This was rather odd now that Claire had thought about it, especially with what's been learned of from the past, "That's rather... odd, for him though, don't you think?" This confused the other girls as they didn't understand what she meant by this, but she understood their confusion as most didn't even know this, "As much as I don't wish to get your hopes down, Trish, even if you have any when it comes to being with Terrador, but I don't think he'd ever, fall in love with anyone ever again."

Picking up her head, Trish had to ask out of suspicion, "What? Why?"

"Well, because... He's already been in a couple of relationships before and they... didn't go well."

"He has?!"

"Yeah..."

"Did they leave him or, did he leave them?"

Now being on the subject of past females that Terrador had been with, Claire felt it also be appropriate to bring up not only his, but Cyril's past as well, "Since we're... on this subject... I also wish to tell you the same thing, Flair," This got her brow to raise, not understanding how this conversation could also be important to her, "Not only has Terrador been dumped by two females... I... believe Cyril has as well. And while I don't know for sure, Ignitus did say that they've all tried to be in relationships before but... They just, didn't work out."

Flair scuffed as she didn't see why this needed to be known, "And why do I care if Cyril's been through a relationship before?"

"Because I don't know how bad it was. But like Terrador, it changed him... So just, please... Tell him now that you don't wish to fall in love."

"I already have. And plus, he already promised that there will be no love of any kind between the two of us: No love, and no kissing. And he even promised too, which, as I believe I've said before, if he breaks any of the promises he's made to me, it give me full access to his life."

"Just out of curiosity... What, would you do if you fell in love with Cyril?" Already seeing she'd reject her words, Claire wished to correct, "Forget Cyril then! I'm just saying; if you fell in love with someone, what would you do? Or... If it's, okay for me to ask... have you, already fallen in love with someone before? And is that why you don't wish to be with Cyril?"

"My life is my own!" Flair grew aggressive over what was being talked about, "As I've said, I get to have control over my life, and what I say or do is none of your concern! Or anyone else's for that matter!" This got the other girls to frown from her show of frustration and teeth, and after what had already happened, she puffed out fire through her nose and calmed herself, "Sorry, okay? Let's just get back to Terrador for the time being."

As to not make matters worse, Claire went back to the other story, "To start off, Terrador's first female I'm guessing was rather nice. I don't know, all the details, just what Ignitus had told me. From memory, she ended up leaving him for someone else, and it turned out, she was actually rather abusive. So it was a good thing this separation had happened. But the second one... completely destroyed him... turned him into something I'm guessing he never thought he'd be..."

"Turned him into what?" Trish asked as she wanted the most out of this conversation, "Cause from what I've seen and talk to, there's been nothing wrong with him."

"You've been, helping him more than you think, Trish... Before I say why, I'll take a step back and talk about this other female," Taking a second to remember back to the conversation she had with her lover, it clicked into her mind, "He really loved this girl, and it seemed like she really loved him as well. They had kissed one another back and forth for some time, and it sounded like things were going great. But... One day, when he went out to search for her... he... found her, making out with another dragon."

"What?!" Trish cried, "But why?!"

"Because he took too long to give her what she wanted. She never wanted a relationship, she wanted... ahem... sex... But he wanted to be in a loving relationship... Even when he asked, he stayed calm; questioning why she would do this to him, and she just... shrugged her shoulders basically at him..." Since the other girls hadn't heard this story either, not only did it hit Trish in the heart, but so did for the others, "After that, he became rather... bummed... While I don't know the full story after that, or even how long it's been since then, I just know that... He's struggled with it ever since."

Now having information on such an event, this made a memory come to Ersa, "That would explain why he said there were two reasons he wouldn't ever be in a relationship ever again: One for the first female, and the second for the other..."

Trish now felt rather bummed even herself, feeling a little more sluggish as she felt some of his pain was now coming from her, "It... doesn't help that he's trying all he can to help me out, yet... I'm adding on to his stress by telling him he caused me pain, he caused my nightmares, and that he didn't help me in my dream..." Letting off a rather deep, depressed sigh, now all that she had done made her feel even worse then before, "I'm... not going to lie... I like Terrador... I really do... But maybe It'd be best to back out before I grow anymore feelings for him and hurt him just as those other two did."

"Whoa whoa whoa!" The girls all interjected, getting her to look at them with wide eyes.

"Trish, you didn't even know about any of this. We've all had nightmares one time or another about something that isn't true," Claire continued to speak up as she had the most knowledge on Terrador, "To help you out here, last night was the first night ever since the almost full month that I've been here has Terrador not snored," It was rather confusing for her to bring up as she didn't understand the significance to it, "The Guardians use to all snore. Trust me; when I was an assassin going in to kill Ignitus, they all wouldn't shut up. But one by one, they all stopped. I joined Ignitus, Ersa joined Volteer, and now you joining Terrador," Looking past Trish and over to Flair, she wondered, "I do have to ask as well as I hope this proves my point but, did Cyril snore last night when he was with you, Flair?"

Thinking back to the night, Flair blushed some, growling even as she didn't wish for the girls to say anything about this, "Listen! I don't want to hear anything about what I'm going to say! Just know that...! I... I... Enjoyed... last night... I couldn't tell you if he did or didn't as I was... happy... and comfortable... But I'm sure if he was snoring, I would've woken him up and cut his lung in two. So no, I don't think he did snore."

"Trust me. You would've known. They snore very, very loudly."

"Well, to add on to this, Malefor also snored when I wasn't with him. Like if he went to bed early or something and I wasn't with him," Carith added in the fact that her lover did the exact same thing, "Oh! But now I have to wonder," Ducking her head forward to look past all the girls and down to Cynder, she asked her, "Tell me, Cynder. Have you ever caught Spyro snoring before?"

"Hum..." Thinking about it, she didn't remember a single time ever hearing her lover snore before, "Now that you mention it... No... He's, never snored before. Then again, ever since me and him survived the volcano after fighting the Dark Master, there wasn't a single day we slept alone... Well... aside from that one day where the Guardians separated us," Growling from the memory, she even showed her teeth as it was one of the worst times of her life, "Then again, we didn't stay separated for long so... I don't know."

"The Guardians separated you two from one another?" Flair asked, "But why?"

"Because they were afraid of the cycle continuing. Malefor finds a love, the one he loves dies, and then he goes on to destroy the world. With Malefor supposedly being dead, Spyro would now take over in a way. So, Spyro finds love, I could die, and then he would go on to try and destroy the world. Their original reasoning was that they needed help to have the rooms checked and were too lazy to do it themselves."

"How was time for you all back then?"

"To be honest, hell. If it weren't for Spyro, I'd either be dead or somewhere else... dead."

"That bad?"

"To give you an idea, I had an annoying ass dragon fly constantly bussing about how I'll never love Spyro, I'll never be his mate. Then I had the Guardians trying to separate me from him, I thought I had hurt him one day, he almost died by being stabbed in the lungs, we learned Malefor wasn't actually evil which sucked cause I really wished death upon him and still do..."

"What about now?" Carith whimpered.

"Partial... death..."

"Hehe, well, better then full."

"And also worst of all, I wasn't even in love with Spyro during any of this. So during a nightmare or something where I really needed that feeling, he couldn't help me as much. And it also didn't help that he wished to see his parents but I was forced to kill them so I thought he'd never love me and I just..." Letting out a hefty sigh from all that had happened back in the day, she still smiled, looking down the line of all the girls as she spoke about them, "But... times were also really bad cause... I didn't have any of you... Carith was the first and then Claire, Ersa, Flair, and even you, Trish... I... never knew I'd have this life... I mean, look at what I use to be; a murderous demon with no heart or soul... But now... I have everything I could've ever asked for... And I even ask myself some days... do I really deserve it after what I've done?"

With the girls felt sympathy for Cynder, even Flair as she gave a frown, feeling as though this in some way was how she felt too, they all wished to say what they wanted, but surprising them all was Spyro. Jumping back to her, he turned around as he faced her, walking backwards and chuckling as he spoke, "Hehe, my love, I have to know," Hearing his voice already got her to smile, though she still shed a tear from the thoughts she had, "Malefor and the others don't believe me, but if I asked for you to kiss me for an entire hour, use of abilities of course, would you do it?" Before she could even answer, the sun shined perfectly to her scales, shining the tear that went down her face, "Whoa whoa whoa, my love, what's wrong? Why the tear?"

"Oh..." Using her own claw, she wiped it off her face, giggling as she made a joke, "Sorry. Someone we passed by brought up my past and started calling me my... previous name."

"What?!" Setting off his darkness, while he wasn't in his dark purple form, his voice still turned deep, "Who?! What color was the dragon?!"

The sudden quick and defensive change always brought a smile to her face which all the girls had noticed. Though while she wished to have more fun with this, to have that feeling of protection, she didn't continue to scare him, "Don't worry, Spyro. I was just saying that to see your reaction," This got him to raise a brow, but also got him to calm down as to release his darkness, "You already went through enough when fighting those dragons. Also, you know me; I can handle myself. I would've called you back if there was a body that needed to be buried."

"Hehe, sounds like something Flair would do. Which, speaking of," She raised a brow at him, but so did he as he asked, "Hehehe. Me and the guys were joking some and of course, you were brought up. They said, while they know Cyril would've enjoyed the view of you in front, how do you like the view of Cyril's behind yourself?"

"WH...?!" Flair ducked her head back, at a lost for words as to why someone would say this, "Who asked that?! I want a name! Cause now I'm out for blood!"

"While I wish to say Terrador, I want to say Malefor just so you'd kill him. So... It was Malefor."

"Haha!" Ersa laughed while the other girls giggled, "Alright, Spyro, I have to give that one to you. That was pretty good."

"Speaking of Terrador," Trish spoke in a low tone as she normally did, "Is he... is he doing okay?"

"Actually, I have some questions I'd like to ask regarding his... health," Spyro changed up his tone, both scaring and confusing her, though it was also enough to make her shiver, "What did you say to him? What did you do to him?" His questions, along with his rather pissed off sounding voice made her sweat, now showing even more visually that she was afraid, but luckily, Spyro saw this and assured her, "Whoa, Trish, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. Well, not that bad anyway. I'm asking this because we all swear we saw Terrador smile."

"You... You did?" Trish now eased up, turning her fear into hope.

"Hehe, oh yeah. He keeps denying it, but he's also been very engaging in our conversations, even throwing in his own jokes from time to time which is unlike what we've, or at least I, have ever seen of him," This got her now to smile wide, feeling as though what she had done really picked up his spirit, "Oh yeah, also, the guys of course wanted to know if you all were doing okay back here. We're almost to a point where we can fly up to the building so, thought it would be a good idea to check up before paw."

"You better tell Malefor to watch his ass!" Flair hissed through her teeth.

"Hehe, why? Cause you're too busy watching Cyril's?" Spyro laughed.

"WH...?!" Blushing red enough to show through her scales, she turned her anger into fuel as she knew what to do, "CYNDER! You better control that lover of yours or else I will!"

Giving a giggle as Spyro looked to her, Cynder knew exactly what he was thinking, "It seems I was wrong about you, Spyro..." The way she had said his name, in a rather teasing, seducing manner made his scales shiver from his head to his tail, "My darkness is losing effect on you, which means you need more... I shall require you to come by my room and we shall make a... transaction... you give me your love, and I shall give mine. But only, if you behave."

"Why does you using the word, transaction, sound way more sexual than it needs to be?" Spyro chuckled as he wasn't the only one thinking about it.

"Would you rather me say we trade saliva?"

"Ewwwwwww," The girls all blushed, grossed out as now they knew what she meant.

"Ooooohhhhh," Spyro purred, "I shall behave then."

"Of course you would say that," Flair shuck her head.

Now done talking with the girls, Spyro turned back around before running back up and joining the other guys ahead of them. Shedding another tear of which she wished her lover could've seen, Cynder went back to looking at the other girls, continuing with what she had been talking about before, "Hehe... This, is... What I mean... Without you all, nothing would be the same... And for the short time we've known you; Trish, and Flair... I've enjoyed this girls day out by far the most out of the other two. Of course that's because we have you all but... I remember when it was just me, Carith... Hehe... And Winter."

"Winter? Who the hell is Winter? Like the season?"

"Hehe, no. Cynder's talking about my assassin name given to me so Ignitus wouldn't look to see who I was," Claire giggled from the memory, "Damn. That feels like so long ago too. Hell, I remember meeting you all too, and how absolutely terrible I felt when I sliced Ignitus past his cheek trying to stop the darkness from killing him... Hehe, it was also the day I learned never to piss off Spyro."

"You hurt Ignitus?" Flair spoke up some, curious as they hadn't talked about this yet, "What did he do?"

"Oh well, after I ran away, feeling as though I didn't deserve another chance at life... he stopped me... I cried about how I had hurt him but he just simple, used his powers, took the slash away and chuckled... asking why I was so scared when I never even hurt him..." Looking forward to see Ignitus as he was looking back and forth at the others talking up front, smiling the same as he did, she smiled herself, "I love that dragon so much..." Taking her attention away from her lover and over to Cynder, she had to thank her, "It's... really thanks to you, Cynder..." Now turning her attention over to Carith, she thanked her as well, "And you, Carith... If it hadn't been for the help from the two of you... I... might not be where I am now."

"Hehe, same for me," Ersa giggled, "Well, of course I'd be here, but because of the help from you girls during my first girls day, I wouldn't have had the guts to tell Volteer to be my mate, even as badly as I knew I wanted to. Also because Malefor kept teasing me about it, and proving his ass wrong is always something to smile on..." Bringing back these memories made her smile to what she had, what she's always wanted, and it got her to focus her attention back over to Cynder, answering her question that she had for herself, "Cynder... I believe, with all that you've done for this world, to help fix wounds that you couldn't before, by saving the world and helping those around you... I believe you deserve the happiness that this world has given you."

"I can agree to that," Carith happily smiled.

"Same here," Claire joined along.

"You've never shown anything I dislike about you so far, and... I've grown rather fond memories already being with you all," Trish smiled her own, "I agree as well."

Now they all waited for what Flair might say, the one they knew would be the hardest to get through to. It even took her a second to figure out what she was going to say, and Cynder wished for her to know something, "Flair, you don't have to agree..."

"I know," Flair growled, trying to show her anger, but she was rather calm for the time being, "Hearing the memories you all have, even as bad as they could seem... you all make the best of it... Even laughing about how Claire almost killed Ignitus... which makes me think that, all that I'm doing now, would just be laughed at in the future..." This got her to think more then just the end, which even she called out herself on as she could see the smile on Cynder's face, "Yes! Fine! I'm thinking about the middle, alright?!" Cynder didn't say anything as she knew this might upset her, and since she hadn't, this got Flair to sigh, once again being honest with them, "Listen... I have no plans on staying with any of you. Cyril's dumbass wouldn't leave me alone, and that's the only reason I even stayed last night. If I up and leave, don't come looking for me..."

"You know that wouldn't happen, Flair."

"Cynder's right. I'm sure Cyril would do anything and everything to get you back," Ersa agreed, only getting Flair to growl more as she believed it to be true as well.

"And if you do leave... We'll miss you," Claire murmured, "But if you ever do wish to join back to us, we will always welcome you with open arms..."

"I'm not leaving! Alright?!" Flair finally spoke out, trying to hide the tear that was starting to form in her right eye, "You already heard what Cyril said about tonight, and I'm hopeful, alright?! I just... I... I just don't... want things to take a turn for the worst as they always do... I'm scared... I'm just... scared... I feel like the day I try and get attached emotionally is the day I lose it all... all, over, again..."

Things had gone quiet for the time being after what Flair had said, ducking her head even as she didn't wish to show this side of herself. Just as the guys in front had stopped, they turned around to face the girls, which they had in turned stopped as well. Instinctively for her, since she had seen the paws of the other girls stop at the corner of her eye, she did so as well without thinking as to why. The condition that he saw Flair was in made Cyril frown. He took a step forward, reaching a paw out to open his mouth and say something to her, but she continued with what she was saying, still having no idea of who she was speaking to, "I'm serious... when I said I didn't want to lose you all... And after that night with Cyril... I'm scared to lose that too..."

The guys all gave wide eyes to what she was saying, not having seen this side of her unlike with what the girls had seen from today. This sound of pure fear from her voice was all the more chilling to the others as she seemed sincere about what she was saying. While they were all shocked to hear her speak out in front of them, no one had said anything, making all the sound around go quiet for her. This finally got her to raise her head as she didn't understand the silence, but what she was meant with was something she'd never knew to happen. Her eyes grew wide as something sudden went over her, both rather cold, and comforting. A feeling on the back of her head eased her down to a more resting position as her head hung over a shoulder, and even for her, she could feel that cold, but still comforting feeling on the side of her cheek as someone nuzzled her just before resting their head next to hers. Flair was in shock as she now knew who it was and who had heard of what she had said. The cold feeling on her back had been his wings. The feeling of something on the back of her head, helping rest her to his shoulder was his paw. And the feeling of a nuzzle had been from his cheek to hers. Letting a smile go that she couldn't see, Cyril whispered ever so gently to her, helping in any other way that he could, "I will always be here for you, Flair... No matter what happens."

It took a second for her to come to the reality of what was going on, but even as she did, Flair didn't see what her body was doing as a reaction. The others watched in awe as her own wings acted themselves, moving ever so slowly to bring them to Cyril's back as well, almost as if they wished to embrace this feeling the same. Reaching halfway, her body froze stiff. Realizing now what she was doing as her shiver shook everything out of her, she took control. Showing her teeth and taking her wings back, she raised her paws and pushed him off of her, staggering him back while she herself backed up off of him and away from the others. Getting his footing, Cyril looked to see the fear in her eyes as she backed away from everyone. Flair inspected those that looked at her; The family of whom she's already made so many memories with; whether it be from the girls, or even the guys, she looked to all of them, seeing the concerned looks on their faces as they each had taken a step forward towards her. Cyril himself took a couple more extra steps, reaching a paw out to her, but only getting halfway as he spoke, "Flair..."

"Stay the hell away from me!" Raising her wings outwards, sharpening her fins, showing her teeth, and kicking up a gust of hot air that whipped through the streets, it seemed as though she had enough, "I know what you're doing, and you're feeding off of it! Like a damn leach!" Cyril had taken his paw down from her as he listened to her speak of what was on her mind, hoping he would be able to help later on, but that didn't seem to be the case, "I WISH, to stay this way, I WISH you'd stay the hell out of my life and let me be who I wish to be! Why is that so hard for you to understand?!"

Since no one else had said anything, Malefor gave a chuckle as he was glad he was the one to say it, "Alright, well, you got one more wish. What shall it be?"

"For you to go to hell!"

"Hehe, well, I'm not a genie so... Sorry for asking."

"Your annoying ass I won't be missing."

"Missing?" Cyril murmured, widening his eyes some, "W-w-w-What do you mean? You aren't leaving... Are you?" She didn't respond to him, only tensing her body some as if she was readying herself for the decision she was about to make, "Flair, please, I only wish to help you, that's all," Just as she had done with him, she opened her mouth to speak, but he interrupted her, "You can be and act however you wish! But that doesn't mean I can't still help you! Flair, if this is another test, we are all your friends. We all wish to help you, and we will be there for you."

"I don't need any of you," Flair hissed through her teeth, "Listen, Cyril, you will make me a promise right now or I will leave right now!" Cyril swallowed as to what he would have to promise, but if it meant keeping her to stay, he would do almost anything, "You will no longer talk to me during the nights. You will only talk to me when I say so, and you will keep that filthy wing of yours to your side and nowhere near any part of my body. Do we have a deal?" Seeing as he was thinking about it, it was much more of a difficult decision than he would've liked, and her words only hurt that much more, "If you don't promise this, then me leaving will be on you..."

"But if I do promise this... You'll have no one to turn to in the time of need..." Shedding a tear as she remembered what his words were from; from what he had said to her, about being alone, "I use my wing to comfort you. I cuddled with you last night to cure that loneliness. I talk with you when ever, so you know you're never alone. Everything I do, is for you to know, I'll always be there..." As hard as it was for him to do, it stabbed at his heart hard enough for him to hold a paw to his chest, "I'm... sorry... Flair... But I don't wish for you to ever be alone again... So... I'm sorry... But I can't promise that, nor do we have a deal."

Clenching her own teeth from his words, she knew he made his choice, so now she needed to make hers. Keeping her cool, staying calm even, Flair looked to him, giving off her last words, "Then goodbye, Cyril."

"Flair, wait...!"

Trying to cry out to her, she didn't listen to Cyril as he tried, but instead kicked her wings to the ground below her to get her airborne. Up to the air, flapping her wings backwards for a hard push forward, Flair flew up and over the others, making most duck as the guts of wind was rather powerful as she had flown over them. Cyril was one of the others whom had ducked his head some to the ground. Picking his head back up, he quickly turned his body around, watching as she flew away. About to open his own wings to hunt after her, something he noticed was rather odd yet calming. She hadn't flown away from the others, but rather it seemed she had flown up to the Guardian's Building, to the front door even. Giving a sigh as he believed that was where she headed, it helped calm him some, though he still wouldn't feel completely satisfied until he knew she was safe. Looking to the other girls, he wished maybe they would have some advice to help him, "You girls wouldn't mind helping me know how to help Flair out, would you?"

The girls all sadly shuck their heads as they didn't know anything to do for help, and Ersa elaborated some, "Cyril... You're really the only one who's gotten anything from her. While she did say some things to us... It's been because of you that she's even felt comfortable talking about such things..." Cyril gave a sigh as in a situation like this, he didn't know what was the best thing to do, "Just... Whatever you're doing, keep at it I guess. As for if you should leave her alone or help her, well... That's up to you."

This was a rather tough decision for him to make as either could end up really bad, or really good, but he mainly focused the negative as he thought about it, "If I leave her alone, she'll probably think I really don't care, and if I'm not with her tonight, she'd be all alone... And she shouldn't have to be. But even if I do show up to her room, which, I hope to Ancestors she's in, what if this turns her against me because she really does just need space...? What if that really would make things worse?"

"Well, to help you out some, I can confirm thanks to the help of Kettu and Xvar that she did make it in the Building," Spyro happily helped him out as he was doing his own things behind-the-scenes, "Now, if she's set up traps along the way to kill you before you get to where you need to go, well, I wouldn't know. So you're kinda on your own about that."

"Hehe, well, thanks for the help at least, Spyro."

"Hehe, thank goodness Carith was easy," Malefor chuckled, immediately getting his lover's attention, wondering what he meant by this, "Hehe, I wouldn't know what to do in the situation. And when it came to Carith, she was a sucker for the legendary purple dragon, so it was easy to get her on my good side."

"I was easy, huh?" Carith grumbled to her lover, "I hope the next female you're with is just as easy as I am then, right?"

"Hehe, Now now, Carith, I was only joking."

"That's rather odd," Volteer meant to think to himself for what he had in mind, but since he ended up saying it out loud anyway, he continued to, "From my memory it was you who was easy for Carith, not the other way around."

"Volteer, don't be bad... No one likes a bad dragon."

"I know I do," Ersa purred, rubbing up against Volteer's side.

"How bad was it for Malefor?" Claire asked since the two started flirting.

Just from memory itself, the Guardians all let off a laugh as to how bad it was, getting Malefor to blush with a grumble as he ducked his head. Coming down from his laughter, Ignitus wished to be the one to talk about it, "Oh ho ho. Let's just say, he was very, very similar to Volteer once he thought Ersa had died. After meeting her, it was nothing but sad faces for him and just pure depression," Ignitus gave off another chuckle as he thought about it, "Hehe, I mean, hell, just imagine the Dark Master, but like, always hella depressed. There were days where we begged Carith to spend time with him even though she was already going to."

"Haha!" Spyro laughed to hear this, "Damn, Malefor! You're more pathetic than I thought you were."

"Oh, go to hell!" Malefor growled back, "I have so much fuel to the fire of all the times you cried about Cynder not being with you."

"Hehe, yeah but, you were a grown ass adult. I'm still only sixteen."

"I'm gonna make sure you don't make it past seventeen."

"Sixteen, seventeen, eighteen-oh! Well. Looks like you failed there."

"HA!" Ignitus laughed, "He got you there, Malefor."

"Alright! Alright!" Malefor called out, sighing even as it felt like the universe turned against him even though it was his fault, "Carith," Calling her name, he looked to her as she did to him, but while Malefor frowned, she smirked, wondering what he was to say, "I'm... sorry... And if I'm being honest... I was a rather... easy target... not you... For reasons I don't wish to get into as I would like to continue to smile but..." Giving a smirk off of his own, now she really wondered what he was planning, "When I meant you were easy, I wasn't talking about you loving me. I was just talking about how easy you are, to me." She still kept her smirk as she hoped he could do better, and since he didn't get her to smile, he knew just what to do, "Would you... Feel better if I use my dark form against you...?"

"I lay on my back, you do all the work, and you better make sure that I know I love you," Carith was rather quick to what she wanted, as if she already had this planned out, surprising all of them, "You're really surprised that I fantasize about you and me?" It was still a surprise to him which kept his mouth shut, but she took this as him not agreeing with her, "So then we don't have a deal? Because if we don't, you seemed rather happy without me back in the day..."

"He tried to blow up the planet... And succeeded," Spyro grumbled.

Giving a giggle to what he was saying, Carith agreed, "True..."

"Hey, Malefor, can you just stop being a depressed man and hurry the hell up," Cyril spoke up which was rather odd for him to act in such a way, as though he needed to be somewhere, "You literally have an amazing lover who loves and supports you, and you do the same to her. Just watch your mouth next time, let her fix it for you, if you know what I mean, and let's just get back to the Chambers already," It wasn't hard for them all to realize just why he was doing this, and he didn't need to say it, but their reactions almost forced a response out of him, "Yes, I want to check on Flair. Yes, I wish to talk to her. And yes... I'm getting the feeling you all have towards your females... And I... understand it now..."

They were happy to hear he was open with how he was feeling about Flair, and with what the girls had to go off of, they smiled as they felt as though they knew what was going on. As to make it easier on everyone, Ignitus wished to step in, "Don't worry, Cyril. I will teleport us back into the Chambers so you can see her sooner," Getting a smile from Cyril as he looked to him, Ignitus did wish to give him a warning, "Though... I don't know how she will respond, just make sure she doesn't stab you or something. Even for my clones, constantly having to clean your blood off the ground doesn't sit right with them."

"Hehe... I... I don't think she'll ever hurt me again so, I'm not worried... But thanks for the heads up."

With everyone except for Trish closing her eyes, Terrador caught it rather quick as he opened his eyes to warn her of what was to happen, "Oh, Trish," Once speaking her name, he got her attention, "You should close your eyes as well. We travel rather fast and will appear in the Chamber in seconds. Malefor once tried his luck by keeping his eyes open and it... didn't go well," Seeing as she swallowed hard, she could only imagine how bad it must've been, "So when ever you're ready, just close your eyes."

Nodding to his words, Trish followed Terrador as the two both closed their eyes. For a second, things seemed fine. But once feeling a gust of wind, her scales felt as though they stood up on end as it was a rather fast and much more different sound from the wind then she's ever heard before. Once opening her eyes as the others did the same, Trish let out a gasp to see they were back in the Chambers. Looking around to make sure everyone was in order, they were all put back exactly how they normally sat; with Malefor and Carith to the left wall, Spyro and Cynder to the right, and all the Guardians lined up as normal. Now feeling much worse about what he had said from before, Malefor wished to apologize to his lover, "Carith... I uh... I'm sorry... about what I said."

It was strange for him to seem so sad in a way, even though he'd normally joke about which got Carith wondering, "Hehe, Malefor, it's okay, you were just messing around. And it's not like you pulled a Spyro and yelled at me for how horrible of a dragon I am," Immediately Spyro's scales shot stiff before he went to duck his head after frowning, but she was quick to apologize, "I'm joking! If you still feel bad, which you shouldn't, just talk with Cynder."

"I mean... After what's happened today, I see no reason I should be mad at you, Spyro," Cynder thought to herself, and at least with some good news for him, he picked his head back up, "Honestly, you've, really turned things around today. And I was... thankful... very much so that you helped save that Hatchling's life..." Blushing some, rather too much after saying, she tried to make it a rather innocent question, "You know, just uh... Out of, curiosity, I uh... Ahem... What would you do if say... Me and you... had a uh... Hatchling?" Just him raising a brow was enough to throw her in full panic, "Hypothetically speaking!"

To him, Spyro saw this as a trick question and raised a brow, slowing his voice as he spoke, "I would... take, care, of, it?" He could tell this wasn't really the answer she was looking for, but unfortunately, he didn't really have much to go off of, "Sorry... I just, don't really have any ideas of what I'd do with a mate and a Hatchling. Hehe, I mean, for many reasons, one of such is that I still have two years until something like that should happen, and also..." Getting a little down about what he was going to say, once he did, it stabbed her heart to hear, "I... Don't really know if I'll even be around by the time I wish for a Hatchling... or even after my mate has one..."

It went quiet for some time as Cynder frowned even herself, making the atmosphere around them rather dim. But feeling like things needed a rather change in pace, Malefor stepped up first to be the one to sort things out, "Carith," Taking her attention away from the other two, she looked to him, "I know I've said this enough but I'm... sorry... I guess thinking back to those times... they were... rather terrible... And if it wasn't for you, being my beacon for joy, hope, and of course, love... I might've never made it here."

"I mean, I did save you from the Dark Master so, you're not wrong," Carith took the credit for saving his life.

"Hehe, that you did. But unfortunately..." Giving a smirk, she smiled as she already knew what he was to say, "You can't save me this time..." Letting some of his darkness show, Carith shivered in excitement for what was to come, and he gave her hopes, "How about, you lay on your back, I do all the work, and I make sure you understand why they call me, Master Malefor..?" Going to open her mouth to say something, he chuckled and said it before she could ask it, "Yes, I know, I gave myself that name... But I find it funny how your already salivating," Shutting her mouth quick and blushing, he still saw what was going on with her, "Hehe. You excited...?"

"Is there a reason for me not to be?" Carith questioned him, now more ready then ever to have some fun.

"At least I know I can make up for what I said. But now," Looking to see Cynder and Spyro were still down after what was said, Malefor tried to bring up their spirits, "Spyro, you confuse me some days, you know that, right?" It was enough to change his frown to a face of confusion, "You're literally more powerful than Ignitus right now who has the power of the Ancestors yet, you are the most sacred to die? If anyone should be, it's Cyril."

"Hey..." Cyril grumbled.

"Bro. You're slow, you're weak and almost died like, three times in a week," Realizing what he had said and how well it rhymed, Malefor made a beat from it, "Yo! Did anyone else hear that?! It all came together! 'Bro, you're slow, you're weak, and almost die like three times a week!' A! Haha! I should make that a song!" Clearing his throat to see Cyril frowning, he got back on track, "Any way, you do still have Flair to deal with. Which, now thinking of her, you've almost died more then three times. I've already said this so you know what I'm talking about."

"She's not going to kill me."

"Then she could..."

"She's not going to hurt me either," Getting defensive over her, Cyril let off a sigh as he knew he couldn't take being away from her any longer, "I'm going to show you all that I'm right, and while I know most, if not all of you, do believe me that she's innocent, I'm still going to push to show that."

"So you've made your decision to speak to her tonight?" Claire wanted to make sure this was what she was hearing.

Letting off a sigh, almost as if to prepare himself, Cyril also gave off a nod as he was sure of what he wanted, and even hoped Flair would want the same, "She's right there... And I know with the right amount of help left, I can help bring her back... During her first day here, if what happened during that fight in Warfang were to have occurred then... she might've actually... killed me... But she didn't... And she even whispered with tear that she... she didn't want to lose me..."

This got the others to all gasp as this was clear indication of much more, which Malefor called out, "Then what the hell you on the fence about this for man?! Clearly she wants you then, and I'm not talking about mating, hehe, no no. Because I mean... come on... your Cyril... Just look at yourself," Getting off track, this got Cyril to growl at him, which Malefor corrected himself for, "Ahem! What I meant was! Don't screw this up. She was out for blood in the beginning, which was rather stressful to know that she wished all of us dead. But now that you've calmed her, you, in a way, saved our lives."

Once again having left off another sigh, Cyril didn't understand what this feeling was to him, "Is it... weird to say that, it feels like, being with her has, in a way, saved my life as well?"

"Hehe, Damn Cyril. Might as well tell her that you love her," Volteer chuckled as this was rather obvious with how he was talking about her.

"Little too early for something like that, Volteer. And I also promised her I wouldn't kiss her, and if I broke that promise, she'd have full control if I live or die."

"You gave her that much power?" Spyro was a little skeptical, "What if she just up and said, 'You broke, a, promise, but I won't say which one'?"

"You and Cynder literally have each other's darkness around one another's hearts, and could easily end the others life in seconds if you wanted to."

"Hehe, well... You got me there."

"Also... I know Flair wouldn't do something like that, for reasons I can't discuss until given the okay to do so..." Another thing stabbed at his heart, but even still, it got him to smile, chuckle even for his thoughts, "This is crazy for me to say but... That was one of the first times I've slept good in years... Many, many years... And before you all say, 'Well she cuddled with you, obviously you'd have a good time'. To be clear, she only cuddled with me so her fins would all line up with my body. She hoped she would have a nightmare or something, or I'd give a reason for her to sharpen them all. This was so they would all stab through my entire side as I slept, possibly even puncturing my lung."

"Hehe, yeah, my clone told me about that and It took every, single, bit of fiber in my body to not give Flair a slight nightmare just to mess with you," Ignitus chuckled as he had to be honest with his rather evil intent, and seeing the raised brow from Claire, sweat started to drip down his head, "Which is why I didn't do it! She was already having a tough time, you were happy, and I'd never disappoint Claire because of something so childish."

This got Claire to smile, which was enough to get Ignitus to sigh. The more the previous night was spoken about, the more Cyril smiled on it, elaborating more on what had happened since Ignitus talked about it, "Not only would my entire body have been poked open, but so would my tail too. To... show trust... I wrapped my tail around her completely which..." Shivering with all kinds of feelings, remembering how she reacted from the moment of rest to waking up, he couldn't handle being without her any longer, "Sorry, I... I have to see her."

While Cyril made his way to the Chambers entrance, Malefor smirked, "Boy really want some ass though."

"Shut up, Malefor," Cyril was quick to growl at him, "Stop talking about, ass, when you don't even get any."

"HA!" Malefor laughed out loud, and just to make sure Cyril was wrong, he did something dangerous, of which he didn't know of what the outcome would be, "I'll prove it to you," Reaching his paw around and grabbing Carith by the back end, she shot up straight, blushed, and let out a short gasp, "Oh, Sorry Cyril. Couldn't hear you over how wrong you were," This got Cyril to roll his eyes, but he still smiled even as he left the Chambers to go meet back up with Flair, "Haha. Sucker."

"Did you really just grab Carith by the back end?" Spyro asked Malefor, even though he had already seen what happened from where he was sitting.

"Hehe, of course I did. Though, I feel like Volteer right now where he'd be like, 'I'm gonna go grab my girl by the back end," Malefor chuckled from memory, "Oh yeah, Spyro, going back to what Cynder asked you, I can help give you plenty of ideas of what to do with your Hatchling."

"Oh yeah? And how would you know?"

"Hehe, bro, I've been planning for this since the day I met Carith."

"WHAT?!" Everyone cried out while Carith's face turned beat red as her eyes grew as wide as they could go.

"Can you all chill out?!" Malefor growled to them all, realizing what he had said; what he had slipped up in saying, "I was being a guy, alright. I had thoughts that I shouldn't have had with Carith," This now turned all her excitement and anticipation to sadness as the way he phrased it made it seem like he didn't want these thoughts, but he was quick to catch on to somewhat of what she was thinking, "And by that, my love, I mean like how, when we first met, the day after, I was like, none stop thinking about making out with you which I... shouldn't have been thinking about."

"Malefor," Ersa giggled as she spoke, "You're really crushing Carith's dreams right now. Maybe you should've just left it where you were at."

"Ersa!" Carith growled as her face once again turned red with a blush, but with the girls giggling for reasons the others didn't understand, she cleared her throat, "I get what you're saying, Malefor. You act like I haven't fantasized about the same thing with you too. But now I do have to ask; You have thoughts about what to do with a Hatchling in the future, but what about a mate? Who was this, fake mate of yours that you thought of to basically, practice with?"

"Why does that sound so dirty," Malefor chuckled.

"Does sound pretty dirty doesn't it."

"Hehe... Hehe... well... it... it uh... was, you..." Malefor revealed the truth as to not possibly make her feel worse by thinking of someone else, even though he didn't, but this only got his lover and him to blush more to the point of being uncomfortable, "BUT! I never went overboard and thought of us like... you know... doing... it... Just what would happen if we did have a Hatchling..." This didn't prove to help him too much as now he was laying on more of how he really thought, close enough to even revealing his true feelings, "I... Hehe... Hehe... Uhhhhhhhh..."

"Look, Malefor, it's fine," Spyro interjected, mainly to help Malefor out as the the two lovers seemed to be getting more red in the face then a fire dragon, "I'm not going to say I've never ever had a thought of such a thing before, just... Haven't put much work into such thoughts..." Letting out a sigh as he knew revealing this would help, he looked to his lover, already red in the face, "There were a... couple of times that I did wonder where I'd be if I... Did have a Hatchling. Mainly like with Cora; I wondered what it would be like if I was a father to her, which, I know that she does see me as one so... It has got me thinking."

The eye contact and smile Spyro was giving to Cynder made it just the more embarrassing, and the silence didn't help either. Letting out a yawn to break the silence at least, Volteer smiled wide as he was happy to say, "Hehe, well, sucks for all of you as I can plan anything, knowing I get to have anything I want now," Turning some as he rubbed his backside against his mate's side, Ersa giggled, which made the others a little uncomfortable, and once he was done, he took shoots at Malefor, "How does that make you feel, Malefor? Knowing you were a purple dragon and never got any? Yet I was the first in the group to get some?"

"I don't give a shit, dude," Malefor grumbled.

"Mad?"

"No, but I'm grossed out. And plus," Reaching his arm over and to the back of Carith, he knew this was his time to shine, "I respect my female. Unless we ever break up, I'd never betray her love," Carith enjoyed this a little too much, smiling even at him for what he said and did, but it was short lived as he took his arm back down and continued to fuss with Volteer, "Now if you don't shut your mouth, I'm going to shut it for you!"

"HA!" Ersa laughed out loud, "Sounds like something Volteer said to me when we were having fun."

"WH...!" Everyone cried out, nearly spitting up even from that statement.

"YO! WHAT THE FU...!"

"His lips!" Ersa cried out, stopping Malefor from saying what he had to, "What the hell did you all think I was talking about?"

Raising up a claw to say what he wanted to, Malefor brought that claw to his mouth, shushing himself as to not say a word about what he thought, even though he wasn't the only one who thought the same thing. Keeping that claw to his mouth, he walked a couple steps forward, turned to the entrance, and walked out of the Chambers, stepping quicker then normal. Following behind him was Carith as she didn't have anything to say either. Ersa was rather confused as she didn't understand what she said that made everyone feel so uncomfortable, so she asked once again, "I don't get it. What did I say?"

Since she really didn't seem to understand what was going on, Ignitus tried his best to explain, blushing red enough that it passed his scales, "Ersa... I really, really don't want to explain this but... Uh... Sweet Ancestors, I'm going to erase this from my memory... Ahem... We thought you were talking about... A... Not going to say Volteer... But a... um... Gem... Yes! A, a gem!"

"Please just, stop..." Terrador grumbled as no one was safe from embarrassment, "Cause now I'm imagining... No... Nope! I'm just going to go to bed."

While Terrador made his way to the back room with Trish, the others still remained out in the Chambers, still talking about a rather uncomfortable situation.

"A gem?" Ersa asked.

"Hehe, just say, Volteer's, gem," Volteer chuckled.

"You know what... I think I'm going to let Malefor kill me now," Spyro murmured, taking one step before nearly falling over for how awkward this was.

Luckily, Cynder was there to help support him. But since she had no idea what was going on, to her, it was like everyone was just simply acting strange, _I guess I should ask Spyro about this later._ While they made thier way back up to their room, the remaining two still suffered. Since Volteer had already gotten it, Ignitus growled as he didn't wish to say anything any longer, "I'm going to bleach the shit out of my eyes... Ugh... Look, Volteer, since you get it, can you just... Explain it to Ersa so I don't have to?"

Giving him a nod, Volteer ducked his head down and whispered what he knew to Ersa. After a bit, she blushed, and her eyes went wide as now she understood what was being talked about. Once Volteer backed his head back from her, Ersa let off a giggle, "Well, I mean... That's true too."

"ALRIGHT!" Ignitus cried out, "BED TIME!"

Thankfully for the other two, the door behind was already clearly opened. Running to the back room, Ignitus made it first before Claire, but once she had, he ran back up to the door and slammed it shut, leaving the two in the Chambers all by themselves. Letting off a chuckle, Volteer was rather happy with himself, "Feels nice to know just how much power I have. But, hey, after all this talk, would you like to go back to our room cuddle?"

"Only cuddle?" Ersa whimpered.

"You should know what cuddling leads to, my love."

"Hehe. Well, when you put it like that, hell yeah."

* * *

 _Just don't think about it, just don't... think about it,_ Spyro gave off a sigh, pushing the door to his room shut. With the sigh he gave, his head rested against the door, body faced away from his bed as he tried to stay calm. While he was still recovering, Cynder already made her way to the bed, climbed up on it, turned around to face the door, and laid to her belly. Letting out a cry at the door, Spyro's face slid down, with his back side sticking straight up, while the front of him laid to the floor, "Uuuuuuggggggghhhhhhh..." Supporting his body up using his front two paws, even as he tried to not think about it, it just made it harder for him not to, "It's times like these when I wonder what life would be like if Ersa and Volteer never even became mates," Since it sounded a little bad, while he made his way over to the bed, he rephrased, "But, with that being said... I am still very glad that those two did get together. For the good of it, everyone seems to be doing a whole lot better," Making it up to the bed, he jumped up on to it, walked to the back of the bed, turned, and finally laid down to Cynder's left, "I mean, obviously Ignitus now can't live without Claire, and what ever Trish is saying or doing, it's really turned Terrador's attitude around. And then you have... Flair," Thinking of her name, his scales stood up on end as he thought about her, "I have no idea why Cyril has the hots for her, but it better not get him killed."

"She's not going to kill him, my love," Cynder defended her.

"Oh yeah?" This sparked his attention, "And why do you say that?"

"She was a completely different dragon out there, you saw it. She just needs time to... adjust to, this way of living I guess. Honestly, from what we've gather since she's not said much, I think she's at least had someone she's loved, or at least cared for. As for her parents, Well... She hasn't gone to them I don't think, so... That would also mean she's lost them as well."

Letting out another huge sigh, Spyro brought up his right paw and rested the side of his head on the opening in it, "The war wasn't easy for anyone... But even still, that means that she's also unstable..."

"Just like how I was after the war," Cynder once again spoke up to defend her, and each time she did, it grabbed his attention, to the point where he brought his paw back down to the bed to face her fully, "If I didn't have anyone to help me through such a traumatic event, do you really think I'd be the way I am today? Hehe, I mean, hell, do you remember back to the very first day we woke up from coming out of that Volcano?"

"Hehe, of course I do. You tried to kill me."

"Those were... definitely the times," She smiled, shivering even as she still feared for the times of the past, "There were multiple times where I was ready to turn against you, or not so much that but, against the world. Every time I thought you left me, I... gave up... Then at that point, with nothing left, my darkness would just take over... So, that's how I view this situation with Flair; She has no one, and without help, her darkness takes over... And if it wasn't for Cyril, I'm pretty sure one of us at this point would've already lost our lives."

"I wouldn't have let that happen."

"And neither would Cyril... Which is why I'm thankful for him trying his best to fight to help her... If anything... he reminds me of you, and Flair, is like me. You're always doing the best you can to help me, through the dark, through hell and high water. Then as for me being Flair, I was, a little more scared then aggressive but... Just like her... I hurt the one that only wished to protect me..."

"Cynder..."

"I know, I know, I just... I may never get over that day... Of course you weren't there but, when we asked Flair how she felt about Cyril, she finally broke and gave us at least some, information... But it seems like the more she's with him, the better and better she's gotten. So we have to hope that, maybe tomorrow, he'll have been able to completely turn her around. Hehe, I mean... She's honestly become someone I hope that will stick around with us girls as her personality is unlike any other."

"Just, make sure to be careful around her, okay?"

"Spyro, she's fine. I promise," Spyro still wasn't so sure as he was still on about what Flair has done, but to get his mind off of it, she now wished to talk about something else, "Going off subject, I have a question as I wasn't quite understanding what was going on in the Chambers with what Ersa said," Getting back on this subject made Spyro's scales once again stand up on end as he blushed hard, growling with unease, "I still don't understand what exactly was happening so... Is it okay if you told me?"

It was a struggle for him to even open his mouth, let alone speak of something to this volume, but he still tried his best, "Cynder... do you... not know what happens between two mates when they have their fun?"

"Of course not," She answered honestly, getting the blush off his face as he was confused for a second, but felt dumb for not remembering, "As amazing as life is right now, I was still taken as a child and corrupted, remember?" Feeling a little awful now for not catching on sooner, he wished to apologize, but she didn't need one from him, "Spyro, it's okay. I mean, what ever this was, it must've been so embarrassing to the point that it's all you can think of now, which is why I'm asking."

Clearing his throat, now, instead of telling her, he had to ask her, "My love... Do you, know... How Hatchlings are even... made?"

"Well... not... really... The most I know is that it takes a male and a female, something happens, and then later on in life, the female has the Hatchling. That's pretty much all that I know..." Now this made Spyro feel even more uncomfortable to know he'd have to tell her, but at least it got his mind off other things, "Hehe... Funny how I wish to have a Hatchling when I don't even really know how... Hehe..."

Trying to gather the strength he could to tell her about such things, he just couldn't bring himself to do it, no matter how hard he tried, "Cynder..." Letting off a huge sigh as his face started to heat up to the point that he needed to cool himself down with his ice, Spyro had the perfect idea, "Honestly... This... Talk... would be better to have with the girls, especially Ersa as she knows everything when it comes to this sort of thing... My adopted parents gave me a, sort of, talk... But dragonflies and dragons while sounding the same, they are two completely different species."

"Hehe, well, did you know, during mating, when the male bites down on the neck of the female, the male will know the right amount of pressure to put on the neck of the female? This is of course if you're lovers, but I found it rather romantic as it gives off another sense of pleasure. I learned this after that whole incident where Ersa showed small holes on her neck."

"Hehe... That's, actually a sigh of relief for me then since I'm rather powerful."

"Hehe... Hehehe..." Not knowing if she should bring this up or not, she hoped maybe something would come out of what she said, but once she did say it, it was too late to turn back, "It was... Funny cause... The reason it was brought up was because I wondered what would happen if you ever bit down on my neck if we ever mated..." The expression Spyro gave off made her heart nearly stop: The wide eyes, the red blush, the dumbstruck shown across his face, and the near frozen stiff body that he couldn't move, "Just as an example!" Cynder cried out, "I was just wondering what would happen, if I ever did mate with someone, would my neck be crushed from the pressure! That's it!"

Even still, from her words previously, his eyes stayed widened for some time. _Why did I say that?!_ Cynder yelled at herself, realizing now just how stupid it was for her to even bring such a thing up. An idea popped in her mind as a way to transition away from all this embarrassment and more into a rather, deep, mood, "Hey... Spyro..." With her voice changing up to a little more softer, and lighter tone, Spyro was able to immediately gain control over his body and focus his attention to her, "I... Wanted to ask... a favor..." Raising a brow at her, she frowned, but this was something she knew she had to bring up, "I know, I know... You never ask for anything, yet you give me so much... You can... say no if you want to... I'd understand."

"My love," The warmth from his paw as he placed it over hers, it at least got a slight smile out of her, "Please, tell me what it is."

A little hesitant on it now, the warm feeling from his paw helped her ease herself back into what she had to say, giving off a sigh at least to prepare, "You were... talking to your parents, and... You said that your dad was there with my parents..." Biting her lip, she pushed through with what she wanted to say, "Could you... get something more... from my parents?" At first, it was a little confusing as to what she was asking, so she clarified, "I... want to know what they were like. What they did, how their relationship was, who do I take after, what did they go through in their past time... Stuff like that... But... I just... Don't wish to take away from the time you could have with your parents... so..."

"Cynder," He whispered her name, "If these really are my parents, and your parents are really with them, that just means that soon, we will be able to talk with them about any and everything... So I have no problem whatsoever asking about your parents over mine. I already had my time to talk with my dad today, and... I still wish to make up for what I did in the morning... I..." Letting off a shiver, it was a nightmare for him, "Knowing that I hurt you was... Never something I wished to do... So I... hope this can make up for it..."

Instead of getting an answer, he was hugged by her instead. With her wings going around his back and her head resting to his right shoulder, she rested it there, shedding a tear even. Giving a smile himself, he curled his head around the back of her neck, hugging her the same. Once done with the hug, she took her head back only some as to be nose to nose with her lover's. Now finally able to see her tear, he smiled as he understood why. To her surprise, she suspected she would kiss him first, but he already closed his eyes to prepare for the kiss. Covering his mouth over hers, Cynder gave a pleased moan, closing her eyes and kissing him back the same as he did to her. To savor the kiss, as with most, the two slowly slid their lips off one another till the front of their lips let go of one another with a wet smack. With both smiling as they opened their eyes, Cynder decided to give him the closure she believed he was searching for, "It would make up for it and more, even though I said you already did make up for it. I feel bad though cause no matter what you do, and no matter how much I smile, you'll still always feel bad about what happened when you don't need to..."

"Hehe... Well, you got me there," Spyro chuckled while she giggled, "I will do all that I can to make sure I get enough information to satisfy you."

"Information to satisfy me is nice, but your lips will always do the job well enough."

"Oh," He smirked, "Then, how about, I will talk to your parents if you lay on my chest and we kiss the night away as we have done so far?"

"You want to be on your back, and not me? Who are you?"

"Hehe, I just feel like holding you tonight is all. Even though we'll end up next to one another during the night anyway but..."

"Spyro... I get it... and to be honest... I'm actually pretty excited now more then ever."

"Hehe," Rolling onto his back, her wings slid off his sides and back to her side while his wings extended outwards, ready to hold her once laid to his chest, "I said I love you, didn't I?"

"Hehe," Getting up from the bed to stand, she smiled, "You did... And you definitely show it," Climbing up on top of him before resting her body down to his chest, his wings closed around her back, and with this comfort, with the help and immediate yes to get information on her parents, Cynder had to ask, "Spyro I... I don't understand something... I took your parents lives... I took all that time away from you and them so why... why help me? Why not just ignore my request and make me wait until I could possibly see them again?"

Seeing it was rather tough for her to say, not only from her voice, but from the shivers she gave off as she thought about it, it was easy for Spyro to help her as it was something he didn't need to think twice on, "What you want and your needs will always come before mine. I already had parents growing up, but you... You had no one. Putting you first will always be my priority, even when it comes to something like this," Her claws curled as she closed her eyes, letting her tears drip down from her cheeks and onto his chest as his words to her were beyond helpful, "I love you, Cynder. And I will do anything for you."

Ducking her head down as she nuzzled the top of her head to his neck, she wished to lay her, protected, and comfortable, before only able to let off a few words with a cry, "I love you... Spyro..."


	31. Chapter 31: The Long Night

Chapter 31: The Long Night

"Shut up, Malefor," Cyril was quick to growl at him, "Stop talking about, ass, when you don't even get any."

"HA!" Malefor laughed out loud, and just to make sure Cyril was wrong, he did something dangerous, of which he didn't know of what the outcome would be, "I'll prove it to you," Reaching his paw around and grabbing Carith by the back end, she shot up straight, blushed, and let out a short gasp, "Oh, Sorry Cyril. Couldn't hear you over how wrong you were," This got Cyril to roll his eyes, but he still smiled even as he left the Chambers to go meet back up with Flair, "Haha. Sucker."

Out into the hallway, Cyril turned to his right, making his way two doors down and to where he had hoped Flair would be. Though the closer he got, the more afraid he got as well, _Everything will be fine. I will just walk in there and things will just... Turn back to normal?_ Reaching the door, thoughts of Flair popped into his mind, with one such thought being of her fins sharpening. Swallowing hard as he remembered what she did to the dragon's skull that she headbutted, a shiver went down his spine. _Hehe, that guy got destroyed... And I could be next if I'm not careful._ Doing as he did normally, he first made sure to knock on the door, however, he didn't realize just how soft not only the knock was, but his voice the same, "Flair... May I come in?"

Not getting an answer, his first thought was that maybe she really wasn't in the room. _Spyro said she made it up to and in the Building... But not in her room._ Since fear had taken over, he didn't think twice about opening the door and did so. Grabbing the door knob, proceeding to do the usual before opening it, it was like slow motion for him as he scanned the room from the doorway to see if she was in her room. For the first half as he opened the door, she didn't seem to be on the left side of the bed, or even the left side of her room. But once the door was pushed halfway open, he started to make out something red, and focusing more on it, it looked like red scales. Now opening the door fully, he smiled wide to see the red scales were in fact from Flair, and the first glimpse he had gotten of her was from her backside. Entering the room, he saw how she laid to the bed. Her body curled to a ball as her back faced to the back wall, and her right side and belly was visible to all. He was able to see her tail as it rested to the bed, close to her face, and the anger that normally always showed to her as her eyes rested close. To keep quiet, he turned to shut the door with his paws, rather than his tail, _Wake her, and you die._ With one paw to the middle of the door, and the other one on the door knob, he eased it closed, standing up on two paws to support him the best he could. Just as it had clicked shut, he turned back around to face her, brining his paws back down to the ground as he did. For a second as he walked up to her, watching her side go up and down as she slept was calming to him, making him permanent with a smile. Making it halfway to her though, Flair growled in her sleep, showing her teeth even, forcing him to freeze dead in the middle of the room. He watched in horror as she picked up her head, turned straight to face the wall to the left of her and yawned wide. Once she had, her eyes had opened, though she still hadn't seen Cyril standing in the middle of the room. Resting her head outwards now, she looked to the wall, thinking about something of which he wished to know. After some time, she let off a sigh, turned her head, and went to curl herself back to her tail, but as she made it halfway, she looked to her tail, but then straight to Cyril, now seeing him in the room. Chuckling with not only fear, but pure panic, Cyril tried his best to stay calm, "Hehe... He-Hey... Flair..."

Hearing and seeing him now, Flair clenched her eyes shut, showed her teeth, and stood up from the bed, extending her wings and showing off all her body as intimidation. Opening her mouth to yell to him, Cyril ducked his head as he was prepared for it. Seeing this head duck, she scuffed, shutting her mouth now and not saying anything. Since he hadn't heard her yell to him yet, he eased up before looking back up to the bed and watching as she laid back down. Though, this time, her back faced the door as she curled back into a ball. Taking up a paw to his chest, he let off a sigh, thankful that she didn't attack him. _So far so good... All things considered._ Not having been yelled at gave him an indication that maybe he could stay, and so, he made his way up to the bed. Trying to make conversation as to not make things awkward between the two, he chuckled, "Hehe... What a day, am I right?" With one paw to the bed, he pulled himself upwards before being fully on the bed and to her right, "You know, I keep thinking back to what you did, and now thinking about it, that headbutt that you did on that dragon was pretty damn brutal, hehehe," Still having nothing out of her, he thought maybe it was how he phrased his words and corrected, "Ahem... I uh... I don't mean you were brutal, I'm just saying it was crazy to watch is all. Hehe, I mean, I have my brothers in arms out there but, having you protect me was pretty... cool."

Laying down to her right on his belly, Cyril waited to see what she would say, but still, nothing. He didn't want to force her to say anything for the night, or at any point for the matter, and made that clear, "It's okay, Flair. I don't want you to feel forced to talk to me," With his wing coming from his right, he extended it outwards before placing it over the top of her, though, feeling her shiver, he brought it up for a second as he was afraid she was to attack, "It's just my wing... It's just, my wing... I promise," Resting it back down on her, much more slower this time, he was successful, "Hehe, you missed out on Malefor being an idiot, even though that dragon is always dumb. And if you are interested in what the girls talked about in your absence, Cynder was rather sad when Spyro said he didn't have any plans for a Hatchling. And Spyro was rather surprised I've given you so much power over my life when he and Cynder have access to one another's hearts. Hehe, it's just... funny how things turn out around here."

Still having nothing spoken from her, he just kept a smile to see that she was at least here. Laying his head down to the bed, he just tried to get some sleep at the least, closing his eyes and wishing her a goodnight, "Well, I don't wish to bother you too much. If you need me during the middle of the night just, wake me at any point and I'll help... like how I always have..." Now not knowing if it was his words or not, he felt as she had moved from under his wing, making him raise his head back up and open his eyes to look to her, "Flair...?"

She had moved away from him, sitting down on the bed now with her back facing him so she wouldn't have to see him. Sitting up the same, he brought his wing back, but this time, reached a paw out to her as he spoke her name, "Flair... Are you...?"

"What the hell do you think you're even doing in my room?" Flair finally spoke, growling to him as her fins all sharpened, which he noticed and decided to bring his paw back down to the bed, "You didn't agree to that promise, and I don't give a shit that you didn't, but keep your wing off of my back! I told you to leave me alone, I told you, CONSTANTLY!" Her sudden yell made him duck his head back, and now as she turned to face him to yell at him, he swallowed hard, "So what part of leave my the hell, ALONE! Don't you understand?! Or do I need to drill it into your head the same as I did to that dragon?! The one whom I was so, brutal, with?!"

Scared to speak as she now took some steps towards him, Cyril brought up the courage to speak, "I... was on the fence for a while about this though..." Bringing his head back forward, he frowned as he spoke on it, hoping she would understand, "I didn't know by leaving you alone, that would upset you to know that maybe I didn't care. But I also knew that by coming by and talking to you, it could only upset you more as you really did just wish to be left alone..." Hearing his words at least got her to ease down some, "And I... remember what you said during the morning... I promised you this night, and I'm here to deliver."

"Will then congratulations, you've made it. Now get out."

"Flair..."

"CYRIL!" Flair yelled at him once again, approaching him to the point that she was next to one step before being on his paws, "Enough of this shit! I'm tired of you coming into my room, I'm tired of not being left alone, and I'm tired of dealing with all of you! I came here to kill one of you and then leave, and because of you, you made my life worse! Because of me, I lost everything! And now because of you... If I kill you... It will feel like I'm just reliving my past all over again!" Seeing her struggle once again made this difficult for him as all he wished to do was find something, anything to say or do to really help her, but it didn't seem like anything would help her, "But maybe that's why I'm here... Maybe I'm just meant to have the worst life not only here, but in hell too, and I'll forever be forced to just burn for everything that's happened to me!"

While he frowned, she showed her teeth for how she thought about things, but to help get her to smile, he did so as well, "Well... As long as I'm with you, you'll never have to worry about such heat as I will be there to cool you," His words only frustrated her more, though he didn't really see this as he continued with what he was saying, "Hehe, and, don't worry, I can take Malefor's life so I can join you in such a place as well. Though, I don't ever see you ending up there since... well... you're not a monster."

"I'm not a monster?" Flair hissed, "Ignitus was right about one thing; I've killed many, many dragons over my life! I will have no problem adding you to the list, and you act like you have immunity over that?! If I'm going to burn in hell for my mistakes, why not just add on to what I've done cause why does it matter to me? Why should it affect me?" Thinking about it now made her really wonder why she should even care about repercussions to her own actions, "I take your life, what does it matter? Hehe, what does it matter to me?"

"Because you don't wish to lose another family?" Cyril spoke up, and as he did, he saw her scales stand up on end, "You know... Flair... I've thought a lot about what you said, about what happened during the time up to your mother's death..." Showing her teeth as she readied her blade for what she believed he was to say, what he did say was a surprise to her, "Why didn't Argus go with you, knowing where you were headed?" Her eyes widened some to his words, "I mean, when Warfang was under attack, even though Spyro didn't wish for Cynder to fight, she still helped because she wished to protect the one she loved, even at the expense of her own life. So... if Argus knew you were headed out of Warfang, why didn't he help you? I mean... if he would've been there... None of this would've ever happened..."

"ARGUS NEVER LOVED ME!" Flair finally spoke out about her lover, "You think I didn't ask the same thing too?!" Looking down to the bed as to not face Cyril, she brought up more from her past as to what's happened afterwards, "After my mother died and my dad and I had a falling out... Argus found me in a new home... I cried... and was so happy to meet him, and as I hugged him, he didn't hug me back... But instead, he pushed me off of him," Turning her body now to face the door, she looked up at it, continuing her story with a frown, "I didn't... understand why... But apparently... my dad told not only my friends of what had happened, but the love of my life as well," To help position himself better, Cyril turned to face straight along with her, not using his wing just yet, "Argus said he was... disappointed in me... He couldn't believe he loved someone so weak and that... he expected more from me... I... I cried... begged for him to listen to the truth, but he said he already knew what happened... The only thing I knew to fall back on was to tell him how... I wanted us to be mates..." Clenching her paws on the bed, as well as her teeth, tears dripped down her eyes as she spoke of what Argus had said to her, "He said... 'How could I trust our Hatchling's life with you if you couldn't even protect the one that was closest to you?'..."

Cyril's heart nearly sank to hear her attacked by not only her father, but her own lover just the same. He wished to ask more about what had happened, but he remembered, during a time like this, it was best not to. Trying to ease herself, Flair spoke more as to what had happened, why it made sense to her as to why Argus felt this why, "I later learned from Argus's father that... my father told a completely false story, twisting what had happened and what I had done... He said that, while he was fighting, I ran away and hid from it all, and that I blamed him for our Mother's death... He said that, while he later tried to calm me, I attacked him... and that's why my father has a massive slash to his left eye..." Now bringing this up, slashing her paw to her right, this sent out a massive line of fire to the wall, and as it clashed and exploded against the wall, she yelled, "I WASN'T EVEN THE ONE WHO CAUSED THAT SCAR! I WASN'T THE ONE WHOM FOUGHT AGAINST HIM! IT WAS ALL HIM!"

Frowning from her reaction while she breathed fire from her nose to calm herself, she kept her back to Cyril as she continued the story, "I tried all I could to calm my dad down, to go back to how things were, but he didn't wish it... So when he found where I lived, he did everything he could to destroy my life... He yelled at me, attacked me, and later forced that scar onto himself to show that I was beyond saving... And the worst part... everyone believed him... everyone... believed him... Everyone saw me as a cowered... an aggressive monster for attacking him... and everyone believed it was my fault..." She went silent for a second before letting off a sad giggle, and the pain that Cyril heard from this giggle continued to attack his own heart, "You know, I even tried to convince Argus's father that my father was lying, but even he didn't believe me... After time, I became what my father said I was; an aggressive monster with sympathy for no one but themself..." Turning herself back to face straight, she gave off a sigh to reveal what else she went through, "I later started to ghost my previous friends, to see how their lives were going... Two of them were pregnant, another just became mates with the one she loved, and the others seemed happy and content with the ones they loved... And I... I looked to see the life I could've had... But since everyone saw me as a Monster, even with those that I tried to get with afterwards... My father spoke to them behind my back... telling them what I had done... And when I came home... they never did... I was alone... and nothing I could do would ever change that."

Now feeling as though it was time, Cyril brought his wing up and over the back of Flair, hoping this would take away this feeling of loneliness. Surprising him, as his wing draped to her side, she snuggled up to his side. Not only had she snuggled up to him, but she rested her head to his shoulder as she continued to let her tears drip down her face. Still not wishing to talk unless he was given the okay to do so, this still proved to be the right move as she had continued to speak, "It makes me wonder... I told you of what's really happened... But if I told you what my father said, would you have believed me? After what I said... what if I really was the crazy one and I saw it differently when I really was the bad one?" Even with all that she had spoke of, she noticed the entire time he hadn't said anything, so now, she wished to see if he was paying attention, "Countless times, you had my back when the others didn't... You saw the good in me even when I hurt you, even when I nearly cut you in two... And... I have to ask... Why? Ignitus said it himself that I was beyond saving... So... Why...? Why continue to help me when you know that's true?"

Now having the go ahead to speak, Cyril spoke straight from the heart, not needing much time to think about it, "Ignitus has been wrong about plenty of things before, and when it comes to being the Chronicler, it's just another stepping stone for him to be even that much more wrong," Having been asked by her to answer in a way, he hoped he wouldn't disappoint, "I think... all of us have been supposedly beyond help at one point or another..." Letting off a sigh, she took her head off his shoulder and saw as his face turned almost angry, but also sad, "One of my toughest moments in life was when I lost my brother to a yellow dragon... and after that day, I hated all of them, and it made my friendship with Volteer very... sour... But one point during my life that broke me just the same, maybe even more... was with my... mate..."

"What?!" Flair cried with wide eyes as this brought back something that the girls had spoken of, "Claire... did speak of the fact that you were all in relationships that didn't go well... What... happened with you?"

Letting out tears of his own now, though he tried to stay strong, Cyril growled as he spoke on his story, "My... female... I met before I even met Malefor. For about a year we had been together, and for that long, we had been lovers. So technically, we had been together for almost two years. As time went on, I knew I wanted to be her mate, and so, one day, I asked her, and she said yes... Though I didn't notice this until late, and I didn't wish to say anything, it seemed like she had put on some weight throughout our time being in love. After about a month, I started to get... frisky with her... wanting to do as mate do as I wished to have a Hatchling with her... But she stopped me... And I didn't understand why..." The same as Flair before, he clenched his paws onto the bed, showing his teeth even as he tried to stay calm, "She said she didn't want to hurt the Hatchling that was already in her."

Letting off a gasp, Flair already knew what had happened but still spoke about it out loud, "She... was already pregnant... But... if it had been at least a month when you wished to mate, and you were in love for at least a year... That..." Giving a frown, once saying it out loud, Cyril growled, "She got pregnant when you two were in love, and never told you that she cheated with someone else..." Not having seen him in such an upset mood before, it rather scared her, but she had to ask from curiosity, "What... happened... afterwards?"

"I never saw her again," Cyril was quick to answer in a growl, "I asked her why she would do such a thing, and her response was that she was talking with one of her male friends. One thing turned to another and he got her pregnant... Even after what had happened, I felt terrible for leaving her, so, I later went out to find her... But only just the next day, she already hooked back up with the guy and completely forgot about me entirely..." Now feeling nothing but sadness to this event, he couldn't understand why she didn't say something sooner, "I loved her... and she never even told me... I went through my life thinking we'd be together forever... and she took my blade and stabbed me in my own heart with it..." Having gone quiet, she now felt terrible for him, something she never knew she'd feel for anyone ever again, "So if you were ever scared about me trying to seduce you or love you... don't... cause I'm done with this relationship shit too."

After what she had heard, it made her wonder why, after such an event, he would still do all that he has for her, "Then... How come you were depressed when I wasn't in the Chambers?" Bringing up herself now got his mind somewhat off of his previous mate, which helped him calm down, "How come you've continued to help protect and comfort me throughout all that I've been going through? Even with what that dragon did; causing you such pain, it was my fault they were there, so... why did you even come by tonight when even I've caused nothing but problems for you?"

Shedding another tear down his eye, he was honest with her, "Because I miss having someone to protect..." Flair frowned to hear this, "I miss draping my wing over the female close to me, I miss comforting one, and I miss... talking... to someone close to me..." It surprised her at how tough he really did have it, not knowing his life was just as terrible as hers, if not, maybe even worse, "After all the mistakes I've gone through in life, I wished to at least succeed in something for once... Protecting you from the pains of this world is all I wish to do in life now; to help give living a meaning for me."

"But... why protect me from the pain, even after the pain you've endured; the pain you'll endure in the future?"

"Because with the hell in this world, taking on the pain for someone else to have a life is what I will do no matter the cost of my life," Not having seen her reaction from his words, Flair smiled to hear him say such a thing, "As I've said back with a Hatchling; It's a parents job through thick and thin to protect them. As a father, as whom I wished to be, I will protect those close to me at any cost of my life... Even though I'm not your mate, I will show you the love and care you deserved since the beginning unlike those before you... I promise..." Not seeing now that Flair had shed a tear from his use of words, he once again gave a sigh for all that had been spoken about, "Flair..."

"Cyril..." Finally speaking his name, he looked over to see her smile had faded and now turned to a frown once she had sighed, "I'm... sorry... for what you've gone through... But, look on the bright side in all this; I'll be... leaving here tomorrow anyway so... You don't need to worry about me."

"What?!"

"I've over lived my stay here, and I'm pretty sure it's time that I've... Moved on... I guess..."

"But, why?! I thought you were getting along with the girls! I thought that..."

"You thought what?!" Flair started to get rather defensive against him to see him trying to convince her to stay, "No matter what you thought, you thought wrong. When I came back up here, I thought about it for a while of what I wanted to do, and leaving this building is by far the best decision I will ever make."

"But... why...? I thought... I... Know... You felt, protected, up here. So... Why?"

"Because I have the right to choose what I want in life, and if you have such a big damn problem with it, then banish me. See if I give a shit," Even though he genuinely wanted to know, she didn't seem to be giving him the answers he wanted, though she did give off small amounts of information as to why, "Listen... After the talk about what happened in my past; with my father and my mate, it made me remember just how damning life can be, and I had forgotten for some time what I've really wanted in life. So, instead of taking someone else's life, I'll just try and kill my father, and even my previous lover before I just off myself."

"But you said you froze up..." Cyril brought up, getting her to widen her eyes, "You said you'd freeze up from the emotions from the life you had, what you lost... And that it would be impossible to kill him because of this... And even hearing that he slapped you across the face, I was ready to jump in and help take him out with Spyro."

"You act like killing someone is so easy!"

"When someone hurts the ones closest to me, even I'll become a monster to do the right thing."

"Crazy how you say that yet, even when the world was being set on fire with war, you all sure took your sweet ass time defending all of us. If anyone here is to blame of what's happened, it should be all of you," Flair turned her aggression now to what the Guardians had done, or at least, what they hadn't, "Maybe if you would've done a better job at protecting your citizens rather then procrastinating, maybe my family wouldn't have been destroyed for your failures."

"Don't pin that on us," Cyril now defended what the Guardians did to her surprise, "The whole point of Warfang is to keep those within it's walls safe. I'm not an Ancestor, none of us are, and we still deal with real world problems: Depression, Pain, Anger, Rage, it's all that we went through during the war. And since you've spoken of how this all happened about a year ago, you want to know where we were?"

"Enlighten me," She hissed at him.

"We were fighting from all fronts to keep the threat as far back from Warfang as we could. Even having my brothers back, now, I didn't just have to wonder what pain they went through from the time they were captured, but now, I got to experience it," Talking about the three year war afterwards with Spyro and Cynder having been gone, it was tough to have to relive such memories, "Our bones would shatter, our vision would blur, our blood would turn everything around us red as we fought to keep everyone safe. Without Spyro or Cynder's help, having to not only deal with the Dark Master, but his army as well... There were days where we wished death on ourselves as we couldn't handle going through the pain of war any longer."

"Then why didn't you act like a good dragon and just die."

"Because of what we were protecting," Cyril backed up now some from Flair as he didn't appreciate what she was saying, which she noticed, "Even with our condition, having that one Hatchling come up to us, having that one dragon, parent, sibling, or loved one walk up to us, it made the pain all the more easy to fight through. Ignitus still has his parents and so does Terrador, and if we didn't fight to protect Warfang, where would you all be?"

"Probably dead, like all things will be in the future anyway so, why should it matter to me."

"So even if your mother had her Hatchling, you wouldn't have even cared for its life, would you?"

Bringing up her dead mother enraged her now as she showed her teeth before sharpening her fins, "I beg your pardon!"

"You know, it's funny; Even a man like superman can make a mistake, but don't you find it funny, no matter how much good he does, it's that one failure that makes him the villain?" Cyril wasn't intimidated by her show of anger and kept going with what he had to say, "It doesn't matter what we've done, does it?! Because even with all the good we do, it's always the bad that others focus to!" Now raising his voice, Flair backed off, a little scared of him now, which he noticed and apologised for it, "Sorry... I'm... Not... Going to hurt you, I just..." Sighing as he eased himself down, he continued, "Everyone disregards who we are because they expect us to be the heroes of this world, forgetting we are flesh and blood, just the same as them."

"Your point?"

"When my parents died, I didn't get that chance to say goodbye... I didn't get the chance to fight and save them... I didn't get the chance... To continue my story, my journey, with them... But because I'm supposed to be a soldier and protect the world, I didn't have the time to heal from my parent's deaths..." Shedding tears down his eyes as he spoke more from his past, it seemed like two completely different lives from the one he had then compared to now, "Having Spyro back, having Cynder back... They protected us... Continued to fight the good fight for us and... After all that we went through... I never knew we'd ever get the break we needed... And with all this talk... all I wish to do now is hold everyone close to me and cry for what the past did to all of us; physically... and mentally..."

Seeing as his body had eased up some from his aggression, she herself did the same as the entire time he was speaking, she didn't trust he wouldn't try something against her. Letting off a sigh once again, Cyril turned behind himself to look out the window from above the bed and straight to the cool blue midnight sky. It was calming to him to see such a sight, to see where he was now, and it got him to smile, "You never know how good you have it till the thing you lean on the most is gone."

The way he spoke, and the way he looked out the window as he did calmed her for some reason, but she still growled as normal, "Can you not act like a creep right now."

"Hehe, sorry, sorry," She didn't understand why he apologized, but she took it anyway, "You know... back in the day, war use to be the worst thing to happen to this world, but now... Hehe, Spyro's made it more of a punchline to a really long joke..." Focused back to her, this was something he knew he could smile on, "Do you remember when Warfang was attacked during the attack with the Destroyer?"

"Which one? There's been two."

"Hehe, indeed there has."

"What the hell is wrong with you?!" Flair didn't appreciate that he would be laughing at such an event, "Do you not understand just how many dragons died on those days?!"

"None," Cyril spoke up, and to hear this, she didn't believe it.

"Bull Shit! You're just lying to ease yourself."

"Hehe, I'm not joking, Flair. Because of our efforts, we were able to keep everyone safe those days. Hehe, well, of course, unless you weren't killing dragons those days, but... Every time Cynder and Spyro showed themselves, life became so... So very easy for us. With their help, Warfang was protected, and so were the citizens. When it came to the second attack, hehe, we flew past that with flying colors!" Cyril smiled as he laughed, going back to his self now which Flair in a way rather appreciated, "With us; The Guardians, we would've died if it was just us, but imagine this. When Warfang was attacked with the Destroyer being present the second time, three holes were blown into the walls of Warfang..."

"I know what you're talking about. I was there."

"Oh, yeah, hehe, sorry. But going back, even with the Destroyer being present, it was such a sigh of relief for all of us at the time. Not only did we have Spyro and Cynder, but we also had our dear, old, best friend back... That being... Malefor... and we even had his lover fighting along side us as well. Hehe, we also had Ignitus and Claire, and even the one whom helped me was Terrador. Volteer and Ersa helped work on healing our wounds and what not but, because things went so well, hehe, we didn't even really need the help."

"Why are you so happy about all this?"

"Because life is finally in our favor," Cyril smiled, "Before, it use to be me, Ignitus, Terrador, and Volteer. But now, hehe, It's Ersa, Trish, Malefor, Carith, Claire, Spyro, and Cynder. And I even forgot to add the three, or, sorry, should I say, four friends that just add to our army. And adding you would be fun as hell!" Flair blushed some to hear him say this, and with him describing it, it did seem rather calming as such, "I mean, you saw what Spyro alone did to that group of dragons. Now imagine us all fighting, together, to protect one another!" Laughing as he was so happy with how life was now, she showed not only her teeth, but even a small smile herself which she tried to keep contained, "Flair, you really don't understand how amazing you are, how nice it is to have you around, and just how much in life you're missing out on. We could have so much fun together!" Seeing her growl as she blushed, he corrected, "And I'm not talking about mating! I'm just saying stuff like, I don't know, anything you wish to do to enjoy life basically," Walking back up to her and sitting down almost nose to nose with her, he chuckled as he was as happy as could be right now, "Just like how Ersa went through hell, we all have, but where we are now, I'm glad we finally got the life and the break we deserve, even... if there was a cost..."

"Yeah, smile about that," Flair growled as she believed he would've, and for some reason, he did, but not for the deaths.

"Flair... My parents fought to keep me safe, and see me grow into who I am now, and because of their help, their teachings, I am who I am now. That and, because of the help from my very helpful friends. And... Flair... I know I might be stepping out of line here but, If you don't wish to live... Why not try and live the life your brother or sister couldn't have had?" Flair first gave wide eyes to his words before turning into full on murder mode as her fins sharpened to their deadliest points, "Flair... What I mean by that is... What if you were able to talk to your sibling? And if they wished for you to live your life to the fullest, would you?" Hearing how he said it now, unfortunately, it was a rather true statement, "Ignitus is an amazing dragon... and because of him... he helped me see what I couldn't. My parents wanted me to have the best life possible. If I just, killed myself for what's happened, then their death would've been in vain... And all that they worked to do would've been for nothing... Ignitus helped me understand that, and now, I wish to pass on his teachings to you."

"You want me to go after thoughts of my parents?!" Flair yelled as she backed off from him.

"If not your father, just think of your mother," Cyril tried to help keep her calm, and mentioning her mother caused her to stop with a shiver, "What would your mother, have wanted? If she already lost one of her Hatchlings, do you really believe she would've wanted to lose another?" Compared to her usual self, Flair's faced turned to pure depression as her breath kicked up from what he had said, so much so that she started to look around the bed as her fins eased, "She fought, to protect you. She wanted the best life for you. Am I wrong?"

Shedding tears as she now thought of her mother, she looked down at the bed as a memory popped into her mind, remembering something her mother had told her.

 _"Hey... Mom... is everything, okay?" Flair asked her mother, landing down on a building inside of Warfang. As she landed, she saw her mother laying belly down and overlooking Hatchlings as they played in the paths, along with the parents talking amongst themselves. Seeing her daughter approach her, the blue mother smiled, "Of course, Flair. I just... I... Look, can I... trust you with a secret?" Flair giggled as she didn't know what it would be, but she joked as she laid down next to her mother's right, "I mean, you trusted me not to tell dad when ever you accidentally froze over his mouth in his sleep cause you were making out with him without him knowing." Letting off a laugh, the mother remembered, "Hehe, well, you got me there."_

 _"Hehe, you're lucky I was able to melt the ice off his mouth before he woke up. It also made for good practice too. Been wondering how I can heat up my paw in a way to be rather know, just in case Argus wants some heat with my paw when I use it on him, if you know what I mean?" Flair giggled, and since the mother knew what she was talking about, she gently pushed her daughter on her arm. "Bad girl," The mother laughed, getting Flair to do the same. Once the laughing had died down, it went quiet for a second before the mother finally spoke up, "Well... I do trust you on this, and I wanted to tell you sooner then your father to see your reaction first." Confused as to what this could be, Flair wanted to know, "Okay, now I definitely want to know." Using her right paw, the mother rolled to her side some and started to rub her belly as she showed it off. Flair was a little confused, but once the mother smiled, she gasped, "You're pregnant?!" The mother smiled to her daughter, giggling as her voice stayed low, "Here soon... We'll have someone else joining our family." Shedding tears just the same as her mother, Flair jumped with joy as she couldn't believe she was hearing this, that something like this was really going to happen, "Mom! That's amazing! That's, that's! Haha! I'm going to be a big sister here soon then, aren't I?!" Happy to see her daughter in such a joyful mood, the mother giggled, "Hehe, you indeed will." Trying to control her breaths as she jumped up and down and the building, Flair cried in a soft voice, "Mom, I'm... I'm so happy for you... I'm... Hehe..." Calming herself down, this now brought up her lover, Argus, "You know... Being almost halfway through my thirties, I've also contemplated having a Hatchling with someone I love too."_

 _"Hehe, oh trust me, I know. The amount of times you told me about your, dreams, with Argus."_

 _"Okay! Moving on!" Seeing the embarrassment on her daughters face, the mother giggled, but it died down rather quick which made Flair worry, "Mom? Are you okay?"_

 _"Oh, yeah... I just... Can I talk with you a bit about something," Flair was rather afraid as to what was wrong with her mother, but she still made her way back to her mother's right. As she laid down, the mother brought up her paw and formed a small cube of ice and gave it over to her daughter, "Here you go. Just so you know I'm doing okay and since I did kinda scare you, I wish to calm you." Smiling at the ice cube, Flair picked it up from her mother's paws before putting the ice cube in her mouth and sucking on it before later crunching and eating it. The cold feeling sent pleasure and ease throughout her body, now feeling cool and relaxed. "Thanks, mom," Flair thanked her mother for the ice cube. "Of course," Getting down from her joyful self, she tried to stay positive, "Flair... Listen, my love... I... won't... Always be here."_

 _"What?!" Flair immediately cried out, but the mother quickly stepped in. "Flair, it's okay... It's okay... Just... please... listen to what I have to say," Swallowing hard as she was afraid to what this would be about, she obeyed her mother's commands, "With the war going on, I know even men like the Guardians will break after awhile, and if that day ever happens and I'm not around, I want you to stay strong, Do you understand me?" Shedding a tear at her words as it made sense for her to say, Flair nodded at her mother, "I hope to have a happy life with our hopeful new born, but as I will tell the soon to come little one..." Pausing, she reached a paw up to her daughters cheek, rubbing a claw on the side of her face to calm her as she spoke, "Stay strong no matter what. Continue to fight and live the best life possible. Even if I am to die, you should know I'll be watching down on not only you, but this little one as well. I want to see you grow and thrive throughout time, and make sure that the one you love, whether it be Argus or not, treats you right. Please, my love, continue to be the strong and loving daughter I know you are." Shedding more tears to what she had to say, Flair murmured, "But what if I fail... What if something does happen that makes me want to give up? Like if I lost Argus?"_

 _"That's what your friends and family are for," The mother smiled to her daughter, "You will never be alone, I promise you that. In the time of need, there will always be someone out there who will love and take care of you through it all, no matter what. I have hopes that you'll make plenty of friends and find the love of your life. Hehe, and then, hopefully, you'll have some little ones of your own for me to cry over..." Shedding more tears for what her mother was saying, Flair still giggled as she had hopes that everything would be okay, "Hehe, I won't... let you down then. And I believe since things are going so well, what do you say I'll have at least two little ones of my own for us to both cry over?"_

 _"Hehe, is that a deal?" The mother smirked. "I love you, Mom, and you know I'd never disappoint you," Flair cried with a smile. Moving her paw from the side of her daughter's cheek, she put it to the back of her head and moved her forehead closer. As she ducked her head as well, the two rested their foreheads on one another's, closing their eyes and shedding tears for what was spoken of. Showing her teeth as to try and control herself, Flair whispered, "I love you... Mom... Just please... Please don't ever leave my life." Giving a smile to her words, the mother tried her best to calm her, "I will always be with you. A piece of my heart belongs with you as well." Taking her forehead off her mother's, Flair reached her wings around and hugged her mother, wrapping her head around the back of hers. "I will make you proud... I swear I will..." Giving a smile, the mother whispered to her, "I know you will..." Trying to stay strong for her, the mother couldn't hold back her tears, her cries as she spoke these words, "I love you... so much... Flair..."_

"MOM!" Flair cried out with tears, coming out from this memory rather aggressively.

Getting her surroundings, she was still shaken up from the memory, and even though she knew where she was, she didn't wish to believe it, "No... No no NO! Mom... MOM!" Turning all around on the bed as she looked all around for her mother, her heart slammed to her chest as he breath skyrocketed to a rather painful amount, "Mom... Mom..." Seeing Cyril look at her with a frown to see her condition, her now showing her struggles with her past to an even higher degree, it stabbed to his heart for what she was going through, "Cyril...?"

Running up to him to his suprise, she wrapped her wings around him and cried over his shoulder, so much so that she even through her arms around him as she cried. Crying tears of his own to how she was struggling, Flair cried over his back as she spoke, "SHE'S GONE...! She's... She's gone... But, why... Why... Why did the world have to take her... Why... Cyril, please, I... I don't understand... I don't understand..." He didn't known what to say to her, so for now, he kept quiet, "Everything was so peaceful for us, everything... was perfect... So why... WHY...! Why did the world turn against her...? Why did I lose her... why... did she have to die..."

Maneuvering his wings up through the openings of where she hugged him, he rested his wings the same over her back as he hugged her. Unfortunately for him, he didn't have the answers she was hoping he would've had as, these were questions he's also searched for throughout his own life and his own experiences with those that he's lost, "I'm sorry... Flair... I'm so... sorry," Nuzzling her cheek to the best of his ability, he was easy about it, taking his time as to not be too quick, but also not too slow as to keep her from possibly feeling uncomfortable, "I've asked the same questions about everyone that I've lost... My parents never did anything wrong in this world, yet... They still died... I... I will never understand why the world does what it does either."

Feeling as she started to push against his chest some with her own chest, Cyril knew what she wanted. Easing himself down onto his back, she followed him down with the help of his wings. Laying down to his back, his focus was up to the ceiling while she nuzzled the top of her head against the top of his neck. With both her paws rested to his chest, she laid her head sideways on his neck as she closed her eyes, continuing to cry over him. Doing as normal to help, a paw was brought up by him as he started to pet the back of her fins. With her resting to his body, the feeling it gave off to once again be able to confront her and pet her fins, it brought a sense of comfort to him to know he could at least do something. Though he wasn't able to think much on it as ideas started to float in his mind on what to do, what to say, or if he should stay quiet about what was going on or not. _It's scary to think... All these bottled up emotions... She's never had anyone to talk to about them... Which explains just that much more about what she's going through,_ Cyril thought to himself, forcing another tear down his eye. Being in his thoughts, he hadn't realized Flair had stopped crying as she had fallen asleep on his chest. _Mom... Dad... I made a lot of mistakes in the past, and all I wish to do is make up for that... But how? What can I do?_ As he stopped his paw over her fin, the thoughts he had seemed endless now as from tonight alone, life seemed like such a big question to him. Because he had stopped, those woke Flair from her slight slumber as she recovered from what had happened. Opening her eyes but not moving, she just looked to the door, and in what seemed like a slight blur, she saw what looked like a blue female near the middle of the room. As she focused up, she made out a smile, and the face. Gasping, she picked up her head and closed her eyes tight before shaking her head. Opening her eyes back open, her vision cleared, but there wasn't anyone there. With slightly widened eyes, Flair murmured, "Mo... Mom...?"

Focused to the ground for a second before looking back to her left, she saw Cyril laying there to his back in his thoughts. But once having noticed she was looking at him, he broke from his thoughts to try his best to smile for what's happened. Seeing this smile, Flair let off a sigh as she tried to frown, but for now, she just simply stayed neutral, "My mother... Always, wished the best of me..." It was good to hear her speak so calmly once again, even if it was still on something that pained her to talk on, "When I would have an off or bad day, my mother was always the one I turned to... She was always the one I knew I could trust... And... You know... she kinda sounds like... You... Cyril," This got his eyes to widen, "Before I got here, I've had nothing but terrible days, weeks... months... but when I made it here... And I met you... that started to change... And even with what we've talked about, what I've done... to you... I know... I can still turn to you cause I... trust... you..."

Hearing this sent his heart into a flurry of joy, though he didn't want to show it as, he knew if he did, she would've showed her teeth, so he kept strong and acted calm. Nodding the best he could at her words, he still wished he could do more, "Thank you... Flair... But I... Do, still feel horrible as I wish there was something I can do, something more for you to know that I'll always be there for you... If there's anything else I can do to comfort you, anything at all that I can say... Please... just let me know."

She simply turned her cheek to him as she didn't know what else he could change to be a better dragon. However, to him, this showed she wanted something else, taking what she was doing out of context. Picking his head off the bed, Cyril, just as he had done before, was easy with his actions. Kissing the side of her cheek, he made sure to keep it short while it being long enough to be something to savor. With the kiss, and the cool feeling of his lips on her cheek, Flair's heart kicked to her chest. With the smack of his lips coming off from her cheek, she looked to him with wide eyes as he eased his head back down to the bed. The widened eye expression was confusing to him, but he still tried to keep a smile as he believed that this was what she wanted, "Anything to help you," She still hadn't said anything which made him fear that maybe he had done something wrong, "Flair...?"

Backing off and to his very far left now rather suddenly, she backed far enough away to the point where she wasn't even within reach of his tail. Tucking his wings back to his side and rolling to his side, Cyril turned around to face her as she stared to him with still widened eyes. While the confusion stayed for a while, seeing her fins all sharpen as her sadness burned down into anger, now he knew he had done something wrong, but he didn't know what. Once again saying her name, he hoped he would be able to calm her, "Flair...?"

"WHY DID YOU KISS ME?!" Flair exploded out with her voice, forcing him to duck his head.

"What...?" He asked with confusion, "I... I thought that's why you turned your cheek to me..."

"NO!" She yelled out once again, making him back up from her, "You dumb son of a bitch! After all that I've talked about, after everything I was going through, you thought kissing me would've helped?! After what you promised you said you'd NEVER, do!" Approaching him now, he swallowed hard, shivering even as he realized he had broken the promise he made to her, "'No love, no kissing, just COMFORT'! Do you remember that?! BECAUSE CLEARLY YOU DON'T!"

As she now approached him to where she looked down on his ducked down feature, Cyril murmured out a cry as he apologized, "Flair, I'm... I'm sorry... I'm so sorry... Please, I..."

"SHUT UP!" This immediately got him to shut his mouth, and even with how pissed off she was, seeing him shivering so badly to her made her feel like a villain, but she tried to ignore this, "You have plenty of time to make up for what you've done in the after life! Now get on your back so I can see the fear in your eyes when I slit your throat," It took him a couple of seconds to obey her, and while he didn't need it, she pushed it a little more, "Fine then."

Reaching down with a paw, she grabbed his neck rather hard, causing him to cough as she raised him. Swinging her arm down now with his head raised, his body flung backwards with the back of his head hitting the bed before the rest of his body followed. The strength she put on his neck made it rather difficult to breath, and even as his paws neared hers to pull her paw back off of him, he resisted it the best he could. Easing her grip as she felt how much force she was applying, Cyril let out a large gasp, coughing some as he was finally able to breath. Reaching her tail around, she softened her blade as she cuffed it around his neck. Just to make it scarier for him, she explained of what she was to do, what she could do, "In an instant, I could sharpen my blade and fill you lungs with as much blood as I please! But to make sure you suffer, I will slice your body in two; from the bottom of your lip to the tip of your tail," He didn't seem as fazed by it as much as she was hoping he would've, "I knew you would've messed up at some point, and since I said I was going to leave tomorrow anyway, this is perfect; I can leave and die happy knowing you're dead!"

Tearing up some from his failure, he once again tried to apologize in his cry, "Flair... Please... Please, believe me when I say... I'm... So, So... Very... Sorry..."

"YOU KNEW WHAT YOU PROMISED! YOU CONSTANTLY TALKED ABOUT HOW YOU'D PROVE ME WRONG!" Making sure to rub the wound deep, she wished for him to know of his faults, "Now look at you! Rather then die on the front lines, you'll die, here, where you should've days ago," Seeing his tears and hearing his pleas as he constantly murmured he was sorry, she hissed at him, "So then why?! Why did you kiss me?! Is there any other reason aside from the one you've already given me?! And I EXPECT you, to be honest with me!"

Swallowing hard as he didn't wish to say it, with where her paw was, she was able to feel his swallow, and could tell he did have other reasons, though the reasons he gave were not what she thought, "Because... I didn't know how else to comfort you..." Looking at him in the eyes as he spoke to hopefully sniff out a lie, he continued, "It is... true... that I honestly did kiss you cause I thought that's what you wanted, but I also did it cause... Like i said... I want to help you so, so very badly... And without me having any idea of what to say or do... I thought... Kissing you would... Help you..." Showing her teeth to him as she didn't believe this; She believed there had to be another reason, and he answered what she wanted to hear, "No... It wasn't because I was trying to seduce you... But to continue being honest with you... I do more... Then just... like... you..."

"Oh? So you love me?" Flair tried not to spit.

"I care about you... Always have, and always will..." He murmured, "I knew at some point, one of my failures would be the end of me... I just... wish it was never to someone close to me..." While Flair had heard enough, Cyril still tried to make the best of a bad situation as he made her a promise, "To... make it up to you... maybe I could talk with the Ancestors once I'm dead. If I could talk with your mother, then I could talk with them, and Ignitus could tell you how she's doing," Hearing this got her to gasp, and while she tried to show her teeth to him, she couldn't believe he was still tried to help her in anyway he could, "Hopefully you being able to hear your mother is safe and happy, maybe... That would help you as well... Maybe... She could help you more then I ever could..."

"Shut up..." She murmured.

Frowning from his failure, he saw that she now looked to his chest, tensing as if she was fighting with herself, or something he had said. Rather then fight against it any longer, Cyril sighed as he laid his head back, ready for her to punish him for what he's done. Looking to the ceiling as if it was the last thing he'd ever see, something came over him as he had to tell her, "Hehe, you know... Something about this is... funny, to me..." Since he had spoken, she picked her head back up to look at him to hear what he had to say, "Malefor always keeps joking about how you'd kill me, and I just keep laughing every time someone says that cause... Hehe, well... I trust you... And don't get me wrong, I'm not trying to get out of my death but... If I'm to go... Hehe... Make sure to take his life too. That would make me smile so wide."

"You want me to kill him?"

"Well... As you've told me, I don't tell you want to do, so what you do is up to you..." Since he was to die here soon, he decided to spill how he really felt now, "Flair... Since I'm to die, I'll just be honest with you about something..." This really grabbed her attention as she was more curious then she's ever been in a long time, "This might help you sharpen your blade around my neck but... I... I really do, like you... Maybe even love but, I'd never have the guts to say that... After what I've been through; The war, the pain, the loss of my own sanity at points... Having you here; the time I was with you made up for all of it... And I enjoyed every, single, second of your company... Your... comfort..."

"And what if you did love me?!" Flair hissed, "What makes you think I wouldn't just do what your mate did and cheat on you?! Is it cause you know I'm easy prey for you to take advantage of?!"

"You're nothing like her, Flair... Hehe, you're just, amazingly fun!" Cyril smiled, chuckling even as he enjoyed his time with her, and he thoroughly enjoyed talking about her to high regard, "There's never a dull moment with you.. You're fun, you're exciting, and the feeling of your fins on my paws... It feels like I'm truly in the presence of a beautiful, and power, Ancestor... And you say you're easy prey yet, I know if it wasn't for your... father... you would've already had a mate, someone you would've already loved... I was just lucky enough to help as much as I could before my death..." Letting off a pleased sigh, he kept a smile even as he thought this would be his last words, "Hehe... I'm honestly... jealous... To who ever you'll end up with... But I hope that... I was able to help even a little."

Closing his eyes as readied himself for what she was to do, he once again swallowed hard to which she felt from her paw. While he did start to sweat, he didn't wish for her to notice. So, using his ice, his body cooled down some to help control the heat of his sweat, trying to stop it from going any further. But even as he tried his best to control his sweat, his left cheek suddenly lit up on fire. Though, it wasn't a burning feeling, but rather, a very calming, pleasuring, and comfortable one. This comfortable and warm feeling sent shocks through his body as he opened his eyes wide from the feeling. Hearing the smack from the side of his cheek, he watched as Flair backed her head away before turning her body and walking away from him. In complete shock for what she had done, Cyril reached a paw up to his cheek, still feeling the warmth from his cheek from where she had kissed him. _She... kissed me?!_ Cyril thought as his body suddenly lit up with joy and excitement for what she had done. Now his entire body felt warm as he blushed for what she had done. Looking over his chest now to see what she was doing, she herself was also blushing as she sat near the end of the bed, looking down to the ground as she did. In case she needed help, he rolled to his side before getting himself back up onto all fours. From how she looked, Cyril couldn't tell what to make of her emotions, but in case she did need him, he slowly made his way over to her. Making it to her left side, he sat down next to her, staying quiet as he did. The two sat there in silence towards one another for what had happened, but because it was still such a joyful shock for him Cyril had to speak up, "Hehe, so..."

"Cyril..." Flair murmured, and compared to her usual self, she was much more calm with her voice then he thinks he's ever heard from her, "I'm serious when I say; If you break my heart, I will do the same to every single bone in your body," Hearing her speak out on such a topic was rather nice to hear, "I've lost enough in my life, and I've suffered through enough scars..." Sighing for what she was saying, nothing held her back from saying it, so it flowed off the tongue for her, "I trust you not to hurt me the same, or ever at all for that matter..." To hear her say now sent another shock of excitement through his body as it seemed everything was coming together, "Listen..." Showing her teeth now, she went back to herself for a second, "If you don't wish to be in a relationship with me, just say it! I don't want to be hurt to know that, later down the line, you never cared! So just say it now!"

 _Relationship?!_ Cyril cried with another huge smile, _With Flair?!_ Since he hadn't said anything, and since she wasn't looking at his reaction, she tensed up as she feared he was thinking against it. Now as her calming mode turned to pure burned rage, she turned to him to yell, but he spoke up before her, not even noticing her anger, "You'd really let me be in a relationship with someone as Ancestor like as you?!" Now seeing his smile, she also focused to his tail as it wagged on the bed, "Bu-Bu-But, I... I'm nothing compared to you! I was just here to help, but now I get to stay, with you?! Live my life... With you?!"

"IS IT A YES OR A NO?!" She finally yelled out as she wanted a definitive answer.

Even after she yelled, the smile stayed permanent on his face as he cried happily, "Yes! YES! ABSOLUTELY!" Laughing with a smile as he jumped back away from her, he jumped in circles as he was excited for what was to come, for what he knew he'd be able to do to really turn her life around, "Flair! This, This opportunity you've given me! I, I won't disappoint you, I swear!" Laughing once again out loud, she couldn't help but smile as well, and since she didn't fight against it, she felt so happy to do so, "Just think of all we can do now, all that there is to do! We can go to the beach! We can play games, tell stories, eat that dessert that Ersa was going to work on! I mean, there's just, so much we can do now! Hehe-Haha!"

While she did wish to keep the smile she had for how he was acting, unfortunately, she had to change up her attitude for the time being, "Cyril..." Speaking his name in somewhat of a growl, he looked to her, but hoped it wouldn't be anything too bad, "Listen... If this is... really happening... There's going to be some rules to this relationship. Do you understand?" Swallowing hard and even shivering as he was afraid of what they were and how bad they were, she assured him, "Don't worry... It's not going to be like the rules I made up before I flew back up here," This helped him sigh rather heavily, "Now, it's only going to be a couple hopefully simple rules for you to follow, okay?" Nodding at her, he was ready to hear these rules, "Rule One; If I say I want to be left alone, I mean it."

"But..." Already scared of this rule, her interrupted her, which was a bad idea.

"Cyril!" Flair growled, making him zip his mouth, "You've... helped me... okay. Now when I say this, I really do mean it. So you don't need to worry about disappointing me," He was still scared of what this rule could hold in the long term, but he obeyed, "Rule Two; If you have a problem about or with me, take it up with me, and don't hide it behind my back. Argus use to let some issues bottle up which made things rather annoying from times even when I asked him. Rule Three; You try and cheat on me, and as I've said before, I will break every single bone in your body before force feeding them back down your throat. Lastly, the big one, Rule Four; When I ask for something or tell you to do something, there will always be a yes, and never a no. If I tell you to lower your voice, it will be a yes. If I tell you to fetch me something, it will be a yes. Now are we all clear on all of these rules?"

After hearing this, he was rather confused for a second as he didn't expect this to be so easy for such a high value, "That's it?" Cyril chuckled as he saw this as child's play, but seeing Flair starting to show her teeth, he quickly corrected himself, "I mean! Yes ma'am! Yes, Flair!"

Backing down from her anger, she continued some as she wished to add what she was saying, "Your promises are still included, and since I'm the one controlling this relationship, I shall control if you're punished for what you failed to do. For this, no love, no kissing, promise, I shall turn a blind eye to it, understand?" Even though she told him some good news, he still frowned for what he had done, but since she didn't understand the frown, she asked, "What's wrong? I said you were free."

"I... I know..." Cyril murmured, "I'm just... I'm still sorry... for breaking that promise to you."

"Cyril..." Letting off a sigh, she was still rather glad he felt bad about it, "Thank you, for admitting you're wrong for what you did, but you don't need to be. If you hadn't done what you did... I... might've never made a move either so... Like I said, you get a pass, alright? So stop being so upset about it and show me this new life I can have."

Smiling at what she had said as if this was a test, Cyril chuckled, "'Rule Four; When you ask for something or tell me to do something, always a yes, never a no'," Smiling the same as him to see he really was paying attention, he chuckled to see this smile, "Hehe, I was listening. And since you told me to do something, I shall, my Flair."

"My Flair?"

"Hehe, I mean, you are mine now, are you not?"

"Don't push it."

"Hehe, sorry. I just, since we aren't you know, in love, I don't know how to say something without saying my love to the female I'm with."

"Well..." Looking away from him as she said this, she wish she hadn't, or at least, she wished he wouldn't have heard, but it was said, and heard, "Maybe if this life you're giving me is as good as you say, and you are the same, maybe that could one day, change," Once having said it, she looked to see the redness that passed his blue scales and lit up his face, and to hide what she had said, she growled about something else, "LISTEN! As time goes on, I might come down from my rules as it should just be common knowledge even for an idiot! I don't want you to feel... trapped... being with me. I want you to feel comfortable."

"Hehe, Flair," Walking up to her, she looked at him, and standing nearly nose to nose, he brought up her other rule, "Rule Two; If you have a problem about or with me, take it up with me. To be honest, I like these rules. You're scared, and I will always understand that. You want to test the waters around me, and what better way then to set some boundaries?"

Smiling some to hear he was so understanding, she thanked him, "Thank you for... Understanding... Cyril."

Now finally able to do this, he reached his head around and kissed her on the cheek, making her smile as she let off a blush. Once having pulled back, he saw this smile, and even though he did, she didn't do anything to take it away. Wanting to bring this up now rather then later so she wouldn't be upset about it, he had to ask, "I want to bring this up now as I don't want to upset you but... Can I, complement your smile?" It was a confusing question to her, so he elaborated, "Well, back with when I said I saw you smile, you attacked me for it, so I switched it up and said it was a tail blade I saw, not a smile. Can I now speak on your smile?"

Thinking about whether or not he should, she sighed as she agreed, "Yes... But! Do not attack me on it when I say I wasn't, alright? You'll just piss me off if you do something like that."

"I will learn everything I can to make sure I don't upset you. I have a good idea on some things, others, not so much. Just because at some points, it seems fine, been then others, it doesn't. So I hope if it's okay that I test the waters as well."

"Just make sure when you do, you don't make the water boil from aggravating it too much."

"Hehe, I will try my best not to," With the two now smiling to one another, Cyril wanted to speak on this as he was still a little frightened of something happening, "Flair... Don't take this the wrong way as I trust you..."

"But?" Flair was a little afraid of what he was to say.

"The same as you... I don't want my heart to be broken... You have no idea how amazing it feels to now be with you, and to think that maybe you'll find someone else or something else is just..."

"Cyril," Speaking his name in a low tone, he stopped talking and allowed her, "This is one of those situations where, because you're scared, even though I'm scared of the same, I know I have nothing to worry about... There are still many things I'm scared about, like... Now that we are together... Would you hate me if I yelled at you or, attacked you as I have before."

"What?" Cyril chuckled which confused her, "You be who you wish to be, Flair. I love your evil and good side. Hehe, though, trust my words when I say, I've checked you out, and you have nothing but good sides," While he chuckled, she showed her teeth to his words, and he quickly apologized, "Sorry! Sorry... That was... Ahem... Inappropriate..."

"No, it's... It's fine..." Flair cooled herself down, though his words after did help, "You know... Cyril... The girls day today really helped me see a lot that I kept pushing away."

"It did?" He was glad to hear.

Staying quiet for a bit, she backed up from him which caused confusion to him. As she laid down on the bed facing the door, she looked to her left and patted the spot next to her. Understanding of what she was doing now, he obeyed and followed down. Going low with his head first as to nuzzle the side of her cheek, the rest of his body followed before he was now fully laid down to her left. The sigh she had given off made it seem like she didn't want to speak on this, but her smile kept things warm in a way, "The girls teased me a lot when it came to being with you, and it was crazy to me cause... No matter how much I tried to reject that I liked you... Your damn smile wouldn't leave me alone, your words would, tackle, my other opposing thoughts, and I just... didn't understand why," Thinking about today's events and what was spoken about got her to giggle, which Cyril very much enjoyed, "I learned of Winter, the assassin. And here I am going through the same thing and all... And then the whole situation with the Hatchling being used as a hostage or a, bargaining chip... I knew my life was once again over, and yet... You always stood strong... Hehe, even if you did cry and beg for me not to leave."

"Hehe..." Cyril chuckled nervously, "I mean, I knew Spyro had to power to do something and was scared he wasn't just to have you leave. Thankfully, he now sees that you really are an ally, as I've said countless times before."

"I really wouldn't call myself an, ally, to you all just yet," She was honest, "Like I said, I'm testing the waters, and the main thing that helped change my mind was a thought... a memory... of what my mother had said to me... and... you were right," Resting her head down on the bed as she spoke, she continued, "But I'm just... so confused... and sacred of... well... you... Cyril," Picking up her head to see the frown from her words, she wanted to say why, "My father was a nice man. He respected my mother and was very caring to me... but that all changed in an instant. I'm scared that, in the future, you'll turn against me the same. Like Argus; Us being in love or, even mates... He gave up on me..." Already knowing what he was going to say, she unfortunately shot him down, "And you promising that won't happen will not help."

Shutting his mouth as now he didn't have an answer to help her, he brought a claw up to his chin as he hoped he'd be able to think of something that would be able to help ease such a thought. Glad to see he was trying his best, Flair wished to bring up something he had spoken of during their talks, "You said you wished to be a great husband, a great father... Just continue to show me that..." Since he heard her speak, he stopped thinking about the topic and continued to listen to her, "You know... It's rather... nice, to know in the morning, everyone will regroup in the morning like how it's been for the days I've been here. But I have to ask, why do you do such a thing?"

"Because we wish to know everyone is safe and sound every morning and night."

Hearing a voice, the two's scales stuck up on end as they heard the deep growl. Looking to the middle of the room, a dark dragon walked up to the bed, and as he came into the moonlight, his body showed with shining yellow eyes. Giving sighs to see it was just Spyro in his dark form, he continued what he had to say, "Every day, we wish to start happy and end happy. Even for someone like Malefor, during the beginning, I welcomed him to the Chambers cause I knew, just like for me, it was home to him."

Smiling at what it looked to her now, while she was focused to that, Cyril chuckled as he had to ask, "Hehe, well, you beat me to it. But I have to ask, what are you doing down here, Spyro?"

"Once again making sure if I was going to be right about Flair," Spyro answered honestly, getting her to frown while Cyril sighed, ready to defend her, "Before you attack me, just hear me out, alright," Hoping he wouldn't get interrupted while he spoke, he looked to Flair as he continued with more of a growl then anything else, "Listen, Flair, I get we've had our differences, but I'm simply trying to make sure everyone around here is safe. Everyone's already been through enough shit to have to deal with more, so if you're still going to be a threat, then you better personally, take it up with me."

Understanding as to why he was doing this, since she was much calmer then she's ever been before, she was able to approach this situation much more easily, "Spyro, I'm... sorry... I caused so many problems having been here... But like you said, 'We've all been through enough'... The same is for me... But I know, after tonight, things will change for the better, I promise," He didn't seem fazed by it, which she wasn't surprised by at all, "The only time I'll ever do something you won't agree with is Cyril's death. But that's only if he breaks his promises to me, or even... my heart..." With Cyril putting his paw over hers, Spyro raised a brow as he wondered what this was symbolizing, "I'm guessing you weren't here for this, but... Me and Cyril are now in a... relationship."

"What?!" Spyro now responded, giving wide eyes to this, but he didn't trust it, and if anything, it made him more defensive, "Oh, so that's what this is."

"What?"

"You know Cyril likes you, you know he'll turn against us to help protect you, and you wish to use that?!"

"What?!" Flair cried as she picked up her paws and waved them in front of her face, "No no no, that's not it at all! Spyro, me and Cyril as we did last night, we connected on a rather, emotional level. I wish I could bring up some of my past or something to help you understand how bad it was but... I'm just... not ready to share that yet," His darkness still hadn't come down from being flustered by what he believed was true, so it took some convincing, "I really... really, want this life, Spyro. I've been pushing it away and acting like my life was over... But... by accepting that... I would've disappointed and destroyed a promise I made to my mother... It just... took someone helping me rather, immensely, to show what life meant for me again."

Spyro still hadn't seemed fazed yet again by what she was saying, though he did go back to a resting position, which, while it seemed calming, Cyril chuckled, "You know, Spyro, even with you just sitting there, it's rather, scary for us. Hehe, I mean, in a instant, this room could explode just from your movements. So just, please, what ever you do, let's just talk about this before another fight breaks out."

"I'm not here to fight," Spyro growled to him before looking back at Flair, "You know, Flair, this is difficult for me."

"Difficult?" She questioned.

"Cynder rather enjoys having you around and gives trust to you. Even though I was scared of what you might do to Cyril, she said she trusted you," Hearing Cynder saw her in such high regard made Flair smile some to hear she did have those trusting her, "I hate it when I go against my love's words, and it makes me feel like an ass for thinking I'm right when I know I'm not. I just... needed to know... One last time from you... Are you going to be a problem around here?" Already knowing of how she was going to respond to him, Flair opened her mouth only slightly before Spyro continued, "I'm not going to lie, having your rather, defensive and aggressive attitude is rather, enjoyable, to me."

"What? Why?"

"Because I trust you can do as you have; Keeping Cyril in line and protecting him as you did. We watch each other's backs around here, and it would be rather nice to know we do have someone like you as an ally," She was once again glad to hear that even Spyro did have respect for her in some regard, "I like to fight wars on my own so no one would have to get hurt, but... I'd be lying if I said that the support wasn't rather... comfortable... Like during the attack on Warfang."

"Did you think you'd be alone?"

"After what I said to everyone, yes... But as only seconds past, I knew it would be rather... impossible. But as Cynder joined, then the Guardians and their lover's, it became much, much more simple," Not wishing to reveal this, it was the only way he believed it would help bring out more of her other side then the one he knew, "Even for me, I can't handle... the stress... and having you attack us during battle would make things a struggle for sure..."

"Spyro," Saying his name, this got his attention, and now having it, Flair continued, "You remember the morning when you told me to tell you the truth about what happened that night?" Spyro gave her a nod, "Then trust me when I say, I'm a close friend to you all now. As I told Cyril, I'm not an... ally... yet... I'm scared of betrayal, but... After hearing what Cynder said about me, it has... helped..." Since Spyro was here, she decided to ask him about his opinion on such a situation, "Hey, Spyro, speaking of betrayal, I'm scared Cyril would do such a thing to me; like, yell at me or, turn his back on me. What do I do to help coup with such a fear?"

"Oh, something like that? Well, if he's that much of an ass to you, I guess I could understand you killing him."

"But I'd never!" Cyril quickly defended himself, "I would never do such a thing to her."

"Hehe, yeah, cause your yelling is too busy directed to us," Spyro chuckled, coming down out of his dark form as to feel more comfortable.

"And with that show to your friends," Flair spoke up, "I'm afraid that side of you will one day turn against me, so..."

"Eeehhhh," Cyril grumbled with a blush as he understood, but he snapped a finger in the air as he had an idea, "Tell you what, to show you what I'm really like, even though I guess the previous days do count, how about I make tomorrow the best day of your life?!" Getting a raised brow from not only her, but even Spyro, he cleared his throat, "Okay, yeah, killing me would be the best day of your life, But! This can still be, 'one', of the best days of your life. Hehe, I know when you first saw me, you tried not to fall head over paws for me so, you can add that day to your best days as well."

"I don't think you understand just how terrible that day was for me."

"What? How come?"

"Oh, hum, let's see. I didn't get to kill Terrador because of you, you wouldn't leave me alone, I drank something to make me a liar to life, you wouldn't leave me alone, and because you wouldn't leave me alone, I tried to kill you, and failed. And because of your dumbass, even though there were others still sleeping, I was too focused on the fact that you didn't snitch to Ignitus about how I was the one who tried to kill you! So, I didn't get to kill you, or anyone else for that matter."

"Oh," Cyril chuckled with a frown, "Well... if you could, go back and change that day to where you did succeed... would you?"

"Shut up about that day!" Flair yelled out against him, sharpening her fins some which put Spyro in a defensive position, "I don't want to think what would've happened if I killed you or anyone else for that matter! I said that day was terrible, but I didn't say I didn't enjoy it," Easing down her fins as she looked away from him, Spyro himself eased up too, "Every day since I've been here should've been the worst days of my life, or at the very least, one of them..." Letting off a sigh as she looked straight one again, though down at the bed, she remembered the days like they were today, "So, no... I wouldn't change anything about that day. You didn't leave me alone like I repeatedly told you too, so it's your fault for instigating my anger."

"Oh..."

"Do you have a problem with that?!" She hissed as she looked over to him.

"What?! No no no, of course not," Ducking his head back from her, Cyril frowned as he wished he didn't ask what he did, "Sorry for... asking such a question..."

Feeling bad now for turning against him, she didn't understand it herself and calmed herself, apologizing even, "No, Cyril, I'm... I'm sorry..." Knowing the best way to help him, she reached her head down, peaking him on the cheek, which was enough to at least get a smile from him, and as she pulled her head back, she felt bad about it, "I'm just... this is what I'm talking about; I'm just scared that you were going to turn against me so... rather then wait for you to attack, I was the one to bite first."

"Oh..." Now understanding her more, this helped him smile even more as this was something he knew he could learn from, "That makes perfect sense to me then, Flair," Getting back his cheerful attitude, she noticed this, "I said I wished to learn more about it, and now this just helps that much more. I hope to one day cure you of this fear, but for now," Draping his right wing over her back and cooling her down, she shivered as she breathed, reveling her breath as she did so, "I shall continue to experiment with my temporary methods for you."

"Well... If I do, turn against you... There is... One thing you could do for me."

"It's gonna take me a second to walk up there but, I can kill Malefor for you."

"Hehe. Let's put a pin in that. But... This is... something important to me, something my mother use to do," Ready for what ever it might be, he believed maybe it would be something difficult or even time consuming, which made him fear as he wished to help her now, but it proved to be neither of those things, "Could you... please... form an ice cube in your paw that I may eat?" It was not only odd for Cyril to hear, but Spyro as well, and luckily, she spoke on her past in front of both of them, "When ever I'm, scared or, upset, my mother always use to let me eat the ice she made to help cool me down..." Since Cyril still hadn't responded, she felt like maybe it was a no, and she understood why, "I... get it if it's a no... I did just... yell at you..."

"What?!" Seeing her frown as she started to look away, his sudden cry got her attention, "No no no, Flair! I can absolutely do such a thing for you!" Raising up a paw and flipping it upwards, as he formed a small to medium sized cube of ice, he hoped to ease her, "Flair, I'm not going to hurt you. Like I said, I can't say it yet, but I'm very much more on the love side for you then just simply caring," She smiled to hear him say, and as he adjusted his paw and grabbed the ice cube between his two fingers, he hoped this would be the perfect ice cube for her, "This is something else I'm going to have to study on but, hopefully I can get the right ice cube for you to eat. Hehe, I mean, hell, hopefully, by training with Spyro, I can make a more powerful and hopefully better tasting cube."

"Hehe, if it's more powerful, wouldn't it break my teeth?"

"Well, that's a rather, difficult discussion," Spyro spoke up, and while he was talking, Cyril gave the cube to Flair before she threw it into her mouth and started to eat, "For my fire for example," Raising up a paw and facing it upwards, he formed a medium sized red flame in it so they could feel the flame, "You can feel how hot this flame is, right?" Getting nods, he slowly grew into his pitch black form, and as he did, the fire was engulfed into a blue flame now, "Now, with the blue flame, it's much, much hotter. This flame helped save Ersa when she almost died from a disease," Seeing the two were backing their heads up from the flame, he chuckled as he understood, "Hehe, yeah, it's pretty uncomfortable being honest. But then, there's the purple color to the abilities."

"Wait. You can't, show us, can you?" Cyril asked, but this got Spyro to smirk, "Wait... What?!"

"I mean, I've never tried before, so what a better time then now?" While Spyro transformed in his dark form, the two others looked at one another before looking back to see he had transformed, "If there's any ability I can turn purple, it'd be the one I've grown very fond of. I haven't been able to use the blue colors to the other three yet, but from Volteer, I know the blue lightning will, kick, your, ass. That shit is no joke. From what I've learned, level one to the power is standard; not too bad, but not great. Level two is just much, much stronger. But then, you have level three to the power. Are you all ready to feel the purple flame."

"Cynder's going to be pissed if you hurt yourself, you know that, right?"

"I'll be fine," Spyro didn't seem worried, but as he thought about it, he chuckled, "Hehe, okay, let me just attempt it, nothing more."

Closing his eyes and focusing his flame, the two watched closely, or at least, as closely as they could as his flame was still rather hot. As they watched, the flame moved from side to side, as if it danced in his paw. For the time he closed his eyes, the air became rather dense, as if he was absorbing the power from even the air to help himself. Suddenly, they watched as his entire arm flexed, and his paw tensed, desperate to close. While Spyro continued to growl against it, he wasn't to give up on this. This proved successful as, though he couldn't see it, the two watched as the purple flame started to form in the middle of the flame. The heat from the flame started to subside and become soft to them. This feeling made them widen their eyes as they now approached the fire, closing in with their faces to get a closer feel to the flame. Just as the blue flame was almost completely changed to purple, as it neared the tippy top of the flame, Spyro couldn't hold it any longer and clenched his paw shut. As he did, his paw hissed with steam, and growling, he backed up from the two. The two gasped as they watched him look to his paw, shaking it as he looked at it, seeing he had scorched his paw.

"Damnit," Spyro cursed, upset at himself for not being able to do it, and while his darkness healed his paw, he hated that he wasn't able to do it, "Even with this new power, I'm still just as worthless and weak!"

"No!" Both Cyril and Flair cried out to him which got his attention, and Cyril followed up, "Spyro, that flame... Ha... How did you... Why... why did it feel so comfortable?! I mean, the blue flame was rather powerful, but that, purple flame felt so... soothing... But it's fire! So how... how and why did it feel so good? Like something you'd wish to curl up to?"

"Because it's the most tamed and purest forms of our abilities," He explained, "But it's also the most pain in the ass to obtain and control. Maybe with a little more training, I could possibly unlock such power but... Ugh..." While he sighed as he never saw himself ever improving no matter what he did, he remembered what Cyril said to him, "Then again, you said you wished to train with me. I'm guessing you now have someone you wish to protect in your life?"

"Hehe, of course I do," Cyril smiled, "Then again, she could kick my ass any day but, that won't stop me from trying to be the best I can be for her! The best, I can be, for Flair."

"I see you added her name."

"He just wants me to kiss him," Flair giggled.

"Well, with you all having females now, maybe we should all get together and train again. Hopefully, which this won't happen, I will go easy on you all. But, after the day me and Volteer trained during the night, I don't see that happening. So, if you're going to train, you might be breaking your bones to the point of paralysis. I hope that's okay," Seeing as this didn't affect his decision, Spyro had to question him, "What? You're not scared?"

"Please. The only pain I'd ever be afraid of is losing Flair," Smiling to hear Cyril say this, so did Flair, "But I know I can get stronger, I've seen the power you have and I wish to do everything in my power to prove to Flair I can be the one for her!" Getting excited about it now, he had enegry once again to jump up and take on the world, "Seeing her smile, her laugh, her comfort to know I can care for her! It just, sends power, excitement, and pleasure all throughout my body, and I wish to provide for her, for my Flair!"

"Alright!" Flair yelled out, and once he stopped talking, he looked over to see she had shed a tear, "I said I'd stay with you, and that we would be in a relationship! What more do you want?!" Seeing his smile, she brought this up just to hope and hear him prove her wrong, "If you think I'd ever mate with you, you're more stupid then I thought."

"No, it's not mating with you that I'm after... But your trust in me," Shivering as a smile went across her face, he whispered to her, "I will push myself now more then ever to show you that I care, to show you that there's nothing to be afraid of," Reaching his head down and kissing her cheek, she clenched her teeth as her smile started to grow more, and backing up, he saw this, "I will show you the love and care you've deserved since the beginning... I promise..."

Not able to hold back any longer, Flair flung herself to him, wrapping her arms around his neck as she cried over his shoulder. Doing the same to her, Cyril shed tears of his own as he hugged her. Seeing as everything really was alright between the two, Spyro smiled, _Welcome to your new home, Flair._ Turning to give the two some privacy, he disappeared out of the room in a cloud of smoke as he headed back up to his house. Staying in the embrace with him for a bit, Flair tightened her grip some as she hugged him, not wishing to let go. _I will keep my promise to you... Mom... And, here's to hoping that, maybe Cyril... Really would be an amazing partner,_ With her thoughts, her grip around him loosened some before finally backing up from him. Before she focused to Cyril, she looked to see Spyro had left the room at some point. Now with Spyro gone, she looked back to Cyril and decided to have a little fun. Bringing her blade around and cuffing it at the front of his neck, he raised a brow to what she was doing.

"Now with Spyro gone, I really wonder what would come of me killing you," His face turned to sadness as he started quivering his lips as to mess with her, and unfortunately for her, it worked, "Yeah yeah, I know... I know," Moving her blade back, she felt sleepy now after all that's happened tonight and moved her head down to rest over Cyril's paws, "Just making sure you're still on my side," Hearing him chuckle before he rested his head over the back of her neck, she sighed, still smiling, "Once again, Yeah yeah, I know... You trust me... Hehe, I mean, I'm surprised you're laying your head right on one of my fins. You know that could sharpen at any point during the night and go right through and into your mouth, possibly splitting your tongue in two."

"Hehe," Chuckling, but not from fear, he nuzzled the fin his head rested over with the bottom of his jaw just to have fun, "You think that scares me, cutie?"

"Cutie? My Flair? You are really pushing it."

"You know you love it," Realizing almost immediately what he had said, Cyril changed his words, "I remember what you said though! Don't tell you something that isn't true and or force what you disagree with."

"Didn't say I disagreed, nor did I say it wasn't true," His words got a gasp from him as he never expected her to agree with him, and hearing this, she nuzzled her head to his chest as she closed her eyes, "Thank for... for tonight, Cyril. And just know, I'm holding you to this, best day, tomorrow. But for tonight," Pausing for a second, she yawned, and once her jaw came back down, she smacked her lips, "If you wish to make it perfect for me... Protect me as I sleep... Do you understand?"

Feeling a tear drip down onto herself, she smiled as she knew why, but couldn't say anything as he answered her, "Of course, my Flair," Closing his eyes, he wished her a goodnight, "Sleep well."

"With you... Might be one of the best nights I've ever slept."

* * *

 _Should I talk to him about it...? No... No, he's seemed happy ever since I've gotten here, and with what the girls spoke about, maybe I should just, leave it alone._ Laying with Terrador on his bed in the Sleeping Chambers, Trish laid awake to his right as she wondered if she should bring up what was spoken of to help him in anyway she could. _Does he still feel bad about what's happened?_ Mentally slapping herself for such a question, it was an obvious one. _Of course he does you idiot! But... Because he does, could I hopefully help him go through such a time as well?_ Listening as she came out from her thoughts, she looked to her left as Terrador laid there, listening if he were to snore or show any signs of him being uncomfortable. _Aside from his resting face, he seems fine._ Now sighing to what she was thinking about, Trish couldn't hold her words back and wished to help him. _He's already told me once before that he wouldn't be upset if I woke him..._ Swallowing hard, this was the moment to test his words. _Well... here we go._ Using her paw from the bed, she laid it over his and shuck it some, whispering his name as she did so, "Terrador...? Hey, Terrador..."

Getting his attention, he shuck as he woke, and with his head having been in between his paws, her shaking his paw some also shuck his head a bit. Groaning as he picked up his head, he looked to his right as he asked her, "Trish...?" Letting out a yawn as he paused, he stretched out his claws forward and his leg backwards as he was halfway through the yawn, and once done with the yawn, he was done with his stretch, "What's wrong...?"

Taking her paw back, she watched as he started to rub his eyes as she spoke to him, "Sorry to wake you..." As she said this, he took his other paw and raised a claw as he was ready to comfort her, but she spoke first, "I know what you said, and that's why I'm... waking you now... Hehe, and it's actually pretty, cute, to see how tired you are," Terrador chuckled as he was rather tired, "You know, I've come up with a name for such a time like this when you're acting so adorable."

"Hehe, oh yeah? And what's that?"

"Hehe, I will say that you're, 'Terradorable'."

"Haha," Laughing from how cute that did sound, he rather enjoyed it, "That's actually really creative; You combined my name, with adorable, and get..."

"Terradorable," The two laughed in unison, smiling as they did so.

With her giggling and him chuckling, this kept the smile for the two, and for Trish, she hoped this would be a perfect time to ask him what she wanted, "Hey, Terrador, can I ask you a question...? It's rather, personal, to you, but I was hoping maybe I'd be able to, help, with what you could still be going through."

"Personal?" He wondered, "Hehe, I'm kinda scared but, sure. What is it?"

"Okay..." Taking a sigh as she didn't know how he'd respond to this, she still had hope her help would keep that smile of his, "So... When I was talking with the girls, it was brought to my attention that you had uh... Previously been in, two other relationships before me," Just the thought of it for him was enough to get his shivers to shake the bed which she had noticed, and now not knowing how he'd respond, she backed her head up from him, "Whoa... Terrador, are you... okay?"

Now having this brought up, his smile and any sign of his joy disappeared. Now, his face rested to a rather aggressive once, which had scared her, and his rather pissed off sounding voice didn't help ease her from what was happening either, "Just continue with the question."

With how he was acting now, she felt like maybe she should just leave things as they should be, not wishing to start a fight or something, "I... I'm, Sorry... Terrador, I... Didn't mean to upset you..." He didn't respond to her, but since it was out in the open now, she hoped with what she would say, it would help ease him, "I heard what they had done to you... Especially with how bad that last female broke your heart... But I just, wanted to tell you that, I'm not like them," Smiling with hopes of it helping, he just looked to her as he listened, "I won't break your heart, nor would I ever hurt you. Hehe, and ever since I've gotten here, you've always showed so much support for me..." Putting her paw back over Terrador's, she blushed as she started to talk about her feelings for him, "The girls told me that all the last female wanted was sex, but you showed her nothing but love as, you wanted a loving, caring relationship... And I... would like the same as you... Which is I guess why, we get along so well... Or at least, I hope that's how you see it too."

Sighing as he could see she was trying, he unfortunately broke any chance she wished to be with him, "I'm done with relationships, Trish..." This got her to frown, and while he spoke, she took her paw back from his, "I've already been hurt enough, and I'm just not, and never will be ready, for another relationship... I like you... I do... which is why I'm not against you laying with me. It helps me be there in case you need to be protected, or if you need someone to talk to. I'm just trying to help you get back on your paws, and I'm, sorry too... Because if there was any feelings you had for me... I'm just... I'd have to decline."

Looking down at the bed as she frowned now, an idea came to mind which got her to turn back and ask him, "Do you not, trust me?"

"What?"

"If you trusted me to be someone you'd love, would you take another chance to have that feeling again? To have someone in your life? And we don't even have to be lovers, I'm just... I want to know what I can do to help tame, or even destroy this fear you have..." Seeing as he sighed, she still stayed strong as she was hopeful, even if he wasn't, "I told the girls just how helpful you were during my nightmare, how sweet and caring you were. Spyro said that you were smiling, laughing, and being way more engaging in conversations... That's the Terrador I've seen ever since I've gotten up here, but they said after what's happened, you had changed... So what can I do to keep your heart beating, to keep the smile, to keep the joy in your life?"

"There's nothing you can do," He answered honestly.

"Then why have you been so amazing since I've gotten here?"

"Because I forgot about such an event when it came to those... females... I was with," It felt like a stab to the heart for her as, now with how he was acting, she knew it was her fault in the first place for even bringing it up, "But I guess now is as best of time for me to just, wake up from what has been happening..." Turning his head back to face the door, he laid his head back down on his paws, "Listen, Trish... After that nightmare you had, about me and Ivan... Maybe even you know that I'm not someone to be loved... But feared..."

"You're wrong," She fought against how he thought, "You're a strong man with an even stronger heart, and I know I can be what those females never could've been to you."

"Even strong men break after a while..."

"And so can a heart, but just like every wound, you can heal from it, no matter how deep it cut," Trish continued to fight for him, even if he didn't wish to fight for himself, "You have helped me more then you realize... With you, having your wing, I've stopped shivering from the constant fears of being attacked. I've smiled and looked forward to tomorrow every time we've laid together. And while I might not have been here for that long, I don't see my life ever taking a turn for the worst when I'm with you."

"Because you think I'd protect you?"

"I know you would! Because even with how badly those bitches hurt you, you still have a heart that wishes to care for others! I've seen it, your loving side, I've experienced it, and I loved it!" Her words got a tear to start forming in his eye, and to see she was getting to him, she wished to continue, "Even if you say you don't have a heart anymore, I still hear it beat during the nights. And if you didn't have a heart, then why is it, when we were about to be attacked by those dragons, you came by my side? You wished to protect me from harm, and only someone with a heart would actually care to do such a thing."

"I did that out of reaction... Cause as a Guardian, it's my job to protect those in danger."

"Then what was that about how you missed me? The nuzzle I gave you, and how happy you were that I did? Did you... Did you..." Ducking her head once again, she started to feel a pain in her heart as she spoke on it, "Did you really not care...?" Seeing if he would react, his body simply tensed as he tried not to show how he really felt towards the situation, "So then... Now... When you think back to that... You're wishing it never happened... aren't you...?"

"I can't... Answer... That..." Terrador murmured, "If I say yes, it will get your hopes up that we could be more... That we could be something other then friends... But if I say no, it'll only hurt you to know that maybe I really didn't care... So I can't... answer that..." It made sense to her which only made this tough for her, though, it also made this tough for him as well, "Trish... I'm... sorry... But from now on, I shall continue to do as I have: Protecting you and what not... But any kind of... Love... between us... I will have decline..."

Clenching her paws on the bed, Trish shed tears as she wanted him to answer this, "So if I had never woken you... If I would've just kept my mouth shut... You'd still be happy, wouldn't you...?" Terrador shuck his head as he didn't want this to be on her, but she knew herself that it was, "You were smiling and laughing as I woke you, but does this mean now, I've ruined your life... Just like... those other females...?"

"What? No, Trish, you didn't ruin my life," He wished to ease her now as she was getting herself down, "Like you said, it was because of those... females... that I was with... That's what ruined my life... And I'd be lying if I said you didn't... make my life better..." To see her tearing up now, Terrador felt a stab to the heart himself, but for some reason, the stab helped kick his heart into gear, fueling his words, "Trish... I... I do, like you... But I just... I'm scared of getting attached to someone else and have them betray me for one reason or another..."

Gasping now as she heard his words, she looked to him and put two and two together, "So then, if I could show you that I care, that I really do wish to... Have a relationship with you... That I really am trust worthy to you, will you give me the chance to... be the one... for you?!" While Terrador wished to say no, he kept his mouth shut as, the thoughts of saying no were painful to him, "Terrador, please, please give me this chance! I know I won't disappoint you, I know I won't hurt you, and while I know you might not trust me, I know I can build that trust!"

"Just to later destroy it?"

"To later use it as a way to show you that I can be the one for you!" Trish immediately rejected such a thing ever happening, "Look, I'm not going to lie, I've always wished to, be, with a Guardian... And after you saved me from that building, our talk, and even up to now, learning about what's happened, I know I can turn your life around for the better, just as you did for me," While Trish was breathing rather heavily, Terrador tried not to smile as the passion she had in her words was rather comforting to him, "What will it take for me to have that chance...? Please, Terrador, anything..."

Not sure on what he should say, he wished to keep it in the middle; Not giving her a yes, but also not a no, "And how do I know you really do care?"

Without hesitation to his words, she ducked her head down and kissed his cheek, widening his eyes from the feeling and sending a pleasure filled shock throughout his body. Once again, he was in awe for what she had done to him, just as before with her sweet, gentle nuzzle. This kiss finally kicked the tear that's been resting in his eyes down his eyelids and onto his cheek. Backing up from the kiss, she saw his reaction, how he stared at her with uncertainty, but also in a way, hope. Giggling as she herself let a tear down her eye, she was still hopeful, "I hate to say this so early but... I have much, much stronger feelings for you then just simply liking you, Terrador... And I wish to have the second chance at life you've given me... But... I guess that is... Up to you if you... also wish... to take that step with me."

With how she acted towards being in a relationship, even after the one she's been in, he had to ask her, "But... how...? After what you've been through... why would you trust that I could be the one for you?"

"Hehe, well, it's mainly because of... your fears," This confused him, but with her explanation, it made sense, "What you fear, I fear the same. But because of your fears, I know I don't need to be afraid. You're scared to be betrayed by the one closest to your heart, and I'm the same. But because I know you'd never do something like that, it helps calm me. I know you wish for a loving relationship, and I wish for one as well, so it helps calm me to know that... Being with you is... really, what I want... The only real fear I have is ones you're uncertain about... Like the one about trusting me to be in a relationship with you..." Swallowing hard as she was afraid to say the wrong thing, Trish still tried her best to ease not only him, but herself, "Terrador... You are... Amazing... And I know, I know for a fact! I can be the one you searched for... For all your hard work, all the pain you went through during the war, you deserve the best possible..." Giggling at herself, she felt like that was a screw up, "Well... I'm not... Hehe, the best possible... There's probably someone else out there for you, but..."

"Even if there was... I wouldn't trust them the way I do to you," Terrador spoke out loud which caused a rather loud gasp to escape from Trish's mouth, "Trish..." His body tensed up as he was afraid to get his hopes up on anything that had to do with his future with a loving female, so he made her a promise, "I won't lie... You're rather... Ahem... Hot... And... maybe... Maybe... I will... try again to find love with... you... But just... Give me some more time to think on it. Let me see if I really can... trust you... to be someone I'd call the love of my life... or even... my mate... Okay?"

"Deal! Absolutely! I promise!" Trish cried out rather loudly, getting Ignitus and Claire to groan in their sleep while it got Terrador to look to her with wide eyes, "Hehe... Maybe I should... tone my voice down..." Shivering with excitement, she wondered out loud what she would have to do now more then ever to get his trust, "So, now the question is, what can I do for you to trust me, for you to love me, to be... My Mate...? Do I keep doing what I'm doing, or is there something more that I can do?"

"Trish..." With Terrador calling her name, she stopped talking and looked to him, "Please understand... This could take many months, maybe even years before I even decide that we should be lovers, and it may be even longer especially if I ever say something as strong as us being mates."

"But after those months or years, we'll still end up together with you trusting me now won't we?" Trish smiled wide, getting him to chuckle as he saw what she was doing, "Haha, exactly," To help ease him, she went down and nuzzled his cheek with the side of hers before backing up and resting her forehead to his cheek now instead, "I will not disappoint, I will not stray away from you, and I will be the one you've been searching for... I promise."

"You... want to hear something... weird," Terrador whispered, almost as if he wasn't completely sure he should say or not, but with her pulling her head back to look him in the eyes, he spilled what he thought, "In a way... I really do... trust you..." Hearing this kicked her heart into gear as she gave him wide eyes, "I'm... sorry... I scared you a bit in the beginning... Just... Please... I know you already very much agreed, but... I just need, time..."

Throwing not only her wings around him, but her arms as well, she hugged him with all that she could, shedding tears as her head curved around the front of his neck. Feeling light, Terrador hadn't felt so good, so comfortable with anyone in so long, especially not to a female. Hugging her back the best way he could, he used his arms to wrap around the back of her neck. _Don't screw this up! Don't screw this up! He could be your lover, your mate! for Ancestors sake, don't mess this up!_ Trish thought in her mind, yelling at herself to not make a mistake and mess up this second and rather once in a life time chance. Backing up from the hug, she saw that now only was she shedding tears with a smile, but so was he, which she giggled towards, "There's my smiling dragon, being adorable as always."

"Don't you mean..."

"Terradorable?" The two laughed in unison, finally bringing things back to the way they were, and Terrador continued, "Hehe... Thank goodness I have a better nickname to be called. Malefor came up with the joke of, 'I'm a mean one, I'm mister Terrador', which to this day I still want to hurt him for."

"Hehe, why is he calling you the Grinch?"

"Because I always sound like and act like him."

"Hehe, and you're even green," Trish giggled, and her innocent giggle always made him smile, "But that will forever change now. I shall do all that I can to make you smile, to help you enjoy life as you've always wished to do. So, first things first, to help you, I want you to tell me what I can do to help you. And, thank goodness Malefor isn't here cause he'd say something like, 'Oh, if it's anything, you should tell her to mate with you, Terrador'."

"And what if that's what I want from you?" With a red fire blush and wide eyes, Terrador chuckled and apologised, "I'm joking, I'm joking, I swear. I'm sorry for saying such a thing," This got her to growl for reasons she would never say to him so early on, "Honestly... The best way to help me is just... you, being there, for me... as you have been since you even got here," She smiled to hear him say, glad he was accepting her back into his life, "Hehe, I may be a... big guy, but... Even I wish to have that sense of love... you know?"

As he was talking, she was already ready to show her love for him. Going back to how she was, she nuzzled her head underneath his, getting him to groan with a pleased smile. Nuzzling down his neck before making it down to his chest, she rested her head against his chest. Picking up his right wing now and throwing it over her back, she giggled to this, "It's about time. Making me go to sleep without that wing of yours over my back is going to be a no no from now on."

"Hehe, yes ma'am," Terrador chuckled.

Laying his head down over the back of Trish's neck, both closed their eyes, and to once again apologize for such a turn, he spoke to her, "Trish... Thank you for... Continuing to take a stand and help me... And to answer your question from before..." Shivering as he was still afraid to admit it, he knew he was taking a risk, but it was one he was once again prepared to take, "I... thoroughly enjoyed... the nuzzle you gave me... Hehe... And if I'm... being honest... that... kiss... was all the more satisfying... Which, reminds me..." Picking his head back up as he opened his eyes, Terrador looked down on her before going down and kissing her forehead, sending pleasure filled shivers throughout Trish's body now, and once pulled away, he whispered to her, "Just so you know... Your efforts really did help me."

His words, his kiss, and his actions made her snuggle up to him even more as she continued to smile with tears in her eyes. Letting this slip, Trish bit her lip on it before finally letting her words slip, "You know... It's a real struggle for me to not let slip and burst out the fact that I love you... Hehe, even though you already know I even want to be your mate..."

"Hehe..." Terrador cried with a smile himself, "One day, Trish... I... believe in you," Laying his head back down over the back of her neck, he closed his eyes and whispered one last thing to her, "I trust you."

Shedding one last tear before she herself went to sleep, Trish nuzzled her head upwards against his neck as she whispered too softly for him to hear, but she needed to say it, "And I love you..."

* * *

 _Dun dun dun, duna dun dun dun dunna, dunana! Dunana! Dunana! Duna,_ Humming to himself as Spyro made his way to his room from the hallway of his house, he tried to stay stealthy with his approach back to his room, though he didn't need to. Making it up to the door, since it was shut, he let his dark form take over his body some. With the darkness, first his head went through the door before his body followed, then finally, his tail blade. As his body made it through the door, he came down from his dark form and gave wide eyes to see Cynder laying in the middle of the bed, crossing her paws and raising a brow to him. While he chuckled, she asked him out right, "So, I'm guessing I was right, and there was no reason for you to wake up tonight?"

As he made it to the middle of the room, Spyro cleared his throat and got into character, "Oh my goodness! Cynder, it was horrible! There was blood, blood everywhere!" Pretending to cry, she smiled as she rested her head on her paw, watched as he went about with his act, "Damnit! Why couldn't it have been Malefor?! Why was it someone we actually cared about?!" Laying the front of his body low to the ground, he took a peak to see she still was just watching him as he joked, "Hehe, alright, alright, fine," Sighing as he knew she was right, he knew she wanted him to say it, and as he brought up his head, he admitted, "You were right, my love."

Smiling to hear this, she wasn't surprised, "Oh, wow. I was right again?" Chuckling as he made his way back over to the bed, she was at least glad for a couple of reasons, "Thank you for waking me though. I was thinking you could've let me talk with Kettu or Xvar but... It would've just made me miss you more," With a paw to the bed, he pulled himself up, walked forward a couple of steps before turning around to face straight with her and laid to his belly to the left of her, "Well, is there anything else I should know? The least you could do is give me some spicy details I and the other girls could pick on her about later."

"Hehe, Well... Those two are in a relationship now."

"What?!" Cynder cried with wide eyes, backing her head up to look him in the eyes to see if he was telling the truth, "Bu-bu-but... How?! After what we saw happen with her flying away, I surely thought she would've slept in another room or, somewhere away from him but..."

"Oh... So you were wrong about something else?" Spyro smirked.

"Oh?" She raised a brow to him, "What are you playing at here, my love?"

"Well, you thought you were a monster which wasn't true, you thought no one would love you and that wasn't true, and now you're over here saying I won't make out with you?" Licking her lips to see what he was doing, Spyro chuckled as he knew he was getting to her, "I did bring up the fact the we should try and kiss for like an hour straight, but then again, I haven't taken a nice bite from your neck in so long," Every time he spoke of what he was to do to her, her scales stood up on end, extremely hopefully he'd do it all, "Or I have my darkness, or maybe you'd like me to lick your neck? So much to do..."

"Then do it all you damn tease," Finally speaking out again him, she wanted all of it, "After giving me all this hope, all these options, I want all of it."

"Hehe, you know, if we do this, we're going to get like, no sleep."

"So then we sleep during the day."

"And what if the girls wish to do something tomorrow that you'll miss out on?"

"Spyro," Growling at him now, she wanted something, "Don't you dare give me hopes on such things just to back out on what you promised me. But if you're going to be like this..."

Standing up from the bed, she turned to face him, and using her wings, she pushed his backside and his right shoulder, spinning him around on the bed. Now with him spun with his backside towards her, she used her right wings to flip him over onto his back. Walking over his body, she pushed his wings outwards from his body, and to make sure they wouldn't be used, she stepped on the flaps of them. Now standing over his body and face to face with him, Cynder knew what she needed to do, "Since you're not going to make a move, I'll just have to, seduce you, until you do."

"Hehe, now now, my love, you know I'd do what you wish when ever you ask it."

"Ah, but, where's the fun in that for me?" Cynder smirked, taking control of this situation, "If you have a problem with what I'm doing, then go ahead, stop me," Getting close to his neck, she was able to see his eyes for a second before whispering to him, "But I know you'd never hurt me, so it seems like you're stuck here now, aren't you?"

"Hehe, where did this frisky control come from?"

"Well, how else am I going to repay you for what you're going to do for me?"

"Cynder, you don't..."

"Ah! Zip it... Just lay back and enjoy yourself..."

With the seduction she gave off to him, he had no choice but to obey what she said. As to first tease him as he did to her, she started to his neck, giving small kisses from the bottom nearest to his chest before moving her way up. In a way for herself, she started to enjoy it more and more as Spyro started to let off small groans for what she was doing to him. Making to the middle of his neck, she turned her small kisses to small licks. Licking up on his neck now made his groans more powerful, and with how smoothly she did, his claws curled as he enjoyed every second of what she was doing. But something inside took over as now he wished he could do the same to her. With the help of the darkness, where her paws rested to his wing flaps, he fazed through her paws and arms before wrapping her wings around her back. Flipping her over onto her back, she didn't expect this, and was completely defenseless to hold her ground. Rolled to her back, Cynder looked to see Spyro blushing as he looked down on her. Still using his darkness, he fazed his wings through her arms as he tucked them back to his side, and once done he focused to her neck. Seeing as though he was struggling with something, breathing rather warmly with a blush, Cynder asked with concern, "Spyro... Are you... okay...?"

Not able to hold himself back, he ducked his head down towards her, opened his mouth, and clamped his teeth over her neck. The entirety of her body froze from the feeling, and with his mouth being sideways as he bit her, he licked her neck as if to ease her scales. With every movement she made or even just a simple shiver, his bite would once again freeze her as he would put the same amount of pressure as he did before, and with each bite came another moan as now she didn't see a way for her to even move. His bite gave pleasure, but what made it more enjoyable was how she knew he'd act on it, how ease he wished to be with it. As her body once again shivered, he let down a bite, but not like the others. This one stopped her for a second as her body stayed in a shock of pleasure as he continued to lick her neck as if he was trying to soothe her scales as he bit them. Giving wide eyes to this bite, her body grew limp as her arms fell down to the bed compared to their normal resting position. Coming back to his senses, Spyro growled as he eased his teeth from her, sighing, and backing his head up to see what he had done. Letting out a gasp, similar to what Volteer did to Ersa, there were clearly visible bite marks in her neck that looked rather painful to him. While he stood in fear, Cynder herself came back as she rested a paw to her chest, letting a very pleased sigh, "Spyro that was... Amazing... Hehe, from how I'm saying it, it sounds like we just did it or something... Hehe, which, I mean... I wouldn't be against that right now at all..." Seeing his fear, she raised a brow and questioned, "Spyro... What's wrong?"

Using her other paw, she felt around her neck, and once coming across the teeth markings, she felt it and remembered what had happened with the two mates. _Wait?! Did Spyro do that... bite?_ With how he feared for what he had done, Cynder knew she had to act before he ran out the door or something else that could make this day take a turn for the worst. First, she distracted him by speaking in a low tone, "Spyro... Listen to me and trust me..." With him distracted, she eased her tail up and around his, trying to get a secured grip on his tail, "You have nothing to be afraid about... You remember that talk I had, about how your lover can sense how much pressure to put on your neck?" Seeing as he took one step back, her next best option was to use her darkness, and once having heard his heart beat, his eyes widened some to hear hers as well, "See... I'm calm... I'm very, very happy with what happened... So please... Just breath."

She could see it was starting to work on him as he took his step back, though he couldn't get his eyes off of the teeth marks. An idea popped into her mind as she knew how to get this situation all over with, "Wait, Spyro, your darkness, or even your time power. If your scared of these marks, just use one of those two powers to heal me," Hearing that he would have to use either of those two powers to heal what he's done made his shivers shake the bed, "That doesn't mean you hurt me!" She quickly cried out, "That doesn't mean... You hurt me... These marks are dirt, and I need them to be cleaned... Okay?"

Swallowing hard for what he had done, he was at least able to hear what she was saying and acting as she told him to. Rather then use his paws, he used his tongue instead. Going down to the left side of her neck, he first started there. Licking the side of her neck, he controlled the darkness to his tongue and slowly, easily, licked at the marking he made. This pleased her even more as his tongue to her neck felt incredible, making her let off more moans to what he was doing. Backing his head to see the left side was now completely healed, he moved over to the right side or her neck, and just the same as the other side, he proceed to lick her neck. Accidentally letting slip, she moaned his name, "Spyro..."

Trying his best to ignore this, he backed his head up once finshed with the other side of her neck to see he had healed her back up to her normal light black and grey color for her scales and red to her chest, and from his tongue, her colors shined more especially in those areas. Still shaken up from the whole situation, while Spyro struggled with what he had done, Cynder once again let out a very pleased sigh with all that had happened, "And here I was hoping to get a moan or something from you... Hehe... That was lovely, Spyro," With him still looking to her neck, she took action, reaching up and putting both her paws to his checks, she focused his eyes right to her own, "Spyro, listen to me you sexy sweet muscular of dragon meat you!" This got his attention now, "You're going to be biting me like that a lot more now, and no! I didn't feel pain! No, it didn't hurt, and no! We are not ever going to not do it ever again!" He finally let lose a small smile to hear how much she was trying to help, and how passionate she was being about it, "Please, Spyro, after that, this night... Everything about the start of today and yesterday, you've been amazing! And I love everything you've been doing to help me. But if this is still about that whole yelling situation yesterday, stop, worrying about you. Hehe, I'm not upset, my love."

Taking her paws away from his cheeks, he sighed, but luckily to her, he smiled, "I just... Ever since that point, I have been trying my best to make up for it... And I want to... keep going... If you really did love that... bite..."

"Which I really really did!" She quickly once again assured him.

"Hehe... Well then..." Having looked to her neck, he shivered, but looking to the raised brow on Cynder's face as she saw him look to her neck, he swallowed hard, "I will... continue to be as loving to you as I possibly can... I mean, I kept making mistakes where I'd put training before you, and I still have to make up for that too so... I just... I'm sorry... I'm trying all I can, I swear."

"Spyro," It felt nice to be the one to comfort him for once rather then the other way around, "Keep being you... Hehe, I mean, also keep being this sexy loving side as well but... Don't feel so bad. Honestly, you've already started today off as such an amazing memory for me. First, we now know Cyril and Flair are in a relationship, and that hopefully means she should feel more comfortable to talk with us. Then, you wishing to get information on my parents which was yesterday but, I'm the one keeping track so... Yeah... And now this... neck bite..." Seeing her shiver with a perfect smile got him to chuckle as he was glad she was so happy, "Hehe, you know, that was like a, mate, bite... You weren't trying to mate with me, were you?"

"Ah-haha! I think it's time for bed!" Spyro dodged the question as sweat started to form on his head.

Raising a brow, she decided to leave it alone for now since he already had a rough time dealing with the bite. Not really able to back up too much as her tail was still wrapped to his, Cynder took her tail from around his to allow him to back up. Once backed up off of her, she rolled to her stomach before shifting herself to face forward. Climbing over the back of her, he laid back down to her left, facing straight the same as her. As he was going to drap a wing over her back, Cynder nuzzled her nose under his jaw in a loving manner, making him purr as he was happy to feel and hear just how much she enjoyed herself. Laying her head down over his paws, she rested the side of her head against his chest and listened to his heartbeat. From before, his heart was kicked to nearly a hundred miles an hour, but now feeling it starting to rest, she giggled, "Hearing your heart and how slow it is... I'm guess that means you really did trust what I said?"

"Hehe, of course I did... That and, if I would've left... I would've dealt with your tail blade and not your voice so... Thank you for... Everything during what happened," Spyro was thankful to her, and as his head came down to rest over the back of her neck, he whispered to her as he closed his eyes, "Thank you... Cynder... My love..."

"Hehe, Thank you for this night," Closing her eyes, she giggled as she was excited for tomorrow, "Man! The girls are going to be so jealous knowing I have the greatest lover in the world!"

"Hehe... I'm... Very glad to hear your excitement."

"It's all thanks to you... my love," Cynder happily whispered, drifting off to sleep with her lover afterwards.


End file.
